It was easy not to care about money when you always had it. I didn't come from one of those families. It had never gotten to the point where I had to go to sleep hungry, but we never went on vacations either. We only got new clothes when our old ones were falling apart, and my parents had been stuck in the same jobs for years because they didn't have the qualifications for upward mobility.
I wanted something different. That was why I had worked so hard to get into college and why I was trying so hard to get through it with as little debt as possible. I had gotten this far with just one year left and I didn't care what it was going to take, I was going to be successful. It wouldn't matter in five years. It wouldn't matter in ten years. I would finally be somewhere and this would be part of my past.
I went back to my bed and started my broadcast. After peeling the tape off of my webcam, I situated myself in the little frame and started waiting for my room to fill up. Nerves shot through me. Depending on how well it went, I was staying online no more than forty-five minutes. A large part of camming was chatting with the guys. Kenya told me that some guys would pay to go into private chat rooms with you and I was looking forward to it. The money, not the actual chatting.
After about two minutes, somebody popped up.
Oh shit. Oh shit, he could see me.
His screen name was Hapth0r12 and of course, he didn't have an avatar. I waved and said hi, going into the chat and typing him a message.
bby_jugs: Hi there, thanks for joining me. What would you like to see?
Hapth0r12: Hey beautiful.
Almost immediately, I was notified that he had tipped me a hundred credits.
I would love to see more of you, he sent in the chat.
That was easy. I got on my knees and slowly pulled my dress up over my head. Getting the dress up over my face, I felt it pull my mask loose. I tried to grab it, but it came off with my dress. I squeaked and quickly ducked out of frame to put the mask back on properly.
I looked back at the chat to see if more people had shown up. Hapth0r12 had replied.
Hapth0r12: Addi??
I froze reading my name.
Holy shit.
Oh no, how did he know who I was?
Oh crap, he just put my name in the chat. I couldn't let anyone else see it. I quickly ended the broadcast and logged out.
How had he seen who I was? My mask was off for literally two seconds and then I got out of frame.
If he knew my name it was because he knew my face. Somebody I knew had logged into my broadcast.
I had been a cam girl for literally six minutes and my worst possible fear had come true. Could I get expelled for this? What if somebody I went to school with saw me and decided to expose me? The thought made me hyperventilate.
I had thought of all these risks, but it was so much scarier now that somebody in my chat had actually figured out who I was.
My phone on my desk started ringing. Still shaking from the experience, I went over and picked it up. I wasn't sure who I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't Adam.
“Hello? Why are you calling me?” I asked. As my best friend's older brother, we knew each other, but not like that.
“Addi? Adriana, tell me I didn't just see you on a fucking cam site right now,” he said.
The expression my life flashed before my eyes did not do justice to the immediate flood of emotions that went through me right then.
“A what? I don't know what you're talking about Adam. I'm busy tonight. I'm hanging up.”
“You were wearing this pink and black mask and a dress with flowers on it? Do you think I'm blind? What the hell were you doing on there?”
“Me? What were you doing on there? What the hell are you watching cam shows for?”
“So, it was you?”
“No!”