Apricot.

Things seem to look up, after the meeting. I go home. I pack what little things I have. After I am done, all that remains is dog shit in the backyard and a strip of paper pinned to the wall with a knife. It reads “Fuck you”, and I smile, rubbing the old bruises away.

Thor is all too happy to jump into the taxi Island had sent for me. The brown man helps me with my luggage; I thank him. We set off for Macbeth, and the taxi winds down roads I have never seen before. We are in the rich district, where I cannot see the tops of the hotels we pass by. After an hour or so, he stops, removes my luggage from the car, and tips his hat – he is already paid. He pats Thor and leaves.

I pick up the two suitcases and look up. The pearl structure looks more like a tea parlour than an apartment building. After struggling with the door, Thor and I enter the lobby. It is imperial, by my standards. The ceiling is high, the floors are marble. A small cluster of people wait for me.

The first to approach is a young white man. I am surprised to learn that he is top-earning with Aphrodite. His hair is a dark gold and slicked back, not unalike Island's. He must have won some sort of award in high school for his perfect smile. His voice is low, but his eyes are excited. “Did Island do that thing with her mouth? I loved it. Didn't you?”

I don't know what to say, and they all start to loom on me – impeccably beautiful and groomed. I am intimidated. They wear Chanel. I wear windbreakers.

Thor growls.

“Stop crowding her. She's like a little deer,” a tall woman with long, ashy hair says. “There, there, Apricot. What's your dog's name?”

“Thor.”

I hear some of them squeal, including the man. “You're just so precious, Girl, I want to eat you up!”

“I don't know, she looks pretty fragile, don'tcha think?” A wine-haired woman pushes through from the back of the group. She is wearing black lace and high platforms. Her lips are red. “She's even got Bambi eyes.”

A chocolatey Egyptian girl speaks. “Call me Kamika.”

“Gwendoline.” The blonde says, and when I look up, I notice the white ring around the pupil in her left eye.

“You distrusting fools,” the man rolls his eyes, “My name's supposed to be Aurelius, but my name is actually Dan. Island sure knows how to name 'em, doesn't she?” He laughs and mouths “Aurelius” a few times over, as if it were just as strange every time he says it.

“Sure does,” the curvy, petite redhead hisses. “Apricot, is it? A pleasure. I'm Garnet.” She spits.

“Perhaps if you were nicer to Island, she would have given you a better name.” The blonde scolded. “However, I think it's beautiful. Bijoux.” She grins at Garnet.

Before Garnet can retort, Thor barks, and Dan is weightlessly carrying my suitcases to the elevator. “There's another girl, but she's not here right now. Apparently additions to the Macbeth Whore Family aren't her style anymore. She was one of the first ones here, did you know that? Her and Gwendoline.”

Gwendoline nods, her soft blonde waves splaying out over her shoulders and down her back. “Her name is Phoenix.”

“I assume she's one of the sought-after redheads.” I say quietly.

“Red #1, and she won't ever let you forget it. She'll give you shit, but we all know she box-dyes at least once a month.” Garnet mumbles. “I'm Red #3.”

The shifty elevator makes Thor uneasy, and he yelps quietly. I pat his head, and he leans up to fill my palm with his ear. We get off on the seventh floor.

“Don't let her tell you you're not a Red. You are.”

“I know.”

My suitcases are carted off to a door a bit of a walk from the elevator, embroidered with “seven zero nine”. Someone unlocks it, and another hands me a key. “It's yours,” Kamika tells me. I nod.

The apartment is lavish. The walls have pearl papering, and the floors are a dark ruby tile. I smile, just a little. The furniture is blonde and the various tables and cabinets are brunette. My roommates shepherd me down a hallway with five closed doors.

“Six people, now. Alright: new room assignments.” says Gwendoline sternly after my suitcases are left stranded in the hallway, and we all retreat to the parlour. Garnet looks on disdainfully as Thor takes a seat beside her on the leather couch. “Dan, you'll be taking Phoenix. She'll be the least happy about this arrangement, given that she does not get a room to herself anymore.”

Kamika sits beside me. She is warm. “Phoenix is a huge bitch. She can basically only tolerate Aurelius. And so the drama queen and the drag queen are matched.” she smirks, and Dan laughs.

