RED PHOENIX

Red Phoenix was scrolling through the latest gossip on her phone, when a call from her agent popped up. She had spent the better part of the past month cooped up in her small apartment, without much to do. She was barely getting jobs, and it frustrated her. It was never this bad until quite recently. She couldn't remember ever going this long without a job. Just last year, she made so much profits from writing, she swore she was going to be a billionaire by this year. It took her one month, and an unpaid rent to realise she had absolutely nothing. She wasn't quite sure how the money vanished. Such was the reality of the poor though. Just when you think you've arrived, life throws you a curve ball and reality hits you again. It was a vicious circle and she was tired of being a pawn in some sick game of life. It was why she decided to stay indoors and sulk. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, until she began to lose sight of what really mattered to her.

Red looked at the caller Id again, to be sure she was correct. She wasn't quite certain why Agnes, her agent, also her best friend was calling her.

However, she was certain that if it was to complain about another golddigger she had met in that Love struck app that constantly had folks in a chokehold, she was going to end the call without a care in the world.

Agnes was a sucker for love. She gave and gave and gave, but never got anything in return. She switched to the popular dating app after so many years of physically meeting scumbags. She finally thought her luck would shine, but it was the total opposite. The circle of aloneness seemed to never want to be broken. It was a terrible thing to think, but it was the truth and nothing less.

"What do you want Ag?"

"I can feel your eyes rolling from the screen, and it is not healthy Red." Agnes replied, with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"If you called to chitchat, don't. I'm tired, hungry, and too upset to do that."

"Red you have all the time in the world. You are literally job..." Red hung up on her then smiled. Sure she was butt hurt and that jab from Agnes, but even he could admit it was a damn good one.

She knew she was being sensitive, but she couldn't quite help herself. She didn't know if it was the fact that she had been out of a job for so long that was making her so impatient. Granted she was not as overly sweet as her friend, but she was usually more patient with Agnes. Her stomach roared again, for what must have been the millionth time that day, and her eyes darted to the left over pizza from last night. She was saving it for at least that evening, but her stomach was not being merciful. She stood up to pick the box, when her phone rang again.

"Agnes I swear to God, you do not....

"You have a job!" Agnes announced in the middle of Red's threat..

"Wait what? Don't play with me Ag."

"No I'm actually serious Red. A representative of Love struck called this morning, and said they would love to interview you." Agnes explained excitedly.

Red screamed, and broke into a happy dance, but stopped midway after a realization hit her.

"Wait Agnes. Isn't Love Struck a dating company? What the hell is a writer supposed to do there?" She tore out a piece of the pizza, and shoved it into her mouth. "I write fiction, and sometimes nonfiction Ag. I'm not a technical writer."

"What are you.., you know what, never mind."

"Wait, are you still on the line?" Red called, after the brief silence.

"Yeah, I was just putting some information down. So yeah, I don't know the details yet my love, but you are not passing this opportunity. Just prepare yourself both mentally and physically today. Your interview is tomorrow. Bye!"

"What? Tomorrow? Why are you just telling m....

"Hello? Agnes? Are you there?"

"That bitch!" she muttered under her breath.

She didn't know where to start from, so she began by taking a hard look at herself in the mirror that covered at least a sizable portion of her small bedroom. Her room may be small, and shabby, but she was proud of it. Every half broken mirror, tear stained chair, broken legged table had been bought with her own money, and she was proud of it all. As soon as she spotted her reflection, she jumped, and began to panic. "How did you let yourself completely go Red?" she wondered aloud. She looked at her deep red hair overgrown and unhealthy. She couldn't remember the last time it felt the tender touch of her stylist. She looked at her blue eyes, but the deep heavy eye bags surrounding it had turned it to a colour, she wasn't quite sure were to place in the colour spectrum.

How's that even possible?

She flinched in disgust. She raised her armpit and saw so much hair, she could braid it if she wanted to.

"Eewww. If you're like this? Then what does down there look like?"

She pulled her knickers, and her eyes grew wide.

"Oh God! I'm a cavewoman!"

She knew she had to stop looking at how much damage she had done to her physical appearance, if she didn't want to collapse and never wake up again. Her skin had become so pale, it looked like a corpse.

"I'm a walking corpse. Shit, I'm the walking dead!"

"You look terrible Red. Absolutely and undeniably terrible!" She scolded herself. She couldn't help the alarm bells ringing in her head. She was going to have an interview with a multi billion dollar company and she looked like a church rat. It was just simply abysmal.

