Not a huge fan of this episode, so this was one I really had to sit down and force myself to write.
Emmeline walked out of what felt like the millionth clinic in the state of Kansas. She had traveled to every clinic and hospital within driving distance of her home and had yet to find any luck getting a job or internship with anyone. They all told her she didn't have enough experience or knowledge of psychology to help them with anything. She couldn't even gain a receptionist position because she was terrible at taking phone calls.
So when Chloe called her up asking for investigative help on a strange phone call she and Lois had received at the Daily Planet, Emmeline was all too welcome for the break.
That is…until she found out where exactly they were going.
"First, a Halloween party where some guy attempts to frisk me, and now a gentleman's club?" Emmeline asked with disdain. "Did I do something to upset you?"
"I know this isn't the girls' night out that you were expecting, but it's up to us to figure out what happened to that woman who got run over."
"Why do I have to be here?"
"I don't know, I like having my best friend around for back-up."
"Oh, please, you know how much I suck at fitting in at these kinds of places."
"Maybe you can find some help here for scoring an internship."
"How am I possibly going to do that?"
"You're the future psychologist, not me."
The three girls arrived at the club and got out of the car. After walking around a little, they still didn't see the entrance.
"I guess even MapQuest has its limitations," Chloe complained. "How do you get in this place, through a manhole cover?"
"Or a big neon door," Lois answered. "I'd say the Armani suit's a dead giveaway."
When they all tried to walk through the door, the bouncer firmly stood in their way.
"Sorry, girls."
"Oh, come on, our friend's already in there!" Lois fakely pleaded.
"Yeah, it's her only night in town, and I'd promised I'd take her to the hottest address," Chloe added. "Please!"
"It's a private club," the bouncer told them. "So I'm afraid this is as much of the place as you're going to see."
Emmeline couldn't help but feel relieved as they turned away. She was all for solving a murder, but definitely not like this.
That relief quickly went out the window when Chloe and Lois spotted two strippers dressed as an angel and a police officer by a back door.
"I'm just, uh, gonna go wait in the car," Emmeline told the other two.
"Oh, come on, Em!" Chloe said. "This is the best part."
"I'll be much happier and safer inside a secure vehicle. Just take your time and do your best to figure out who killed that girl."
"Suit yourself."
While Emmeline fiddled with her cellphone in the passenger seat, she anxiously waited for Chloe and Lois to return.
Just when she thought the surprises were over, who should come waltzing past the car?
She quickly unlocked the door and stepped out.
"Clark?"
Clark whipped around at the sound of his name, and his eyes widened nervously. "Em…what are you doing here?"
"Chloe dragged me here to find out more about that stripper who was killed. What are you doing here?"
"Uh, same. Why are in the car alone?"
"They snuck in, and I decided to just wait for them. This place is really not my cup of tea. How exactly are you going to get in when they couldn't?"
"Lex gave me his card."
"For someone who's not friends with him anymore, I'm surprised he's still doing favors for you."
"Yeah…me, too. Uh…maybe you shouldn't be alone out here at a place like this."
"It wasn't my choice to come here. What, should I come inside with you?"
Clark just smiled sheepishly at her.
"You're kidding, right?"
"At least I know you'll be safe."
Emmeline rolled her eyes, though she was touched that Clark was still looking out for her.
"Here, take my arm. Kinda just…hug it."
Following his instructions, Emmeline clung onto his arm acting as if it would take all the money in the world to get her to let go.
Clark flashed the card and the bouncer let them through without another word.
There really couldn't be a worse place for the two of them to be. Clark was extremely uncomfortable seeing all the women in such revealing clothing, and Emmeline was uncomfortable with all the stares she received from men thinking she was an employee at the club.
A girl dancing onstage unhooked her bra which caused Clark to quickly look away.
A man walked over to both of them with a smile. "Good evening. First time at the Windgate?"
"Yeah, uh, Lex Luthor referred me," Clark answered.
"Will Mr. Luthor be joining you this evening?"
"No, I'll, uh…I'm meeting Jack Jennings."
"The senator? Let me show you his usual table." The man led the both of them to a table where they both sat down. "Here you go."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Have a good evening."
A waitress in a skimpy white nurse's outfit came up to the table. "Hey, handsome. What can I get for you?"
"I'll have a coke."
The waitress looked at him pointedly.
"S-straight up on the rocks."
The woman just nodded, likely thinking that he was a ridiculous newbie. Then she looked over at Emmeline. "And for you, darling?"
"I'm good…thanks."
"Mighty brave of you to come with your boyfriend to a place like this."
"Oh, no, he's not my…"
The waitress quickly left the table.
"…boyfriend." She reddened with embarrassment and turned to Clark. "Is the senator a friend of yours?" Emmeline asked.
"You could say that. Didn't know this little part of his life though."
"Well why would you? What man, especially a senator, is going to want to let the world know he regularly attends a strip club?"
"I just don't understand why he would want to do it in the first place."
Emmeline looked over at the bar where a girl in an angel uniform sold drinks to other patrons. Suddenly, she got it. She knew how to get an internship.
"I'll be right back."
She quickly got up from the table and went over to the bar before taking a seat.
"What can I get for ya, honey?" the angel asked.
"Just a water." She chose to ignore the look the woman gave her. "How'd you get started in this kind of thing?"
"Well, we all have to pay bills somehow. I can earn $1000 a week if I do things right."
"What's your name anyway?"
"Carly."
"No, I mean your real name."
"I'm…I'm not supposed to say."
"We're both girls, aren't we? It's not like I have any malicious intentions. I promise I'll keep it a secret."
The angel paused before telling her, "Hannah."
