It was a warm evening, around 7PM. Sharon Fox was watching television with the lights off. Life was depressing. She had been jobless for six months now and had to borrow money to support herself and her 15 year old son Josh. Her son was over at someone else's house.

What made her more depressed was that she was now living at the time of peak oil. Deep down she knew it just wasn't going to be bad for just her and her son, but for the entire country.

She knew that many people won't have enough money to simply just drive back into town. Fuel was just too expensive. She knew that many of her follow suburbanite neighbors would be stuck wherever they were.

Sharon switched the lights off, trying to save as much money as possible and that she would only use the car if necessary, and only once a week.

Sharon was a 31 year old attractive brunette. She had blue eyes, was around 5 feet 4 and very slim. She had divorced her husband about 7 years ago and had been made redundant just 2 months ago. She had an office job. Now she was unemployed. What little money she left, went on to pay her bills.

She even contacted her ex, explaining to him that she had borrowed money to support herself and their son, and that she promised to pay her creditor back. Her ex merely said that he would have to get back to her.

Then, she heard the door bell ringing. She got up and went to answer it. When she opened the front door, it was the one person she wished she never had to see. It was Mrs. Chandragupta: the person whom she had been borrowing money from.

Sharon: (humble)
Mrs. Chandragupta. Hi

Mrs. Chandragupta: (cold with a no-funny business kinda look)
Hello Ms. Fox. May I come in!!

Sharon:
Yeah please do. But let me turn on the lights first.

Sharon allowed Mrs. Chandragupta to walk through and she turned on the lights in the hallway at the same time. She led Mrs. Chandragupta towards the dining table.

Sharon: (being polite)
Would you like something to drink?

Mrs. Chandragupta sat herself down, by the head of the table. Sharon considered this to be an arrogant act and knew that the only reason why she was behaving like this was because she knew she could get away with it. After all, she owed this woman money.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (bossy tone)
You can make coffee with milk and sugar.

Sharon: (in her head)
What a fucking bitch. Not even ending her sentence with "please."

Sharon was good at not showing her displeasure with Mrs. Chandragupta's tone of voice. Sharon went towards the kitchen, to make her "guest" a cup of coffee.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (pushy and loud voice)
I would also like to have some cookies too.

Mrs. Chandragupta was a Hindu Indian woman, somewhere from Northern India. Her skin was much darker than that of a brown-skinned Mexican's. She was a 5 feet tall fat woman in her mid-forties.

Mrs. Chandragupta was dressed in a traditional Indian sari, with a dot on her forehead.

As far as Sharon had been aware, Mrs. Chandragupta had a son who was in the same grade as her son Josh. The only few times they have talked a lot was when the town had fairs, in which nearly everyone would attend it.

Sharon found Mrs. Chandragupta to be arrogant, proud (of being Indian), racist (towards certain ethnic minorities like blacks and Hispanics, dismissing them as poor non-achievers), loud and highly critical of white Western culture (forever saying that white families had high divorce rates, children not taking care of their parents during their old age and that most non-Asian Americans were born out of wedlock while Indians had superior family values).

Mrs. Chandragupta also spoke English with an original Indian accent, which Sharon took as a sign of non-assimilation towards the American culture.

Unfortunately for Sharon, she had to run to this woman for financial aid. If the rest of the people in the suburbs had still been around, she would have turned to them for help. But as the old saying goes: "beggars can't be choosers."

The Indian woman had been reluctant at first, but Sharon managed to convince her that she could pay her back, bringing up her ex capable of paying the debt money back for her.

Sharon finally arrived at the dining table, with her guest's cup of coffee and plate of cookies. Sharon also sat down, next to her guest.

Sharon:
So how are you?

Mrs. Chandragupta sipped her cup of coffee.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Ms. Fox, I am going to cut to the chase. I am here to ask you if you have my money.

Sharon: (panic mode)
Well Mrs. Chandragupta, I am supposed to get it from my ex.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (angry tone)
You said that about a month ago. You even said that before that month, and the month before that. I wished I didn't listen to you Ms. Fox. I knew deep down that I was never going to see my money again. Do you know how much you owe me? Let see. I think it's about $5000. That is a lot of money. If I still had that money, I would have used on fuel to drive me and my son, to go see his father and the rest of the family members at the east coast.

Sharon: (sounding as if she might break down into tears)
Please lower your tone of voice Mrs. Chandragupta.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
This is what I get for lending my money to a woman who had divorced. If you people managed to learn how to save money and not simply waste it, you wouldn't be asking for money.

By "you people", Sharon knew that Mrs. Chandragupta referred to women like her, who were high spenders and bought everything on credit.

Deep down Sharon knew that Mrs. Chandragupta looked down on her as some kind of slut who slept around with stranger she met up with pubs and night clubs (well she did have one night stands many many times since her divorce).

