2
Ava
The flight itself was okay. There were only five passengers on the plane: the zombie Barbies, myself and Amelia. Amelia and I tried to make small talk with Candy, Mandy, and Tandy, but it was difficult because they were so bizarre. I wasn’t sure if what they were saying was the truth, or the product of fantasy.
“So have you heard anything about our employers?” I attempted during the flight. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
Mandy shot me a pointed look.
“We’re working for the Billionaires Club,” she said haughtily.
“Shh! You weren’t supposed to tell them that!” admonished Tandy.
Mandy merely shrugged.
“We all signed confidentiality agreements, so what is there to worry about? Besides, we’re going to arrive soon, so why does it matter?”
Candy stepped in then.
“Shut up, both of you. Yes, Ava. We’ll be working for the Billionaires Club, if you haven’t heard.”
I exchanged another puzzled glance with Amelia, who merely shrugged like she knew nothing. This was getting weirder and weirder.
“Um, excuse me? The Billionaires Club? What is that?” I asked.
The triplets shared a glance and then Candy spoke again.
“It’s an exclusive all-male club of billionaires. Didn’t you know? Can’t you tell from the name?”
I sputtered a bit. No, I could not tell from the name because maybe there were some female billionaires in the club.
“I’m sorry,” I said, trying to keep my patience. “The woman who hired me didn’t tell me anything. How did you hear of the Billionaires Club? How do you become a member even?”
Tandy rolled her eyes again.
“By being a billionaire of course. It’s the only way to be invited to join. But what I heard,” she said, lowering her voice, “is that the island is an escape for them. The men bring girls here to play with, if you get what I mean.”
I stared at her.
“Um no. I don’t get what you mean.”
She tittered a bit, elbowing her sisters.
“Well, they’re billionaires silly, so they can do whatever they want. And what they wanted was a private island in order to indulge in utter debauchery.”
“What?” I said, sitting bolt upright in my seat. “What do you mean, ‘utter debauchery’? I was hired to be a hostess. I don’t know what you were hired to do.”
“Who knows?” shrugged Candy with a sly smile at her sisters. “All I heard is that it can be really fun.”
With that, the blonde turned away and began prattling on about some stupid reality show with her zombie sisters. Meanwhile, I turned to Amelia.
“Do you know what this is about?” I asked, feeling worried.
She looked back at me, eyes wide.
“No sirree,” she said. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Fuck. We were stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere, in a place that was supposed to be a tropical paradise. There would be men waiting there, wanting us to do … what, exactly? Parade about in bikinis? To the tune of thirty thousand dollars, that didn’t sound so bad. Especially since that’s more than a lot of exotic dancers make in a year.
But now, I had an unsettled feeling. How was this going to play out? Was I going to regret taking this job? Hopefully, my name wasn’t going to land in the papers as some unfortunate girl who was kidnapped and murdered while traveling overseas.
As a result, after landing, I was relieved to step outside of the plane to sunny skies, palm trees and a sweltering breeze. The wind was like a humid layer on my skin, making the ninety-degree air feel even hotter. We grabbed our things and de-boarded, and were greeted by who else other than Charity on the tarmac.
“Hi ladies,” she said, nodding at all of us. Charity was dressed in baggy white, breezy linens, and her blonde hair whipped about her face. “First things first. Let’s get you girls settled and then fed.”
That sounded good to me. There had been some warm nuts on the flight, but nothing like an actual meal. My stomach rumbles and I look down ruefully. Sometimes, it seems like I’m always hungry, which is probably why I’m a curvy girl. After all, all foods sound delicious to me. A lot of people don’t like weird or exotic dishes from foreign countries, but I’m not like that. Chicken feet? Bring it on. Ostrich? I’ll take it. Funny-smelling fruit cooked in lamb’s milk? It’s all about trying new things.
As a result, I’m a little round here and there. But that’s okay because I’m comfortable with who I am. Ava Carmichael is sassy and proud and not afraid to strut her stuff even in the tiniest of swimsuits.
After a short walk, we were shown to a dorm to unpack. It was a modest-size building with a long hallway running down the middle, with a bunch of doors leading into single rooms. My room was spartan with a bed, desk, dresser and closet, although it was also bright white and extremely clean. I plunked my small suitcase on the mattress and started to unpack.