One Among Us

by Paige Dearth

  “Well, that’s interesting. Let me ask you a question. How would you feel if everyone picked on you for no reason? I mean, Seth is quiet, but he isn’t stupid, and he definitely doesn’t smell or eat his poop. In fact, I think that anyone who does what you guys are doing to Seth is very mean. How about if you cut him a break?” she said.

  The boys noticed the tension in her voice.

  “Why don’t you all run home to your mommies and tell them what you do to Seth? Hey. Maybe, I’ll go tell your parents what you’re doing. How about that? Now, I think that’s a great idea,” Maggie said, tapping her chin with her index finger.

  The boys grew nervous. “Let’s go, guys,” one of the boys said. He started walking away from the library.

  “Oh, boys? I know where all of you live. So unless you want me to go talk to your parents, you will stop picking on Seth. Understand?” Maggie asked. “Stop being so nasty!” she added in a powerful voice.

  Maggie made all of them a little worried. None of them answered her. They walked away whispering to each other, and Maggie knew she had only gotten Seth a temporary reprieve from his tormentors.

  “What did they say, Aggie?” Seth asked when she returned.

  “Not much. But I’m hoping they’ll leave you alone for a while,” she said.

  Seth ran his hand through his golden-blond hair, “Probably not. They like pickin’ on me. When I grow up, I’m gonna be strong with big muscles and kick the shit out of all of them.”

  “Shit, huh? Where did you learn that?” Maggie asked with a smile.

  “Juju.”

  Maggie turned to her friend. “Oh, great. So Juju is teaching you how to curse. Way to go, Juju!” she said, giggling.

  Maggie turned back to Seth. “You know…when I was your age, the kids at school picked on me too,” she confessed. “I was always left out of everything. On the day that John William took me, I had talked my mom into letting me go buy a slice of pizza on my own at the food court. I wanted to show the girls who left me out that I was independent. Trying to get even with them cost me my family,” she finished sadly.

  Seth’s eyes bulged from their sockets. Maggie realized that she’d scared him without intending to.

  “I have an idea. How about if Juju teaches you how to kickbox?” Maggie said with excitement.

  Juju lit up. “Yeah, dude. I can teach you how to protect yourself from those little creeps.”

  “Really? I’m gonna learn to read and fight? Yay!” Seth announced, bouncing up and down. “I love you, Aggie.”

  “Really, dude? What about me? Where’s my love?” Juju teased and started to tickle him.

  Seth was giggling so hard that he was gasping for air when Juju finally stopped. Maggie watched them, her feelings of love running deeper for the two people whom she considered her only family. She extended her hand to Seth, he grabbed it, and she led him into the library.

  Learning, she knew, was the only way to break the cycle. This was the one gift she could give to Seth that no one would ever be able to take away from him. She was reminded of her own parents and the gift of learning they’d given her.

  For just a few minutes, she allowed herself to think about Lorraine and Rob Clarke. She wondered if they still missed her. So much time had passed that her memories of them had become foggy, almost surreal. She still missed her parents—their good natures and loving ways. Her life was so different now, and she was so far removed from the world she’d once known. Her dreams of being reunited with them, once so strong and vivid, had diminished. Now it seemed as though those dreams had belonged to another person.

  Chapter Ninety-One

  Maggie had two weeks before she began working at Double Visions. In the meantime, she spent her days and evenings meeting men at the “apartment.” The hours between four and seven o’clock in the evening were quiet, and she spent much of that time with Seth at the library. Just as she thought, Seth was a smart boy who only needed someone to teach him. In a few short weeks, he’d already shown his capacity to learn new things.

  “Aggie, do you remember what your mom and dad look like?” Seth asked her one day.

  “Sort of. I mean, I do remember, but it was a long time ago. Why?” she asked.

  “’Cause I can’t remember my mom and dad at all. Do you think they loved me?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding? Who wouldn’t love you?” Maggie grew serious. “I’m certain they loved you, and they still love you.”

  “Then hows come they never look for me?” he wondered aloud.

