STEPHANIE:

      "Yes, that's right," I reply, watching her to see if she reacts in any way. But she doesn't show any sign of recognizing me, so I just walk over to the chair and sit down. When I think about it, Kelsey seemed to draw a blank, too, so I kind of have to wonder: Have I actually changed that much, or did I just make so little of an impression on everyone that they've totally forgotten I existed?

      Before I can say anything else, Shane is standing next to her, tugging the hem of her shirt. "Mommy, I's hungwy. Is it time I can has my tweat yet?"

      "Just a minute, let me look in my purse," she tells him, reaching under a shelf to get it. She takes out her wallet and looks inside, she frowns slightly and calls out, "Hey, Nina! you wouldn't happen to have some change, would you?"

      "I wish I could help, but I didn't bring any cash with me today. Sorry, hon."

      She turns back to Shane and says, "I'm sorry, Kosaru, but we'll have to wait until lunchtime. Mommy doesn't have any change for the machines."

      I see his little face fall again, and it reminds me so much of Jamie that I can't resist him. "Wait a minute, we might be able to fix this," I tell him. "Mister Ash asked you to be my guide around the building, right? Well, if I remember correctly, the other tour guides in town get paid for that, so I think you've earned yourself some money for a treat."

      I look in my wallet, and manage to find some ones, so I pull out three and hand them to him. "There you go, sweetie. And thank you for being such a good guide."

      He doesn't reach for the bills, but looks up at Dori and questions, "It's otay I can has it, Mommy?"

      She glances at me, inquiring, "Are you sure?"

      "Of course I am. We might need his help again sometime today, so we can't have him fade away from hunger, can we?"

      She nods, and he takes the money out of my hand. "Tank you, Steph'nie. I wikes you, you's a nice wady." Then he holds the bills up for Dori to see, and asks, "Do this be enough moneys to gets some Pop-Starts?"

      "Yes, love, and enough left over for some juice, too," she informs him, and a big grin spreads across his face.

      "Cool! Can you come and helps me? I can'ts weach the hole for the moneys by myself."

      Kelsey gets up from the chair and stalks out of the room, and Nina says, "Why don't we let your mom get to work on Stephanie here, and I'll help you with your snack. I need to get some coffee, anyway."

      "Do you thinks they has some apple juice in the 'chine? That's my faborite one," he says to Nina as they walk out to the hallway. Her response gets cut off when the door closes, and Dori turns her attention back to me. 

      "So how did you meet Ash?" she inquires. "Did he call your agency, or did someone else recommend you?"

      "Neither one, I'm strictly an amateur," I explain. "Ash and I met through mutual friends. One of my best friends is dating his bandmate, and the photographer for today's shoot is my sister's girlfriend. I came along with her just to watch, and he sort of talked me into covering for somebody who got hurt."

      "So you're Macy's sister? Never would have guessed it, you have such different coloring."

      "Yeah, we get that a lot. She takes after Dad, and I look more like Mom," I sit back in the chair and let my eyes wander over all of the stuff she has scattered across the top of the vanity table. "So, how is this different than just doing my makeup at home?"

      She starts explaining that because of the lighting, the makeup for a photoshoot is heavier, and slightly more exaggerated than normal everyday makeup, so it would probably seem kind of extreme to me, but would look normal in the pictures. She starts dabbing and brushing stuff on my face, while I kind of just sit here and wait to see if the penny is going to drop, and she's going to figure out who I am. Or was, I guess I should say.

      As she's finishing up the foundation, Nina and Shane come back, and he's carefully carrying a paper plate with a couple of Pop-Tarts, blowing on them as he walks. He sets the plate down on a small table in the corner, takes a plastic bottle from Nina's hand, and informs us, "I gots some strawb'ry Pop-Starts, but they don't gots no juice, so I gots choca milk. That's otay, Mommy?"

      "That's fine, Kosaru. Better than soda, anyway."

      "Is it okay if I ask what that is you called him?" I inquire, and Shane gets the giggles.

      "That's means I's a monkey," he chortles, bouncing up and down enthusiastically. "Baa-Baa calls me thats 'cause I wikes to cwimb the trees."

      "He's right," she agrees. "Kosaru is 'little monkey' in Japanese."

      She grabs a brush that looks like it's almost as big as my head, and starts fluffing powder over my face, then gets to work with the other stuff while Nina observes. Within less than five minutes, she steps back and announces that I'm ready to go back where everyone else is and get my hair done. I assure Shane that it's okay for him to finish eating, and that I can find my way back, then head off down the hall.

