The next day arrived, and I was more determined to win the challenge. I had decided to do whatever it took to win. Not only because Jax had made fun of me but also because Caleb had been smirking at me the whole morning. He’d heard what happened when I tried to be friendly to Jax. I really wasn’t going to let him win.

But it wasn’t easy to get close to Jax since I had no idea where he was hiding. I hadn’t seen him around the whole day. He had skipped the only class we had together that day, and no matter where I tried to look for him, he was nowhere to be found.

“No, I haven’t seen him either,” Jessica told me when I asked about it during our lunch break.

“Fuck’s sake…” I muttered, keeping an eye out for the black and red hair of Jax’s.

I couldn’t even ask Jax’s friends to help me out, because the son of a bitch didn’t have any. He didn’t even talk to anyone. I knew he had a lab partner in chemistry, but he said he had never spoken with Jax, which I found weird. The challenge was getting more and more annoying by the second.

“Come on, Nic, stop wasting your time with him. You and I both know it’s not going to work. Jax is not gay, and he hates everyone! I don’t understand why you even accepted this bet in the first place,” Jessica spoke with irritation written all over her face and I could tell she wasn’t too happy about the situation.

“You know me. I’m the daredevil,” I chuckled and turned my attention to my food.

“Just pay Caleb and be done with it,” Jessica suggested.

“You know I can’t do that,” I said with a sigh. “I won’t quit without trying first.”

Jessica sighed too. “What’s wrong Nic? This isn’t like you! You’re not a daredevil. You’re smarter than this,” she spoke and gave me a hesitating look before she continued. “You always think before you act, but lately you’ve been so weird.”

“I’m fine…” I muttered and grabbed my fork.

Her expression turned angry all of a sudden.

“Well then. When you want to stop lying to me, you know where to find me,” she snapped at me and got up from her seat.

I let her leave. I knew I hadn’t been acting like myself lately. I was well aware of the fact that I’d never have considered the challenge if everything was fine with me…

But… I couldn’t just start whining about how I really felt, especially in front of Jessica. I didn’t believe she’d understand the emptiness I felt… None of my friends would. No one would. I mean, I had the perfect life for crying out loud! I’d met enough people with real problems to know that I had absolutely nothing to complain about. So I kept my mouth shut and hoped the empty feeling I had inside me wouldn’t destroy me and everything I had worked so hard for.

I didn’t go to school that day. I woke up early and left the house before my adoptive parents woke up. I had to sneak out so they wouldn’t find out where I was going. If they knew where I was going, they’d be really pissed. I knew they were going to figure it out eventually, but it would be too late. I didn’t care if they got mad at me. I had to do this.

I took my bicycle and headed downtown, and twenty minutes later, I arrived at my destination. It was still quiet in the streets. I spotted only a few cars on my way. I really hated to be up so early, but it couldn’t be helped, so I tried to ignore how tired I was.

I stopped my bike at the end of a popular shopping district and looked around. There was a long line of small cafes, restaurants, and other shops in front of me. I checked the time on the screen of my old phone. I was ten minutes early, but I used the time to have a smoke.

I left my bike leaning against the wall next to me and walked closer to one of the doors. None of the shops were going to open in a few hours, so there was no one around to see me. I was happy about it. I did not want anyone to see me there.

I looked down at the wet ground, and I shivered. The morning was chilly, and the streets were filled with fog. It looked like it was going to rain that day. I didn’t want to be there, but I had no other choice. I’d been offered a good amount of money, but what I had to do for it… I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to get it over with. I needed the money, and this was the only way I could think of.

Five minutes later, I saw a huge man stepping out of the door. He was wearing a long black coat that shielded him from the chilly weather. He didn’t notice me while he lit his cigarette. He was the person I had been waiting for.

He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days and there were dark circles around his eyes. He looked tired and sinister as morning fog twirled around him.

“Hey, George,” I said with a quiet voice, and the man looked at me.

“You’re early,” he spoke with his raspy voice, glancing at me. “Though I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d show up.”

I walked the few steps to him and gave him a small envelope from my bag.