  “We don’t know they haven’t looked for you. In fact, I’m sure they did. But you were too little when John William stole you from them. You don’t remember where you lived. A while ago, I looked to see if I could figure out where your parents live. But I couldn’t find them anywhere around here,” she told him.

  “Maybe they moved,” Seth offered.

  “You might be right. But maybe you weren’t born around here. We don’t know what your last name is, and that makes it really hard to find them,” Maggie said softly, pulling him closer to her.

  “Do you think if we ever find them, they’ll want me to go back and live with them?” he asked.

  “Of course. You’re their son,” she stated, believing she was telling Seth what he wanted to hear.

  “Well, I hope they never find me then. I don’t want to leave you and Juju and go live with them. I don’t even know them. You won’t let them take me away, will you?” he begged.

  “Seth. Even if your mom and dad were to find you, we’ll always be family,” she said, trying to reassure him.

  “If your mom and dad find you, will you go live with them?” Seth asked.

  “I haven’t thought about them finding me in a long time, Seth. I mean, I don’t know what I’d do. I’ll be eighteen years old soon. I’m almost an adult.” Maggie gave it serious thought for a moment. “You know what? Maybe I would go live with them if I knew Rock wouldn’t do anything to hurt us,” she said.

  “What would happen to me, then?” he asked, fear creeping into his voice.

  “You’d come with me, of course!” she said sincerely.

  “But what about Juju? Would she come with us too?” he asked, wringing his fingers together and looking over at Juju to see if she was worried too.

  “Sure. We’d all go together,” Maggie pledged.

  Maggie didn’t want Seth to worry. The bullies at school were enough for him to handle.

  “Hey, how are the kids at school treating you?” Maggie asked, realizing that he hadn’t mentioned them lately.

  “They haven’t been bothering me as much since Joey punched one of them in the nose,” Seth said, giggling.

  Maggie laughed with him. Hearing how Joey had stuck up for Seth gave Maggie some comfort. At least he had one person on his side at school. Maggie worried about him all the time. She was intimately aware of the trauma Seth had lived through with John William and all the strange men. He’d been broken as a small child, before he had even developed a mind of his own.

  “Good ol’ Joey. She doesn’t take crap from anyone,” Juju piped up.

  Seth, Maggie, and Juju met Joey every day before school started, just as Maggie had promised her. In the beginning, Joey had an easier time with Thelma then Seth ever had, but as time went on, Thelma became more abusive toward her. Joey simply dismissed the verbal assaults, but some mornings she had fresh bruises on her arms or face.

  Once, when Joey had a black eye, Maggie pulled her aside.

  “What happened? Did Thelma do this to you?” she asked.

  “Yep. She’s a crazy bitch,” Joey announced casually.

  “I’m sorry, Joey,” Maggie had offered, feeling personally responsible for the child’s living situation.

  “It’s OK. One of the girls that I used to live with, in the place where you got me from…she used to beat me up all the time. Then, one of the older girls taught me how to fight when everyone else was asleep. So the next time that girl hit me, I kicke
d the shit out of her. And, like I told ya before, it’s better than those old men havin’ sex with me. I’ll take a couple of slaps and punches if it means I ain’t doin’ that no more,” Joey had explained.

  “Aggie?” Seth whispered softly, interrupting Maggie’s thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  “I think someday I’m gonna marry Joey,” he said with a mischievous smile.

  “Seriously, dude, this is the shit you think about?” Juju teased.

  “What Juju means is that you’re ten years old. We think you have plenty of time to figure that out,” Maggie explained, shooting Juju a scolding look.

  “OK,” he giggled, “but I’m tellin’ ya, someday she’s gonna marry me.”

  Maggie hoped that one day they’d all be happy. Maybe they’d each get married and have children of their own in a place where drugs and sex didn’t dominate. She had high hopes for all of them and believed the day would come when they could say good-bye to the mean streets of Kensington.

