“Thank you again for your time. You’ve no doubt had a lot at once, so let me introduce myself again.” After her greeting, Lori gave a small smile while lifting a hand to her collarbone. “My name is Lori Applegate, with stage name Sweet Dream. My career plan is to go back to school, if possible...Cary?”

“What? Oh, uh, sorry,” said Cary, realizing she was caught in her own surprise. It was Tuesday, and with it, another early appointment with another member of Dream Come True. And this one was quite different than her predecessor. “Just...whiplash, I guess.”

“Understandable,” Lori said with a bright nod. “I must seem so milquetoast compared to the others.”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” said Cary. “Everyone else is pretty...in your face, I guess? I mean, I had a meeting with Iona yesterday, for starters.”

“She’s eccentric, to be sure,” said Lori. “But she knows what she’s doing. I can know I’m in good hands. Oh? You’re smiling.”

“I am?” said Cary, checking her cheek. “Oh, well, I suppose you’re more of my flavor of eccentric.”

“What a sweetheart,” said Lori with a small giggle. “Thank you.”

“So you wanted to go back to school?” said Cary, twirling a page over her desk. “I’m sure you know what that can be like when you’re working full time. But considering the circu--wait, you’re a nurse? Working on LP credentials?!”

“Oh, yes,” said Lori. “Please ignore all of that--I don’t really have any plans to get back into the medical field. It’s a bit of a long story.”

“Oh...okay,” said Cary. “It’s just uh. I thought your job was. I mean--”

“I started singing when I was very young,” said Lori. “I worked it until I got into the medical program at my university, and when I graduated, I was a nurse for a few years. But not too long ago, I picked up where I left off and went back to singing.”

Something about the way she spoke gave a note of finality that made Cary feel oddly stung. Lori must have sensed it, because her face wove into a soft smile. “Mmm hmm, bit of a winding story, huh?” she said.

“No, I’ve seen winding-er,” said Cary. Not that it stopped the back of her mind from wondering if this woman was even real. “I can already tell you’re a lot more mature than the others...and now you’re smiling?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Lori, muffling a laugh into her palm.“It just sounds like you’re trying to find a polite way to say I’m old.”

“Are you kidding? You’re...thirty-one?” said Cary. She looked younger than Cary even, and with a short stature and petite build, she looked almost doll-like, especially in the bright dresses she seemed fond of. God, Cary thought, Old Mother Genome must have really taken a shine to this woman.

“I suppose you’re right. But as you can probably tell, the industry loves to remind me of my age,” said Lori. “And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I know my looks are on borrowed time, and I have to keep my future in mind. So,” she gave a small smile, “I’ll be relying on you, Cary.”

“That still seems like a depressing way of looking at things,” said Cary.

“Spoken like someone in their twenties,” Lori said. “I presume?”

She let out another laugh, and Cary felt her cheeks tickle in embarrassment. Not quite from being called out, but feeling oddly small in comparison. Lori definitely struck Cary as the adult most twenty-somethings aspire to be: poised, strong, and confident to the point of awe-inspiring...and a bit intimidating.

“I really don’t understand you guys at all,” Cary said with a sigh.

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Lori. “We’re five very different people, after all. But after getting to know you a bit better, I think you’re kinder than meets the eye.”

“Naw, your first impression was right,” said Cary. “I’m a jerk with a heart of jerk.”

“Self-depreciation does no favors,” said Lori. “After all, maybe you don’t have a moniker attached to it, but I see a persona in you as well. Which makes sense--this is a hard job, isn’t it?”

“You got me there,” said Cary. “Still, I...it was good that I met you, I think it put a lot of things into perspective.”

“Like maybe you shouldn’t have called us a bunch of bimbos?” said Lori.

“Yeah, yeah, that was wrong of me,” said Cary, cupping the lower half of her face in an attempt to hide an embarrassed blush. “Really, I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

“I didn’t take anything by it,” said Lori. “There’s bound to be misunderstandings when we scope each other out. Serafine was saying the same thing--that you seemed more scared than cruel.”

“Oh, that’s...Cool Dream...right?” Cary said. “Ugh, man, I shouldn’t feel awkward saying these names.”

“Everyone does when they first meet us,” said Lori. “Still, I think it would be nice if you give everyone an apology when you see them, hmm?”

“I don’t mean anything bad by this,” said Cary, “but do people call you a huge Mom?”

“Oh, absolutely,” said Lori.

“Then I think we’re going to get along great,” said Cary.

“I think so too,” said Lori. “Let’s both keep an eye out for all the babies running around, right?” She gave another bright laugh, but this one lit up her face in a way that Cary found oddly charming, and could only offer an awkward laugh in return.

There was still a tinge of embarrassment that followed Cary for the rest of the appointment, but she couldn’t help but appreciate it. Lori was a wakeup call that, like it or not, Cary was dealing with a bunch of adults. But with it came an odd worry that Cary couldn’t put her finger on--or perhaps something a little closer to shame. But whatever misgivings she had, all she was left with was the newfound comfort of seeing Lori smile again.