“Did you bring everything I asked?” he asked, opening the envelope. “Yes…” He chuckled and took a photo of me from the envelope. “I like this one – you look so innocent.”

He laughed harder as he studied the photograph. I wanted to gag when he glanced at me, then back at the picture. I never wanted anyone to see that picture, but now… How many people would see that photo? The things I had to do for money… I started to hate myself even more.

“Everything you asked is in there,” I said, pointing at the envelope.

“Good, good…” George said and put the photo back in the envelope. He turned to look at me. “Does your dad know you’re here?” he asked with a smirk. “He’s going to be so proud of you.”

“They don’t know I’m here,” I said, trying to avoid George’s gaze. “And they better not find out about this.”

“How many times do you think you can sneak out before they notice?” George asked with raised eyebrows.

I didn’t answer him. He was measuring me with his gaze. I felt uneasy, but not because of him. No, he was the nice one. I knew he would be kind to me. But the others…

I felt shivers running down on my spine.

“I have just the perfect outfit for you,” George chuckled and grabbed my arm. “Come on then. Let’s get you ready.”

He led me inside through the door. When he closed it after I stepped in, it sounded like a dungeon door that would never open for me ever again. I felt trapped, but what else could I do? I had no other choice. I needed the money, and this was the only way to get it.

I looked around. I knew I’d regret coming there. I knew I would hate it. They would take the little dignity I had left. They would humiliate me and rip my soul and body while doing so. I felt like crying, but I knew I had no other choice.

“Here. Try this one,” George said and gave me my clothes.

I looked at the outfit, feeling terrified, but he just laughed at me.

“Why the long face? You’ll look absolutely great in it,” he said with a grin.

“Do I have to wear this?” I asked in a weak voice.

“Don’t you worry. You’ll learn to like it,” he teased, knowing perfectly well that would never happen.

I took the clothes hesitantly, and he led me further into the place. He stopped by one of the doors in the narrow hallway.

“You can change in there,” he said. “Then we need to hurry. We have to get you ready before they come,” he continued ominously and left me alone.

Customers, I thought, and it gave me shivers.

I hated myself for doing this. I wanted to run away, but that was not an option. I needed the money. I didn’t want to lie to my parents, and I knew if they ever found out about me skipping school, they’d be disappointed.

They would force me to tell them where I had been, but how could I ever tell them I had to sell my soul in order to get what I needed?

I stepped in through the small door and looked around. I knew I could still run, but I didn’t. I had no other option.

What have I done!

An hour later, my urge to run away was getting even stronger. I stared at the person standing right in front of me. I had never felt so humiliated before.

“You look so darn cute!”

I was trying my best to hold still as Aunt Shirley kept poking and patting me. She was staring at me, giggling like a little girl while she studied my appearance.

“I’m wearing a goddamn pink fucking–” I looked down at my new uniform, unable to find the right words to describe it, “–unicorn shit on me!”

My aunt laughed harder. She was just as foulmouthed as I was, so my swearing didn’t get me in trouble with her. But otherwise, she was the devil. Her husband George was nice, but Aunt Shirley…

“Now, now, mind your language when we have customers,” Aunt Shirley said, and I turned to look around.

“There’s no fucking customers here yet!” I snapped at her.

“Do you want the job or not?” she asked sternly.

I snapped my mouth shut and gritted my teeth together. Even though she was my aunt, and she was always looking after me, she still would never give me another chance if I messed up this one. I’d been whining about money in front of her, and she had offered me a job at her store.

But why the hell does it have to be a freaking candy shop!

“Fuck me…” I whispered and glared down at my new costume one more time.

I had a pair of baby-pink skinny jeans with a white t-shirt and a pink vest on top of it. I had to hide my hair with a scarf and guess fucking what? The fucking scarf was fucking pink too!

“Why pink?” I growled at her.

“It’s a cute color,” she said with an amused smile on her face.

I gave her a nasty sneer. She knew how much I hated the color. She was wearing the same outfit. She was a middle-aged, busty lady with wide hips and puffy red cheeks. She was the size of a mountain compared to me. Don’t get me wrong. She wasn’t fat exactly. She was a weightlifter, just like her husband.