      Just as I reach the door to the room where the shoot is going on, it flies open, and I almost run right into Ash. "There you are!" he exclaims. "I was just about to come and see if you were done. Lylah's almost ready for your part, so find Dane real quick and see what he wants to do with your hair, then Ren will give you your first outfit and point you to a dressing room."

      I see a pouf of chartreuse in one corner, so I head that way, and say, "Hey, dude! Ash told me to come find you, and see what you want to do with my hair."

      "Well, hello there, darling girl!" he greets me. "Since I already made you fabulous last week, I can't imagine that there's much needing done. But let's go have a word with Ren and see what you'll be wearing, just in case."

      He grabs my hand and starts leading me toward the Latino guy, who's still standing by the clothing rack, which is much emptier now. "Ren, this is Stephanie, she's filling in for Devora today," he announces. "What does Ash have her wearing?"

      He glances at the rack, and quickly moves several hangers to one end, saying, "These four outfits are what Dev was supposed to show today, I have them numbered in the order they're scheduled."

      Dane gives everything a quick once-over, and says, "Three of the four go over your head, and I think your normal style will work just fine, so all we'll need is a bit of spray to keep down the static." He dashes back to the corner, comes back with a comb and a can of hairspray, and orders me to stand still while he gets everything in order. 

      Once that's done, Ren hands me the clothes and has one of the girls who's already finished show me where the dressing room is. I quickly get into the first outfit, which is a black, off-the-shoulder "Purdy Girl" shirt, with long, laced-up sleeves, a pair of strategically ripped and patched black jeans, and motorcycle boots, and dash back out. They immediately hustle me in front of the camera with a couple of other girls, and Lylah talks us through the different poses. Surprisingly, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, and we get through pretty quickly. 

      After it's finished, Ren informs me that everyone gets to keep one item that they modeled as part of their payment, and I choose the first shirt, carrying it out into the hall in a plastic garment bag. When I get out there, Ash and Lylah are already waiting for me, along with Dane, Nina, Dori, and Shane. I notice that Dori appears to be a bit peeved, so I sort of raise an eyebrow at Ash, and he taps his jacket pocket, where I saw him put the game.

      "Are you two cool with these guys joining us for lunch?" he inquires. "I have a bit of a shopping trip to make after we eat, and I'm going to need Mr. Shane's input." 

      Lylah nods that she's agreeable, and I say, "Sure, I'm fine with that. The more the merrier."

      Dane reaches out to pat me on the shoulder, and says, "You did an excellent job today, Stephanie, especially being your first time in front of the camera. Perhaps you should think about trying it again sometime."

      We all hear a snort from the doorway, and glance around to see Kelsey coming out of the room, clutching the denim miniskirt she decided to keep and rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Dane?" she huffs. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't run around lying to people?"

      The words are out of her mouth before she notices that Ash is standing next to Lylah, and that they're both glaring at her. "Uh, that is... What I meant to say was..." she sputters, before going quiet.

      Dane, on the other hand, simply smiles at her, and in his usual cheerful tone, replies, "Why yes, as a matter of fact they did, which is why I don't make a practice of it, unlike you. And while we're on the subject, I've also realized that there's another lesson that you seem to be incapable of learning."

      "Oh, really? Which one would that be?" she sneers.

      "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. That one is glaringly obvious, because things would be much quieter here if you had any grasp of the concept." He steps closer to her, still smiling, and continues. "But, unless you genuinely desire to walk out looking like Demi Moore in 'GI Jane' the next time you're in my chair, I suggest that you learn. And the sooner the better."

      She opens her mouth to respond, but Ash interrupts her by announcing, "Oh yeah, that reminds me. If I actually decide to keep you on, which I'm still debating, you'll either have to do your own makeup for future shoots, or supply your own makeup person. Thanks to your immaturity this morning, Nina and Midori have both informed me that they will no longer work on you."

      "And you're just gonna let them get away with it, I suppose?" Kelsey whines.

      "Yeah, I'd say that pretty much covers it," he agrees. "So you really might want to think about what Dane just said, get rid of the attitude, and stop putting your mouth in gear before your brain gets in the car. Because one of these days, somebody's going to come back on you a lot harder than I did."  

      He waves his hand, sort of shooing her away, and asks if we're all ready to leave for lunch. Everyone says that they are, and we head toward the elevator, while Kelsey stands in the hallway with her hands on her hips. "Well, how rude! Aren't you going to ask me if I wanna come, too?"

      We all simultaneously respond with a clear and distinct "NO", and get into the elevator, leaving her standing there pouting. In the parking lot, Ash informs us that he's treating everyone, and since everyone has their own cars, we decide to meet up at the Golden Corral on the next block, since that's the only nearby restaurant that can cover pretty much everyone's food preferences.

