Authors: Shayne McClendon
The Barter System (2 page)
She placed the hard copies
she’d scanned into her file box and returned it to the spare room, taking a
final look around to make sure she’d remembered everything. She’d lived here
for two years. Riya owned half of a duplex right on the water in Deerfield
Beach. If she stepped out her back door, she stepped onto sand. Archer often
told her she was ‘slumming’ and offered to buy her a high-rise condo on the
water. She always rolled her eyes and ignored him. He totally loved when she
did that.
Turning off the lights, she
left the envelope for Tawny on the kitchen counter. She’d also be keeping and
storing Riya’s few valuables until she got back. She’d already called her dad
again to say goodbye. Her regular cell phone was now in the envelope. Her few
bills were paid.
Her trusty 1998 Toyota
Corolla was at her dad’s place in the garage, the rental parked out front,
gassed and ready to leave.
She had one credit card with
no limit and access to cash if she needed it. But she wouldn’t, or rather, she
shouldn’t
need it. If she did, the entire project was pointless, after
all.
She went into her small
bathroom and took a long look at herself in the mirror above the sink. She was
pretty, but didn’t consider herself beautiful. Long brown hair almost to her
waist that tended to curl, greenish hazel eyes set in a heart-shaped face. Her
body was well-proportioned, fit, and gold-toned from the sun and her mother’s
Brazilian roots.
Her ex-boyfriend during her
freshman year of college had described her as “just right”. Enough curves to
please without becoming a caricature. Neither tall nor short, standing
five-six in bare feet. She assumed she generically appealed across a broad
range of men, symbolizing the ‘girl next door’ which would work to her
advantage over the next couple of months.
Riya was confident about her
ability to complete her research, but she wasn’t arrogant. There was a nervous
knot in her stomach. Her dissertation and her fictional writing were the main
things she’d been focused on for so long. She wasn’t a virgin but she wasn’t
promiscuous either. In most things, she considered herself very average.
Years of work, months of
planning, and it was time to get on with it. She brushed her teeth and ran her
fingers through her hair before pulling it into a loose braid that fell down
her back. She laid down on her bed and thought about tomorrow. Staring at the
ceiling for a while before drifting off to sleep, the sound of the ocean behind
the house singing a lullaby. Her sleep was dreamless, as if her subconscious
knew a blank slate was necessary.
Dawn arrived warm and
humid. She took her run like she did every morning, watching the sun rise over
the ocean and people-watching. Five miles up the beach and back had her soaked
with sweat as she stretched on the sand before heading inside to shower and
dress. Today was the beginning of the last phase.
It was already ninety
degrees as Riya loaded her duffle bag and backpack into the car her father had
insisted she rent for the drive to Orlando. Tawny stood next to the driver’s
side door, doing her best not to show the stress she was feeling.
“Is there anything I can say
to convince you to call me every couple of days?” She asked. Her accent was a
sing-song of her mother’s heavy Irish brogue and her late father’s Georgia
drawl. “Just so I know you’re okay?” The pleading look in her bright green
eyes almost convinced Riya to reconsider but she hugged her friend tightly
instead.
“You know I can’t. No
matter how much I’ll want to. It would influence my research results if I had
an outside opinion…and you know you can’t keep from giving your opinion.” She
squeezed her again before letting go. “I’ll miss you so much. We’ve never
been apart this long. Remember our disastrous attempt at separate summer camps
when we were thirteen?”
They both smiled as they
remembered their pleading to be switched to the other’s camp. Eventually, their
frustrated parents brought them home. They’d spent the rest of the summer
swimming and laughing like idiots at the beach. “I thought our moms were going
to flip out when you threatened to hitchhike from Georgia to North Carolina to
be with me.”
Their moms had been best
friends, raised together in New York City. Tawny’s father died of a heart
attack when she was six, and Riya’s parents had helped Margaret raise her
daughter.
When Riya’s mother died in a
car accident her senior year of high school, it almost killed Tawny’s mother
along with the rest of them. Now she loved and looked after Riya like she was
her own, repaying a debt only she thought she owed for all their help with
Tawny.
“Mom keeps questioning me
about where you’re going. Will you have enough to eat, will you be around
people you don’t know. That kind of thing. While you’re here, she isn’t being
too persistent, but I shudder to think about how bad things will get before you
resurface.” She paused, watching two elderly women power-walking down the
beach. “What if she gets it out of me?”
“Simple, if you tell her
what I’m really doing, I tell Aunt Maggie about those piercings to your kitty
and your nipples that I held your hand through a few months ago.” Riya said
mischievously. Tawny would be subjected to withering glares and ‘are you on
drugs’ questions from her old-school mom if she ever knew. Her friend had to
laugh despite herself.
“We’re all worried, of
course. I’m going to ask once more and then I won’t be a mother hen
anymore…much. Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Riya?”
