Hello, darlings. Here's ch. 3. Thank you for all your votes. However, the score is tied at 3-3. This doesn't help me. I still need to know who Maureen should end up with: MARK or ROGER? I am extending the voting to May 31. I have a lot on my plate right now, so after May, I'll be able to write ch.4. But please keep an eye on my profile where I'll post the voting results on a weekly basis. I don't care if you've already voted, vote agian. But I can't ahve a tie. If that happens, then I have to choose and ireally don't want to do that. But in the meantime, enjoy the story. Critique is more than welcome.

-Serendipity Kat

"MAUREEN!" The door to her dressing room burst open and a women in a black business suit stormed in. "Where the hell are-" she broke off when she saw that her star dancer was there.

"Hello, Colleen. I'm almost ready. I was just explaining to Marima what I do." Mo answered her boss as calmly as possible. She was ready. Her outfit consisted of a peach colored sparkly skirt that barely covered her butt, black fishnets, shiny peach knee-length boots, and a peach bikini top. To top it off, there was a sheer white filmy cloth draped over her body and wrapped around her arms making her look like a Greek goddess. All that was missing was her headdress, but that was downstairs.

Colleen smoothed her already immaculate black skirt and nodded. She took a few steps towards Maureen, but stopped and turned to the other girl. "Marima, I'll leave it to you to choose a stage name. Also, you will only be watching for the next week. You and Maureen will both be coming in after hours and Maureen will show you what to do, how to do it, and all the ins-and-outs. Normally I have new girls start off as a waitress, but I have enough of them." She looked at her watch and muttered, "Untalented girls…don't treat customers right…" she looked up again. "Your exotic looks mean that you don't need to waitress, you'll go straight to the stage. Meanwhile, Maureen, you're on! Don't you dare disappoint me or else…" with that, Colleen stalked out the door.

Maureen looked at the girl, cowering in the corner. "Honey, come here." She held out her arms to Marima. The girl slowly came over and Maureen took her in her arms. "Colleen's always like that. She's mostly all bite and no bark. But you need to buck up and take it. You'll never make here if you don't. I know this place is bad, but trust me, there are worst places you can be." As her green eyes fell on the crying figure in her arms, Maureen felt some more walls break inside her body. She felt almost… maternal.

She'd never really had a mother to speak of. Her biological mother had whored herself and then left, leaving Maureen with a younger brother. It had just been the 2 of them until the brother left home at age 14, 2 years after their mom had left. Maureen did the only thing she could do: leave. She'd made it to New York City with $50 in her pocket and a high school diploma. She'd been found sleeping on the streets by Colleen and offered a job as a waitress. It wasn't much, but it enabled Maureen to buy a small apartment in the East Village. What she could pay with money, she paid with herself to the landlord. She didn't like it, but she didn't have any other choice. Then, when she was old enough, Colleen had made her a back-up dancer for Coco. Soon she'd made her mark and Colleen let her open by herself. The rest was history. She was now the star attraction. Doing that enabled her to buy herself a larger apartment without having to give favors to the landlord. But it was still hard to make ends meet. She was barely able to cover the rent. Luckily for her, all her clothes and food were provided by Colleen, if she ate at the club.

She snapped back into reality when she felt Marima stir. "Honey, I have to go on now. You can watch from the side. Come, I'll show you." With that, she took one last look in the mirror, grabbed Marima by the hand, and left her dressing room. She walked through the skinny hallway until she came to the outer area. To her left was the catwalk and the stage. She took Marima to a side door. "Here. Go in here. This way you'll be able to see the show without being in the way. I need to go downstairs. You'll see me in about… 10 min. Enjoy the show. Also, watch what I do, because you'll be doing this stuff next week." With that, she left the bewildered girl and headed for another door, except this one led to the basement.

"Hey, Mo. Ready?" asked one of the guys who was there. He was fiddling with some switches on a large board. Behind him was what looked like a large, ridged shell. There were light red and white drapery all around the bottom. It was hiding a medium-sized hole.

"Hello, to you to, Alex. I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Open the lid up." As he complied, she looked down at her outfit and smoothed out a few wrinkles. She then reached for the red headdress that was sitting nearby. She climbed up the stairs to the shell and lowered herself down into the hole. "Please secure my headdress, Laura." Her voice was muffled a bit, but nevertheless, a middle-aged brunette came over and set the headpiece on top of Maureen's head. She positioned her body and braced herself for the movement. The shell wasn't completely opaque form her point of view, but it was to the audience. So she knew the moment that it was her turn to perform. The music swelled and floated all around her. As she felt the shell lift, she heard the announcer's voice:

"Gentleman. And now… the main exhibit on Avenue B. The event you all have been waiting for. Put your hands together for the star of the Cat Scratch Club, the one… the only… the Goddess of the Dance… VENUS!"

Maureen felt the thrill of the music and excitement of the drunken crowd flow through her. It was show time.

The shell that she's in was based on the opening part in the movie, "The Little Mermaid" where after the 1sxt song, a shell rises up and Ariel is supposed to be in it. Hope that makes it a bit more clearer. Critique is more than welcome.