Alif (5) "How on earth can letting a few people live their own lives possibly cause any disaster..." wondered Binta. "A pervert like you just can't understand why..." "Well, you're passionate about going around in the buff. You think it's a big deal, and what you like about Agdal is that it lets you do so. Whereas I really don't think nudity's a big deal at all. I could quite happily wear clothes if there were a better selection than there is here, but I can't change my sexuality. For me, the attraction of Agdal isn't to show my body off to everyone, like you do, but just to be able to lead a normal contented life." "The only way you can do that is by renouncing your unnatural tendencies. How can you possibly think that there is anything normal or to be contented about in lusting after other women? The whole idea makes me feel rather unwell." "Maybe so, but ..." began Binta, who evidently enjoyed arguing with Ketaba, when she was quite suddenly interrupted by a loud persistent buzz. She cursed under her breath and then frowned at Ketaba and Ana. "I'm afraid my shift's due to start now. I'll have to ask you to leave." "That's fine, Binta dear. A girl's got to do an honest day's work!" smiled Ketaba as she stood up. Ana stood up too. "Well, goodbye then." "Goodbye, Ana," smiled Binta warmly who also stood up and kissed her tenderly on the cheek, sending a frisson through Ana's body. She just wasn't used to even the most innocent kisses back home, and she was very aware of Binta's tastes. However, Ketaba also kissed Binta as they left, so Ana concluded that this kissing reflected nothing more than casual affection, and was bound to be commonplace in an institution like the Brothel. As Ana and Ketaba left, she observed that the light above the door was now set to green. "So, what do you think of Binta?" asked Ketaba as they walked along the corridor. Ana didn't know what to say. She felt quite unsettled by their conversation and by the continued presence of a naked woman. What was she supposed to think? People weren't like this in Rif. "She seems all right," she answered noncommittally. "I wouldn't say that. Being homosexual, there's obviously something wrong with her. I just hope she gets over it. What about you though? When did you start working here?" "I start tomorrow." "Tomorrow! My! You are new to the Brothel! What do you think of it so far?" "It's bigger than I thought," Ana remarked awed by the extent of the corridor punctuated by red, green and yellow lights. How would she ever find her way out? "Well, it's the biggest Brothel in the country, you know! Probably the world. You should feel proud to be working at such a prestigious place. And while you're here I really urge you to seriously consider a spell of prostitution yourself. It's healthy, it's good money and it'll do you a world of good..." "No, I don't think so. I'm just a secretary. That's all I want to do here..." "That's what your predecessor, Inta, said at first. But she soon changed her mind. Although she was only a Gamma Plus, she didn't do too badly out of it. However, I'd be foolish to believe that you would have any concrete idea of what you really want to do on your first day here. I'm sure you'll see your way to a more active career." Ketaba paused as they arrived at a stair-case. "Erm, I don't suppose you really know your way round here yet. Do you know where you want to go?" Ketaba escorted Ana to the foyer down a complex series of corridors and stair-cases. She chatted away amiably, telling Ana about all the exciting things to do in Blad: the cafés to visit, the theatres and the tourist attractions. She interspersed her chat with references to the enjoyment and satisfaction she got from her career and how Ana should at least consider becoming a naturist. Ana only partly heard what Ketaba was saying. Her thoughts retread her day so far, returning frequently to the image of Binta lying on her bed waiting for the male clients she so despised. 5 Ana began learning her secretarial duties, and finding her way around the office and the software she had to use. There was a lot to learn and her only guidance was some unspecific instructions from the Director such as where she was to sit and what she was expected to produce, but her college training had prepared her well, and she soon felt quite confident in her work. She felt rather less confidence when she ventured outside the office to walk along the labyrinthine corridors to the canteen or to the toilet, but although often horribly lost at first, she was now more concerned about her embarrassment as she passed the scantily clothed employees. This included Binta whom she met by chance while taking some documents to the centralised photocopying room. As always she was totally undressed, and Ana blushed quite visibly as she approached from the other end of the corridor. "Fitting in well, I hope?" Binta wondered. "Yes, thank you," Ana shyly answered. "I'm beginning to remember where everything goes." "I'm sure you are," mused Binta, dawdling by the fire door running her fingers through her long hair. "Look...erm... do you want to come for a swim after work?" "A swim?" "Yes, in the Brothel Baths. No one would mind you turning up." "But I haven't brought a swimming costume with me." Binta laughed. "You'd look pretty out of place in one of those, I can tell you! This is a brothel, remember. No, Ana, you don't need a swimming costume: just your sweet self. Come on! You haven't got anything else lined up, have you?" Ana had to admit she hadn't, so immediately after work she eventually located the Brothel's swimming pool, which was closed off to the public and accessible only to employees. As Ana could see before she made her way into the changing area at the pool-side, there was definitely no need for any kind of bathing costume. None of the half dozen or so girls splashing about in the pool were wearing any more clothes than Binta who was floating in the deep end with her hair fanning out around her, looking like an exotic giant water-lily. Ana self-consciously took her clothes off, uncomfortably aware that this was the first time she'd ever bared her slim untanned body in public, and stood selfconsciously by the poolside. Binta swam towards her, her back and buttocks obscured by a trail of long hair. "Hi there! Come on in. The water's lovely and warm!" Ana cautiously lowered herself down the steps into the pool, feeling the distinct chill of water progressively lapping up her legs and thighs. Then with the courage she knew she had to find, she surrendered her whole weight to the water, braving the sting of