Membership

"I'm sure Brother James will help us if we explain our situation properly," Nicole spoke with the same gentle tone that she had. Still, seeing how she politely addresses Jimmy now, I am relatively sure that she has finally understood the reason why I suddenly feel blue.

"... yes..." I said with a clumsy chuckle, but my shadowy and downcast gaze shows how much I hated every single second I wasted being in this room with Nicole.

"Did you regret it?" Nicole said now with the same melancholic touch around his melodious tone. She said so while still playfully caressing the surface of my sweaty chest. I could feel the thumping of her heart beneath her pair of soft breasts, for she's still laying the entirety of her petite body on top of my arched back.

"Of course, I do," I said with a hint of anger on my tone, which was enough to make Nicole jump back away from me with a fidget. "I regret it because I know exactly how incapable I am as a person! I don't even have a proper home to raise that child in, what are you expecting me to say?" My hands waved from all over the place, but Nicole just quietly listened to my every word silently with her hands gently stroking my shoulders. "This would just turn horribly, I say, HORRIBLY! Put that child in my fucked up apartment room with a father like me who has no money or anything to make a child's life better and, there you have it, we got a messed up baby who will grow up being unhappy, and it's all because we both decided that it's okay to plow all that cum inside your womb on the second day we met! So, yes, Nicole, I regret it!" I then swiftly stood up with both my hands squeezing my temples as hard as I could in hopes that it would burst like a lemon.

Nicole then stood up too with the same level of regret painted all over her face as she wrapped her arms around my chest. I then took her hands while tears started to flow out of my eyes, oh god, I cannot stand crying again and again like it's all okay to just simply tear up all the time until it turned into my personality! I hate this, and I detested myself even more for showing this side of me to the mother of my soon-to-be child. I was thinking like a beast, like a bug in need of a mate that would carry my genes, who will also scream the same amount of pain I had sung when I was a boy. He would grow old, hating me as I did with my mother, and he would live a life inside a darkened room with nothing but himself as a way to comfort him in yet another tearful evening. I cannot subject another person to that sort of sadness. No parent is alive out there to wish that their child would live the same tragedy they had to put up with in life.

My legs shook, and I simply allowed myself to fall on my knees because I have seen this sort of thing happening before already, and I'm reasonably sure that it will all just end up in me bawling while I'm pathetically calling out for help while I'm groveling on the floor. I held Nicole's hand tightly because I know that I had just befallen her a terrible decision that she will regret with me for the rest of our lives, and it will be the leading cause of our child's depression. I just ruined the life of a woman I barely know and the life of a person who's not even born yet. How could I even face Mike in heaven with stains like this around my hands? How could I explain this to my mother in hell when she asked me why I became just like her?

How could I tell my dad that I lived an unfulfilled life, and he sacrificed himself for nothing?

Nicole then started kissing my cheeks as she tightened her hold around my chest. I could feel her bare chest wriggling around my back as she wrapped my faltering body with her unyielding warmth.

"Why don't we consult Brother James about our problems first?" Nicole uttered as she tried her very best to smile at me in her vain attempt to cheer me up—didn't really work, but it was enough for me to know that she hasn't given up yet.

I smiled as I moved my head towards her pretty little face. I then caressed her white skin, which made Nicole smile even further, allowing me to lay all of my affection at her with her eyes closed. "What difference would it make if we come crawling into Jimmy's office now with heavy news like this?"

"Brother James is a good person, a great man. He will not allow any member of Plural Heights to live a life filled with, you know, regret—that's what he would always tell us in all of our weekly meetings." Nicole spoke with certainty as she tried to pull every bit of memory she has that we could use to help our lives. "If that won't work, then the Mother is still here in LA! She can help us; I know she can—she will! She won't allow anyone in Plural Heights to have a soul tainted with unhappiness!"

"... maybe you're right, Nicole." I said as I let both our foreheads touch with both our pairs of eyes rooted at each other.

"Besides, you will be having your membership oath-taking after this anyway!" Nicole explained further with her eyes started to show their usual brilliance once more. "This is the perfect way more than ever to forward your membership to Brother James and maybe subtly inform him of our problems!"

Thus, we did. With a nod, I helped Nicole wear a few clean clothes prepared for her beforehand inside of a drawer near the bed where we made our little miracle. It was a bit of a curious thing to me as to why there's a lot of clothes prepared for both of us that fit both of us perfectly, but I just regarded it as more of Veronica's kindness at full-throttle.

