HIS DOUBLE LIFE, HER SECRET

CHAPTER 1: HOT NEW LECTURER

ROSELINE

I walk out through the front door and wait outside for a taxi, the Vegas atmosphere cooler than it was earlier when I walked in. I drape my half full money-bag over my shoulder and put my hands in my sweatpants’ pockets. When the taxi arrives, I hop into the back seat and begin to count my tip money hoping to be done before I get to my residence hall. “Productive night it was huh?” the cabby says.

“Yeah,” I reply, not breaking from the counting. Noticing the slow, somewhat uninterested response I give, he stops talking and drives me in silence.

When we arrive, I pay him and put the rest of the money back into the bag. Just when he drives off, I retrieve the key to my room from my pocket and walk there. I open the door and turn the light on. “04AM? Really, where have you been?” my roommate Jessica asks, startling me.

“I…I was at the restaurant, working as usual.” I say, locking the money bag up in my closet. “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was going to be back late.” she shakes her head and gets back to sleep.

I change into my pyjamas and get into bed, wondering how I’ve managed to keep my job a secret from everyone around me. Other people may call it deception but I like to call it survival. If I’ll have to lie in order to get through the harshness of this world, I’ll do it over and over again.

My alarm goes off for what feels like the hundredth time and I hit the snooze button before hopping out of bed. It's almost 8AM. Hurriedly, I get ready for my first class and walk to the lecture theater ignoring the urge to get back to bed, what with being late. I make it to class ten minutes late and quietly walk to my seat.

“As I was saying, I’m Mr. Romero and I’ll be your art lecturer this semester…” a man standing at the front says and I give Sophie a quizzical look but she just fans herself in response. The man runs us through the course outline and leaves saying learning begins tomorrow. Just when he walks out, Sophie approaches my desk with a wide grin. “Did you see him?” she asks, still fanning herself. “This whole place would have burnt to ashes had he stayed any longer,” I roll my eyes at that and she laughs. “Dark circles again? You look terrible.” she says, making me rub my eyes wishing the dark circles could disappear before I receive another such comment.

“I didn’t get any sleep, Sophie. I was working…”

“At the restaurant, blah! Blah! Blah! You need to be getting enough rest Rosie. Why do even do this to yourself, anyway?” She interrupts and I nod, silently forgiving her because even though she's been my best friend for a year and some months now, she doesn't know what I really do and why I do it.

Second semester just began so learning hasn’t gotten serious yet and because of that, Sophie and I decide to have some ice cream to cool off before parting ways. She is constantly checking her phone so we don’t talk much over the ice cream and unlike other days, we leave the ice cream shop as soon as we are done. Her father is waiting outside so we say our goodbyes earlier today than usual. Sophie comes from a wealthy home and I'm skeptical about sharing my secret with her because of that. If I did, perhaps it would ruin our friendship because she wouldn’t understand. When the time is right, however, I’ll tell her everything.

The moment her father drives off, I rush to my room, grab my money-bag and walk to a nearby booth to deposit some money into my grandmothers’ account after which I give her a call. “Hola abuelita,” I say into the phone. “Bebita! Why do you sound so low? You know Elena hates that,” she says, making me laugh like I usually do when she mentions her own name in a conversation. “I’m just a little tired that’s all…how’s Wesley?” I reply. “He’s fine…he’s fine. Just a little stupid, you know your little brother,” “oh yeah I do. I deposited some money that you can use to get some groceries. I’ll send some more so you can pay Wesley’s school fees soon.”

“God bless you my child,” she says and I hang up, not wanting to cry at that. I get back to my room and I sit on my bed, looking at the framed picture of the three of us on the night stand- me, Elena and Wesley at an airport. It is an instant photograph taken by some modern Polaroid photographers the day we landed in Vegas from Haiti with nothing but the clothes we had on. It is a sad memory but I like to look at the picture whenever I feel like giving up–it keeps me going. I stare at the photograph long enough, a lamp starts forming in my throat. I turn the photograph so that it's not facing me and fight back the tears that are threatening out of my eyes. It's been a year and half now since I last saw them both so thinking about them and our lives before Vegas gets me nostalgic and sometimes overwhelmed. When I’m calm and the waves of nostalgia are gone, I take a shower and lay down hoping to get enough rest before I go for work this time.

My alarm goes off at midnight and I wake up to ready myself for work. I carry my costume to the bathroom where I wear it underneath my black tracksuit and carry my money-bag on my way out of the room. The cabby is already waiting when I get to the car park and he drives off as soon as I hop into the taxi. When I arrive at Las Montez, I walk straight to the dressing room and find Lucille counting her tip money, “How was your time out there?” I ask and she points at the money scattered over the floor before saying, “Great,” with a smile. I get out of my tracksuit and get into a pair of heels before stepping out to start my shift, “Good luck!” I hear her say behind me. “Thank you, Lu,” I reply but my voice is almost a whisper over the Club’s loud music. I’m about to step on stage but a lady in an elegant red dress walks in capturing almost everyone’s attention before I do, so I stand still and wait. She walks around the club and out just after a few minutes, a man following behind her. When everyone gets back to what they were doing prior to the beautiful distraction, I step on stage and begin to dance.