Mess of a Life

Jonathan Francis had been the roommates with the pint sized Elizabeth Gerik for about a year and a half. They met through mutual friends when Bettie was searching for a place to stay while going to school. Johnny was a musician and played gigs around the local venues. He was a favorite among the locals for his gritty voice and blues filled lyrics. Actually Bettie had set him up with a lot of his gigs before they moved in together and they got along fairly well. The first time he met her, he thought she was older but quickly learned she was only twenty-two regardless of how mature she was. Johnny was impressed with her ability to hold down her liquor and even more impressed that she didn’t have to party all the time. That was what united that pair, they both liked to be a little reclusive and detached from the world but could have a simple dinner together to avoid being complete shut outs.

He knew Bettie was struggling to find a job and when she arrived home with a relieved smile on her face, Johnny knew she found a job. Sitting on their vinyl couch with his guitar on his lap, he smiled back at her before taking a sip of his beer. Bettie hung up her keys and set her purse on the coffee table. Their home was a small two bedroom historical home in the downtown area, making the walk to the refrigerator rather quick. She took a beer from its home in the cold and began to pop the cap off with the nearby opener.

“How‘s the writing going?”

“It‘s alright, did you find a job?” Johnny responds.

“Yeah.”

“Cool where at?”

“Redcabaret,” Bettie answers rather quickly as she took a sip of the refreshing beer. Johnny gave her a strange look not knowing what she mumbled in response to his inquiry.

“What was that?” he says.

“Red Cabaret.”

“Oh my god you‘re a stripper now?”

“Stop laughing, I‘m not a stripper, I told them I don‘t dance well and I would be a waitress or whatever.”

“Good because you are awkward as fuck, seriously I‘ve seen your reaction to dudes trying to dirty dance with you,” Johnny laughs. “Aw you can hook me up with some strippers with daddy issues!”

“You‘re horrible.”

“This is great Betts, you‘ll be the talk of the town, no one would ever think you‘d work at a strip club. You‘ll get some street cred.”

“You‘ve officially smoked yourself retarded,” Bettie states shaking her head at her roommate.

“Nobody knows, that she‘s a stripper,” Johnny sang strumming the strings of his guitar. Bettie let out a laugh and threw the bottle cap at Johnny. He dodged the flying piece of metal and gave a triumphant laugh.

“I start tomorrow night, hopefully it isn‘t too degrading.”

“Only degrading if you think it is.”

“This is true. Good thing I don‘t really get upset easily.”

Bettie had to admit it though, she was quite nervous for her new job. The night consisted of trying to decide what she’d wear and how she should fix her hair. She finally got to bed after doing some reading to settle her nerves. As relaxed as she could be, she really knew how to become ridden with anxiety and worry. For this reason, she often told people to not make anything a big deal more so out of worry that she herself would make things a big deal. Anxiety was a contagious thing for her and she never wished to get sick because of it.

That night she arrived at the Red Cabaret wearing simple black fitted dress and platform heels that she could stand wearing for hours at a time. Jules was happy to see her in the outfit that seemed to make her look like she was straight from a hip hop video. She was quick on her feet and gained the attention of the customers with her big smile. Bettie grew excited when she began to garner a good amount of tips.

Granted there were a few drunken customers that tried to grab her in an inappropriate manner but she shrugged those hands off opting to warn them about the policies regarding touching the workers. The night came to an end and Johnny had finished a show at a local bar so he decided to head over to the club to see Bettie. He waited outside, sending Bettie a text on her cell phone that he was there to walk back home. A tired smile graced her face as she greeted her friend outside the club. It was a bit cold out for a summer night and she linked arms with Johnny to keep warm.

“How was your show?” Bettie yawns.

“Pretty good, I sold a few CDS. How was your first night of work?”

“It was alright nothing too crazy. I got some good tips.”

“Cool.”

