Chapter 3

“I’m going to need you to step out for a bit.” Crystal stood in her underwear, riffling through her racks of clothes.

“Out?”

Crystal giggled and whispered. “I have a guy coming up.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll text you when you can come back up.”

Marcy rose from the couch where she had been looking through job postings while sipping some tea.

“I’ll go down to the drugstore. About how long?”

Crystal shrugged. “An hour or so.”

It was almost six in the evening.

“Okay.” She slipped on her shoes while stretching out a kink in her back.

Taking her phone and her tea, she left the apartment. Since she had already paced up and down the stairs for her exercise, she took the elevator. On the ride down, she took stock of where she was. A week and a day had passed since she had arrived. Crystal had bashed her thoughts of sitting at quaint cafes or seeing the sights of the city since she worked every shift she could get to make her rent.

Marcy still didn’t know where she worked.

Crystal was also a horrible slob. Marcy had finally found the vacuum, which Crystal said she lost. It was behind the couch. Marcy wouldn’t have thought you could lose anything in such a small place, but Crystal did. She was always looking for something.

Marcy had gotten the kitchenette area in order and vacuumed the floor where she could see it. Some of the clutter was hard to shift out of the way, since there was no place to move it.

She also learned that Crystal lived on coffee and what she could get at work. That was also where all the toilet paper stuffed in her purse came from, and that explained the wads of paper beside the toilet. That so disgusted Marcy that she went out to buy her own toilet paper. However, she learned fast that she had to hide that paper and any groceries she purchased. Crystal showed no concept of ownership and felt everything was a free for all.

Marcy shook her head at the thought of Crystal’s disrespect. She had to resort to locking her food in her suitcase. The only thing Crystal didn’t eat was the dried split peas, which Marcy used to make soup the other day. She didn’t mind that Crystal wouldn’t eat the soup. That meant more for her.

She often felt like she had become Crystal’s personal maid.

Considering that she was actually costing Crystal nothing with staying at her apartment, since Crystal didn’t feed her or pay for any utilities as it was part of her rent, Crystal seemed to think Marcy owned her a lot, and declared she had to provide one dinner a week, even though, she herself provided none.

Marcy stepped out of the elevator when it reached the second floor. She might as well have been standing outside the building. There was a steady stream of foot traffic. The drugstore had a storefront, as if it was outside.

She settled on a narrow ledge of one window to watch the people go by.

So far, her number of interviews was zero. She had lost count of the dozens of resumes she had sent out. Realistically, she thought it would take a few weeks to find a job, but with how dreadful she was finding it living with Crystal, that wasn’t soon enough. The couch was horrible for sleeping on.

She took a sip of tea and balanced the mug on her knee. Her major diet of late was peanut butter on toast, an oatmeal, raisin and grain cereal, honey and tea. Because she wasn’t used to lying around and doing nothing, she had taken to going up and down the stairs of the apartment building, which were almost always void of people, except for the fifth floor landing where someone had set up a tent and was living.

She knew she was dropping some weight.

So far, for the one dinner a week Crystal said she needed to make, she prepared spaghetti with sauce out of a jar. Crystal ate it as if she was starving, but she wasn’t skinny. In fact, Marcy thought she had put on a few pounds when she first saw her at the train station.

A person passed by close to her and dropped something into her mug.

Really?

She expected trash when she stuck her fingers in to feel. There was only a small amount of tea left. She pulled out three quarters and three pennies.

She almost laughed. Did she look that bad? She had seen some awfully filthy and grungy looking beggars. Then she wondered if someone was just getting rid of change that they didn’t want to carry around. No wonder there were so many beggars if people didn’t want to carry change.

She looked in the direction the person had come. A snack vendor was selling items for two dollars. If she added in the tax, that left seventy-nine cents in change after giving the man three dollars.

She chuckled. Maybe this was a good place to sit to get the change.

With her tea now contaminated by the money, she had nothing to sip to help pass the time. Only twenty minutes had passed. She mused about getting more donations, but that was the only one she got. Most people were using their phones or credit cards for their purchases.

After an hour, she rose, deciding to walk up the stairs. If she walked slowly, she figured she would easily burn up half an hour.

On the fifth floor landing, the man living in the tent was cooking something using a tiny propane burner.

“What’s for dinner?” she said in passing.

“Pigeon.”

“They are well fed around here.”

“Join me?”

“Sorry. I had nuts and coffee by the drugstore.”

He laughed.

She continued on her way, thinking he probably believed her. She had seen plenty of people rummaging through the trash, either looking for food or pop cans to cash in.

By the time she reached the twenty-seventh floor, she was expecting a text from Crystal, but there was nothing.

‘Can I come back yet?’ She sent the text while she walked down the hall toward the door.

‘Y’

She figured that meant yes.

Crystal was humming and dancing around the apartment.

Marcy settled back onto the couch.

“We should go out tomorrow. I don’t have to work until four.”

“Sure. I’d be interested in seeing what is around.”

