Applying to be a stripper

Adam hadn't been in the island long. In fact, it's only been six days since he arrived. Yet his hard-earned cash had already disappeared. Almost a thousand dollars gone within less than a week.

There weren't any comic stores here. There weren't any bookstores here that sold updated issues either. So, of course, he had to order for the digital copies online. He would have preferred if he bought the actual copies if he were to be honest. Nothing like feeling the pages between your fingers and the smell of newly printed ink on paper. But as it were, Manta Carlos didn't 'exist' to keep them safe and Adam wasn't selfish or dumb enough to alert the location even to just a publishing company.

To make things worse, there weren't any ATMs in the town. Not any that he knew of anyway.

So he had to do things the old-fashioned way and get a job. For three days he bought the daily paper instead of a digital comic. He'd kept looking through the Wanted Ads for something until he settled for a random pick by sitting across the room and throwing a coin on the spread sheets to see which ad it will land on.

As it turns out, he'll be applying for the position of a stripper dancer for a Miss Yoka Sake.


The club hadn't been too hard to find. Or rather, it sort of was since it was in The Underground, but the important thing was that Adam got there. It had quite the exterior and an even more interesting interior.

The first thing he did after getting past the dark-skin, built and intimidating drow at the entrance was to appreciate the scene. With his crumpled dress shirt, denims and sneakers, one could say he almost belonged here. After a few minutes more of looking around, Adam approached an employee and ask about Miss Yoka. As it turns out, he had only mistaken her for an employee. Next try was another mistake.

The third one was a charm and the next thing Adam knew, he was looking at an Oriental-looking woman who was blessed with a large, er... front. "Hello," Adam said, offering a polite smile. He did not let his eyes stare too much at her chest area, as she might be his next boss. "Are you Miss Yoka?"

@ReD

"I am indeed. And what can I do for you this evening?"

His smile widened a little when he knew he found Miss Yoka. Then again, nobody could have mistaken her for anybody else. The way she was dressed, the way she sat, the way she held herself. She simply had a certain aura about her that made her seem... Adam couldn't find a word for it.

And Adam was more than simply taken by the woman. He unconsciously moved forward as she beckoned him and anxiously fidgeted. He swallowed thickly as she asked him if he were looking for something private. He would be lying if a part of him didn't want that, though it was an easy one to ignore. Adam had much more self-control than that. And as of now, those comics were of higher priority than anything else.

"I am, um... I'm actually here for a job?" he said uncertainly. He pulled out a folded piece of paper--the ad he cut out from the newspaper and showed it to her as he bit his lip. Then he offered another smile. "Um, it says you needed some... er, employees? And I was wondering if I'd be qualified enough for it..."

He wondered if he would even make the job--what with his scars and burns. He knew he had a good build, though he wasn't particularly too braggy about that. He did make sure it showed in his shirt tonight though. And he was friendly and approachable, something that any employer would surely be looking for in a future employee. Adam was willing to learn, too. Be it the dirty dancing or the actual stripping. The process might be awkward and embarrassing, but he would manage.

@ReD

And suddenly the woman was different. Adam looked back to the drow at the door when she spoke of him. He wasn't here to be security. He didn't know a thing about self-defense or about breaking fights. Not the kind that can come out of drunken men anyway. He was more or less a referee for childish quarrels and the kind of fights girls had where they don't talk to each other and just snob each other out of the other's existence.

Adam moved to follow Miss Yoka with a smile. He took her hand when she offered and shook it. "Adam Wayland, ma'am," he said with a bit of a nod. He walked next to her as she led the way to her office. "I'm 24. I just moved to this island. I also go to Starlight Academy as a freshman in college. And to be honest, I have zero experience in this scene... as a worker here. But I'm a fast learner, ma'am.

"And I know I have these scars and all. Some people probably won't like them on a dancer or a stripper or a bartender even. And I probably look like a brawler because of these, but I assure you, ma'am, I'm a lover, not a fighter," he quickly added with a gentle smile to match.

@ReD

@ReD

To say that Adam was impressed might be an understatement. Impressed was when he first got a glimpse of inside the club. He was way past impressed by the time they had reached the hidden office.

His eyes returned from their scanning the club to his future-employer's figure when she spoke. He smiled a little. He's a fast learner and he's got the desire. He's not entirely sure about whether or not he has the ears to put together a decent playlist, but he was pretty sure that asking for help wasn't prohibited.

And when the woman morphed into almost a completely different person in front of him in the blink of an eye, Adam's jaw slackened. He stared wide-eyed at the blonde in front of him, barely unable to keep his awe about it. He straightened up again when she shot that question to him.

"So tell me and be honest: Why do you need the money?"

Without a second thought, Adam explained, "Oh, sure thing, ma'am. I am, well, I'm sort of a geek about comics, you see. And even though I came here with a good amount of cash on me, I... uh, sorta spent it all on digital copies because there weren't any stores here that sold what I'm looking for."

Well, the only reason why he was spending so much in one go was because he'd found a new series he wanted to check out. Also, he had to keep up with weekly issues, right?

"And for some reason, I couldn't get to any ATMs in the city. So more or less I've got maybe three hundred dollars left for the rest of the month and honestly I burn up money pretty quickly," Adam explained earnestly with a bit of a laugh. He smiled sheepishly after and then scratched the back of his head. "So I thought I should get a job. And your ad was one of first ones I considered, ma'am."

If Miss Yoka was pleased by comic books, then Adam liked her already. He smiled and then nodded upon hearing the rule against drugs and alcohol during work periods. He could work with that. It's not like he liked to drink, nor did he do drugs. In fact, he found both things to be wastes of time and money. He did drink for social circumstances though, though obviously socializing in this job would be an exception.

"10%, Cherry Bomb," Adam echoed to remember the words. Ten percent of tips was no problem to him. He really can't complain about that. He stepped forward a little more to get to signing the form. He took a bit of time to appreciate the inkwell and the quill, which he thought was kinda cool.

"Have you thought about a Stage Name?"

The scarred man paused then shook his head. He hadn't thought about that beforehand. He had no ideas as to what kind of names would appeal to people, but wouldn't give him away. He didn't know if it had to be something simple and sexy like Alejandro, Damien or Enzo; or if it had to be something catchy like Bruce Willys, Danny Dangler or Peter Piper.

"Is Hal an okay name?" He asked uncertainly, clearly clueless about stage names. He belatedly realized Cherry Bomb should have been his clue about it. "How about... um... Hmm.... How about Sir Prize? If that's all right."