Carolina's POV;
After an unsuccessful job hunt, I returned home to find my mother, Lilian Edmond waiting at the front door.
"You irresponsible girl. You are 26 years old. Yet, you have no boyfriend or job. You cannot continue living in this house. Get out!" my mother, Lilian, shouted at me. She was wearing a brown dress and black slippers, standing in the doorway of our rented apartment. Mom was a tall, fair-skinned 48-year-old woman.
I had just arrived home after an unsuccessful job search. How could she prevent me from entering our own house?
"Mom," I said, trying to speak to her as she stood in the doorway.
"Carolina, you are not coming into this house today. Go back and look for a job. If you do not find a job, then do not come back. If your father and I had known that sending you to university was a waste, we would not have spent our money and could have saved it for your younger siblings instead. How do you expect us to continue feeding a grown woman like you? If you do not want to work, then stay outside!" My mother slammed the door in my face and went inside.
Sighing, I stood outside the rented house, looking around at the surroundings and at the closed door.
Despite graduating with a degree in business administration, I had not been able to secure a good job. Life in the city was hard, and finding a job had been unsuccessful.
My parents had five children, and I was the eldest sibling, with two younger sisters and two younger brothers. I was 26 years old, yet I had nothing substantial going on in my life.
Wearing a faded yellow top and an old brown skirt that I had owned for ages, I turned to walk back to the road.
Where would I find a job tonight?
My mother shouldered all our family responsibilities, as my father was just a deadbeat. He did not truly care. He came home only to eat, and we might not see him for days.
As I stood by the road, looking at the busy traffic. There was no employment agency that I had not visited to apply for a job.
I reached for my phone to call my best friend, Lucy Campbell. She worked in a clubhouse, and I was sure she could help me get money to take care of my bills.
"Hello, Lucy," I said once she picked up her phone.
"Carolina. What's wrong?" Lucy asked me, her voice full of concern.
"I am homeless. Can I come and stay at your place?" I asked her, trying to fight back my sobs.
"Why? What happened with your family again? Your mom threw you out? It's 8 p.m. How can she send you away at night?" Lucy asked, and I tried not to sniffle. My mother had been harsh with me, and I knew it.
"I cannot blame her. The economy is too hard now, and Mom is trying her best. I need to get a job. If I can find any job for tonight, I do not mind doing it," I told her, sobbing at last.
"It's alright, Caro. Actually, I am at work now. Can you come to the Blues Clubhouse? It's the biggest club in town. I will try to speak to my boss if he will accept you. But you must speak like a local, like me. That way, my boss can employ you. Also, you must be friendly with the male clients. You will have to tolerate their interactions," she said.
"Really? I must do all this if I want to get the job? Will it involve kissing or what?" I asked Lucy, my heart pounding as I stood by the roadside.
"No. What's wrong with you, Carolina? You will just have to put on a friendly face—that's what I mean. Well, you know that you're a pretty woman. So some of the guys might want to ask you out," she said, and I thought about it.
Would I really want a man tonight?
"Alright. I do not have any problem with that. What matters is that I earn money—even if it means sacrificing. I feel like a failure right now," I told Lucy as I sobbed.
"It's okay, Caro. You are not a failure. Where are you? Start coming over. Do you have your transport fare, or should I lend you some money? But I do not have money to give you right now. My elder sister's wedding is next month, and I need to make preparations for it," she said.
"Alright. I will pay you back. Please help me, Lucy. You are the only best friend that I have," I told her, and she laughed over the phone with her contagious laughter.
"Don't mention it. I'm sure you have other friends too. Anyway, I will send the money to you. Get here quickly," Lucy said, giving me a final ultimatum. She knew how I had been trying to get a job, all to no avail.
I sighed, pacing along the road, and I got a message alert for 5,000. I smiled. The money was more than I needed, but I knew that I had to pay Lucy back.
Looking ahead at the road, I hailed a taxi and told the driver, "To the Blues Clubhouse."
The taxi driver looked at me from head to toe.
"Are you sure you're going to the Blues dressed like this?" He eyed me suspiciously, and I frowned.
"Why? I am going there to meet a friend of mine," I told him, and he shrugged.
"Get into the car. That's not my problem. But your bill is 1,500," the taxi driver said.
"Why? Isn't it 500?" I asked him, and his eyes darkened at me.
"You can walk. Why get in a taxi?" he said to me coldly, and I frowned.
"It's fine. Take me to the club," I told him. He nodded,. gestured for me to enter the cab. Once I sat down, he started the car, and drove off to the Blues Clubhouse.