Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Sarah

She looked at me upset, got up from the table throwing the napkin anywhere, and stormed out of the room without saying another word. If she left without having the last word, it meant she was really upset.

I finished my meal and went to my room to grab my laptop, searching for job openings and sending my resume for anything that came up. I knew it wouldn't be easy to find something so quickly, especially with no experience at all. But I also knew I wouldn't get anything if I didn't try.

I didn't go to college, even though I had thought about starting since I finished high school. In the past four years, I ended up following Rachel on various trips and put that aside. I can't believe I let so much time go by without doing anything but spending money.

Now I'm twenty-two, broke, without education, and experience, so finding a job would be difficult, I already knew that. But I needed to hustle, and that's exactly what I was doing when Rachel entered my room in a hurry, a few hours later.

"I found a way to make a lot of money, enough for us to buy an apartment and sustain ourselves until you can find a decent job," she said.

"What do you mean!?" I asked, excited.

I was sitting at my desk, in front of the computer, and Rachel came to me, holding my arm and leading me to the bed, where we sat. She was looking at me with a big smile on her face, the same one she always had when she was about to do something I wouldn't like.

"I'm going to auction off my virginity."

I was thankful that I was sitting down because if I had been standing at that moment, I would have collapsed on the floor.

"This has to be some tasteless joke, Rachel," I said in a sour mood, once I finally recovered from the shock. "It's not possible that something like that still exists in this day and age."

“Believe me when I say it exists, and I will do it!”

She used the same tone of voice that I already knew, which warned me not to try to talk her out of something she was already determined to do.

“You can't just auction off your virginity like that. It's crazy!”

Rachel had always been very daring and had already had several boyfriends, but the memory that she always said that she would only lose her virginity if it was something that would bring benefits, like marrying a rich man, made me believe that she was severe, even if what she was thinking of doing was something abominable. It was not so different from what she had in mind before.

“It's a solution, at least temporarily, Sarah. “ Rachel pronounced calmly as if this was something common. “Shirley said that a friend of hers had raised a million-dollar fortune that way.”

“I know that your still being a virgin at this point in your life has nothing to do with finding your true love, as I have always wished for myself. But you're going too far, Rachel!”

She sneered at my words and walked over to my desk, where she took hold of the notebook and typed an address into the search bar, staring at me with a mischievous smile, just like the ones she used to perform her tricks during our childhood.

“Could you help me create a profile on this application and select my best photos?”

“I don't condone this insanity you are planning to pull.”

I stood up abruptly and raised my voice to my sister, something I had never done in my entire existence.

“You don't have to worry so much, Sarah. I am looking for the most appropriate way to solve our problems.”

“I'm sure this isn't the right way, Rachel. We could simply work for a living, just as so many other people do.”

“Work for a living, that's what you mean," she insisted, "But you don't have to worry so much, sister. It's a secure app, and I won't even reveal my identity, I'll just put real pictures of my body, and I can wear a mask on my face. Men will pay for the privilege of being the first to see my "attributes".”

**********

After trying in every way to convince Rachel to give up this crazy idea, I finally gave in, because I would rather be by her side in this insanity and try to bring some sense to the most important person in my life.

“I want you to explain to me how this auction works.”

At that moment, I thought the best thing to do was to follow the saying "If you can't beat them, join them."

“Shirley's friend participated, as I told you. After I register, I will be up for auction for twenty-four hours and after that period, whoever has offered the highest bid will be the winner and will take the extraordinary prize, this being my virginity.”

“I am shocked to see how calmly you talk about this.”

I was truly surprised by my sister's determination to lose her virginity to a stranger, for money, just to try to maintain a lifestyle that no longer belonged to us and she didn't want to accept this reality.

And although I agreed with Rachel's crazy idea, I honestly didn't believe it would come true. I spent all Saturday looking for a place for us to live since had been informed that we needed to move out on Monday, without any additional deadline.

The situation was difficult, but we were lucky enough to still have some money in our bank accounts, so we would not be completely homeless, at least not immediately. However, the amount was minimal and it was crucial to find a source of income as soon as possible, although my sister didn't seem to care about that.

Rachel was confident in selling herself on the auction app, something I considered extremely absurd and even the existence of such a possibility made me horrified, but she didn't realize how crazy it all was.

Three years have passed since we lost our mother. Guilhermina Mitchell was twelve years older than our father and had died at the age of sixty-four due to complications from an unsuccessful cosmetic procedure. Now our father had also passed away, leaving us alone.

Although I disagreed when Rachel spoke ill of him, as he had always been a great father, I had to admit that my sister was somewhat right in saying that Patrick Mitchell had been very irresponsible in leaving us in a difficult situation, after always providing us with the best that money could offer. Now we were penniless.

I was unloading our suitcases with the help of the mansion's staff, after finally finding a small affordable apartment, when Rachel entered the luxurious foyer of the mansion where we still lived, with a radiant smile on her face.

"I got two million dollars!" she exclaimed, elated.

I was about to jump for joy too, but then I remembered what she had offered to do and connected the dots, realizing that the amount must refer to the auction where she had put herself up for sale.

"Are you through with this absurd idea?"

"Nothing will stop me from getting those dollars, Sarah. Nothing!"

Saying that with unwavering conviction, she looked at the suitcases at the foot of the grand staircase leading to the upper floor of our home, and the scene seemed to affect Rachel, as she was soon overcome by convulsive sobs, making it clear how broken she was, just like I felt.

"We've lost everything, Sarah!" she began to speak between sobs. "How can we become so poor all of a sudden? I can't accept... I can't..."

I hugged her and tried to soothe her crying, letting my tears flow freely down my face.

We stood there, comforting each other, as we had always done since we were little. When Rachel seemed a little calmer, she released herself from my arms and looked at me with tear-filled eyes, conveying all the sadness that was crashing down on her.

"I need to get out. I can't bear to stay here and watch our things being thrown away."

Through the same door she had entered just a few minutes ago, she then left again, leaving me there to handle everything alone. I lamented our fate but got to work. No one else would do it for us.