Mikaela's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

The roof held. Mikaela had climbed the cottage the day before and nailed down the loose panels herself. Now the storm was gone, the shelves were mounted, and the terrariums stood empty. She had built the whole home for snakes she could not yet buy. A good breeding pair cost more than she had left. The deposit had taken almost everything. Luna Chen let herself in without knocking. Her ankle bracelets clicked across the wood floor. She dropped a plastic bag on the couch and looked at the empty shelves. "So you built a whole snake house with no snakes," she said. "That's very sad, actually." "I need money," Mikaela said. "A pair runs four hundred. I don't have four hundred." Luna pulled a compact desktop computer from her bag. A small webcam sat clipped to the top. She set it on the table and started plugging in cables. "Okay so, I do this thing," she said. "Online. People pay. A little chatting, some cute outfit stuff. It's easy money and it's fast." She dumped a second bag beside the couch. Skimpy clothing spilled out, straps and short hems tangled together. "I need someone to run the camera and hand me stuff. One night. Split it with you." Mikaela stared at the pile of clothes. "That's your plan." "It's a plan that works." Luna dropped onto the velvet couch and stretched out. "You want the snakes or not?" Mikaela thought about the empty shelves. She thought about the count in her head, every group that had tried to ground her. This was not that. This was a night behind a camera and money by morning. She picked up the computer and checked the cable ends. Mikaela caves. She participates with Luna. Both of them showing off their feet and their arms for the viewers. Once Mikaela sees the money start rolling in, she loosens up and becomes more into it.