So far she had been to the grocery store, which was in the building across the street, the drugstore, and this apartment. She was leery of going anywhere else by herself.

“We can stop and get coffee.”

“Sure.” Marcy wondered if this was at a quaint coffee shop or one of the quick self-serve shops.

In the morning, she knew to get into the bathroom as soon as she woke. Crystal took forever in the bathroom. Marcy had resorted to washing her face and brushing her teeth at the kitchen sink.

Marcy didn’t even know why she hurried. It was almost ten by the time Crystal was ready. She dressed up like when she picked her up at the train station. Marcy wore jeans and a t-shirt, wondering if she was underdressed.

“We’re just going out for coffee, right?”

“You never know who you’ll meet.”

They took the elevator down. It was a long ride down. As usual, they weren’t alone, and the elevator made a stop on the second floor, where most of the people got out. Few rode with them down to the first floor. They stepped out onto a busy sidewalk.

“We walking or subway?” Marcy didn’t know where they were going.

“Walking.”

And Crystal, as usual, wasn’t giving out details.

“How far?”

“A couple of blocks.”

Marcy had the feeling they weren’t heading toward a quaint coffee shop. She wondered if that was a myth or something you only saw in tourist areas. This area was definitely mid-city, but not considered the downtown area.

They crossed two streets before Crystal angled toward a doorway. This wasn’t a self-serve coffee shop, but it wasn’t a sit down and order either. There were no counters, stools, or tables.

Crystal got in line to order.

Marcy checked the menu on the wall. She wasn’t really in the mood for a coffee. That was the sort of thing she had early in the morning to help her wake up and get moving. She always enjoyed a cup with her father. There was a Chai tea option that sounded good. However, the price stopped her. Her eyes focused on the pricing for each item. The cheapest drink was twelve dollars.

“The usual, Crystal?” The server looked like he was in his mid-forties.

“Yes, sir.”

“You working today?”

“Not until four.”

“I’ll be done by then.”

Marcy stepped out of line. She didn’t want to spend twelve dollars for a cup of tea that she could make at home for pennies.

Crystal swiped her credit card for the purchase and stepped off to wait for her order. “You’re not getting anything?”

“I’m just not in the mood. Too late for coffee.”

“It’s never too late for coffee.”

Another server called Crystal’s name, and she stepped up to get her order, which was in the same type of paper cup that Marcy saw littered around the apartment.

“So what is your usual?”

They were back on the sidewalk.

“Cinnamon latte.” Crystal was slurping whipped topping.

“What’s in it?”

“Steamed milk, cinnamon syrup, whipped cream.” Crystal giggled. “And more cinnamon.”

“Is there any coffee in there?”

“Of course, silly. Espresso.”

“And you work in a coffee shop.” Marcy’s voice was flat. She had finally put together what the server had said, combined with the fact that the servers wore the same black slacks, white shirt, and black vest with a red apron. “A far cry from the awesome office job your mom talked about.”

“Hey, it pays the bills. And with your half of the rent, I won’t have to work so many shifts.”

“My half of the rent?”

“Yeah, I’ll need five hundred for rent, and it’s coming up next week.”

“Five hundred. I don’t have five hundred to pay you rent.”

“Oh, yeah, well then you better pack your bags.”

“Yeah, I’ll pack my bags and tell your mom. She said you would let me stay for free.”

Her aunt had never really said that, but implied the idea by talking of Crystal’s generosity and eagerness to help.

“Oh, no you won’t tell her.”

“And she’ll have a fit when I tell her you’re having men up there...”

“That’s the only way I can meet rent. It’s expensive to live in the city.”

“What the fuck, Crystal. You’re pimping yourself out?” Marcy thought the guy was just a boyfriend visiting. She hadn’t realized this was sex for money. However, she now knew she had enough dirt on Crystal. “Your mom is going to have a fit.”

“Don’t you dare tell her.”

“And you’re spending...” Marcy did a rough calculation in her head. “Hundreds a week on just coffees alone.”

“I get a discount.”

“Oh, yeah? How much?”

“A dollar.”

“A dollar. Okay, a couple of hundred dollars minus a few dollars. Shit, Crystal. You can practically make rent with what you’re spending on coffees alone.”

“It’s my only luxury.”

“Yeah, right. What about all those clothes? You have more clothes than a small department store. You don’t need fancy clothes to work at a coffee shop where you wear a uniform.”

Crystal flashed her eyes in irritation and walked off.

If Marcy hadn’t heard this with her own ears, she wouldn’t have believed any of it. She followed Crystal, only to realize they were heading back to the apartment.

“So this is it? This is our going out? You had to dress up like a slut just to go out for coffee?”

Crystal flashed her eyes. “You’ll find out. It’s hard to find a job here. Most of the people who work at the coffee shop have MBAs. I got lucky, and only because of Chris.”

“Who is Chris?”

“The guy who took my order. I met him at a bar, and he helped me get the job at the coffee shop.”

“Yeah, I can imagine what he charged you for that help.”

Crystal glowered, and Marcy knew she had sex with him.

