America 1982-Chapter 113 - 28: You Will Fall in Love with This Country
"Want a smoke?" Tommy pulled his car to a stop, took out his own pack of cigarettes, and offered one to Susan Curtis, who was waiting for the last bus at the bus stop at sunset.
Susan accepted one and said thank you.
Tommy lit a cigarette and, together with Susan, watched the setting sun over Palm Drive, "They say you deserved an ’A’ for every class over Saturday and Sunday."
"To be honest, I haven’t seen that letter on a report card since I left elementary school, and back then I didn’t give a damn about it," Susan lit the cigarette with a self-deprecating smile, "But now, I want to earn it in every single performance."
"That letter just represents your longing for a normal life," Tommy exhaled a smoke ring, smiled at Susan, then swung open the door of the Barracuda parked nearby, gesturing for Susan to get in, "I’ll take you back to San Jose."
Susan turned her head back reluctantly, her gaze lingering on Stanford University, now touched with a warm hue by the sunset, even more beautiful than what she could see from her rundown apartment.
The end of the two-day training course meant she wouldn’t see Stanford for the next five days, and for countless moments over these two days, she had thought she was truly part of Stanford University, no different from the smiling, sun-kissed students.
But a single sentence from Tommy dragged her back to the harsh reality – that she was only a normal-looking young Stanford student on Saturdays and Sundays, and once the time was up, she had to roll back to San Jose to continue being a cheap prostitute.
Noticing Susan’s gaze, Tommy did not hurry her, but stood in front of the car door and said to the woman turning back to look, "Nice view, isn’t it?"
"It is beautiful. If you hadn’t reminded me about going back to San Jose just now, I would have thought I belonged here," Susan took her eyes off the view and said to Tommy, "Your reminder made me realize that the money in my pocket isn’t even enough to buy tomorrow’s lunch. I need to find some clients to make money, so I don’t starve to death before the next training session begins."
Then, without any hesitation, she opened the passenger door and sat down.
"I like this kind of attitude," Tommy said with a laugh, cigarette in his mouth, as he started the car.
Susan, with a calm expression, flipped through the ten-page software operation manual in her hands, trying to memorize as many keystrokes as she could. Tommy did not intentionally disturb her until the small town of San Jose came into view and the sunset was left with only a trace of afterglow, then he reminded her:
"The car’s interior light is broken; I haven’t gotten it fixed yet. Continuing to study in such light is very damaging to your eyes."
Susan obediently closed the manual and looked out the window at the familiar streets, "Is it worse than some perverted client unexpectedly burning your back with a cigarette butt while having sex?"
"Let’s switch to a happier topic. Remember the extra reward I mentioned?" Tommy held the steering wheel and exhaled heavily.
"I thought the extra reward was you personally driving me back, saving me the cab fare." Susan turned to look at the man upon hearing his words.
Tommy drove the car aimlessly through the streets, looking for something, meanwhile saying:
"After the regular training, the People’s Equality Advancement Convention will use its influence to recommend trainees to some companies around Silicon Valley. To be honest, I’ve already secured jobs for ten students, with a weekly pay of about $200. It’s less than what you might earn in twenty-four hours of constant work with clients each week, but it includes employee health insurance, meaning if you have problems with your body, teeth, or vision and need to see a doctor, the company will pay for most of it. You would only need to spend a hundred or even as little as tens of dollars per year."
"I don’t make $200 a week, and I have no respect for dentists. This job doesn’t bring in a steady income every day; sometimes I don’t get a single client all day and have to crawl to the alley to give a quick blowjob to a supermarket security guard in exchange for some free supermarket coupons for food," Susan let out a soft breath and then smiled, "So, because I got an ’A,’ I’m guaranteed to get a job ahead of time?"
Tommy glanced at Susan with a smile, "Hear me out. Besides the insurance, there’s also paid vacation. Employees in their first three years get about three days per year, and unused vacation days will be added to the salary. Plus, you’ll have a company-subsidized personal retirement account. That means, if you live to fifty-nine in this crappy world, you’ll get a monthly retirement pension enough to live on. Of course, don’t thank the company or the United State America, just thank the Soviet Union."
Finally noticing a supermarket sign on the roadside, Tommy drove into the supermarket parking lot and said to Susan, who didn’t understand why they were going to the supermarket, "Join me in buying some stuff at the supermarket."
The two of them pushed the shopping cart towards the food section, and as Tommy tossed items like milk, cereal, and bread into the cart, he asked Susan, "What do you think of the job conditions I just mentioned?"
"I don’t think a person like me could refuse such a job," Susan gazed at Tommy’s face and said earnestly, "So when the hell are you going to stop teasing me? What’s the reward? Do you want me to go back to the car and do it with you to get you to talk?" The training teachers were right about you; you’re rotten to the core, Tommy."
Tommy laughed heartily, "You saw through me so quickly under their influence? That’s right, I’m a scumbag, thanks for the invitation, but I just finished being with my girlfriend, don’t need it."
