I walked down the sidewalk oblivious to the noises of the city around me. Yet another job interview gone completely wrong. Sorry that I somehow haven't had time to obtain five years worth of work experience when I've only been out of college since last Fall.
Looking down at the resume in my hands, the two entries containing all the information about both of my summer retail jobs no longer feel as impressive as they did last night when I watched this page come out of the printer. Just then, a middle aged man in a windbreaker brushes right against my arm as he walks past and my resume falls onto the pavement. He mutters "sorry" and I look down at the piece of paper quickly becoming soaked by the rain from earlier that hadn't dried yet. Usually I am anti-litter but I don't want to look at it anymore and honestly what's one more sheet of paper in the massive pile of junk that already coats the streets of New York City?
Now that both of my hands are free, I pull my bag a little bit down my left arm and reach my right hand into it to find my phone. Why did I think this giant bag was a good idea? Nothing is ever readily available in it.
As I was about to give up and shove my bag straps back up onto my shoulder, I saw a hand grab the straps and start pulling on them. Immediately my body tensed and I looked up to see some teenage guy in a grey hoodie with the hood pulled up. He struggled to get the bag down my arm but I pressed my arm against my body effectively hugging the straps to my chest.
"Get away from me, creep," I yelled at him, wondering why no one else on the sidewalk seemed to notice or care what was happening. The would-be mugger did not get away from me he just kept pulling on my bag harder and harder.
I shaped my free hand into a fist and was about to punch him wherever I could as hard as I could when I noticed a large black car door on my right side open up and a voice called out, "Let go of her bag, you freak."
The criminal and I both froze and looked up. My jaw dropped as I saw the last thing I expected: a thin blonde girl about my age sitting in the backseat of a limo turned to face us and holding a small pink gun.
"I said to let go," she repeated, her face stern. A second later his hand released my bag and he ran off down the sidewalk blending into the crowd.
The girl in the limo put her little pink gun back in her bag which I couldn't help notice was a designer label. If I ever did get a job in retail I would have to work at it for at least six months before I could even think of affording that bag.
I stood staring at her in disbelief, my own measly thrift store bag slipping slowly down my arm.
"You really shouldn't be walking these streets by yourself so close to sundown," the girl said, not making eye contact with me.
"Where are you headed?"
"My apartment is like ten blocks that way," I said, pointing.
"My driver will take you there. Get in."
I stood on the sidewalk staring at this girl. She had pulled out her phone and was checking her appearance in the front camera. She was wearing a cute blue dress and black heels. Her nails were perfectly manicured and had beautiful French tips. She turned her head to look at me.
"I said get in," she repeated, in a voice not much kinder than the one she used with my attacker.
"I just saved you from some idiot. Do you really think I'm going to attack you now?"
Her reasoning didn't seem super reassuring to me. What better way to gain my trust than save me and then invite me into a car that was so tinted no one would be able to tell I was in there or see if I needed help? But also, why would this girl want or need to rob me? Her shoes probably cost more than my rent.
She raised an eyebrow at me as if her patience was going to run out at any second. I looked ahead of me at the ten more blocks I had to walk as I had no money free to spare for a cab and then back at the backseat of this stranger's limo. The worst that could happen was her subtly judging my outfit or showing off her Barbie-girl firearm.
I stepped over to the car and as I slid onto the backseat, she slid to the right. She held up her phone in front of her face and smiled a dazzling smile and as I closed the door shut sealing the backseat and effectively my destiny, she began to talk to her camera.
"Hello, my lovely followers, it's your girl Sydney. I wanted to go live to show you the new friend I just made. Everyone this is-" she paused and turned to look at me, tilting the phone so her lovely followers could see me too.
"Robin," I finished the sentence for her. I was suddenly very painfully aware of my two year old clearance rack blouse and earrings I bought at Claires and wore to senior prom because I thought they looked fancy.
"Everyone, this is Robin," Sydney repeated. My name somehow sounded fancier coming out of her perfectly pink glossy lips. After introducing me, she whipped the phone quickly back to her own face so all the focus was once again on her.
"I just saved this poor little waif from being mugged on these mean streets. This skeezeball in a hoodie was about to take her handbag when I persuaded him to reconsider," she said with a wink. "Y'all know I keep that thang on me."
I could only assume she was referring to the flamingo colored gun in her bag. Clearly she was not afraid to let the world know she was armed and dangerous.
"I offered to give her a ride home because it's definitely about to rain and this poor child was going to walk ten more blocks all by herself."
So far in this brief broadcast I had been called a "waif" and a "poor child." I wondered what other terms of endearment she would grace me with before it was over.
"Hey I just got a crazy idea. Should I take her to Malachi's party tonight? Chrissy canceled on me and I'll look like a loser if I only show up with Damien."
She paused for a second, her eyes skimming the bottom of her screen. I could tell from where I sat that her followers were sending her comments; presumably voting on whether or not I should attend this Malachi person's party tonight. I thought of what potential plans I had for the evening. Sitting on the couch eating another Lean Cuisine and watching HGTV. Riveting.
"Well the people have spoken. Robin, you're officially invited to the rager of the year," Sydney declared, pivoting the phone back to me. I smiled awkwardly.
"I gotta go now, lovelies. Simon is walking back to the car with my coffee and I need to get my new friend an outfit for tonight."
Before I could ask who Simon was, the door opened and an older looking man with a slightly pudgy belly underneath a black suit was holding out a coffee cup to Sydney. He gave me a quizzical look.