      At the restaurant, everyone gets their food, we find a table, and just sit around chatting as we eat. Ash is sitting on my left, and he sort of taps my hand to get my attention, then says, "I really do appreciate you helping out today, Steph, thanks again. It's starting to seem like you're just continuously saving my ass lately."

      "Don't worry about it, dude, that's what friends do," I answer. "I'm pretty sure you'd do the same for me if I needed something."

      "Sure, if I could. But I bet your other friends aren't dragging you into all of the trouble I seem to attract lately."

      "To be honest, you guys are pretty much the only friends I have right now," I admit. "Yeah, there are a couple of people I still talk to occasionally from when we lived here when we were kids, but they're older folks, not so much people that you'd go party with, or whatever. I haven't really had the time to go out and try to meet new people since I've been here, truthfully."

      He seems a bit puzzled by this, but lets the conversation move on so we're not excluding the others, until we get up to leave. As he's standing up, his phone rings, so he pulls it out of his pocket, glances at the display, and says, "Hey there, beautiful! How's it goin'?"

      We can faintly hear a female voice, but can't make out words as he listens, muttering "Uh-huh," a couple of times. Then his face changes, getting that same look he had earlier, when he asked me to model, and he tells the person on the other end, "I think I might. Hang on a sec, let me find out for sure."

      He turns back to me, and says, "You said a few minutes ago that you hadn't had the chance to meet new people. How would you like to change that?"

      "Depends on what you have in mind," I respond.

      "My friend Shannon is having a party at her new house Saturday night, and since she's gonna be out of town on my birthday, she wants me to come, and make it sort of a combination housewarming-slash-birthday party. She just reminded me that I haven't confirmed whether I'm bringing someone or not, so would you like to come with? I can introduce you to all kinds of interesting people if you do."

      "He's not lying about that one," Lylah says. "I met Shannon once, she's a hoot!"

      "What sort of party are we talking about? I mean, is it fancy dress, or a 'hope the cops don't show up' kind."

      He cracks up at this, and finally manages to gasp out, "Sort of somewhere between, usually. I'm pretty sure jeans and T-shirts are fine, but there will definitely be alcohol available, and someone may or may not do something YouTube worthy. But you'll definitely get to meet some cool people, so whaddya say? Can I tell her I've got a plus-one?"

      "Go for it, Steph," Lylah urges me. "Try something new, you don't want to get into a rut."

      "I volunteered to give a talk on ceramics Saturday evening at the senior center, so what time does it start?"

      He gets back on the phone for details, and after a couple of minutes of back and forth, I agree to meet him there after my talk, since he'll be in the studio most of the day, and that way we can both avoid being terribly late. He puts me on the phone with his friend for a minute so she can give me the address, then when he ends the call, we finally leave the restaurant. Everyone says goodbye, and Lylah and I get into the Highlander so I can take her to her afternoon shoot.

      "Wait 'til I tell Macy you're finally circulating again," she says as we leave the parking lot. "She'll be thrilled to bits."

      "Oh, come on, it's not like a date or anything," I reply. "He's just being nice, and trying to be helpful."

      "Maybe so, but at least you'll be meeting new people. And who's to say that you might not score a date with one of them, hmmm? Weirder things have happened."

      I don't respond, and she lets it drop, but as I'm driving back to the house, I have to admit that I'm sort of warming up to the idea. This could actually be fun.

                                 ***********************************************************

Saturday:

      Even without the confirmation from my GPS, the sight of all the cars lined up along the street tells me I've found the party. I manage to snag an empty spot about a block away, and walk back to the one house that's blazing with lights. I ring the bell, and instantly hear a dog barking, and a voice say, "Is somebody else here, sweetie? Mommy's glad you can hear the bell over all of this."

      The door opens, and I'm face to face with a slender brunette, with a rather narrow oval face and a nose ring, who's wearing an LA Dodgers T-shirt and ripped jeans. "Hi! Have we met?"

      "No, not that I can recall, at least," I say. "I'm supposed to be meeting Ashley here. I'm..."

      "Stephanie, right?" she says, and extends her hand, just as the blonde from the Mexican restaurant walk up. "I'm Shannon, and this is Markie. Come on in."

      I step inside and shake her hand, then a small gray bulldog with very big ears immediately parks itself in front of my feet, looking up at me expectantly, so I crouch down to pet it. "Hello there, pretty. Are you the official greeter?"

      Both girls start giggling, and Shannon replies, "Oh, she is definitely that! Her name is Milly, and she's sort of my official icebreaker at work. It's a lot easier to make small talk with people once they've made friends with Milly."

      "What do you do?" 