“You’ll find out how tough it is. You’ll be asking me for tips pretty soon.”

“I don’t think so. If I can’t make it here, I’ll go back home.”

“Yeah, a failure.”

“Sometimes failure is an option. Something to learn from.”

“Huh.”

They rode the elevator up in an uncomfortable silence.

Marcy was fuming. She wanted to write a scathing email to her mom and her aunt. However, she knew she should wait and calm down. She knew she didn’t want to spend another week here. As soon as she was in the apartment, she settled on the couch and pulled up the train schedule, not caring how much a ticket was going to cost. She knew that even if she had been here for many months and was dead broke, her parents would send her the money for a ticket home. That was something she didn’t have to worry about. She had money. She even had the five hundred if she really needed to pay rent for a month or two, but that wasn’t going to happen now. Maybe if Crystal had been nice.

A notification flashed at the top of her phone screen, telling her she had a new email. She had set up notifications to learn about new job postings.

“Have you heard of Basil Corp?”

The one thing that Crystal seem knowledgeable about was the companies since she already had two years of failure trying to get hired by most of them. She had negative opinions about all of them.

“Tough to get hired there. You need to be family or a friend of the family.”

“Are they an international company?”

“No. Local.”

“Then why are they asking for someone with multilingual ability? It doesn’t even say which languages.”

“Not even worth sending a resume.”

That was reason enough for Marcy to apply. She clicked the apply now button, which automatically filled out the application and attached her resume. It was easy to apply for jobs once she had all her information online. She tapped the next apply button to send it off, then went back to the train schedules.

“Where’d my coffee go?”

“Counter.” Marcy rolled her eyes, toying with the idea of keeping one of the cups and filling it with water. She wondered if she set it out and hid the one with the real coffee, if Crystal even would notice.

I’m getting cynical, she thought, after only a week in the city.

Crystal disappeared into her bedroom with her coffee. The bedroom was the one place that Marcy refused to clean. She saw more coffee cups go in than come out.

Fifteen minutes later, a call buzzed on her phone, startling her. She stared at it a moment before she realized she better answer.

“Hello?”

“I’m looking for Marcy Albright.”

“This is she.”

“Good morning, this is Lois with Basil Corporation.”

“Good morning.” Marcy sat up.

“I received your resume, and I’d like to schedule an interview.”

“Certainly. I’m available anytime.”

“Will tomorrow at nine am work?”

“Yes, that will work fine.”

“You will come to the Basil building on fifty-second and Howard. Ask the receptionist at the front for Lois. I’ll come down to get you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“See you then, bye.”

“Thank you. Bye.”

Marcy stared at her phone. “I got an interview.”

She jumped up. “I got an interview.”

“Good practice,” Crystal said from her bedroom.

Marcy took her suit out of the garment bag, thinking she better put it on to check that everything fit and nothing had wrinkled.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Crystal said, coming out in her underwear. “Lots of companies bring in outside people to interview, but then promote from within. That’s how they comply with all the equal opportunity laws.”

“Practice, then,” Marcy said, trying to keep her optimism alive.

As she expected, her skirt was loose around the waist, but she had found a sewing kit while cleaning up the apartment, and there were safety pins. One tightened up her skirt.

Crystal chuckled. “You look like a secondhand store clerk. I mean, gee, you don’t even pluck your eyebrows.”

“My eyebrows don’t have anything to do with getting a job.”

“That’s what you think.” Crystal returned to her bedroom. “And you better shave your legs.”

“Damn.”

Crystal was right about that.

“And don’t do it in the shower. I have enough trouble keeping that drain going.”

Marcy eyed the sink.

“I’d loan you one of my suits, but you’re taller than I am.”

And skinnier, Marcy thought.

Shaving her legs at the sink proved easier than she thought. In fact, she thought it was easier than in a shower. She sat on the counter with Crystal watching. However, she didn’t watch for long, since Marcy wasn’t having any problems. Marcy smiled to herself. She really hoped she could prove Crystal wrong on the job stuff, but secretly, she didn’t have much hope of getting a job this soon. Getting called so soon after sending the application did feel suspicious.

In the morning, Marcy was glad there wasn’t any contention for the bathroom. Crystal didn’t get up early. She used the toilet before washing her face and using the mirror to French braid her hair. A little of Crystal’s hairspray helped put all the flyaway hairs in place. She thought she had done a pretty good job.

She had toast and tea for breakfast before she brushed her teeth at the kitchen sink. Crystal still wasn’t up, so she went back into the bathroom to put on a little eye makeup and some lipstick. She thought the end result looked professional and not slutty, like Crystal’s makeup.

Last night, she had spent considerable time on Basil’s website. She felt like she had practically memorized it. When she looked at the best subway train to take to get there, she realized that the walk from the subway was almost as long as just walking from the apartment building.

Crystal told her what buses she should take, but Marcy figured she could walk there just as fast based on the schedules and on how many buses she had seen stuck in traffic. She calculated a forty-minute walk, but left an hour before she needed to be there.