Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

The shower beats down on your sore body. Is this really happening? You just stare at the black band, serving as a stark reminder of your current situation. 9 5 0 0 0 0. You’re not sure how long you’ve been standing here, letting the water run over you. You hear your phone buzz from the sink.

With your trance broken, you turn the water off. “A. Are you coming?” Oh yea, you were supposed to meet up with Jack this morning. “I’m on my way.” Maybe she’ll have some advice on what to do. You quickly throw on an outfit, and grab your bag heading for the pokecenter on route 3.

You race across town. Jack can help you. Surely you can’t be expected to pay Parks that much money. *Bzzrp* A sudden jolting pain shoots through your body. The bracelet tracker is shocking you. You fall to your knees grabbing your wrist. The bracelet shocks your other hand as you grab it. You look around hoping for some help. What is going on? You look over your shoulder and see the “Welcome to Pewter City” sign. Is this because you left the city limits? You fight your body, and stand up to walk back into town. As soon as you cross the sign’s border, the shocking pain in your arm stops.

*Brrrng* Your phone is ringing. You see Parks’ picture on your screen. A sense of dread sinks into your stomach. Your thumb hovers over the screen not wanting to answer but you feel like declining the call would be a bad idea, especially with the ghostly tingling in your arm. Then the phone answers itself. You’re shocked to see the screen change to a video call with Parks. “Did you just try to skip town?”

“No, no, I was just -AHHHHHH,” you scream out as the bracelet shocks you again.

“I know you just left city limits. Don’t lie to me,” he says as the shocking ceases.

“I did, but I was just trying to meet a friend on route 3. I wasn’t ‘skipping town’.”

“Leaving town is a privilege you don’t have right now. If you want to see your friend they’ll have to come to you. But that will have to wait. It’s time for orientation. Come to address I just sent you,” Parks commands as the video call ends.

You plug the address into your phone and follow it across town. You rub your arm as you walk, the memory of the pulsing electricity still lingering. You open your phone typing out a message to Jack but nothing sounds right. You settle on a simple, “I don’t think I’m going to make it there. Sorry.”

Pewter City WhoreHouse. You freeze as you read the sign. No point in waiting. Thanks to the tracker on your wrist, Parks probably knows you’re already here. You open the front door, seeing an erotic setting before you. Men sitting on furniture with a variety of girls sitting on their laps, or bringing them drinks.

“Hey, Cutie. Looking for a good time,” you’re surprised at the question coming from a blonde leaning against the wall. She saunters over to you, brushing her hand against your shoulder. You see the black band on her wrist.

“Oh, she’s here for a good time. But not with you Cora,” Parks says from a balcony overlooking the room. “Can you bring her up here?” Cora grabs your hand dragging you behind her as she leads you through the sitting room. You can see a girl being taken from behind in one corner. You turn away instead seeing a different girl sucking off an older gentleman. A poker game is happening in another corner, a topless girl sitting on each player’s lap.

She brings you up a flight of stairs and down a hallway to a room at the end. “Thank you, Cora,” the blonde seems pleased with Parks’ platitudes. “You can take a seat in the corner while I go over a few things with Amber.” You watch as the blonde walks to the corner before sitting on the floor.

“So, some ground rules. First one, I guess you figured out already, don’t leave town without permission. All your payments should go through your bracelet, then your cut will be delivered to you. My girls have to dress to a certain standard, I’ll have Sarah go through your wardrobe later and mark what is and isn’t okay to wear. Prices in the house are set no haggling, but street prices can vary, the clients can enjoy a good haggle. But we still have a minimum price for everything, you can go lower but you’ll still owe me the minimum. I sent you a menu of services with prices listed.” Parks keeps talking and you try to take in all the info, but it’s a lot. The whole situation also has you on the verge of tears. How could this really be happening? “I let the girls work when they want but I do expect a certain level of performance especially with how much money you owe. You’ll need to give advance notice to reserve a room here in the house but you can work the street whenever. In terms of your debt, interest is added at the end of the month, and if you decide to take up any of my offered services, like my rental properties, those expenses are added at the start. Cora,” he calls out and you turn to look at the blonde in the corner, “can you show Amber the ropes?”

You can see the blonde pause as if she wanted to say no, but instead says “Yes, sir.”

“Good, I know you have a room today, but I’d like you to show her the streets. I’ll make sure to compensate you for your time spent training.” The last bit seems to reassure Cora and ease her conflicted facial expression. “You’re dismissed.” Cora stands up and waves at you to follow her out of the room. “And Amber,” the two of you stop and look at Parks, “welcome to the team.” He lets out a laugh as Cora guides you back out of the whore house.