Riya placed her hands on
Tawny’s shoulders, slightly lower than her own. “I promise to be careful. The
phones have a built-in GPS so if I go too long without uploading data, you’re
allowed to check on me, but please don’t worry. I’ll see you in Boston for our
celebratory ‘chick weekend’ around Halloween and we’ll road trip back
together.”
She hugged her once more,
took a final look at her little beach place, and got in the car. She’d rolled
the windows down to remove some of the sweltering humidity and the AC was
cooling things down a bit. When she turned on the stereo the CD player was
blasting one of Tawny’s mixes.
Riya smiled and said, “You
made me a compilation.”
All her friend did was nod
and held back the tears shimmering in her eyes. She leaned out the window and
said, “I’m a clever girl and I won’t let anything happen to my best friend’s
best friend.” Putting the car in reverse, blew her a kiss and added, “See ya,
Tee.”
Chapter
Two – The Internet Entrepreneur
She pulled away and allowed
herself one final glance in the rearview mirror, then wished she hadn’t. Tawny
dropped her face in her hands and cried in the driveway. She was soon out of
sight and Riya was relieved to be on her way. Much more ‘memory lane’ and she
might have begun to question her motives.
She got on the interstate
and headed north toward Orlando. Tawny’s mix was a selection of hits popular
in Florida to remind her of home. Flo Rida, T-Pain, the
Bad Boys
soundtrack, and Will’s Smiths
Miami
thumped through the speakers and had
her singing along.
The drive took three hours,
counting the stop on the turnpike for gas, a shake, and a bathroom break.
She’d purposely made the first leg of her journey close to home. This was her
first face-to-face exposure to one of her subjects and she didn’t want to be
too far away to turn back. She kicked herself for the self-doubt that had
necessitated this safety net, but felt she’d made the right decision all the
same.
When pooling her research,
she’d automatically weeded out the web liars. Men who said they were a certain
age, income level, etcetera but were something else altogether. She was
admittedly discriminating about looks but not race, religion, status, or age.
If someone lied about the
little things, they were more likely to lie about the big ones. She needed
truth if the data was going to be accurate. All the rejected applications were
numbered and comprised the first fifty pages of her research. Nothing would be
wasted.
Each of the chosen eight had
agreed to complete surveys for her research. All had signed releases to use
their anonymous data for her dissertation. Of course, it wouldn’t be a one-way
street. They would get what they wanted just like her. This was the first
experiment of its’ kind to her knowledge.
Entering Orlando around
noon, she took her time finding the house she was looking for. Traffic here
was always congested because of the various theme parks, but most of the houses
were lovely and the people generally friendly.
She found the street and
kept going, stopping at a convenience store to freshen up. It wouldn’t do to
arrive looking like a wayward traveler. She brushed her hair and teeth then
added fresh deodorant. Once she was certain she was ready, she got back in the
car.
She pulled out her file and
read the correspondence between herself and her first subject. Her standard
acceptance email had been sent to each subject, with approximate dates of her arrival.
Good afternoon, Sean:
I’m pleased to tell you that your
application has been accepted. I’m due to arrive one week from tomorrow. I
look forward to finally meeting you in person. Please remember the following
terms, as outlined in our signed agreement:
- I will arrive on a Friday morning
and stay a minimum of one (1) week. - You are expected to cover all
expenses during my time with you, up to and including non-typical clothing
for occasions requiring more than casual attire. - You must have Internet access in
your home throughout the duration of my stay. - You will provide safe
transportation, of your choosing, to my next destination. - Sexual intercourse must include the
use of condoms at all times. There are no exceptions. - A current physical and blood work,
dated no more than three days prior to my arrival, showing a clean bill of
health should be emailed to the above address. - Sexual preferences will be
accommodated as long as my personal safety is not at risk at any time. - You agree to complete two surveys.
The first is to be completed before my arrival. The second is to be
completed at the halfway point of my time with you and will be audio
recorded.
Let me know if you have any additional
questions. I’m sure our time together will be mutually beneficial. I’ve
attached the first of the surveys to this email. Please get it back to me
before Thursday of next week.
Kind regards,
Riya
She read his response right behind it:
Hi, Riya:
I look forward to meeting you, too! I
understand and accept the conditions in both the contract and your email. I’m
very curious to meet you in person and think we’ll get along great.
I’ll take very good care of you while
you’re here and can’t wait to see what your other survey includes. The first
one is included in this email. Wondering how I did. I’ve always been rather
good at tests.
See you next week!
Sean
SURVEY ONE
Subject Name: Sean
Subject Age: 37
Subject Career: Internet Entrepreneur
Marital Status: Divorced
Children (Y/N): N
Annual Income: $150K
Location: Orlando, FL
What was your primary motivation for
applying to this study?
I was intrigued when I found your site
and was convinced by an old Army buddy to apply.
What do you hope to gain by your
participation?
More knowledge about the
"investigator" (not just carnal) and maybe myself.