City Girl

I: Mo Billie:

*Mo Billie*

My name is Maureen Billie Henderson. I am better known as Mo Billie. I am twenty-seven years old and nearly homeless. I just got out of prison after a two-year sentence and am now a Factory Star. My life has never really been together. You know that poor white trash trailer park girl clich�? Yes, that would be me. My mom was queen of the slum lost in a bottle of sake every night. I was left to fend for myself. I started out as a good kid. Everyone was scared of me back then. I didn�t understand why. I wasn�t mean or anything. I just wanted to be left alone most of the time. Not a single person ever wanted to walk up to me and say hi. Even the teachers pretty much left me alone. It would have been nice just to hello to at least one of my classmates. But, that�s just not how it turned out.

As I said before, I was pretty left to fend for myself. That means I tried to survive by all means possible. Sometimes it was legitimate and other times, well, most of the time, the law would frown upon me for the things I did. I�m not going to blame the system for my poor decisions back in the day. It didn�t really help me much either. I just didn�t really know any better and my mother� well� was not really much of a role model either. It was only me versus the world. The world kicked my ass� in the beginning anyway.

But, there is a bit of a step missing. How exactly did I end up in prison and then the Factory? Funny you should ask that�

II: Doing Time:

Like I said before, I had to fend for myself. Most of the time, by the illegal way. The most crime that I did was larceny and petty theft. (I never did stripping or prostitution! I was never that desperate for money and I never will be!) I didn�t keep the stolen loot, of course. (Good thing I was never that stupid. Otherwise, I would still be in prison.) No, I sold the stolen goods over the internet. One thing about me, I learn rather quickly. I can just watch something once and then do it for myself later in life. Again, all part of my survival. My interest business I was running with one of my mom�s friends did rather nicely. We raked in nice amounts of money each week. I soon had enough money to remain afloat and get out of my trailer park trap. However, I messed up big time one night!

I remember that night so clearly. Merchandise from the Hard Rock Caf� was in high demand that summer. My business partner insisted that I go and fetch some. I don�t like doing high-risk shit. This job smelt of trouble and avoidance to me. I tried to reason with my mom�s friend.

�I�m not sure this is a good idea,� I told him. �That place is heavily guarded like castle!�

�It�s okay,� he told me. �I have pal that works security there. He knows the whole place inside out. All you need to do is break, get the stuff, and out get out.� I looked at him slightly odd.

�You promise?� He nodded at me.

�Just don�t screw up, okay?� I nodded at him.

�Right.� My partner patted me on the head.

�That�s a good girl.� I frowned at him. I hate when he pats me on the head that like. I am not a dog! At midnight, I broke into the Hard Rock Caf�. Everything went as planned. I stole the right thing that were in demand on our web site. No problems, right? That�s where I screwed up by accident.

You see, the floor had candles all over it. I only let to so that I could see what I was doing. I made extra sure that I didn�t accidently set anything on fire. I that well�for half of the time I was there. Then, on my way out into the next room, I accidently knocked over some scented oils on the bar. Four small jars to be exact. I didn�t notice until I heard the glass break on the hard wooden floor. I looked down nervously. Oh no, this bad. I watched as the oil trailed to the candles. I held my breath the whole time. Suddenly, the oil stopped. I breathed out in relief. Good, crisis adverted. I went right back to work.

However a couple of minutes later, I smelled smoke. At first, I thought that I was imagining it. But then, the smell got stronger. It didn�t take me long to figure out what just happened. Some of the oil managed to get to one of the smaller candles that I had lit and started a fire. I began to panic. This was the last thing that I needed. A fire would definitely draw attention to this place and I would be going to jail. So, I rushed into the other room and tried to put out the fire before it could really go to shit.

Needless to say, I got caught and arrested. I faced charges of arson and larceny. I was looking at five years in prison tops. That was unless I cut a deal with the prosecutors. Either go to prison for five years or rat out my partner and anyone involved with me and do two years. I�m not a snitch and I was ready to do five years for arson and larceny. But, my lawyer persuaded me otherwise. Lucky for me, the arson charge fell apart because they proved it was an accident. However, I was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. My partner got ten years for the whole thing.

I did my time and got out weeks earlier due to good behavior. However, my story doesn�t end there. I came to the Factory�

III: A New Home:

I just wandered the streets after I got out of prison. Not many places take too kindly to an ex-con. I knew that already, but I had never really experience until I actually went to prison and got out. Everywhere I went, everyone looked down on and turned me away. I could barely even get a job and there was no way in hell I was going back home ever again. (That would be digressing, don�t you think.) But what could I do?

I wandered around on the streets in the rain one late evening and came across the Stardust Factory. Now, I had just expected to just stay for the night until the storm passed. Andy took me in and encouraged me to tell him my story. I didn�t understand why he found me so fascinating in the first place. I was just happy to get out the rain for the night. The next thing I knew, I was a regular at the Factory. In fact, Andy let me live there. To tell you the truth, I don�t know what to think. I don�t really fit in with the other stars. They all came from middle-class and/or rich background. Me? I came out of a slum outside of Tokyo. Add that in with my past and it is so easy to see why I am so lost.

IV: Uncertainty:

I won�t say that I have learned anything from being in prison. I don�t know if I have. I don�t know how my new life at the Factory will turn out. All I know that I am just here and have no choice but to stay. If I leave, I will have nowhere else to go. So, here in the Factory I stay. All I can do is just wait and see what�s going to happen next. Good or not.

Black Path