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  Maggie’s first night at Double Visions was nerve-racking. She showed up for her shift an hour early, just as Shiver had instructed, so she could get ready and meet the other girls. When Maggie entered the dressing room, she winced, as scowling looks fell upon her. Most of them stopped what they were doing, sat perfectly still, and watched her, secretly wishing she wasn’t the new girl and she would just go away.

  “Girls, this is Maggie. She starts working here tonight,” Shiver said, making eye contact with each of the eight strippers.

  All of the girls except one glowered at Maggie. Annoyed by her beauty, even in worn-out street clothes, they all knew she’d be spectacular once she was in makeup and costume. The catty group turned without acknowledging her.

  “Girls! Really? Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” Shiver shrieked.

  Shiver turned to Maggie. “They’ll be fine. Just takes them a little time to warm up to newbies. Doesn’t help them that you look the way you do, but it’s sure going to help you, sugar,” she said.

  Maggie nodded, but inside, she was fuming. She couldn’t care less what the bitches thought of her. She wanted to scream, “You all should be nervous because I’m here to make money, and we can do it together, or I’ll do it on my own.”

  Shiver saw the fire in Maggie’s eyes and knew immediately that she’d find her way among the girls, who could be more competitive than professional athletes. One of the girls finally walked over to Maggie and introduced herself.

  “Hey, Maggie. I’m Chelsea,” she said, extending her hand. “You can use the chair next to me. There are only nine of us working tonight, but on the weekends, there could be up to fifteen of us in here. So sometimes we have to use each other’s spaces. You can keep your shit in one of the lockers over there,” she told Maggie, pointing to a wall lined with lockers.

  Shiver smiled to herself as the two young women starting chatting. Feeling as though Maggie could handle herself, she left her in the dressing room with Chelsea. Maggie purposely walked over to the open seat next to Chelsea as gracefully and sensually as she could. She didn’t want enemies, but she wasn’t about to take any crap from the other dancers.

  Maggie sat down and watched the other girls in the mirror. Most of them were average looking, nothing overly exciting stood out about them. A couple of the girls were quite pretty, not as tall as Maggie was, but just as lean. Several of them had fake boobs that were so big they appeared unnatural. All of the other girls except for one had tattoos and body piercings. Just your typical night at the neighborhood strip club, Maggie thought, amusing herself.

  Maggie noticed that one of the girls was wired and jittery. The girl had to be a meth head, she thought. She bounced around from girl to girl, giggling over nothing and lighting one cigarette after another. Her jaw was grinding from left to right, right to left and, every so often, she’d sniff the air while contorting her face like a shriveled prune. Maggie found her repulsive and kept telling herself, don’t make eye contact…don’t make eye contact.

  Damn it! Maggie looked up at exactly the wrong moment and made eye contact with the meth head.

  “Hey, man. My name’s Crank. Man, you’re fuckin’ hot as shit! So, um, you wanna do a little toot before you go upstairs?” she offered.

  Maggie thought how appropriate and inappropriate the girl was for taking that particular stage name. Maggie smiled like an innocent, precious young girl. “Oh no, thank you, Crank. I don’t really care for it.”

  “Yeah, OK, that’s cool. Hey listen, don’t say nothin’ to Jay or Shiver about me offering you dope. They’ll kick my ass outta here if they catch me using in the club,” Crank stated.

  “Nope. Your secret’s safe with me,” Maggie told her, both amused at and astonished by Crank’s odd behavior and movements.

  “Cool. OK, well, I’ll be watching you when you get upstairs. Everyone will be,” Crank said, leaning into Maggie’s personal space. Maggie backed away in response. “These bitches are just pissed ’cause you’re gonna be earning a lot of dough. If you can dance, then they’re gonna shit sea horses,” Crank whispered in a voice loud enough for Chelsea to hear too.

  It wasn’t long before Shiver came back into the room and stood next to Maggie.

  “OK,” Shiver said. “Let’s go over makeup. Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn’t overdo the makeup. You have natural beauty. I want to teach you a little bit about accentuating those gorgeous eyes and pulling those high cheekbones forward.”

