Sybolism

This story has adult themes.

Five Years Ago

knock, knock, knock….

"Hello L-L little G-girl."

"Hi my name is Amber and I'm here to support my troop. Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?" 

"Is that your real N-name? A- Amber?" Mike asked his young, innocent neighbor. Sweating she mouthed, "Cross my heart" as she signed a cross with her hand. Even at thirteen years old she knew how to flirt. 

"H-H-H-How much for a B-box?" 

"Depends on which flavor you like."

"I like the, umm, L-L-L-lemon flavor. How much are they?"

"Nine dollars." She held up nine fingers. 

Mike shook his head no and closed the door. Did he slam the door? He thought that little girl was trying to scam him, Nine dollars? What a joke. Who can afford to spend nine dollars on one box of cookies? Then an idea hit him. What if, instead of selling down at the 7-11, I go door-to-door with my product- just like the Scouts. He was happy with his product- Zor, short for Zorillo, also the Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood didn't have a problem spending 20 bucks for a gram.

Summer 2021

Every evening Mike ordered the same drink, sat at the same barstool, and waited for something exciting to happen. The Hearing is located near the courthouse and only open Monday - Friday, now. There used to be a lot of riff-raff outside of the club on weekends. There were hookers, of course, dealers, of course, and a good deal of undesirables looking to take advantage of the desperate. 

That summer Mike's dad and Amber's dad both died. Fortunately, though, Mike was older and luckier because he had been dealing for a while when his dad caught the bug. 

Amber's dad drove a bus- he died instantly. She was only 18 years old, bright, funny and completely unprepared to survive on her own. It was as if overnight she was forced into adulthood. 

The music in the club was very loud. Mike could feel the vibrations- boom, boom, boom. He was trying to sober-up, or, at least, sober-up enough to drive home. He motioned to the bartender for a refill. 

Oh, well- he thought to himself. 

He stumbled home to find Amber sitting on her back porch. She Googled 'What should I do with my life?' Then suddenly she smelled skunk- burning skunk. She was so tired and so hungry and so desperate she thought just maybe....

"Hey, do you know anyone who is hiring?" She yelled. 

Mike didn't hear her. 

Amber threw a dog toy across his back porch to get his attention. He looked over.

"Hey, do you know anyone who is hiring?" she asked again. 

Mike shook his head no, "I D-don't know…D-Did-did you try Mc D-Donald's?" 

She smiled and reached out for his joint, "Never mind, 'you gonna share?" As Mike handed Amber his joint, It was like he had been hit with a bolt of electricity when their hands touched. He fell in love.

"Ummm…. sure… W-well…. Can you D-dance? I think they need someone down at the bar."

The next day she started her first ever job- 'Customer Service $9.00 an hour'

At first, she was shy and awkward. She didn't know how to move or anything, but after a few rehearsals Amber could twirl around the tiny stage. She is the best stripper that has worked at the Hearing, Mike thinks. 

Mike sort-of remembers the $9.00 cookie episode when Amber wore a Girl Scout uniform. She was sweet. But that was a long time ago. He's not completely sure if the Girl Scout uniform bit is a real memory or just something he has fantasized about. 

Dancing, err, Customer Service was decent money- If she didn't think about what she was doing. Besides, there wasn't another option. Every night before going onstage she had to remind herself, it is either take my top off or go hungry. Not a choice.

One evening, after about nine months, she fell from the two-story pole she was dancing on. Amber was spinning when she fell. Most people didn't even realize what just happened. Then Amber got back up and started twerking pretending like it was all part of her routine. She wasn't hurt. What a professional!

Lucky for her in the audience sat Brian, CEO. He was watching, hunting- looking for prey. He was impressed with the young dancer. He offered her a job- an acting job on the spot. She accepted the new job thankful that she will no longer be pawed by drunk men. 

"I never see you anymore. I miss you 😞" Mike texted. 

Mike didn't know the details about her new job, only that she was working double the number of hours she did at The Hearing. He didn't like that CEO guy or anyone who spent more time with Amber than he did. 

She texted him back, "Sorry. ❤️You will not believe how much money I am making. 🥳

He sent a sad face emoji. "I am lonely." then passed out. 

When Mike woke up in the same chair, he tried to watch porn, but his password wasn't working. He was all alone and very high. He ordered burritos from GrubHub- burritos. He thought back to the last time he and Amber ordered burritos. He was coming down from his high, and didn't hear the Grub hub driver knock, and couldn't recover his account.

This is bullshit. Maybe I'll try PornClub, he thought while still searching for his password. 

Mike clicked a new porn site. This site advertised 100% free. He assumed that if porn was free, it wasn't any good. But free porn was his only choice. He clicked. What the hell? It was Amber- on the screen. Is Amber doing free-porn? He wondered. There was something different about her. She even sounded different.

He tried to turn on the Closed Captioning. 'Unavailable' it said. 

He lit another joint, ate the rest of the burritos and watched as his girlfriend did things, he thought she only did with him.

Mike vowed, If it is the last thing I do, I will ruin PornClub- put them out of business. He became even more obsessed. About halfway through the video, Sexy Cop Gets Witness to Talk, He texted Amber, "You are better than this."

Amber returned his text, "Yeah? Well, the money sure is great! Who is going to pay my rent?" 

The next day he filed a lawsuit against PornClub, he claimed that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act- no closed captioning. That CEO guy is my enemy. I want him dead. He repeated. Mike believed that the site didn't offer Closed Captioning purposely. They purposely want to separate me and Amber. But they'll see. 

Pornclub offered Mike a settlement- $99,999 to drop his case. He remembered the $9.00 girl scout cookies, this must be a sign, he thought, okay- where do I sign?

And ever since then- Mike has paid for Amber's rent, but still refuses to spend $9.00 on a box of Girl Scout cookies. They plan to marry next September.