Collateral

Rose looks through the glass doors of the hotel and sighs. Absentmindedly, she straitens her black jacket. She seems to be unable to remove the wrinkles, but it will have to do. She takes a deep breath and walks through the doors, pushing Ellie in a stroller.

The person behind the reception desk waves at her. She is a young woman with bright short green hair.

“Welcome to the Redgroove Hotel. Do you have a reservation?”

“I don’t have a reservation. I have an appointment at ten o’clock with Mr Winchester. It is about a job interview.”

The woman looks over the counter to Ellie’s stroller. “And you brought your little sister with you to the appointment because …?”

“She is not my sister, she is my daughter,” Rose says. “And I brought here because I couldn’t find a sitter.”

More like couldn’t afford one, Rose thought to herself.

“And when was your appointment? I don’t see an upcoming appointment for Mr Winchester.”

“Ten o’clock. As I mentioned.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “So you are five minutes late?”

Rose forces an apologetic smile “Yes, I am slightly too late. I am sorry.”

The woman points to a collecting of tables and chairs to the lobby. “Take a seat there, I will call Mr Winchester.”

“Thank you.”

Rose walks to the lobby and goes sit in one of the leather seats, with Ellie’s stroller next to her. She looks around, the lobby looks at least nice. She really hopes the job interview goes well. She sent out her cover letter to many places but turns out that due to automation, jobs for uneducated people are very sparse. Companies aren’t waiting to employ a sixteen-year-old dropout. This was the only company that wanted to interview her at all. If anything she was lucky they agreed to see her on such short notice.

She sighs. She really needs a job, and fast. Drew bet all of their money away on his last race, she had nothing. Even if she got the job, she would also have to ask for a payday loan, cause she wouldn’t survive until her first paycheck.

A waiter approaches them. “Do you want something to drink, or a small snack to eat?” She asks.

“No thanks,” Rose answers. As if faith was mocking her, her stomach rumbles at that exact moment. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and breastfeeding Ellie took a large toll on her body. But she surely could not afford hotel prices. She sighs.

Ten minutes later, a tall man in a suit approaches her.

“Are you Rose Griffith?” He asks.

“That is me.”

“You are too late. It is fifteen minutes past.”

“I was here five minutes past,” Rose mutters under her breath.

“And you brought your little sibling.” He gestures at Ellie.

“She is my daughter. I couldn’t find a sitter.”

The man looks confused.

“Aren’t you like, sixteen years old?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“And you already have a child?” he asks.

Rose is getting annoyed. “What about it?”

He shrugs. “Nothing. Please follow me.”

He leads Rose to a large office, decorated with paintings and with a large antique desk. He gestures Rose to take a seat.

“So, Rose, I see in your cover letter that your grades are quite good, but you still decided to drop out of high school. Why is that.”

Rose gestures at Ellie. “I need money to take care of her.”

“Didn’t your parents want to support you?”

Rose gets even more agitated. How is that any of his business?

“Well? Lost your tongue?” he asks.

“My parents didn’t agree with my decision to keep my baby,” Rose says. Her voice might have sounded too snappy. She hopes she didn’t ruin the interview.

“And the father of the child? What about him?”

“He is dead. I don’t see how my familial situation has anything to do with my skillset for this job.”

“Ok, I am gonna be honest with you.” the man says. “We don’t have an opening for a maid or receptionist. But we do have another opening.”

Rose raises her eyebrow. “For what job?”

“Well, the Redgroove Hotel provides many different services to its clients. I think you would be great as a very premium service girl.”

Rose can’t believe her ears. “You want me to become a prostitute?”

“Think about it Rose, great pay, flexible hours. Easy job. You don’t have to work many hours a week so can spend lots of time with your daughter and I can offer you about fifty eurodollars for each customer you satisfy. Which is a lot more than a dropout like you can make in any other job.”

Rose glares at him. “I am sixteen years old.”

Mr Winchester laughs. “I have lots of clients who would prefer that. Yes, for a pretty girl like you, they will be waiting in line.” He reaches over the counter and strokes Rose’s hair.

Rose freezes as the man starts to touch not only her hair but starts to explore other parts of her body. And before Rose is even aware of it, she pulls her gun and aims it at the man’s chest. “Take your hand off my chest, or you will regret it.”

The man backs down, but is still smiling. “Do you even know how to use a gun?”

Rose smiles. “My boyfriend learned me how to defend myself. He also learned that under American law, I am allowed to shoot you if I feel even remotely threatened. And you just assaulted me in front of my infant daughter.”

“You are clever. But I am afraid this interview is over, and I already called security to escort you out.”

Two security guards take Rose by the shoulders and throw her out of the hotel. A third guard follows them and pushes Ellie’s stroller. Loud cries of Ellie emerge from the stroller.

Mr Winchester follows them, his face is red. He yells after Rose. “Don’t even think you will get any job in any Hotel or restaurant in this city, girl. I will tell everyone what kind of loose cannon you are.”

They enter back into the hotel, leaving Rose alone with a crying Ellie. Rose picks up Ellie and cradles her in her arms. Tears flow from Rose’s face too.

“It’s ok Ellie, we’ll find something.”

Some tears roll from Rose’s face and drop on Ellie, making small spots on her blanket. Ellie keeps crying.

“sssh, Ellie, I know you are scared. I am scared too. But I am sure we will find something.”

She sighs. Why is she saying those words? Who is she trying to convince? Ellie? Or herself? She isn’t fooling anyone, no way she is finding a job in time. She has nothing. Making rent is one thing, but she doesn’t even have spare change to buy food.

Ellie’s cries become softer until she falls asleep in her mother’s arms. Rose just keep staring at her. The peaceful sight of her sleeping daughter calms her down a bit. She wipes the tears from her face with the sleeve of her vest.

What does she do now? What is the next step? Restaurant and Hotel jobs are no option anymore. She is not even sure they ever were. She hasn’t even finished high school. She has no valuable skills. Maybe Mr Winchester is right, and the only thing she has to offer is her body. Maybe she should go back inside and beg him to become a service girl anyway. At least it will put food on the table. Assuming he will accept and not just have her killed on sight. But what choice does she have? It is not like someone will show up out of nowhere that values her skills and offers her a job.

Rose puts Ellie back down in the stroller.

She shakes her head. Someone did show up. Someone who thought of her as more than just a young and pretty girl, who believed in her and what she could do. And she declined. And yes, Mr Smith might be an asshole, whose business model can best be described as murder. And yet.

She looks at Ellie, whose little hands are grabbing the blanket while she is asleep. How many deaths was she willing to cause to keep Ellie alive and happy? Hundreds? Thousands? If stated like that, the question suddenly seems easy. She looks at her sleeping daughter and smiles.

“I would burn the world for you, little angel.”

Rose takes out her cell phone and dials a number.

“Hello, you are speaking with Mr Smith, owner of the Turbo Circuit Racing Track.”

“Hello, Mr Smith. Rose here. I changed my mind. I do want the job.”