"Simon, this is Robin. She's my new friend and will be going to the party with me tonight."
Sydney put her phone in her bag and reached out for her coffee. She gave me a pitying look as she realized I had no hot beverage.
"Simon, give her your coffee," she ordered. Her driver looked down at me with unmistakable dislike and I felt myself cringe.
"No, that's ok. If I have coffee this late in the day I'll be up all night," I said quickly. Sydney shrugged and Simon retracted his coffee and gave me a hint of a smile.
"To the apartment, Simon," Sydney told him. Simon shut the door and walked up to the driver's seat. As the car began to move, I decided to ask Sydney what she had planned for us.
"What is this about a party we're going to?"
"Oh you'll absolutely love it," she told me between sips of her drink. "Malachi is my gay bestie. Every girl needs one. And tonight he is turning 25 so his boyfriend is throwing him a crazy good party. He sent me a picture of the decorations earlier. They're wild. Balloons absolutely everywhere."
"Um yeah ok. That sounds like fun."
Sydney turned to face me, her hands wrapped around the bottom of her coffee cup, her facial expression completely serious.
"Look I know what you're thinking. That I'm crazy because I carry a little pink gun in my bag and pick up strangers off the street. I know I'm not technically supposed to have a gun here but when you have as much money as I do, protecting yourself is super important. And as far as picking you up, you're probably the least threatening person I have ever seen. I'm pretty sure the squirrel I saw in Times Square last night that snatched a cronut from some little girl's hand was more threatening than you."
I wasn't sure if I should feel insulted by this or not but I couldn't help thinking to myself that I would definitely never steal a cronut from a child.
"Obviously no one is going to force you to go to this party but can you tell me that whatever you had planned tonight would be more exciting?"
I definitely couldn't so I shook my head.
"Awesome. Then it's settled."
Less than twenty minutes later I had rode up twenty floors of an apartment building in an elevator with Sydney and Simon and was standing in the biggest penthouse apartment I had ever seen. The couches were pure white fabric that I was convinced I would ruin if I breathed on them too hard and the TV was bigger than my dining room table. A huge row of windows overlooked the city and in front of them sat a black shiny grand piano. Bookshelves lined one wall and the others were splattered with paintings I assumed were insanely expensive.
Sydney led me down a short hallway to her bedroom. It had a dark blue carpet, a vanity in one corner and next to it was a king sized bed covered in a grey comforter with tiny white flowers across the bottom. Another large TV sat against the wall opposite her bed and the other side of the room had an opening leading to her closet. She tossed her bag onto the bed and disappeared into her closet.
"What's your favorite color?" she called to me.
"Red," I told her. Was I imagining it or did the air in her bedroom smell like cupcakes?
Sydney emerged moments later with a short red dress in one hand and a pair of black slingback heels in the other. The dress looked to be clingy fabric, knee length with sleeves that would hang off my shoulders.
"Try this on. I think it will look good on you." Sydney handed me the outfit and disappeared back into the closet.
"Is there somewhere I can change?" I asked timidly. Sydney and I had gotten to know each other pretty well in the last half hour but I wasn't quite ready for us to be that familiar.
"The door to my bathroom is behind you," she responded. I turned and walked through the open door and closed it behind me.
Her bathroom was about as big and opulent as I had expected. There was a tiny chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a toilet with a bidet, a clawfoot bathtub and a stand-alone shower. Her counter was covered in more make-up, hair products, face creams and body sprays than you'd see in most drug stores.
I slipped out of my blouse and black business pants and flats and pulled the dress up over my legs and hips. I realized I would not be able to wear my bra with this so I slipped that off too. The dress was the tiniest bit tight on my stomach but not noticeable. I had definitely lost weight since my budget was so limited. The shoes slipped right on. I adjusted the strap in the back to make them a little bit looser and more comfortable.
I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled feeling beautiful until Sydney swept into the room without knocking at all. She was in a floor length black gown that clung to her breasts and butt giving her perfect curves. Her neck was graced with a simple chain from which hung a small emerald that I had no doubt was real. She looked like a princess.
"You look amazing," she said graciously, smiling at me. "I'm so glad we are basically the same size."
She reached for a bottle of perfume and spritzed a little bit on both of her wrists, rubbing them together.
"Pick one for yourself, just not that one," she told me. I looked over the array of scents and picked one with a bucket of berries on its label.
"Pre-party selfie," Sydney declared, grabbing me around my shoulders and smooshing me against her. She held the phone up at face height and snapped several pictures of us.
"I'll pick one and post it on the way there," she assured me. I followed her out of the bathroom.
"Now for our bags. Obviously you'll need to borrow one of mine."
Sydney disappeared into her closet again and reappeared with two small black handbags. She handed me the less impressive looking one and I transferred my phone, wallet and lip gloss from my bag into hers. I thought about it for a second, then reached in again to grab my gum.
Sydney grabbed a handful of stuff off her bedside table and shoved it into her bag. Was that a condom I saw? Before I could get a better look, she clasped the bag shut and smiled at me.
"Alright, I guess that's it. Don't worry about any of your stuff being left here. The only people around are the housekeepers and they know what happens if they touch anything that's not theirs."
I nodded wondering what exactly it was that would happen.
"Let's go, Robin. You're ready, right?" Sydney asked.
I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. I gulped and gave her the most confident smile I could muster.
"I'm ready."
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