"Abysmal?" She repeated to herself. Taking one look at herself again, she remembered her mum.

"Okay calm down Red, what will mum say?" She raised her chin, squinted her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, trying to mimick her mothers posture.

"Now listen up girl," her mum would begin with her thick Irish accent. "Your papa died, but did we give up? No! We forged ahead and did the work. If you don't do it now Red, you'll have to do it later, and you never know what later entails." She smiled as she recited the last part of her mother's reoccurring speech, making a mental note to call her later.

She ran to the bathroom, to take a quick bath. She turned the tap on, but nothing came out.

"Not the water too!" She screamed into her face.

"Okay, let's calm down Red." She picked up her towel and tied it around her waist. Then she picked up a bucket, and took the backdoor to her neighbors house.

"Not again Red. Why can't you just pay for your own water." Ms Won her dear neighbor, if dear was synonymous to evil, said.

"Oh common Ms Won, it's just this one time." She looked around hoping no one was around to see her begging for a bucket of water, with a towel around her. She was so glad Ms Son's house was behind hers.

"That's what you said the last time girl. Don't know you're a lady? Don't you feel shame?" She shook her head, and smacked her lip in disgust.

"Okay Ms Won, you listen to me and listen carefully," she dropped her bucket, tired of playing nice. "In exactly a month time, I'm going to be rich. I mean rich, rich. And I promise you Ms Won, I remember everything. So if you know, you're going to get even a cent from my very soon to come wealth, you'll give me a bucket of water!"

"Suck it Red! You say this all the time, but you always come back begging. I'm going to give you this last time. Not because I think you'll ever make it, but because I consider myself a good person."

"Good person my ass." Red muttered under her breath, as Ms Won turned to go bring the water.

"I heard that!"

"I love you Ms Won!"

Red felt a lot better , when she stepped out of her bathroom. With a renewed fire and fierce determination, she picked up her bag, ready to step out for the first time in weeks.

"To the salon!" she declared, but suddenly paused to check her purse.

"We're poor Red." she said counting the miserly change she could find. She fell to her bed.

"Oh God." she cried into the purse, as if her tears would magically produce mints.

Then she saw her father's face floating in her mind, and she got up more determined than ever before.

"Okay Red, chin up. It's time to stop the pity party and get yourself together. We're doing everything we have to do today. Poor purse or not."

Red stepped out of her small apartment in the lower east side. She tried to block her ears from the loud music playing around her. Of course, it was always noisy. She scrunched her nose as the smell of cigarettes hit her. "who smokes in this scotching sun?" she asked herself, rolling her eyes. She swerved to the right just before she could step on poop. Red stood frozen at the thought of how she was this close to ruining her perfect pair of sneakers. It was a horrible mistake as the multitude of people passing literally compressed her until she was struggling to breath. She finally got the message and kept it moving. She kept on wondering why she had moved from the peace and quietness of Canada, to end up in the hustle and bustle of New York City. Weeks cooped up in her house had made her forget what it was like outside. The only thing that kept her sane was the thought that one day, she too would move into her dream home in the Upper East Side. Then she'll have her house, a Porsche, two dogs named Billie and Daphne and a cat named Theophilus. Then she would show Ms Won. She had it all planned. She just needed a breakthrough, and she had a feeling this was going to be it.

Red was excited when she spotted her hairstylists signpost. She had taken a walk because the transit system was fucked. At least that's the lie she told herself. The real and honest truth was that she needed all the money she could salvage to do everything that needed to be done. As for now, she was way too poor to waste money. Emily's face lit up when she sighted Red, but as the younger woman moved even close, her smile slowly turned into a frown.

"Goodness gracious! what did you do to your hair child?' Emily asked stunned, as she hastily ushered her into the salon.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Is it that bad?" Red asked panicking

"Bad? It is terrible my dear! You could find three lions and a gorilla in here and I'm not even joking.. but don't you worry, I'm here for you" Emily reassured.

Red breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Emi, I want the full body treatment today, I have an interview that may change my life tomorrow."

"Girl__" Emily warned.

"Right." Red understanding the direction Emily was moving said,

"Just think of it this way. I get the job, money comes and boom! You're the personal hairstylist to a big shot!" Red dramatized, causing Emily to burst into a feat of laughter.

"You're really something. Okay just sit and relax then. By the time I'm done, you wouldn't even need an interview to get the job." Emily winked, and set to work.