Mini stories about life; because humanity is everywhere.

There is a soft knock on the door of Room 24. Jade adjusts the strap of her nightgown. So is she going to go through with this or not?

The tuition for spring semester is due on Monday. Nine hundred dollars. There’s no way she can pull that money together in time. A college loan is out of the question. And if there’s no community college, there’s no transfer to a four-year university. And if there’s no transfer to a four-year university, she’s going to stuck in this stupid town like everyone else she knows.

Like her best friend who set her up in this gig. “I’m doing you a big favor, girlfriend. Four hundred dollars a pop. Can you believe it?” She laughed her open-mouthed laugh. “I’d spread my legs for a lot less and I promise you, they’re good guys, just lonely. It’s no big deal and nobody gets hurt. Just a couple of hours once a week and you can stay in school.”

Now there’s a second knock, more urgent.

What if it’s someone she knows? Could that be possible? Jade imagines opening the door and seeing a familiar face. Maybe a neighbor, a friend of her mother, someone from church. Maybe the old shopkeeper, her bus driver, a college professor. The man walks in the room and sees her like this. It’s horrifying, shameful.

“I can’t do this,” she whispers. “I just can’t.”

She waits. There is no third knock.