“Garnet and I will stay in the middle room. Kamika and Apricot take the last, along with Thor here.” she smiles as Thor moistens the leather with saliva.

I turn to Kamika, in such a way that I hope is friendly. “You don't... mind dogs, do you?”

“No, I like 'em. Grew up with 'em, actually. Let's go get you unpacked, ay?”

“Ay,” I say.

“Garnet and I will go buy supplies. Evidently, we'll need some dog food. Apricot, you can make a list of things you might need. Island is upping our budget. Two hundred a month per person, and fifty for the dog.”

Garnet grumbles about Thor, and the pair turn to leave.

“Welcome to Macbeth, Apricot. We'll be a great family.” And then Gwendoline smiles, trailing after Garnet.

After rooting through my bags, Dan decides I won't need any of the things I brought. It is true. I only brought oversized jeans, my dirty, torn blanket, and a few bars of soap. I am led to the last door in the hallway – the first door is a closet, the second a bathroom, and the next two bedrooms as well.

“This is unfortunately the smaller bedroom, but cozy, don't you think?”

It is four times larger than what I was living in just last night. There are two beds and various shelving arrangements. The window is open and fills the room with a coffin nail aroma. Dan begins to move his things into another bedroom, and he puts on music, and he dances as he strips the bed. I find him quite happy.

So is it a happy notion? To sell sex?

It doesn't take long for Thor and I to settle – the sheets are changed after my side of the room has been emptied. A small bed for Thor is made on the floor, but I know he will opt for the mattress instead.

“That was easy. Now, Apricot, let's get you out of those hideous jeans. You haven't had children, have you? Only a mother would wear those.” Dan wrinkles his nose.

“No, no children.”

“You've also got split ends.”

“Yes.”

“Dan is too nice to tell you that he wants to make you over.” Kamika smiles. “Will you let him? He really does work magic.”

“I suppose I could...”

Within minutes, I am in a chair in the kitchen. My hair is being cut, and my fingernails are being painted. Dan plucks my eyebrows, but I do not wince. When they are finished, I am led to the bathroom.

“You don't start until next week, so let's just get you enthusiastic, shall we? We'll do you up and take you out.” Kamika says as she peels my clothes off. “Lovely,” she murmurs. I hear the front door open and close.

Kamika goes to retrieve the clothes Gwendoline and Garnet had bought for me. Gwendoline enters the bathroom moments after and prepares the bath. When she helps me step in, the water is a perfect temperature.

“How are you feeling, Apricot?” Gwen asks.

“I'm... Alright.”

“Don't be scared, Apricot. We're a family. We'll take care of you; we're all whores. There is no room to judge – so whatever you've done in the past, or whatever has happened to you, we won't penalize you for.” She says, her white ring of an eye staring into me. She rotates me in the tub and begins to rub my shoulder blades. I wonder how a whore can be so motherly, when motherhood is the decomposition of the job itself.

For the first time, I sigh in relief, and when I thank her, I actually mean it. Gwen makes my skin soft and massages my scalp with expensive products. After the better part of an hour, she has me groomed.

It is Garnet who knocks at the door and stomps in, arms full of articles of clothing. “Big tits on an anorexic. I'll be damned.” She dumps the pile on the counter, and Gwen helps me pick through.

“She didn't mean that. She's always unmannerly to the newer ones. Judging by the clothes picked out for you, I think Garnet rather likes you.” Gwen smiles. “I thought you might be a 32D. This should fit. It won't bug the piercings, will it?”

I shake my head and slide into the bra. Gwen buckles it. It is the first time I have worn a bra in months.

“How does it fit?”

“Snug.”

“Immaculate, you are.” She smiles again, a soft one. Everything about her is soft.

After I am outfitted in a tight pearly laced dress, my hair is curled and my face is done. I am deodorized and spritzed with expensive perfumes. I look up, through thick black lashes, into the mirror – and I do not recognize who looks back. I am adorned with pearl earrings, an expensive watch, and matching pumps. I am strangely cabaret.

“She cleans up well,” Kamika mumbles.

“Considering.” Garnet grimaces.

“What legs she has!”

“Let's go out to Constantine's – ”

“We always go out to Constantine's when we gain a new roommate. It's a bit of a tradition.”

“We're so happy to have you, Apricot.”

I smile, because I don't know what else to do.