Saturday morning, the Dicken sisters got me started on my final practice session immediately after breakfast on the main stage, while Melody, Jess, Carmen, and Lou were all getting hand-to-hand combat and self-defense lessons from Aunt Merry and Annika. Saying it was my final practice session was a bit of a misnomer though since, even if I was ready for the stage now, I would still have to keep practicing and developing my skills if I was to make a career of this. I would also occasionally have to come up with new routines, though my mentors offered to help with that when I needed it and told me that some routines could be improvised on the fly, so long as I had the basics down.

Still, it would be my last practice session before I was on the stage in front of paying customers later that night, and I wanted to make the most of it. I still felt like I could do better, like there were little errors that I could still iron out, even if my mentors thought I was doing great. They were probably right about me making excuses, and if I hadn’t already committed to performing that night, I would have kept finding reasons to put it off.

I had the jitters bad, terrified of the performances to come that night and of making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of paying customers and people I cared about. I was worried about letting my mentors down too and proving that their faith in me was unfounded. Logically, I knew that I was just nervous, afraid, and being too hard on myself, but that’s the thing about fear, it doesn’t give a shit about what’s logical.

So, I worked my pretty little ass off and continued trying to iron out issues that probably didn’t exist while the sisters watched my performances and encouraged me that I was doing great and was sure to be a big hit with the club patrons. Maybe I was extra self-conscious because my mentors weren’t the only ones watching my practice session and it felt more like a dress rehearsal, making it more real. I was doing my act in the costumes that I planned on wearing for my shows that night and Mom, Pandora, and all the other dancers were sitting at tables near the stage watching me.

It almost felt like I was taking a final exam that I hadn’t prepared for at all with all of them watching me the whole time. I tried not to think about it and focus on just going through my performance. I mean, it wasn’t like there weren’t going to be people watching me perform tonight, right? At least these were people that I knew and cared about instead of strangers who were just lusting after my body and probably wanting to do more than just look at it and watch me.

Just the thought of people watching me like that and wanting to do things with me made me wet. Okay, wetter, I am a Nymph after all. These weren’t just some imaginary faceless nobodies though, these were people I cared about, so I tried to keep my horny thoughts at a minimum and focus on the performance. They might be able to give me some constructive criticism or suggestions on how to improve.

I went through both of the stage routines that I had been working on as well as the various pole routines that Anita had been working with me on. Stella had told me that later, when I had more experience and confidence in my skills, I would probably be able to improvise routines spontaneously. Apparently, most of the dancers did that unless they were bored with their usual routines and wanted to come up with something new and interesting.

Every time that someone laughed or said something that I couldn’t quite hear over the music, I would get nervous, and my eyes would shift in their direction. I tried not to let it affect my performance, but I couldn’t help but be worried that they were talking or joking about something I had messed up on. I knew that wasn’t the case, of course, but performance anxiety was making my brain go all worst-case scenarios on me.

By the time I finished the routines I had been working on, the Dicken sisters seemed happy with my performance, and I was a little surprised when the other dancers applauded. “I’d do her,” Krysti said with an impish grin.

“Krysti!” Nixie complained as she punched the Kitsune in the shoulder.

“What? Those routines were hot, and she’s a lot better than I was when I first started,” Krysti defended.

“Anyone is better than you when you first started, Krysti,” Nadia teased. “On your first night, you tripped on that long, translucent skirt that you insisted would look so sexy while you were dancing.”

I winced in sympathy as Krysti blushed and complained, “You said that you’d never bring that up again.”

“I lied,” the Lamia said with a teasing smirk.

“You did well, Crystal,” Pandora said, breaking through the pair’s exchange and giving me a sympathetic smile. “You looked a little nervous, and there is always room to improve, but we were all nervous our first times on stage. As long as you remember your routines and have fun with them, you’ll do fine tonight.”

Mom, who was snuggled next to her fiancée, nodded in agreement. “You’re looking good on stage for a newbie, Snowflake, and you’ll only keep getting better with experience. You’re ready for tonight, so go get a shower in and try to enjoy the rest of your day until the club opens.”

With that, everyone else got back to whatever they wanted to do while I made sure that my stage costumes were clean, with a bit of Divine magic the Ms. Norstrom had taught me to cleanse things of dirt and grime. Then I placed them back on my costume rack for later that night before going upstairs to take a shower and get dressed to meet the other Auto Shop girls for a day in the wrecking yard after lunch.