When we left the room, we found out that Veronica's little seminar thingy had already ended and the entire cinema is now a dark and desolate wasteland if not for the lone janitor who's cleaning the whole hall without any other assistant of some kind in sight to help him out. I decided to be the bigger man and approached him to help him clean the damn huge place up. When I approached him, I found out that he was the same person I met when I first went here in this mall, the guy who came out of the cargo trucks out of fucking nowhere. Nonetheless, after a few short greetings, I extended my help towards him. Still, he promptly refused before telling me that Jimmy had informed him that he would be waiting at the room behind the Clockwork store again if I am ready to forward my membership. I insisted once more if he wanted some help, but the janitor simply refused even more adamantly with a playful smile while saying that he enjoyed his job and wouldn't give it to anyone else. Before Nicole and I left the cinema, I heard the sound of someone munching and literally devouring what sounded like plastics and foils behind us, but when I checked what is happening out there, I noticed that it was too dark for me to see anything. Thus, when Nicole asked me what's wrong, I simply told her that I was just giving the cinema one last look before leaving.

After that, we immediately went into Clockwork with no problem whatsoever save from some other members of Plural Heights who still haven't gone home yet. They all greeted both of us fondly, but they weren't too chummy to the point of awkwardness. When we finally entered Clockwork, I saw that the shop has a customer looking around the clocks on display. Looking at her white polo shirt and denim pants, I knew already then that he was a Plural Heights member.

Odd, to say the least.

Nicole and I looked at each other with equal confusion because, although we are both Plural Heights members, we know that it is still quite weird for literally anyone to buy anything in this establishment. Nonetheless, we didn't want to alarm the customer with our judgmental gazes, so we simply greeted him warmly before heading into the room.

I thought that was the end of that before the weirdo suddenly called us with a simple, "Hey!" and continued speaking casually as if we were his close friends. "Aren't you that guy's replacement?"

"Excuse me?" I said with a vividly distressed expression as I tried to hide my frustrations at him.

"I mean, you know, that guy working at that whatchamacallit company! I know his name is Mike or something?" Hearing the way he slurred his words along with his horrible laughter, Nicole and I both already knew that the man didn't know what he's talking about, but when he said Mike's name, I knew then that I wouldn't be able to contain my anger.

However, before I could even voice out my thoughts, Nicole had already done so for me. "Sir, I don't know what you're on about, but I'm fairly sure you are not allowed to say that!" Nicole uttered those strange words politely, but one could still hear the anger in her voice that she willingly let out for me. "Come on, let's go; we're wasting our time on that asshole," Nicole uttered with a grimace.

"What's the hurry? It's not like old buddy Jim-Jam will leave just because you're a bit laaaate!" The drunk stranger then proceeded to laugh as he grabbed my arms tightly, making me wince in disgust after feeling his hot and sweaty palms.

"Is there a problem here, dear customers?" A woman wearing a black plaid tux hurriedly went to our direction with her eyes shooting daggers at the drunk man. She then wrapped her around the drunkard's shoulders while showing both Nicole and me a pleasant and business-like smile. "Is this man bothering the two of you."

When the woman suddenly appeared, the drunk stranger hurriedly took his hands away from me with a frightened groan. The woman, who looked somewhat familiar, then tightened her hold around the man's shoulders. She's quite a tall lady, so she immediately towered over the now shrinking man she held tightly.

"No," I spoke while wiping my arms with a few tissue papers that Nicole had given me earlier. "he didn't really bother us. Thanks." I turned around and headed towards the weird room hidden behind this shop when the shop attendant suddenly bowed with a grim look on her face.

"I'm sorry, sir." The tux-wearing shop attendant spoke slowly with a stern voice.

"No, it's okay. He's not really doing anything wrong." I said with a clumsy chuckle as I slowly pulled Nicole towards me by her waist so that she wouldn't be jealous. "I should be thanking you."

"No, I wasn't apologizing for this, sir. I'm... because last time we..." I could see that the shop attendant is having a hard time articulating her words, so I simply sighed at her with a smile.

"Have we met before, miss?" I spoke with a lazy smile plastered around my face.

When the shop attendant heard this, she twitched before slowly raising her head. "Yes. Yes, we have." She spoke with a regretful gaze looming around her tired-looking eyes.

"Then whatever you have done to me back then, it's probably not important since I've already forgotten about it."

The shop attendant then gave me a shocked look on her face as a reply before bowing once again with the drunkard still wrapped around her arms.

I then immediately went into the room where I first met Jimmy in the flesh: the weird-looking ass red room that has a very posh aesthetic—excessive, but still posh nonetheless.

"Oh?" Jimmy said as he raised his head to greet us. A table is now sitting in the middle of the room; Jimmy placed all the many documents he's reading there. "Are you ready to file for membership already?"

I chuckled with a nod. "Is this a bad time?"

Jimmy simply stood up while shaking his head, his arms making the same motion. "No, no, no. Not at all," he then gestured to us to sit on the sofa in front of his table, "come, sit."

We promptly sat on the sofa as Jimmy instructed with Nicole still wrapped around my hands.

