It was the luckiest day of her life. A crisp ten dollar bill lying crumpled in the gutter, begging for the stepess to pick it up

Na was never the bothersome type. She sang and danced and glowed just like all the other 'steps in Los Ambience. Somehow though, she always got crap for the way she did things. Maybe it was the weird coloring? Maybe the way she warbled when she sang?

It didn't matter. She was having a good day.

The laundromat was only a hop, skip, and a hitch on the back of a delivery truck away. Good thing too, nighttime in the desert is cold, even in the middle of this smoke-exuding dump.

The place was nearly empty by the time Na reached it. Two people were left inside. An old lady covered in tattoos was folding her linens painfully slowly, and the other person seemed to be the owner, and was filing away drinks into a vending machine

Okay, Na, you're fine. Just go in there, and do some business.

The bell on the door dinged so loudly when Na walked in that she thought she'd have a heart attack and die.

"Can I help..." The clerk at the vending machine began, before trailing off at the realization that not a person had walked inside. Her eyes darted around the room, eventually landing on Na. She jumped a little bit, startled.
"Oh. Hello" she attempted to smile.

Na froze and waved a little bit, the lucky ten dollars clutched tightly in her other hand. "Oh, uhmm, hello."

"Come for a snack?" The clerk asked. Reaching into her restock box, she held out a bag of Greasy Nibs. Na's stomach rumbled, but that might have been more from the dumpster leftovers she had for lunch. Tako Town was not her favorite.

Na cleared he throat, and tried to sound professional "Actually, I came to do some business." She fidgeted

The clerk laughed, and swept a strand of long, dark hair out of her face. "I didn't know SoundStep had laundry."

Na began to ease a little "Actually. This ten dollars was to get me a warm place to sleep for the night."

The clerk kept restocking the machine; although she left the bag of Greasy Nibs on the floor. "In.. the dryer? Wouldn't you burn to death? Or suffocate?"

"My kind is, made of radiation..." Na said, sitting on the linoleum and smoothing her ten-dollar-bill "The heat would be a blessing. Just throw me in with a load of laundry. I'd be a good wrinkle remover."

The clerk laughed so hard that she hit her head on the vending machine.
"Alright. You got a deal, little Step. I've got a load of white T-shirts in the one on the end, crazy guy left it in here three days ago and hasn't come back for it. Dryer works fine and you can use the shirts as bedding if it suits you." She said, rubbing her head. "What's your name?"

"Na-times-three" Na nodded. "My friends call me Na.... If I had any."

"You don't have any friends? SoundStep seemed to always walk around in groups."

"I'm not really one that my own kind thinks highly of. I'm kind of bad luck." Na shrugged.

The clerk smiled. "You can be my friend, if you want. Name's Kelly."
Kelly held her hand out and gently shook Na's, a gesture unfamiliar to the SoundStep. "Thanks" she smiled.

Kelly handed Na the bag of Greasy Nibs, and took her ten dollars in return. "Food's on the house. Get some sleep, Na.

The next morning, Na awoke to Kelly opening the dryer. The SoundStep had never felt warmer.

"Holy cow, little Step." She smiled "You dyed the shirts!"

Sure enough, the white shirts Na had fallen asleep in, were all dyed wonderful colors that matched her own. The lady in the tattoos from the night before stood bye too.

"Hey. That thing made those?" She asked "I'll pay ya ten bucks for it."

Kelly turned to Na after handing the biker hag a shirt. "Y'know, friend, we could make a lot more naps in the dryer outta this...."