We arrived at Alex’s wrecking yard a little after one o’clock. Since I was planning on helping Carmen finish breaking up the engine and transmission that she needed for her Optima SX Turbo into more manageable pieces for transport. Carmen and I were both wearing our insulated coveralls over our clothes and a pair of insulated work gloves. I didn’t want to be trying to clean a bunch of oil or grease off my skin and clothes before work tonight and they would help keep Carmen warm while we worked.

Melody was with us, to protect us, if necessary, of course, but she was all bundled up in winter gear to keep warm. Selina had come along as well, and she was dressed similarly to me and Carmen since she was going to be hanging out with Nova, helping the Nereid to find and remove more parts for her Toyota Camry. The two were only a year apart in age and it was nice seeing that the two appeared to be getting so close.

The others were waiting, and I was surprised to see Mallory with them. “Hey, everyone,” I called out as we approached. “We can only stick around for a couple of hours today since I need to be back home when the club opens to get ready for work.”

“No worries,” Clarice said with a shrug, “Mallory and I are working tonight too. We need to be back at the café for the dinner rush. Dad has had her working, like every night this week, but he’s giving her tomorrow off. She’s doing really well, and he wants to start training her as an actual line cook tonight. The pay will be a lot better than she gets as a kitchen helper. I thought I’d bring her along with me so we could start teaching her some basic mechanics and stuff.”

I grinned at the Efreeti and offered, “Good for you, Mallory. I’m glad the job is working out for you; I knew you’d do well. I’m a little nervous about starting mine tonight. I have the first-night jitters so bad right now. Working on cars will be a welcome distraction.”

Mallory blushed but said, “Thanks, Crystal. So, I know that Jess tends the bar, and Melody is a trainee bouncer, but what will you be doing there?”

That was when I realized that I hadn’t really mentioned anything about becoming a dancer or the training that I was doing at night with my mentors during our lunch conversations, so Mallory would have no idea about my budding career. “Oh, I’ll be up on stage. I’ve been learning dancing, pole dancing, and stuff since before Christmas and training practically every night.”

The Efreeti’s eyes widened again as she once again blushed. “You’re going to be a stripper?”

“Yeah, I’m told I’m pretty good at it and with the… umm…compulsions and stuff, there aren’t many regular jobs that Nymphs can do. This works for me and it’s fun too, but we prefer the terms ‘dancer’ or ‘erotic entertainer’ over that. ‘Stripper’ sounds dirty. I can make really good money by providing extra services too.” I could see her put two and two together as I mentioned the extra services and asked uncertainly, “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“What? No!” Mallory surprised me by laughing. “My mom… her night job is providing… services like that. I meant it when I said she’d do anything to keep a roof over our heads. I was always terrified of Delilah finding out about that and I guess it’s made me a bit guarded. If you enjoy doing what you’ll be doing and can get what you need from the job too, all the power to you.”

“Please tell me she’s not working in one of those seedy Paranormal brothels downtown,” I said with a shudder. I had heard about those from Nixie, who had been working at one of them before coming to work at the club a couple of years ago. She’d been in a bad place back then, both figuratively and literally, and the drugs she was on back then blinded her to how bad things really were.

Nixie told me that the brothels were little more than the abandoned buildings they looked like from the outside. They were filthy, rat-infested, and the people who ran the places took most of the money, leaving the girls who did the work with practically nothing to live on. They didn’t give a shit about the health of the girls working there either. If my mom and Pandora hadn’t run across her on a Sunday night trying to turn tricks on the side for some extra cash, Nixie would probably still be in that situation and riddled with STDs or dead.

Apparently, the shudder and the concern in my tone was enough to concern Mallory as well. “Umm… honestly, I don’t know. She doesn’t like to talk about it much. What little time we both have at home together; she tries to spend with me.”

Whether she was working at one of those places or turning tricks independently, neither was the best situation. Both could endanger her health and safety. I didn’t like it. From what Mallory said, and what I had seen of her cheap phone and anything else that Delilah hadn’t had a direct hand in buying for her, they were barely making ends meet, even with her mom working two jobs. They could do better.

I considered the problem and asked thoughtfully. “Hey, Mallory, is your mom as… ummm… hot as you in her Ifreeti form? How well can she control her flames?”

Mallory flipped through her phone, displaying a selfie of her in her Efreeti form with another Efreeti woman who looked very similar, and young enough to be an older sister rather than her mother. I guess Efreeti aged as slowly as their Demon cousins. “That’s me with Mom,” she said. “She can control her flames really well; she can keep them barely manifested for the entire day if she needs to when in her natural form. She’s been wanting to teach me, but she just hasn’t had the time while working so much.”