Then he put away his smile and looked at Susan Curtis, "I just want to say, you could fucking be a partner in this tempting company, as long as you work hard. Besides what I just mentioned, you could also own shares in the company and take part in profit sharing."
Susan Curtis was frightened by Tommy’s serious expression, her shoulders shrinking subconsciously. She said uncertainly, "What are you talking about?"
"Silicon Valley companies need people to do some repetitive clerical work, so they need a small human resources company like this one to supply employees. You take care of some of the work for this company, I think you can do it," Tommy said calmly.
"Are you sure you’re not high, Tommy Hawk?" Susan Curtis gazed at Tommy in a daze, "What’s your license plate number? Remember it? You want me to manage human resources... human resources... what’s the name of the company again? I can’t even pronounce the company’s name, and you want me to manage it?"
"Don’t worry, you’re not alone. There will be other helpers, but given that we only advertised in ’Seeking Pleasure’ initially, the trainees will all be girls like you. So, it will be easier for you to interact with them, get it? We’ll focus on teaching you, but you’re going to teach them, just like a madam teaches those girls in a brothel. What’s so hard about that, Susan? You got an ’A’ in unfamiliar computer training, you’ll definitely get an ’S’ dealing with prostitutes." Tommy pinched Susan’s uplifted smooth chin and said with a smile:
"For the next five days, you won’t have to worry about a client burning your back with a cigarette butt. This is enough food for two people for a week and, in the trunk of that car outside, a portable computer. It’s an extra gift for Miss Susan Curtis, who got an ’A’. Focus on studying, and if I see you at Stanford next time and the instructor tells me you’ve already self-taught a part of the course, there will be other rewards waiting for you."
Susan Curtis stood there for a long time until Tommy, pushing the shopping cart, had walked far away. She finally came back to her senses and quickly followed after him, asking at his side, "What do you need me to do, to be honest? If you fucking ask me right now, in front of everyone, to kneel down and take care of you, I wouldn’t refuse."
"I need you to cut down on swearing, talk like those college students training you, then go ask your fellow sisters. Tell them if they are interested, they can change jobs. Just like I promised you before, free training, free job recommendations, they only need to buy the software. However, don’t consider those druggies hooked on dope and the ladies with contagious diseases. There will be a physical exam before employment. If it turns out you let some whore sneak into the training because you felt sorry for her, I’ll kick you out along with her." Tommy picked up a few bottles of juice and placed them into the shopping cart, saying:
"I like people who seize opportunities. You give me that feeling. As long as you keep striving and don’t let me down, you’ll get more attention. That’s what I’m talking about, personally correcting a fucked up life. If you don’t make an effort yourself, no one else will help you, right?"
"I always thought you were perpetually angry, full of foul language, like many people I know. It wasn’t until what you just said that I realized you could be without a trace of anger." Susan stared quietly at Tommy for a while before she spoke.
Tommy gazed at Susan calmly, "Then remember that well. That’s who you have to become, a true bitch."
"Who are these helpers you mentioned? Holly, or your cute girlfriend?" Susan calmed down and followed Tommy, pushing the full shopping cart towards the checkout counter, while she asked.
Tommy handed the items to the cashier one by one while saying to Susan, "No, it’s a good guy named Mark Warren. Remember him? You took a bus to Stanford together. What a peculiar coincidence."
"Is that guy a gigolo? You have me find the women, and he deals with the men?" Susan immediately grasped something and asked Tommy.
Tommy waited until the cashier tallied the bill and took out his wallet to pay. Then he continued to push the shopping cart forward, saying, "No, no, no, don’t insult Mark, okay? He’s definitely not a gigolo. Jason is the gigolo."
"Then what does he do?" Susan asked curiously.
"He used to be an actor and casting assistant in a one-day film company. He tried to persuade my roommate Jason to replace him as an actor and entertain the public with little films. Jason punched him. As compensation and in recognition of his enthusiasm for his work, I decided to give him a better-paying new job." Tommy explained as they exited the supermarket:
"He has a wider network in the California prostitution industry than you do. He’s already persuaded many good-looking prostitutes to change careers and act in small films. I’m just asking him to repeat the persuasive work he’s done before."
Susan Curtis looked up at the dark night sky, which had turned completely black, and after a long time, she finally uttered, "I don’t know what the computer industry is like, Tommy, but I can at least be sure it shouldn’t be what you’re doing now."
"So what? Are you interested in joining this twisted computer industry?" Tommy opened the trunk, tossed the food in, and then asked Susan.
Susan nodded without hesitation, "Why not, it’s the industry that’s twisted, not me."
"Good girl, you’ve got six-tenths of my tone down with that sentence. Keep it up. When you one day really turn into a scumbag like me, you’ll realize it’s not just one industry that’s twisted, the whole United States is twisted," Tommy laughed happily:
"By then, you won’t hate this twisted country anymore; you’ll fall for it genuinely and deeply."