      "I'm a DJ for Sirius Radio, and I get to interview a lot of musicians. That's how I first met Ash, actually. I wound up going to hang at a strip club with him and CC after an interview, and we've been friends ever since."

      I realize that I've heard this story before, and it finally clicks who she is. "So you're Shannon Gunz, then. I remember hearing you mention that on your program once."

      She gives me a grin, and motions for me to follow them into the house. "Guilty as charged. Come on, we'll start making introductions. Ash seems to be running a little behind schedule, but he should be here any second."

      "They were in the studio today, maybe they're trying to get caught up, since they missed so much time over the holidays."

      "Yeah, definitely wouldn't be a first for that," Markie states, then she stops and looks at me again. "You look sort of familiar, do I know you from somewhere?"

      "We met once, back in November," I remind her. "We were having lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and..."

      "Right, that's it!" she exclaims. "You're the one who didn't spoil my sneaking up on Ash. And from what my boyfriend seemed to think, you and Jinxx were all that kept that nasty little bitch he was dating at the time from making a fuss about him paying attention to somebody that wasn't her."

      "You guys talking about the one that hit on CC?" Shannon inquires. "Never got the chance to meet her."

      "Lucky you," I reply.

      As we get to the back deck, where most of the crowd currently is, another blonde joins us, who turns out to be Ash's friend Jazy. I'm a bit wary of her for the first couple of minutes, because physically, she sort of reminds me of Cyndee, but she winds up being so sweet and friendly that I can't help but like her, and pretty soon all four of us are chatting away like we've known each other for awhile.

      They introduce me to several people, so many that I can barely keep track of who's who, and everyone seems to be fairly nice, but after about forty minutes, there's still no sign of Ash. "You don't think they're still in the studio, do you?" I ask.

      "Doubtful, but I guess anything's possible," Shannon responds. "Maybe I'll give him a call, make sure he didn't have a flat or something on the way out." She wriggles her phone out of her pocket, pulls up her contacts, and hits his number. Several of the other guests are clustered around us, curious to see what's going on. Since it's so noisy, she turns on the speaker, and we all hear it ring several times. Then, just when we figure it's gonna go to voice mail, it actually connects, but nobody quite expects what we hear.

      "If I don't answer after the third fucking ring, you should know I'm fucking occupied!" he rasps. "I'm kind of busy right now, I'll call you back later. Goodbye!"

      And, from the whimpering and moaning that almost drowns him out, it's pretty clear that he has it backward. He's not "fucking occupied", he's "occupied fucking". Obviously, he's found something more interesting to do this evening. Or, to be more accurate, someone. 

      Everyone has gone quiet, looking sort of startled, and Jazy finally mumbles, "Holy shit, you've got to be fucking kidding me here!"

      Shannon is holding her phone and looking at it like she's waiting for it to do a trick. "Wow! Just... wow. Wasn't exactly expecting that."

      Markie doesn't say anything, she just looks worried and sort of alternates between patting my shoulder and Shannon's, like she's trying to comfort us. Everyone else just huddles around, whispering among themselves, until Johnny and Shannon's guy sort of herd them away from us. 

      "Yeah, okay then," I finally manage. "I guess I should probably go now."

      "No, you don't need to do that!" Shannon protests. "You're more than welcome to stay. Just because Ash is being an Olympic-caliber prick doesn't mean you have to leave."

      Markie and Jazy join in, trying to convince me to stay and hang with them, but I say, "Thanks, I really appreciate it, but no. You guys seem to be really cool, but if I stay, this is all anybody else is gonna think about, and I really don't care to spend the rest of the night being the elephant in the room, so to speak."

      They realize that I'm not going to give in, but insist on exchanging numbers before I leave. So we do that, and I take a minute to say goodbye to Milly, then Shannon's boyfriend walks me back to my car, and I drive off. I start heading back toward home, but then I realize that if I show up this early, Macy and Lylah are going to wonder why. That could be bad, since they both have to work with him, so now I have to come up with a Plan B, so I start driving, to see what might look interesting. 

      After a bit, I find an all-night movie theater, and notice that there's a showing of "Rocky Horror" starting in less than twenty minutes, so I go in, order a soda and some nachos, and settle in for the show, after making a couple of adjustments to my phone and turning it off. But the movie doesn't hold my interest, and I barely taste the nachos, or the box of Junior Mints I buy when they're gone. Because, right now, there's only one thing going around in my brain, like a continuous tape loop:

      It fucking happened again. I probably should have seen it coming from a mile away, but I was dumb enough to think that just because we're all adults, people couldn't still behave like thoughtless, immature college students. Apparently, I was wrong, though. I guess the old saying is true: 

      The more things change, the more they stay the same.