Two fucking weightlifters who own a freaking candy shop!

Those two could pick up fucking cars and carry them across the town! And they owned a candy shop! What the hell was wrong with people?! Okay, yes, half of the place was a cafeteria, but still.

“Well I hate it,” I muttered, trying my hardest not to look at myself in the mirror.

“George is filling up your paperwork as we speak. I can go tell him not to bother,” Shirley said with a girly smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes at her.

“Fine. I’m not saying another word about the costume,” I sighed.

“Uniform,” she corrected. “Let’s get you to work now, shall we?”

I learned to hate the work really fast. When we opened the doors, I swear there was a flood of little kids running into the store. I wasn’t sure which one I hated more, the costume I had to wear or the kids. I could not fucking stand kids!

The work was supposed to be easy. I was just supposed to stock the shelves and stand behind the register. I tried my best, but I kept screwing up the whole day.

How fucking hard can this be? I’m selling fucking candy!

The cash register might as well have been part of a spaceship. It had way too many buttons for me to handle. The customers – mostly sniveling little brats – kept running around the store, making a gigantic mess while their parents didn’t give a damn about the chaos the little bastards were cooking up. The screaming and yelling was nearly giving me a migraine over the long hours.

But I needed the money.

“This is the last time I’m making you skip school,” Aunt Shirley told me at the end of the day. “Your dads will kill me if they find out about this.”

I shrugged. “I’m not going to college or anything, so there’s no point for me to graduate high school,” I told her.

“Don’t say that,” Aunt Shirley said sternly. “My brother is working hard to get you to college.”

“Yeah, well, maybe he should just mind his own fucking business…” I muttered.

When you get slapped by a weightlifter, it feels like you got run over by a train. No matter if they were a man or a woman.

“Don’t you dare to talk about my brother like that! You ungrateful little brat!” Aunt Shirley screamed, being angry as hell.

“For fuck’s sake, you know I’m right!” I yelled at her, my cheek burning.

That led us into a really short fist fight, which ended up with me being in my aunt’s chokehold, gasping for air.

“Mind your tone with me,” Aunt Shirley said with her deceivingly girly voice. “Brat.”

“Get your greasy hands off of me!” I growled like I wasn’t suffocating, trying to pry her arms off my throat.

I failed miserably.

“Shirley, dear?” I heard my uncle’s voice behind the door. Uncle George stepped into the small office and saw us. “Oh, Jax, I thought you left already.”

I gasped for air as a greeting. My aunt’s hold on me was getting tighter by every second, and I couldn’t talk anymore.

“I was just wondering where you put the calendar – I can’t find it,” Uncle continued.

“It’s behind the register, next to the coffeemaker,” Aunt told him cheerily.

“Oh, okay. I’ll go check,” Uncle George said and was about to step outside, but then he turned back to face us. “Darling?”

“Yes, dear?”

“The boy is turning blue. Why don’t you go easy on him today?” Uncle George asked nicely.

I felt Aunt Shirley’s grip loosen around my throat, and I yanked myself free from her arms, finally able to breathe again.

“He started it,” Shirley said in her girly way, shrugging her wide shoulders.

“You started it!” I shouted at her and a second later, we were fighting again.

“I’ll just go find that calendar…” I heard my uncle muttering in defeat before he left.

When my aunt let me go from her death-grip for the second time, my neck and throat were sore and my side and cheek were burning in pain.

“That was a pretty nice hit you gave me,” Aunt Shirley praised while sitting down behind her desk. “It really caught me off guard.”

I gave her an icy glare. Bitch didn’t even look like she got hit right in her smug face.

“I will kick your ass,” I spat at her.

“Not today, dear. You still have a lot to learn,” she said as she started going through her papers. “And mind your tone, young man.”

Everything I knew about fighting, I had learned from her. I still couldn’t beat her, even after years of training, and it pissed me off. I knew I was still too small to actually win against her, but that would change one day.

“Just call me when you have something to do for me,” I said, before leaving her office and that fucking pink paradise of hers.