u/neon_riot_92

The lack of an ashtray didn't stop smoke from filling the room. The sound of deep inhalation was noted in the dim light by the bright ember at the end of her cigarette. Jackie sank deeper into the worn leather armchair and exhaled a stream of smoke toward the ceiling. Her arm hung lazily off the plush armrest as ash cascaded down onto the green, almost astroturf carpeting at the Paradise Motel.

Through the crooked drapes, the motel’s neon sign oozed into the smoke-filled room.

“Another evening contract in the cesspool that is New Boston,” she said in a hushed tone.

The job seemed simple enough. Jackie folded and unfolded the scrap piece of notebook paper it was written on with her unburdened hand. Earlier that evening, she had pulled it from behind a loose brick with a leaf tagged on it at the back of the Paradise Motel near the dumpster.

Loose Leaf Freelancers, they called themselves. The unseen urban sewer rats that traded contracts, mostly for contraband, through loose pieces of notebook paper located by a single leaf at a given location.

No phones or networked electronics were the hallmark of a freelancer, no way to be recorded, tracked, or otherwise unknowingly spied on by the powers that be. You knew a job was, well, somewhat credible if it was written neatly on a lined sheet of notebook paper and the paper wasn’t too decayed.

Jackie motivated herself out of the armchair and grabbed her knapsack, Walkman, and skateboard from the table beside the door of the one room suite. The job was pretty straightforward, and the Paradise Motel was truly paradise compared to nights when a job didn’t work out.

Alternatively, finding a condemned building, Casa de Burnouts, was the only other option that kept you from sleeping outside. And you didn’t want to sleep outside in New Boston.

_________________________

“Jackie!” the motel manager called as she was heading toward the parking lot.

She turned and paused.

“How do you always know when I am leaving, Jason?”

Jackie dropped her board on the asphalt.

“My motel gets noticeably less depressing when you leave,” he responded quickly, as if he had practiced his comeback several times before blurting it out.

“Room fee is due at midnight. If I don’t get it, your little keycard will be deactivated, so make sure I get my money, Jackie.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get the cash, Jason. Where do you think I'm headed at 10:00 PM anyway?” She placed a foot on her board.

“Hopefully to get my fuck’n money, Jackie.” Jason said with a faint look of annoyance on his face.

“And I know you’re going to pay with cash, so make sure it’s with my 20% extra for taking your outdated currency.”

Jackie pushed away on her skateboard as Jason called out,

“By midnight, Jackie, this isn’t a homeless shelter.”