KARMEN (trixya)

Chapter 1 - That Girl

It was early December. The rain and the snow danced together in slow motion on that cold morning in New York City. The little convenience store at the 45th street was pretty empty with customers due to the blizzard. All employees were already wearing Santa hats, and their cashier, Katya, was not having it.

''I'm just saying, no other store in the whole Times Square is making their employees wear these stupid hats!''
''Katya, you haven't been to many stores lately, have you? The entire city is on Christmas mode! You need to get out of your house more often.'' Said Gary, the store manager.
''Whatever you say, Gary, whatever you say.'' Katya said leaning over the counter.

All the not-at-all-busy employees turned their heads when the little bell on top of the entrance of the store made a noise, indicating their first customer of the day was walking in. Gary smiled weirdly wide and walked towards the customer. Katya couldn't yet see the face of the customer, due to the shelves in front of her. A few minutes later, a tall blonde girl with a pastel pink turtleneck sweater under a white trench coat walked towards the cashier with two bottles of vodka. Katya couldn't take her eyes off of the girl. She had rosy cheeks and nose due to the cold temperature, bright pink lips and the longest lashes Katya's ever seen. She looked like a Barbie doll brought to life. Even though it was one of the coldest days of the year, Katya could feel the sweat running down her back.

''Hello?'' the customer said.
''Oh, sorry!'' Katya woke up from her daydream. ''I...hum...It'll be 45 dollars and 80 cents.''
''Katya!'' Gary said, like Katya was doing something wrong.
''Oh, sorry Miss, I need to see your ID first.''

Gary face palmed, like that was not what he meant when he called Katya out. The blonde girl handed Katya her ID. Beatrice Barbara Mattel . 22 years old.
''Thank you!'' Katya smiled and gave the ID back to her owner.

Beatrice gave a 50 dollar bill to Katya, whose hands were ice cold and a little shaky.

''Wow, your hands are so cold, are you okay?''
''Oh, don't worry miss Beatrice, I'm always cold.''
''You can call me Trixie.'' She said smiling.
''Well, there you go, Miss Trixie. Thank you!'' Katya said, handing the bag with the vodka bottles and the change.
''Thank you.'' Trixie said, smiling back at Katya and leaving the store.
''Katya, what the hell?'' Gary said right after Trixie left.
''What did I do this time, Gary?''
''Don't you know who she is?''
''A...very pretty customer?''
''Oh my god, go buy a TV.'' Gary walked away.

By 7:30 P.M. the night shift employees arrived, meaning Katya's shift was over. She put on her big burgundy winter coat and took the bus home. She lived in a studio apartment in Queens, it was small but cozy. It was good enough for her. Katya took a hot shower and snuggled under 3 blankets in her bed. She poured some wine to herself and turned on the TV on a random channel. It was one of those late night celebrity interview shows. Katya was watching it, more interested in her wine than the TV itself, when suddenly a tall girl with big blonde curls appeared on the show, to be interviewed. Katya almost spilled her wine all over the bed when she realized it was that beautiful customer Trixie from early that morning. Katya walked towards the TV to turn up the volume.

''Welcome back, Trixie Mattel! How long has it been, a year?''
''Oh, I think so. Hey everyone!''

''Holy fucking shit fuck.'' It finally hit Katya that Trixie was actually a celebrity.
Katya rarely watched TV or consumed any kind of entertainment aside from old French movies, and when she did, she had never watched an entire interview without falling asleep or cursing at the TV and switching channels. This time, she payed attention to every single detail of that show, especially that girl. She found out Trixie's done many famous movies in the last couple of years, movies she's heard of but never watched. Katya almost felt like she could fall in love with her at any given moment. The way she talked, the way she laughed, the way she smiled, everything was stuck on Katya's head. But eventually, after the show ended, Katya had to get dressed to her nighttime work.
She went to the pier to wait for clients every other day. She was a very beautiful woman, and she knew that. It wasn't hard for her to get clients, aside from her regular ones. Sex work wasn't exactly something she did out of need; she actually enjoyed giving people the fantasy that they wanted, being in charge, having the power. And of course, the money was more than good, and sometimes the sex would be good as well.
After putting on some makeup and some more fancy clothes, Katya left for the Pier. It was a very cold night in New York, she could feel her bones aching as she walked to the bus stop. At least it was warmer inside the bus.
Katya barely got off the bus and put a foot on the street when an extremely bright headlight nearly blinded her, and then everything was dark.