“What?” she interrupted coldly. “You came here for a room and you didn’t plan to pay for it?”
“It’s not that, Miss,” I protested, “I start work next week and I promise I can pay you then.”
“No,” she said. “First I’m going to punish you for your mistakes here and then you will have to leave.”
“Miss Crystal, I have nowhere to go. Couldn’t we please work something out?”
Her eyes seemed to glow at those words, “I may have an option for you after I’ve corrected your behavior,” she said. “Crawl into my bedroom and lie on the padded bench.”
I started shaking, thinking of the screams I had heard last night and realizing that it was going to be me who would be screaming.
“Please, Miss Crystal, please give me another chance,” I begged. “I didn’t know…”
“That’s four strikes, Mike,” she interr