Surprisingly she didn’t hate the job and even though it took her a couple days to adjust it was nice to gain a good amount of tips from working. Bettie was good at smiling at the customers, getting them drinks and keeping the area clean. For the first time she had decent pay but she was still without a job during the weekdays. While sitting at home one day she received an unexpected call from an unknown number. Upon answering the call she realized it was from the production company in charge of the independent film. They wanted an interview with her that afternoon. A smile formed on her face and she agreed to be interviewed for the position. Bettie was quick to put on a pair of nice gray dress pants and white button down shirt. She pinned her wild hair back in low pony tail and rushed to ready herself for the meeting.

As she always tended to do she arrived early at the local Starbucks coffee shop. Bettie ordered a water but no coffee being that she would rather spend money on the locally owned coffee shop Wentworth. To her the two places weren’t even well comparable to each other. Because she was early she opted to read a book she always carried with her. The employer arrived at the place in a rather rushed manner. Closing her book Bettie put the thing away so she could give the interview her full attention. Bettie rose from her seat to shake hands with the older woman who had a long graying braid.
“You must be Elizabeth Gerik,” the woman states looking down at her clipboard.

“Yes Ma‘am, but everyone just calls me Bettie for short,” Bettie smiles.

“I‘m Marty, do you mind if I get a drink before we start?”

“Not at all, go for it.”

Marty already enjoyed her laid back friendly demeanor. Truth be told she was one of two people that applied for the position and the second being someone hardly qualified to be living. Actually Marty was shocked the other girl managed to live as long as she had. It may seem cruel but Marty was certain the ditzy girl was dropped on her head more than once as a child. Once she had caffeine in her Marty was less grumpy and more relaxed.

“So I see you‘ve managed and set up several events before. Makes you well acquainted with local venues right?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you do for fun Bettie?”

“Watch movies, listen to music, read…a little generic I know but I do love doing all those things,” Bettie chuckles.

“What kind of movies do you tend to watch?”

“It ranges from tacky action films to cult classics like Forbidden Zone or Labyrinth.”

“Very good, well Bettie I‘ll be honest with you, you are more than qualified for this position,” Marty replies taking a sip of her coffee. “What made you apply?”

“Like I said I like movies, and I‘d like to work in general. College kids always need a job.”

“I know what you mean, I was the same way when I was your age,” she chuckles lightly. “Are you available weekdays from early morning to roughly 7pm?”

“Yes,” Bettie states with a nod.

“Well alright, I feel no need to make you wait for a call but you‘re hired.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. Filming starts next week, you don‘t have to dress so nicely, just jeans and a black shirt with comfortable shoes since you‘ll be on your feet a lot.”

“Of course, thank you so much!” she smiles doing her notorious victory wiggle.

“You will be assistant on set, lending a hand to the director and actors when need be.”

“Okay, is there anything else I should know?”

“Not at the moment, just be there on time, filming on time is detrimental to the outcome of things.”

“I understand.”

“Well it was lovely meeting you today Bettie.”

“Likewise Marty, I look forward to helping out on this film,” Bettie states with a bright smile. They shook hands and Bettie left the Starbucks with an extra hop in her step. Marty took her coffee to go and began to make more calls to set everything in order before filming started. She was fairly happy to have found Bettie; as far as she could tell, the young brunette was sane and reliable. Sending Bettie the rest of the details for the job, things were set in motion.

Within a week, Bettie grew more and more anxious to start the new job. She now had two jobs under her belt and wouldn’t have to worry about money. Now her concerns would be getting enough sleep and eating proper meals. The job started on Monday morning way before she really functioned as a human being. It was the dreaded 6 a.m. shift that had her waking up around 4:30 a.m. feeling like she should reconsider being alive. Mornings were not and have not been her thing but she managed by drinking a huge cup of coffee before leaving the house. Caffeine was her beautiful savoir who never failed to be there for her in her time of need. Bettie hummed in a satisfied manner as she sipped on the coffee. She arrived early on the scene and she sat enjoying the coffee like it were her last cup before she died.

