Vegas Bad Boy

Everybody thinks that Vegas is this wonderful town and it might be to visitors, but not if you live here. It costs a fortune to live here and you don’t make near as much as people think you do. People also think that it’s called ‘Sin City’ because of the casino’s and it’s not, Vegas has a dark side that most people don’t see filled with Mafia and loan sharks.

I’m twenty years old and instead of enjoying college life I’m here working a multitude of jobs just to make ends meet. My dad moved us out here when I was ten for a job. When I was fifteen my mother left us for her boss and dad has spiraled ever since. He can’t seem to keep a job and disappears for days, or weeks on end.

The last five years I’ve been working anywhere from two to four different jobs just to stay afloat. I’m lucky if I get fours hours of sleep, the majority of my clothes came from thrift shops, my phone is old and has a broken screen, the most expensive thing I’ve bought was my car and it needs a lot of work I paid three hundred for it, so I can’t really expect much. I'd like to fix it up some day, it's a 1967 GTO and the body is actually in fairly decent shape the motor is a different story. She's my pride and joy though.

We live in an old run down apartment building in a bad part of town, a part that tourists never see, that looks like it could collapse at any moment. It’s not very safe but when you can’t afford much, it works. The majority of tenants are drug dealers and hookers, you learn to keep your head down and say nothing. I’ve never really been one to allow others to push me around and living here is no exception. I keep to myself and have as little interaction with my neighbors as possible.

It wasn’t always like this, when my mom was still around we lived in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, things were really great. Mom wasn’t overly thrilled with moving to Vegas but she did and she seemed to like the fact that winter wasn’t something we really had to deal with anymore.

After a few years I noticed that mom was working more and going on more business trips than before. Her and dad would fight over the fact that she wasn’t home as much as she should be. He often questioned why a secretary would even need to travel and reminded her that she didn’t need to work, he made enough money, that only seemed to make matters worse. I’m sure he had his suspicions, mom was a very attractive woman with long blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a body that would make any model envious. She left when I was fifteen and I haven’t heard from her since.

I worked two jobs in high school but still couldn’t manage to make enough to pay the mortgage, and since dad didn’t really work much, the foreclosed on us. We moved to where we are now when I was seventeen. You’d think that in a dump like this rent would be cheap, you’d be wrong. It is Vegas, remember.

Right now I’m working four jobs, barely know what day of the week it is, am utterly exhausted and feel like I’m getting no where fast.

“What the fuck?” repeatedly flipping the light switch and nothing is happening. “Dad?” I’ve given him money for the last two months to pay the bills and I’m guessing he didn’t do it.

I get no answer and realize he’s not home. I should’ve known better, he took that money and ran again and probably didn’t pay the rent either. I have no energy to worry about it right now, I have to be up in like two hours. No power means no water and that means no shower tonight. Thankfully we have showers at the casino, I just have to wait a few hours until my shift there.

Using the flashlight on my phone, I manage to find my way to my room and collapse on the bed. I know my alarm is set but I check it twice to make sure.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I’m late and I know that today is going to be a shit day. What a surprise, I don’t think I’ve had a good day in years.

I park my car and run to the diner, praying that I won’t be noticed.

“You’re late Sidney,” my pompous ass of a boss, Richard, yells as soon as I walk in the door.

So much for not being noticed.

“I’m sorry, I,” I know that no matter what I tell him, he won’t care.

“It was my fault,” Ruth, another waitress steps in, “I sent her to chase after a customer that left his credit card by mistake and didn’t give her a chance to clock in first.”

He looks at us, “really and where is this customer?” He doesn't buy it, Ruth has covered for me before and he's not stupid. A major asshole, but not stupid.

“Right here,” a deep voice comes from behind me. “I came back in to commend you on your staff, I didn’t expect to hear you berating her for it.”

“You’ve already been late twice this week," completely ignoring the man.

Ruth tries to help, “you know she works four jobs Richard, can’t you cut her some slack?”

Richard holds his hand up again, “you’re fired. Perhaps one of your other jobs will be more lenient and put up with this shit, but I will not.”