chlorinated water on her eyes. Her head and hair sank beneath the surface where she saw Binta's naked body glide towards her. "This pool's one of the few things I'm grateful for here," laughed her friend when Ana's head surfaced. "It's to compensate for the hard work we do, I suppose." Ana regarded the other prostitutes, some of whom fastidiously swam with their faces and bound-up hair out of the water so as not to smudge the thick make-up or to get chlorine-scented locks. Ana span around and lay on her back, looking up at the evening sunlight streaming through the glass-covered ceiling. Binta was right: this was a very pleasant pool. Perhaps she could come to enjoy working here. As she righted herself to chat to her floating friend, she was suddenly sprayed by a sudden wave caused by someone diving into the pool rather too nearby. The pale body of the culprit descended to the very bottom of the pool and then propelled itself like a torpedo to the surface. "Why hello, Binta!" a child's face with very short boyish hair greeted them. Ana was initially unsure whether this intruder was a boy or a girl. The chest was very flat and there were very other few signs of gender, but the girl's nudity couldn't disguise her sexual identity for long. She bobbed around in the water chuckling and giggling with the childishness suggested by her body. "So, Binta, who's your new friend?" "Ana, the Director's new secretary," announced Binta. "She only started a couple of days ago." "Oh! Inta's replacement. Shame about her! Hi! My name's Zabba! It's my real name as well! My parents had a strange sense of humour. Glad to meet you. Are you new to Blad?" "Yes, I am. It's all very different for me." "I bet! And new to brothels as well, I imagine?" "The ones where I come from don't offer full-time secretarial work," answered Ana, falsely suggesting that had they done otherwise she'd have taken the opportunity of working at one. "What do you do?" Zabba laughed, with an indecent lack of restraint. "What do you think? This is a Brothel you know! I suppose I could just be a receptionist or a cook or something, though I don't think they'd let me do jobs like that! And they certainly wouldn't pay as well! No, Ana darling, I'm a prostitute. Like your friend, Binta! What else could I be?" Ana's cheeks burnt through the film of chlorinated water. She hated to be reminded of the sordid aspects of where she worked. She still found it difficult to reconcile the distasteful nature of the profession with the actual practitioners. "Zabba's actually quite high-grade as well," elaborated Binta, her arms rotating to keep herself afloat. "She's an Alpha." "Yes! I admit it!" the girl replied proudly. She lowered her arms to let her body sink into the water. "And as you can see not for the most obvious of reasons. I don't exactly have the classic Alpha grade figure, with my teeny tits and slim thighs. But girls like me who look so much younger than they are and (let's admit it!) look like little boys: we're in great demand. That pushes up my grade a lot. I could never be an Alpha Plus. You need more dedication, stamina and willing than I'll ever have. But I'm quite content to be an Alpha. The pay's good and I'll be able to retire at the age when most people are just starting their working lives." "However much you earn, I'd much rather be me than you," Binta commented, "Your clients have got the strangest obsessions." Zabba smiled. "I get my fair share of perverts, I must admit," she agreed, running a hand through her short damp crop of dark brown hair. "My bottom gets ever so sore. You couldn't imagine! But you're only young once." "And you look like you'll be young forever." "Well, I am young. One day my looks just won't be marketable any more. But I'm in this trade for the money and I don't have to do nearly as much work as a Gamma or a Beta to earn tons more than they can." "Well, infinitely more than me," sniffed Binta bitterly. "I'm sorry, sweetest. I keep forgetting you're not here voluntarily. And if I were only a Beta, I don't think I'd bother either. It'd hardly be worth the effort. But for me: where else could I work at my age to afford a luxury flat in the select Honey suburb and earn far more money than a young girl knows what to do with? You've got to admit that those of us who've got a lot to sell get a lot out of it!" "If you can put up with all the abuse..." "Not all of it's abuse, Binta darling. Some clients are actually quite sweet, which even you'd admit if you weren't so dead set against men. But let's be honest: I'd be ready to go through a lot more than this for the lifestyle. The hours are great as well! I go clubbing all night and don't have to worry about getting up like all the other girls working in this city. And I don't believe the occasional sore bum is really such a bad penalty. It's those who work in factories, supermarkets and restaurant kitchens I feel sorry for. They get hardly nothing for what they do. And gain nothing like the respect from their customers that I'm accustomed to." "Is this what you always wanted to do?" Wondered Ana. "Goodness no! I'll be out of this profession long before my sell-by date. What I do next I really don't know. And I don't really want to think about it. Growing old really depresses me. I hope I never have to get older than my teens!" Zabba abruptly broke away from Ana and Binta, and swam a length of the baths. The other two followed behind, Ana enjoying the lash of the water against her body as she kept pace. They arrived at the shallow end, where Zabba stood to rub the water out of her eyes and to reveal where she shaved to make her look even younger. Ana crouched down in the water, still too shy to stand and openly display her body. "What do you think of the Brothel, Ana?" Zabba wondered. "Do you share Binta's negative opinions?" Ana nodded her head. "Well, you're new here, and I'm sure you'll come to take a much more liberal view of it, like your predecessor. Perhaps like her you'll be tempted to earn a bit of extra money. Everyone loses their inhibitions after a while." "I don't think that's such a good thing," opined Binta. "But even if you weren't a prostitute, Zabba, you'd have a fairly active and varied sex life." "You want to bet!" the girl laughed. "What could be more fun? Sure. Left to my own devices entirely there are pretty few of my clients, even the regular ones, I'd ever contemplate if I didn't do it for a living. But when you get fully immersed in it, there can't be anything more fulfilling."
Go to part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Copyright © 2000 Bradley Stoke |