Katie was in a hurry. It was a warm, sunny day and her 2007 Honda was speeding along the back roads of town towards the address she had been given. The windows were rolled down and the wind felt nice blowing against her body. As usual for a beautiful spring day, Katie wore a pair of extra short jean shorts, a sleeveless white top with spaghetti strings and a sports bra. At 20, she had an athletic body that needed to be shown off along with her 34D's and long dirty blonde hair.
She wasn't quite sure where she was going, but she knew she had to hurry. Normally she would be doing homework or hanging out with her college friends, but her friend Emily had called that she was in trouble and needed help. Katie and Emily had been best friends back in high school, but had drifted apart a bit in the last couple of years. They had been there for each other through thick and thin in high school, so Katie wasn't about to let her old friend down now.
Emily was always the wild one. A bit of a tomboy she was a few inches shorter than Katie's five foot ten inches and her chest was a bit smaller as well. They both played soccer and basketball in high school with Emily excelling in soccer while Katie was the better basketball player due to her height. They ran with the popular crowd, although Katie seemed to get more guys with her big boobs and blonde hair.
Katie knew that Emily had been working a few odd jobs but was not finding much success with any of them. Katie on the other hand was doing fairly well using student loans to get her own small apartment while she neared an associate degree at the local Community College. They still got together occasionally, but it had been almost a year since they had seen each other or talked.
As she neared the address in an older, industrial part of town, Katie couldn't help but wonder what Emily had gotten herself into this time. Emily had always experimented a bit with drugs and occasionally ran with a rougher crowd. But she was a good friend, and underneath her wild side was a loving girl. So whatever Emily had gotten herself into, Katie was there for her.
She found the address that Emily had directed her to and pulled into the small parking lot along the side in the shadow of the three story building. Hopping out she went down a half dozen steps to the door in the directions and knocked. Moments later the door opened and there stood Emily. The two old BFFs hugged eagerly then stepped back to take each other in.
Katie noted that Emily looked relatively good although she was a bit thinner than she had been the last time they were together. Her jet black hair was done up in a pixie cut and she was dressed in slightly dingy jeans and a t-shirt. While Emily still looked good, it was apparent looking at her face that recent stress and issues were weighing upon her.
Looking around the room, Katie noted that they were alone in an old, empty storage area. The dust indicated that the space hadn't been used in a while. There was a desk and chair and a few boxes, but not much else. The fluorescent lights were functional but still provided a somewhat dim environment.
"God it's good to see you again Emily."
"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice," Emily responded. "Has everything been going well with you?"
"Yes. School is going well and I have a good lead on a job once I finish my degree next month. Nothing exciting on the relationship front, just some casual dating due to the demands of college. But enough about me. You sounded so frantic on the phone. What kind of trouble are you in?"
Emily gave a deep sigh. "Money. It's a bit of a story. Drugs and gambling; and my bad decisions."
"Well I'm here for you," Katie replied. "So why don't you fill me in. I'm not sure how much help I can be with monetary issues as my loans just barely take care of my monthly expenses. But if I can do anything else, consider it done."
"I knew I could count on you Katie!"
"My problems started out with my experimenting with various drugs with the help of my dealer Mikey," Emily continued. "Nothing excessive so it's not like I'm addicted to anything. But probably a bit too much fun. At first it was minimal and not an issue. Then it got a bit out of hand. I couldn't afford what I wanted, but Mikey helped me out. Before I knew it, I was into him for quite a bit of money."
"How much do you owe?" Katie inquired.
"Well it's not that simple as there's more to the story. Actually let me actually demonstrate to you part of the story while I go over the background. Come over here so I can explain things a bit better and faster."
Katie followed Emily across to the center of the room to where a stack of boxes lay beside a line of metal poles that supported the ceiling. Emily continued, "This will help you understand the picture as we go. Just stand with your back to this pole for a second while I prepare what I need to show you."
Katie was a bit confused at what she had to show her instead of just telling her what was going on, but she was all for whatever would speed up the story.
Emily continued, "Mikey started hounding me for the money and I just couldn't pay him. So he offered me an option to try to get even with a high stakes poker game he was hosting at his place with a few friends. He fronted me some cash and since my dad had taught me how to play, I thought I had a good chance to win my way back to even or better."
Emily was now standing behind Katie and said, "Put your hands behind your back for a second."
Katie responded, "So I assume the poker game didn't go well?" as she, without thinking, complied with Emily's request.
"Well I was ahead for most of the night, but I went all in with three aces thinking my luck had finally changed. It hadn't and my debt was suddenly twice what it was at the beginning of the night."