Mrs. Chandragupta: (angry and arrogant)
Fuel has gone up high but with that money I could still have had enough money to travel all the way to New York City. Next week is my son's birthday and it would cost my husband an unnecessary amount of money just to come back here, pick us both up and then go back there. My husband's parents would like to see their grandson for his fifteenth birthday. The rest of my son's brothers and sisters are also there too. In fact, the entire Indian community is expecting us to be there and I told them I would soon get my money back from you. I'm afraid I have wasted my own precious time here, as nothing is accomplished.

Sharon felt guilty. If Mrs. Chandragupta had not lent her money, she could have spent it on her own son, for his birthday. After all, it was because of her very own son Josh that she too had to resort to borrowing money. She was lucky that at least Mrs. Chandragupta was willing to lend her money. The people she talked to before she approached Mrs. Chandragupta, gave her excuses and even her ex, said that she should borrow first from her neighbors and that he would be able to get some of his money to help pay back whatever amount it was that Sharon would end up owing. Her ex was useless.

Sharon started weeping, trying her best to control her emotions and slow down her tears.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Where is your son Ms. Fox?

Sharon wiping her tears away.

Sharon: (soft)
He ... he ... he is at a friend's house.

Sharon's sad blue eyes stared at Mrs. Chandragupta's angry brown eyes.

Sharon:
How is your son doing?

Mrs. Chandragupta:
He is fine thank you. It is just the two of us in the house.

Sharon:
Mrs. Chandragupta, you said that your husband and the rest of your kids are in New York. Couldn't your husband just come back with the rest of your kids and just celebrate your son's birthday right here in this town, in your house.

Mrs. Chandragupta gave Sharon a cold disapproval glare.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Well he doesn't have enough cash to simply travel at this point. In fact he had to use his own money to help my father and mother-in-law. Times, as you know, are tough. You asked me for money and I helped you out. It looks I am going to be the only one celebrating my son's birthday alone. It had to be a birthday of all days.

Sharon: (trying to sympathize)
I really am sorry Mrs. Chandragupta. I wish I could make up for your losses.

Mrs. Chandragupta gave Sharon a wicked smile and then started digging into the cookies and eating them hungrily. Sharon was puzzled. Mrs. Chandragupta stared towards Sharon.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (wicked smile)
Actually I did think of how you could pay back your debt to me, since my son's birthday is just next week. $5000 is a lot of money, especially in times like these and that I was even willing to lend such a high sum to you.

Sharon:
I really am grateful Mrs. Chandragupta. Believe me.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Ms. Fox, are you a good Christian?

Sharon wasn't sure how to respond.

Sharon:
Yes I do believe that the Bible is the word of God. I do believe that he sent his only son Jesus Christ to die for all our sins.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (in her head)
Yet you sleep around with men like some kind of whore.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (cutting Sharon off)
Ms. Fox, have you ever read the Bible? Do you know what it says?

Sharon: (confused)
Well I have read it from time to time.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Did you know that according to the Bible, that if you borrow money from someone, that you are their servant and slave? The debtor is the slave of the creditor. You are my servant Ms. Fox. You are my slave and I own you. To try and not do what I say would be breaking God's rule. Unlike you, I don't have to follow the Bible, as I am not a Christian and can live by own set of rules and morals. As long as you don't pay back what you owe me, you and even your son, belong to me. It does not matter who you borrow your money from or that I'm not even a Christian. Now I want you to shut up and listen carefully to me as to how you are going to pay back your debt.

Mrs. Chandragupta stood up, while Sharon remained seated and stared at the Hindu woman in disbelief.

Sharon: (in her head)
Oh my God. She is saying me and my son are her slaves. This is the twenty-first century. We are not in India. We are in America.

Mrs. Chandragupta paced around the dining hallway, with her hands clasped together behind her back.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
I am going to give you as a birthday present to my son. He will have his ways with you for a month. I mean I don't want to spoil my little Paras for long.

Paras was the name of Mrs. Chandragupta's birthday boy.

Sharon: (weeping with tears)
No please. That is slavery.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
This is approved of in your Bible! Even Jesus in the Gospels acknowledged that there were masters who owned their slaves. Any freedom that the slave would have is up to their master.

Sharon quickly got up from her chair, dropped down on her knees and crawled on her knees towards Mrs. Chandragupta, tugging and holding onto the Indian woman's sari. Sharon finally burst into tears.

Sharon: (crying and shaking her head frantically)
Please don't do this Mrs. Chandragupta. I have a son. I mean how would your son feel if he had to see his own mother being used around like some kind of...

But before Sharon could finish her sentence, Mrs. Chandragupta gave her a very tight slap on the face. Sharon let go of the Indian's woman sari and put her hands on her slapped cheek.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (yelling at the top of her lungs)
You shut up. Don't you ever compare yourself to me you slut. I have been married to my husband for more than twenty years. I don't sleep around and have sex with many men, like you. I mean why should you have a problem with another male? It is his birthday and I want him to have the best present he will ever get in this lifetime, especially that he will never have it as good as we had before the peak-oil time period. I don't even know if I will ever see my husband or my other children anytime soon.