Emmeline smiled. "That's my mom's name. My name's Emmeline, but people I'm close to call me 'Em'."
"Well, Em, what exactly are you doing at a gentleman's club?"
"Helping out a friend, that's all."
This is good, Emmeline thought. She's gradually getting more comfortable with me. Now I just need to help her open up to me.
"Some friend if he comes to a strip club," Hannah frowned.
"I take it you don't think highly of the guys who come here."
"None of us do really. They're all sleazy dirtbags who have nothing better to do with their lives."
"So why don't you just quit?"
Hannah glared at her. "And then what? Work at a grocery store until I'm 50? At least here, I make good money."
"Doesn't it get hard doing a job you don't like?"
"Well, yeah, but we all have to do jobs we don't like until we find what we do."
"What do you want to do?"
Hannah sadly looked at the dishrag she was currently using to wipe down the bar. "I wanted to be a dancer. I don't mean like that kind of dancer up there. I mean…a classical ballet dancer."
Emmeline looked up onstage and her eyes widened when she realized that Lois was dancing while wearing an American flag bikini.
"What's wrong?" Hannah asked.
"Uh, nothing. So a ballet dancer, huh?"
"Yeah. It was a stupid dream."
"No dreams are stupid. Why didn't you pursue it?"
"I tried. Then I got rejected from almost every dance school in the country. I didn't have enough talent, okay?"
"It sounds to me like you've given up."
"Maybe I did. Why do you care?"
"If you want to be a dancer, it takes a lot of practice, doesn't it? So keep practicing and keep auditioning. You need to make them see that you're talented."
"What's the point? Who would ever want me after finding out I've worked at a place like this?"
Emmeline sighed. "This place does not define who you are. You are a strong and beautiful woman and you have more worth than you realize."
Hannah smirked a little. "That's pretty cliché. But…thanks. It's been…a really long time since someone's talked to me like this."
"I'll be awaiting the day I see your name in the next professional performance of Swan Lake."
Hannah then laughed.
Emmeline smiled at her.
Their happy moment was abruptly cut off when police swarmed inside the building arresting every single patron and rounding up all the strippers into the dressing room.
"Don't worry," Hannah said quickly. "They always let the girls go even if you're underage which you clearly are. Guess they feel sorry for them or something."
A police officer snapped a pair of cuffs around Emmeline's wrists. He kept her separate from the other group of men which she was eternally thankful for, and even more thankful that he didn't think she was another stripper.
Soon, a middle-aged woman walked up to her. "Must be your lucky night, sweetie. Come on." The woman took her over to rejoin her with Clark and Chloe. "You all can thank Lex Luthor for some very generous phone calls."
"Detective Sawyer, I think the guy that killed Melissa Page has my cousin," Chloe explained.
"It's the same guy that made some deal with the club owner just before she vanished," Clark added.
Sawyer turned to face them. "You know this guy's name?" When no one said anything, she continued, "Okay, so let me see if I'm understanding you. Your cousin, who I'm assuming is underage, was stripping and making deals with wealthy patrons, managed to escape a police raid—"
"It's not like that."
"Yeah, she was just helping me to investigate," Chloe said.
"Investigate?" Sawyer repeated skeptically. "Okay. Luthor may have pulled a get-out-of-jail-free card for you this time, but it will not happen again. If you want to play Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy, do it in someone else's precinct."
Emmeline sighed and looked towards the bar. Hannah was nowhere in sight.
Whatever the girl ended up choosing, Emmeline truly hoped she went on to be happy with where her life took her.
Once back at home, Emmeline took a very long nap to sleep off the excitement from the previous night. Then she opened her laptop and started a new document.
After a couple long days of research and online interviews, she finally printed it out and looked at the title with a sense of satisfaction: "The Psychological Effect of Stripping".
She handed the paper in to one of her psychology professors in the hopes that her efforts would help her earn an internship somewhere.
Chloe picked up her from campus and drove over to the Talon to help Lois move in. With Lana gone, Lois had decided to move into the apartment above the coffee shop and get out of the Kents' hair.
"Okay, before I start any of the real heavy lifting, you have to indulge me for just a moment in my first Daily Planet byline," Chloe announced. She happily handed Clark the latest newspaper issue.
His eye scanned the front in confusion.
"It's not exactly The Torch, Clark. Page 73."
He then flipped over to that page.
"At the bottom."
And right there was Chloe's first published article as a true Daily Planet reporter.
"Congratulations," Clark and Lois said at the same time.
Emmeline laughed at their distasteful expressions when they realized they had spoken simultaneously.
"Thanks," Chloe smiled. "Well, you deserve half the credit. I mean, I'd still be playing point guard at the pet-obituary hotline if it weren't for you two."
"Oh, it says here Interpol was able to arrest him due to an anonymous tip," Clark said, giving Chloe a knowing look.
Chloe smiled sheepishly. "About that heavy lifting…"
"Mm-hmm."
Emmeline smiled at them all. "I've actually got some exciting news too. At the club, I started talking to one of the employees and got her to open up to me a little. It inspired me to write a paper about the psychological effects that stripping can have on a person. My professor was really impressed and sent it off to a clinic just outside of Smallville. I got the call this morning. They're giving me an internship!"
"Hey, that's great!" Clark smiled. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you."
"And you're welcome," Chloe laughed. "You never would have that without my help."
"If you think I am going to thank you for bringing me to that sleazy place and almost getting arrested, you have got another thing coming."
I considered having Emmeline take Lois's place in this episode, but I don't think Chloe is that cruel to her best friend, plus I've put her in enough horrible situations lately. She deserved a break.
