It wasn't anything to be ashamed of she told herself as she applied the very last of her makeup. Though it wasn't her childhood dream, it paid well, and money was just about the only thing that truly concerned her at the moment. She wasn't particularly greedy, just human and being human meant that she had bills to pay, mouths to feed, and a life to keep up with.

So pride and self-worth aside, she took the only job that she could find available to a twenty-three year old high school dropout, and every weeknight from eight p.m. till one a.m., she danced and served drinks at The Pink Flamingo on Peachtree Street in her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

It wasn't a strip bar, per see, it was more of a club. A club that hired women to prance around in sexy outfits while serving drinks and taking breaks to dance on the club's stage. Nothing to be ashamed of. She didn't dance nude, she didn't sell herself, and she didn't take any shit from drunk idiots. Though she was frowned upon by most of society, she wasn't ashamed of what had become of her life. Not one bit.

Very carefully, she applied the Candy Apple red lipstick she'd been ordered to wear with this new getup. It matched the skimpy outfit perfectly, and sadly enough made her look like some kind of a tramp.

In the mirror of her dressing table, she smiled at the little girl with golden curls who played in the middle of the sparsely furnished room with her ragged teddy bear. That, Belle Black thought allowing her red lips to curve into a rare smile, was the reason she worked in this deadend job. That was her reason for living and being.

That was her little girl Madison.