"What can I do for you two today? I mean, aside from the membership, of course. We already prepared it earlier, so we just need to do the oath-taking." Jimmy spoke before sitting down after seeing that we have both placed ourselves on the sofa comfortably.

"Jimmy, we—" Before I could finish my statement, Nicole had already interrupted me as she suddenly stood up with a roaring voice.

"Please, help us, Brother James! I am pregnant," she then pointed at me, "he's the father. We don't know what we would do."

Jimmy then looked at Nicole with a surprised look before showing a forced smile, "Oh! Is that so, congratulations, congratulations!" Jimmy uttered with a few lighthearted claps as he looked at me with a defeated gaze.

Don't look at me like that. I know exactly how stupid my decisions are. "She's right. We're expecting a child soon."

Jimmy then sighed while shaking his head lightly as she scoured around her table to find something that he didn't expect to use today. When he looked back at us, he gave both of us two laminated brochures that contained a lot of child-friendly imageries and pictures of various families.

"That brochure shows the support that Plural Heights will give to our members with children. Of course, all of the perks there are completely optional, and the two of you can simply refuse any of them with just a simple phone call." Jimmy said when he saw that we had both taken the brochures already.

"Can you give us a crash course of this whole program?" I said as I lazily laid the brochure on my lap, not wanting to read it further.

"Well, it's simple, really. We will give your child the opportunity to have free education from elementary to college but only in our affiliated Plural Heights academic institutions. You can see there in the brochure that we have Yale University as one of our affiliates, so if your child ever wished to study there, then no need to give her the burden of student loans anymore. However, if none of our affiliated universities piqued your interest, then I can at least guarantee that our affiliated elementary and high school academic institutions are all boasting a huge amount of achievements, not only for their students but for their faculty as well." Jimmy went on about it without a moment's halt as if he had been reciting this same song repeatedly for the entirety of his life here in Plural Heights.

"This is amazing!" Nicole exclaimed while tugging my shirt! She then pointed at one of the schools listed as a Plural Heights affiliate with a beaming smile painted all over her face. "Look, this is my dream school!"

"We can easily enroll your child there with ease if you so desire," Jimmy said with the same gentle smile he always liked to show.

"But what is the catch, Jimmy?" I said with a shaken expression while gazing at the laminated brochure.

"Hmm..." Jimmy said while scratching his chin. "Well, obviously, the only children who can enjoy these perks are the sons and daughters of Plural Heights members. We will also be expecting them to be our members once they turn 18. That means their parents must be a member of Plural Heights as long as they're studying under the Plural Heights education program, and it will go on further in case your child wishes to use that same service if they wanted to have a graduate degree."

"This is almost too good to be true, Jimmy," I said with a stupid grin on my face, but I know deep inside me, I would willingly be a part of this group forever if it means my child will have a colorful education.

"Well, sure, it is, but the catch here is that you need to be a part of Plural Heights' weekly meetings and seminars. Don't worry about it affecting your job too. After all, I will be your boss next week, so being absent because of a Plural Heights-related reason will not be a reason for you to lose your job." Jimmy continued with an excited grin on his smooth face.

"Is that true? You will be working under Jimmy?" Nicole said as her lips formed an O shape, showing how dumbfounded she was of this revelation.

"Y-yeah..." I said as I chuckled while scratching the back of my neck.

"Oh my god, baby!" Nicole then wrapped her arms around my neck while kissing my cheeks repeatedly.

"Yeah. The program is a really great one—I won't lie about that; even I am surprised about it." Jimmy then cleared his throat as if he had just realized something he shouldn't have done. "A-anyway! The only thing you have to worry about now is the hospital bills of the pregnancy and other important stuff like food, shelter, clothes, and all that jazz. Well, to be fair, you also don't have to worry too much about that too because once your child starts her first day in elementary school, we will be giving her a monthly allowance until she turns 20. The rest is, well, it's up to you two, so there's still no reason for you guys to be lazy or anything like that."

"Wow, Jimmy... I—you really saved our asses with this one, man..." I said as I felt a tear about to drop from out of my eyes.

"That's not me, man. That's all this." Jimmy said while waving around the room. "You should be thanking Plural Heights for that program. They're paying for it."

"Oh..." I then said with a slight fear suddenly welling up in my throat. "So about the membership, Jimmy, uhm..."

"Membership is free." Jimmy nonchalantly replied before I could finish my words as he laid his head on his hands.

"What? For real?" I replied as I swiftly leaned my body forward with my eyes wide open.

"Psh. Yeah!" Jimmy then laughed heartily after looking at my face. "Everyone who heard that news all looked the same. Eyes popped, jaws dropped, screaming all over the place—it never gets old!" Jimmy then extended his hand towards me, expecting a handshake. "So? What do you say? Wanna be a part of the family?"

I grabbed his arms like a bitch and shook it as if my life depended on it!

"YES!"

I would be dumb if I said no.