“No.”
“Fine, we’ll get to the logistics later, but I cannotkeep going to work at a place I want to burn down with people I would love to see on a missing persons’ list.
“You’re twenty-one and in college. Keep going to school.”
“I can go to school when I’m older.” She drops her voice to a whisper again. “This body is in its sex work prime. Besides. If you cut Mom off, no money, no tuition. Come on. If you’re doing it, it’s safe, right? I’m not going to wind up dead in a back alley because I tried to sell feet pics online and didn’t know how to keep my address secret.”
Exhaling, I know I’ll give in, not because of any argument she might make, but because I trust her to make her own decisions, and if she wants this option…
“I’ll ask my employer.”
“You have a pimp?” She asks it a little too loudly and immediately clamps her mouth closed.
“Let’s talk about terms and language first, okay?”
She grimaces. “He’s not a pimp, is he?”
“Theyare not a pimp. They’re a manager and they provide opportunities within a safe space. You can take or pass on any of those opportunities, and the work is fun… but I can see several ways it would not be fun.” I can’t tell her the whole truth, but… “The clients are notnormalmen and women.”
“There’s only one way to find out if I like it!” She smiles at me the same way she always has when she’s waiting—hoping—for me to agree.
“Is it really what you want to do?”
“What I want to do is throw pots and sit in a studio all day, but I can’t afford to do that, so I was getting the business degree to handle all the annoying stuff. If I can get a job that’s easy and fun andclearlymakes a boatload of cash, why wouldn’t I do that for a while, at least until I can do what I actually love?”
“I can get you the money to start up whatever you want.”
“No. I was an asshole to use tuition money to guilt you. I want to work for what I get. It’s part of the reason I haven’t been home either.”
“Finish out the semester. There are only a few weeks left, right? I’ll talk to Phantom, and if they’re willing to hire you, I’ll make it happen.”
“Phantom,” she says their name with a bobbing nod of her head. “Cool.”
“It’s not a guarantee.”
“Still, thank you.” She squeezes my hand. “We both know I owe you more than I can ever repay.”
“And we both know I’m not going to make you settle that debt.”
“Oh, I’ll find a way.”
CHAPTER 3
Istop by Phantom’s office the moment I get off the shuttle.
“Welcome back,” they say.
The room feels like something yanked out of a seventies movie set. Everything is orange and red and teal.
“Thank you. I have some questions.” I sit in a chair shaped like a mass of tentacles.
“Ask away, and I will answer anything I am able.”
“What’s the age of consent on MiNo?”
“That is based on the species, not the station.”
“Fine, what is the age of consent for humans on MiNo?”