On set already was Marty the woman who hired Bettie and she gave a proud smile when she saw the new employee was early. It would be a lie if Bettie didn’t think that film making would be in the slightest bit glamorous. Those thoughts would change with the job, making the film was arduous and often seemed disjointed especially when scenes were not filmed in sequence. The day had started and Bettie was stuck running errands as she thought she would be doing. These errands included getting drinks and relaying messages from department to department. It was the first day for everyone and most hadn’t been to the town before. Like most of her jobs, Bettie kept quiet and remained amiable, careful not to use the foul language she used flagrantly in her free time.

The week flew by as soon as it started it seemed and she went unnoticed because she was often rushing between takes doing her job. She found herself working that Friday night at the Red Cabaret after her long day of work at the film set. Tired but didn’t care to show it, she knew if she got through her shift she could go home and sleep until the afternoon. Fridays would now become her personal hell.

Managing to run on false energy Bettie made it over the dreaded Friday night and into bed by three thirty in the morning. After a solid eight hours rest, she was ready for more work that night. Saturday nights were the busiest and she wore another dress whose fabric mainly consisted of spandex. Had she known certain individuals were going to be visiting the Red Cabaret that night she would have gone through more effort to look different.

Upon entering the small strip club, the posse from the film crew smirked ready to have some fun after their first week of work. Among the group was the leading actor William Barton, who was on the outskirts of fame after a few less than popular creations that earned him questioning looks. His career was teetering on the edge of one hit wonder and complete failure. This current independent film was his last chance at being successful. The group of men had been drinking already and disbanded somewhat over the course of the hour. Some lured away by other women and some were too tired to persist the all day drinking that had been happening. Left alone was William Barton who sat looking at the topless women dancing on the stage. Bettie was forced to serve William and he squinted as he looked at her.

“What can I get you?”

“Do I know you from somewhere?”

“I work as an assistant on the movie set,” Bettie states.

“Right you‘re Stacy!”

“It‘s Bettie, what can I get you? Water sound good?” she smiles. She could smell the strong liquor on his breath and clothes. It was the first time they actually talked and he was extremely inebriated. Bettie’s eyes searched for the group he came in with and found no one. It was nearing closing time and she got William to drink some water. Jim noticed the attentiveness Bettie was giving a certain customer who wore a baseball cap and he opted to approach her about it. There were rules about bringing boyfriends into the bar.

“Everything alright here Bettie?”

“Yeah, he‘s just had too much to drink.”

“You know this guy?”

“Yeah um he‘s a friend, but the buddy system failed him,” Bettie responds rather quickly.

“He looks pretty sloshed did you need to get him home?”

“I‘m sorry about this Jimmy, but would you mind? I did all the cleaning duties already.”

“Course, its okay, you‘re being a good friend,” Jim states with a smile. Bettie patted Jim on the arm with a grateful smile then proceeded to gather her things from the back. She helped William onto his feet. Being that she was roughly five-two, guiding a rather muscular six-one man through the streets was less than easy. Eventually she made it to her home with William trailing behind her. He leaned against the doorframe as she opened the door. His eyes took in her figure as they entered the dimly lit house. Bettie’s posture went rigid when he rested his hand on the curve of her hip. Pushing his hand away she lead him to the couch.

“Just rest.”

“Bathroom?” William inquires looking around.

“Of course right this way,” she replies gesturing to the hallway. William swayed to towards the bathroom and shut the door behind him. While he was in the bathroom she began to fix him a glass of water. Bettie grabbed some extra blankets and laid them out on the couch. She sat at the table drinking her own glass of water. William came out of the bathroom ready to pass out on the couch. Bettie choked on her water when he walked out wearing no shirt or pants. Regaining her bearings she gestured to the glass of water that was for him. He didn’t take notice and merely walked to the couch to lie down. Bettie got up from her seat and saw him sprawled out on the couch. Tired from the night she grabbed the second blanket and placed it over his exposed body. Afterwards she took a quick shower to wash off the night and headed upstairs to her attic room. Collapsing on the bed she soon fell asleep, forgetting to put on proper clothing. It had been a long day and an even longer week. Now it was time for her to get some much needed rest.