I quickly shot a text to my mom, hoping that she would be with Pandora, and they would agree to what I was suggesting. I sent a brief explanation of the situation as well before turning my attention back to the Efreeti to ask, “Is your mom working right now?” The odds were likely that she was, but I was hoping she would have a way of contacting her.

“She’s working at the convenience store right now,” Mallory replied almost instantly as the others watched, wondering what I was getting at.

~ Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking, Crystal? ~ Carmen sent along the Salamander network.

She had obviously sent an open message, which I assumed Melody got as well since my girlfriend contributed, ~ If we’re thinking along the same lines, she probably is. You’re thinking about seeing if your mom and Pandora will hire her to work at the club, aren’t you, Babe? ~

~ Yeah, I know we’ll probably have to be careful with certain secrets until we’re sure we can trust Mallory and her mom completely, but I think they deserve a better life than they have, and Mom was just saying yesterday that we could use another Dancer or two, even with me starting tonight. It doesn’t sound like she’d be averse to the work, and she’s really hot. Pun intended. We don’t have any dancers like her at the club yet either… ~ I mentally stammered.

~ I think it’s sweet that you want to help, Babe, ~ my girlfriend soothed. ~ I’ll back you if comes to that. ~

~I’ll back you too. I like Mallory and I think you’re right, she and her mom deserve better, ~ Carmen agreed. That was when I got a call from Pandora’s number.

“Umm… hey, Pandora,” I answered awkwardly.

My future stepmother opened with a teasing, “You’re just like your mother, you know, wanting to help everyone.”

“I don’t try to help everyone,” I heard Mom complain in the background.

“You’re so cute when you pout like that,” Pandora said with a giggle before turning her attention back to me. “For the record, your mother and I approve of your idea. We are willing to give her an interview and a tryout tomorrow, whenever her schedule allows, to get a feel for her. If she has potential, then we’ll offer her the same deal all our full-time girls living above the club get, including room and board for her and her daughter.”

“Really?” I asked, both surprised and relieved.

“Yes, but if that happens, we’ll be having a second interview with her and her daughter, using a truth spell artifact, to make sure that they can be trusted with certain secrets or if they would be willing to take a binding oath. I trust your judgement, but you said that you’ve only met Mallory, not her mother yet. I would rather we err on the side of caution,” she told me, and honestly, I could completely understand that position. I had secrets that I would rather not have get out beyond the family.

“Yeah, I totally get that. Thanks, Pandora, I’ll let her know,” I replied. Then I took a deep breath and turned back to Mallory to say, “That was Pandora, she’s my mom’s fiancée and co-owner of the club. They’re willing to give your mother a job interview and audition tomorrow at Pandora’s Box, whenever she has time if she wants it. She’d be making a lot more than what she’s probably making now at both jobs and there are benefits too, like healthcare and stuff.”

Mallory practically crushed me in a hug as she exclaimed, “Thank you, Crystal! But… umm… why?”

“Because you’re my friend, and what your mom is doing… even if she’s not in one of those brothels and doing it independently, it’s dangerous. I know she can probably take care of herself with her fire and stuff, but even the strongest Paranormals can be taken by surprise. At the club we make sure that our entertainers are safe, and we get the best healthcare available to prevent diseases, care for injuries, and stuff. She shouldn’t have to endanger herself so you can both live a decent life.”

“Dangerous doesn’t begin to cover it,” Melody added grimly. “Snatchers or the Chimera Syndicate would love to get their hands on a rare Paranormal like an Eftreeti, especially with how hot you can get your flames. You have no idea how lucky your mom is that she hasn’t had people coming after her, maybe she’s been smart though and keeping a human guise on. The club tries to keep their employees safe from stuff like that, the wards on the building are insane.”

Twenty minutes after the conversation with Mallory, I found myself pulling the Charger in front of the pumps at a gas station with a connected convenience store. Mallory and Melody were both in the car with me since my girlfriend didn’t want to let me out of her sight. She had the nerve to call me a trouble magnet. Sure, it was true, but she didn’t have to actually say it like that.

Mallory’s mom wasn’t allowed to take calls while at work and Mallory was a bit worried about missing her and being unable to make sure she got the message before tomorrow, what with them both working tonight. So, we made a brief trip to the place where her mom worked during the days to talk to her directly. I figured that being the one to bring her would let me fill up on gas and allow me to meet Mallory’s mother and get a read on her before tomorrow.

The others were already starting on their projects, and my daughter would be sticking with and learning from Nova while I was gone. Bella had offered to use her automotive knowledge and Metal magic to help Carmen get started with the transmission and engine takedown of her Optima until we got back as well. Apparently, Bella had cheated with magic and had already retrieved the majority of the parts she would need for her Ford Focus.