Sharon looked down on the floor, in self-defeat.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
My son may or may never have the pleasure of another woman's flesh when he gets to my husband's age. With oil peaking, we will all be heading back to the Dark Age pretty soon. My son deserves to have a good birthday. One month with you is nothing compared to the new Dark Age we will all soon find ourselves in! He will never have it as good as you and me. You owe me.

Mrs. Chandragupta continued pacing around the dining hall.

Sharon:
Please Mrs. Chandragupta, don't do this to me. I have never done anything to you.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
You came to me for money. Now I have less money to spend on my son for his birthday. My son would have less money to be spent on him so your son can eat. You know what. Maybe I should go tell everyone else around our area about you owing me money and that you have not paid me back in months.

Sharon shook her head in fear.

Sharon:
No please. Please.

Sharon knew that when she ran out of money, she would be forced to beg other people around their area for money and the likelihood of getting money from them to survive is even far unlikelier.

Sharon knew that she would have to give in, but she also hoped that her son would never find out.

She knew she would have to give in. not only because she would be breaking Biblical law on payment and debt, but also that she had caused some financial problems for her neighbor.

Besides, she even thought that Mrs. Chandragupta would also forgive her of her debts. She did not want to think from whom she was going to have to borrow money from, in the future.

Sharon: (crying and looking down on the floor)
Alright!! Alright!! I will do it. Just please don't let my son know. He is all that I've got in this world and it would destroy him if he found out the truth.

Mrs. Chandragupta walked over to Sharon and yanked her by her semi-long brown hair.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Your son does not have to know. You can lie to him that you now have a night job and that you demand he be home before six every night and that he is not to ever leave the house during the night. I think you just have to be at my home every night. We won't really need you during the morning and noon.

Mrs. Chandragupta knew that Sharon wouldn't attempt to leave town, since it would cost her and her son far more money and that they would be alone out there. The ex was useless and unlikely to be of any help.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (smiling wickedly)
Now shall we talk about my son's birthday!!

By the time they finished their conversation, it was 9PM. When Mrs. Chandragupta walked out the doorway, Josh came back home.

Josh:
Hey mom, what is Paras' mom doing here?

Josh looked just like his mom.

Sharon: (lied)
Nothing honey. We were just having women's conversation.

Sharon agreed to be her son's classmate's bitch for an entire month. On the bright side, her son and Paras never really hung out, and so therefore, he will never know what she is going to have to go through for an entire month.

Sharon fondled her son's hair.

Sharon: (in her head)
I am doing it all for you baby.

ONE WEEK LATER – MRS. CHANDRAGUPTA'S HOME
PARAS' BIRTHDAY - EVENING

Paras and Mrs. Chandragupta were sat down by the dining table, eating chapatti (the type of bread eaten in Northern India and resembles French pancakes). Despite the fact that it was supposed to be a special evening, Mrs. Chandragupta was budgeting and her son understood why they didn't have anything bombastic for his birthday.

Paras:
I wish dad and the others were here.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
But on the bright side we can still talk to them over the phone.

Paras:
Mom, you think they are going to find more oil elsewhere.

Paras was a very bright student, when it came to daily politics. He was 15 years old tonight. He was skinny, with black and dark eyes, at 5 feet 2.

Mrs. Chandragupta: (smiling at her son lovingly)
Honey, I have got a surprise for you.

Paras: (shocked and surprised)
You got me a present?

Mrs. Chandragupta nodded. At first she smiled but then gave him a serious look.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
But you are not allowed to see it. I am going to send it your room but first, you have to wait in the basement. Stay there until I tell you to come out and then to go to your own room.

Paras:
Ok ma.

Mrs. Chandragupta led her son to the house basement. He climbed down the stairs and before his mom was going to shut the door, she smiled at him.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
I love you son.

Paras:
I love you too ma.

Mrs. Chandragupta closed the basement door. Mrs. Chandragupta then took out her I Phone and rang up Sharon.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Where are you?

Sharon: (from other side of the phone)
I'm outside your doorstep, waiting out here, as you instructed.

Mrs. Chandragupta hung up, walked over to the front door and opened it up. Sharon was stood outside.

Sharon wore shoes, leather hot pants and a shirt underneath her black jacket. She even wore make-up and carried a handbag.

She had lied to her son Josh that she had a new job.

Mrs. Chandragupta let her come inside, and then led her all the way to the living room.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
Now take off all your clothes and pile them up on the couch.

Sharon started striping off in front of Mrs. Chandragupta, until she was completely naked. Mrs. Chandragupta could see her large breasts and brown pubic hair. Once naked, Mrs. Chandragupta led the poor woman up the stairs, towards her son's bedroom. When they reached Paras' bedroom, Mrs. Chandragupta ushered the semi-frightened brunette towards her son's closet.

Mrs. Chandragupta:
When my sons says and asks "where is my present?" you will come out. You will smile like the slut you are and offer yourself to him. You can even tell him that he has you for a month and during the night; because he is such a good boy and that he deserves it. Now try to stay silent and shut up.