Friday at school

At school Friday, Matt could hardly pay attention in class. They were set to launch their streaming business in a matter of a few hours. He tried not to set his hopes too high... there were thousands of girls streaming all the time. He could hardly expect to become a top streamer instantly. Still, it was hard not to imagine his wall turning yellow with tips and enough money rolling in to take care of his family's financial problems.

He took his biology test without really noticing it... somehow even managing to notice how hot Tanya and Natasha were looking.

During the break between classes, he actually did take a toke from Lisa's blunt hoping that the cannabis would help settle his nerves.

If it worked at all, it wasn't enough for him to notice.

"Matt, can I speak to you for a minute?" Ms. Chadra stopped him as he headed toward the bus after class.

"I have to catch the bus."

"If you miss it, I'll drive you."

He sat on one of the desks. "Yes, Ms. Chadra."

"I'm concerned about you."

"I understand. And I understand that you may have a personal history that leads you to distrust those in the sex trade business. But--"

"Hold on a minute, Mister. I never told you that."

"I think, in Trig, that call it a logical inference."

She sighed. "Fine. I did some stupid things when I was in college. They resulted in my being blackmailed into marrying a man I didn't want to marry and eventually **** me to leave my country. I wouldn't want anything like that for you. Or, if not for you, think of the girls you'll be working with."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Ms. Chadra, I--"

"Usha."

"Sorry. Usha, I truly sympathize. But that was a different time and we're taking precautions. We'll be wearing masks. If we ever get to the point where we have sex, we'll wear condoms. Nobody is being **** into anything and frankly, I suspect that most of the girls here could ask their daddies to hire assassins who would take out anyone who tried."

"But--"

"But it can still go wrong. I get that, Ms. Chadra, I mean Usha. But what you don't seem to get is that this is our only chance. If we don't do this, we won't be going back to Aaron Burr, bad as that was, we'll be going back to a religious bigot in Michigan. And, frankly, I'd rather chew on white-hot nails than go back to him."

Ms. Chadra nodded. "I understand small-minded religious bigots. We have those in India, as well."

"Come with me," he suddenly blurted. "You can sit with our camerawoman and watch. If you see anything that you think is dangerous, you can pull the plug."

"That would seem to condone your behavior, Matt."

He shrugged. "I guess it wasn't a great idea."

"No, I'll do it. Come on, Matt. Let's get you home."