As I filled up the tank on the Charger, I considered how safe it was for an Efreeti to be working at such a place, in fairly close proximity to gas pumps and all. I guessed that it probably wasn’t a big deal since Mallory had said she had good control over her flames, and she probably worked in her human guise anyway since this wasn’t a Paranormal business and she would have to hide her true self from the normies. I finished filling up the tank, using my debit card to pay, and then locked up the car so we could follow Mallory into the convenience store to find her mom.

We didn’t have to look far since her mother was working the counter, but with Melody and Mallory’s help, I got a basket full of snacks and sodas to share with the girls back at the wrecking yard since she had a couple of customers in line when we walked in. I also got myself a cola flavored slushie since the machines were running and I wanted a nice, icy sweet treat. By the time we finished grabbing snacks and stuff, the lineup was gone, and we were the only customers left in the tiny store.

We walked up to the counter, and I was presented with a woman who looked more like Mallory’s older sister than her mother, even in her human guise. Not that I was one throw stones about that kind of thing between my own mother and my adoptive daughter. “Hi, welcome to…” she started to say before looking up and catching sight of her daughter. “Mallory, what are you doing here?” she asked after a quick look around.

“Hey, Mom,” Mallory said quietly. “These are a couple of my new friends, Crystal and Melody. I… uhh… needed to talk to you about something really quick. It’s important.”

The elder Efreeti, noting that we were the only customers, began to ring up our purchases absently as she looked over at me and my girlfriend and gave us a genuine smile. “She’s been talking about her new friends all week, telling me how you’ve all been looking out for her. Thank you for that.”

“Mallory is worth it, we’re happy to have her as a friend,” I replied, matching her smile for one of my own. "Actually, it’s me that needs to talk to you, Ma’am,” I told her honestly before pausing a moment to think about how to bring this up without offending her or stomping all over her pride. “You see, Mallory has been telling us how hard you’ve been working to support her, and I was thinking that it doesn’t need to be that hard, for either of you.”

Mallory saw that I was starting to flounder a bit as I tried to think of a polite way to bring up the job idea and said in a quiet tone, “Today, Crystal told me that she’s starting a new job as an… entertainer at that big Paranormal club, Pandora’s Box. She thought I might be a prude about that kinda thing, and I might have brought up your night job.”

Her hand stopped scanning items, and her facial expression was a mix of concern and confusion. I jumped back in, trying to spare her some stress and get to the point. “You see, Ma’am, my mom and her fiancée are co-owners of the club, and they were telling me yesterday that we could still use more entertainers at the club. So, I kinda talked to them about your situation. If you want it, you have an interview and audition at the club tomorrow, whenever you have the time. You could make a lot more than you’re making now and there are benefits and stuff too. I know I should probably keep my nose out of…”

My words were cut off as Mallory’s mother reached across the countertop to crush both me and her daughter in a hug. Okay, the whole family was huggers, good to know. When she let us go, she seemed at a loss for words for a moment. Her eyes were glistening, and she had to choke out the words, “Thank you… I’m… so glad that Mallory has found such… good people to be her friends. Delilah…” She didn’t finish that sentence but from the distasteful look on her face, it wasn’t hard to imagine what she thought of Delilah.

“If a friend is hurting or in a bad situation and I can do something about it, then I would have to be a pretty shitty friend not to do that. That’s common sense, and the only thanks I need is having Mallory as a friend in the first place. You don’t need to thank me, Ma’am. So… about the interview?” As grateful as she seemed to be, I was still a little worried that she might turn it down.

She shook her head with a sad smile and my breath caught in my throat until she said, “If only that kind of common sense was more common. I’ll be there at eleven o’clock in the morning. Thank you for caring enough about my daughter to make this happen. What should I wear?”

That question had me frozen for a moment since I had absolutely no clue. It wasn’t like I had an interview before starting. “Umm… something sexy? I’m… uhh… guessing that you know what the entertainers at the club do, right?”

“I’ve heard enough about the place to have a pretty good idea. I don’t have any experience with the kind of… dancing you all do, or I probably would have applied there by now to provide the other services. I’m willing to work hard and learn though.” At that moment a pair of people entered the store though, so she resumed scanning our items and ringing up our total.

A moment later, I paid for our treats and said, “It was nice meeting you, Ma’am, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow. My mom and Pandora can go over all the details with you when they do the interview.”

With that, Mallory quickly hugged her mother and said goodbye while the other customers were looking away and then we headed out to the Charger, Melody carrying the pair of bags as I sipped at my slushie. It was almost as good as ice cream. Then the three of us climbed back into my car and went back to the wrecking yard to join the others.