  Maggie was amazed at how easily Shiver taught her how to apply makeup. Then she changed into one of the costumes she’d brought with her. Shiver and Chelsea looked her over.

  “You look perfect!” Shiver exclaimed. “Now, we need a stage name for you. Is there a name you’d like to be called?”

  Maggie hadn’t thought about it before that moment. As different names ran through her mind, she settled on the thought of Cali, who had taken care of her and taught her how to pole dance. Then her memories of Max rose to the surface of her consciousness. She arranged and rearranged the letters of their names in her head.

  “How about Climax?” Maggie asked, looking from Shiver to Chelsea for a reaction.

  They nodded their heads.

  “Well, it’s different. I like it and Climax suites you well. The men will love it,” Shiver said.

  Chelsea nodded. “I like it, too.”

  Forty-five minutes later, one of the bar staff entered the dressing room and yelled, “Crank and Climax, head upstairs. Your set is coming up.”

  Upstairs in the bar, Shiver stood with Maggie while she waited for her cue to go onstage.

  “OK. You’re gonna be fine. Just relax,” Shivered whispered, feeling Maggie’s anxiety.

  Then the DJ’s voice came over the speakers. “We have a new dancer with us tonight. Double Visions would like to welcome Climax to our family,” he said wholeheartedly, as if he knew Maggie.

  As she walked to the center of the bar to take the stage, all of the bartenders turned and watched her. The customers perked up, as they always did, for a new girl. Maggie stepped up onto the stage and swallowed hard as she began to move to the song she had picked for her debut dance.

  Maggie glided across the stage on her long legs. Then she stopped abruptly, grabbed the pole with both hands, and began to snap her hips from side to side. Her hands slowly slid down the pole until she was squatting, her knees spread wide. Then she arched her back and began to rise again slowly. Gripping the pole tighter, she hoisted herself up and began the slow, sleek climb to the top of the pole. She watched the men intently, making eye contact with as many of them as possible, while she reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra to reveal her breasts.

  It was a sea of smiles around the bar as the men stared at Maggie in awe and fascination. Her movements were fluent as she worked the pole to the beat of the music. When the song finished, Maggie stepped off the stage gracefully and made her rounds at the bar. As she gathered her tips, she was overcome with
excitement. She chatted easily with the customers, something she’d learned how to do well on the streets of Kensington. If you wanted to make money as a hooker, a lot of money, then being charming and knowing how to make men feel special was a sure way to keep a john.

  Several of the other dancers had gathered around the bar to watch Maggie’s debut performance. They’d all hoped she’d be a complete flop to offset her beauty. To their disappointment, Maggie was as fluent and graceful as many of the experienced dancers were.

  When Maggie finished accepting her tips, she walked out from behind the bar. Immediately, a man approached her and asked for a lap dance.

  “Of course I’ll give you a lap dance. Just give me a minute to freshen up, OK?” Maggie stated smoothly.

  “Sure, baby. I’ll wait right over there,” the man said, gesturing toward the entrance to the lap dance room.

  Maggie rushed into the dressing room to find her only friend at Doubles.

  “Shiver,” Maggie whispered into her ear.

  “Maggie, you did an awesome job. I told you they’d love you,” Shiver complimented.

  “Thanks. But I have a little problem. There’s a guy upstairs waiting for a lap dance,” she stated.

  Shiver gently weaved her arm through Maggie’s. “Let’s go into Jay’s office. I’ll show you.”

  Maggie let out an audible sigh of relief, and Shiver giggled. “Relax, honey. It ain’t nothing.”

  Shiver quickly showed Maggie how to perform a lap dance. “You can’t touch him. You can hold onto his shoulders while you dance, but don’t touch him anywhere below the shoulders. You’re going to straddle him, and it’ll be easier if you are on your knees. It’s just a slow grind baby, back and forth, up and down, but don’t actually grind on him…you sorta grind in midair. You also want to push your titties toward his face. At no time can he grope you. There’s always one of the bouncers sitting just inside the room, so if you have any issues, you just get their attention and give them a nod. They’ll know exactly what to do,” she explained.