“Cary, holy crap, you totally rocked it up there!” Those were not the words Cary was used to hearing either on a Monday morning or from Terra who was all but bouncing on her heels at the front desk. Cary had not expected the stage to be such an exhausting thing; when she got home, she fell asleep and didn’t wake up until almost eleven on Sunday, and spent the rest of the day only slightly more alert. Today only brought her a few steps closer to genuine lucidity.

“I what?” Cary asked, even though some shallow part of her mind could already guess the enthusiastic rant Terra was preparing to launch into.

“The Idol Battle!” said Terra, striking her arm to the side in a dramatic pose. “You totally went out there and tackled Quirky Dream’s inner demons and stuff! It was wild!”

“An Idol what?” Cary asked. “It was just a mock interview. I didn’t pull out a sword or anything.”

“Not according to the internet!” said Terra, pulling out her phone. “You should see some of the stuff that’s been popping up on Bulldozr! My whole feed has been nothing but image threads of all your great anime villain faces.”

“Your what? My what?!” Cary sputtered.

“It’s true! Look!” said Terra, turning her screen toward Cary and sliding through long strings of camera shots. “They’re calling you Dark Work Princess! You’re practically a meme now!”

“How is that a good thing?! How do you think that’s something I want?!” Cary all but spat. “What are all my clients going to think?”

“Actually, you’ve made a huge splash!” said Terra. “I heard from Melinda that our inbox is loaded with inquiries this morning. So uh,” she gave an awkward smile and a thumbs up. “Get ready for a busy week, I guess!”

“I seriously think you’re trying to, I dunno, make all of this sound like a good thing,” said Cary, scrunching her eyes shut and stabbing her middle and index finger into each starting tip of her eyebrows.

“But this is wildly different from everything you were worried about!” said Terra. “You were scared that people weren’t going to take Career Forward seriously or think we’re the bad guys, right?”

“They called me the Evil Work Princess!” said Cary. “They do see me as the bad guy!”

“Dark Work Princess,” Terra corrected. “And thanks to the magic of the internet, that’s a good thing! Because everyone loves the villain!”

“Sure, great, whatever,” said Cary, waving it away. “I’m going to go to my office desk and try to swamp through this Hell of my own making. And I’m looking forward to it being one hundred percent DCT-free.”

“Warmest congratulations to the wonderful agents of Career Forward!” sung Serafine to the same note as her swinging open the door. “And especially to--Miss Cary Rivera! Just the woman I’ve hoped to speak with!”

“Hnng! It’s Cool Dream!” squeaked Terra, covering her mouth with both hands, face exploding in a violent blush.

“Oh! Hey Serafine,” said Cary. Serafine’s impressive height and straight posture put the enormous bouquet of white bellflowers and blue roses right at her eye level. “So, uh, what brings you in so early?”

“No one but you, dear friend,” said Serafine with a smile, extending the bouquet. “A token of appreciation for your magnificent performance last Saturday!”

“What? No, no no no,” said Cary, putting her hands in front of her. “I can’t accept that.”

“I’LL TAKE THEM IF YOU WON’T CARY.”

“Because I didn’t do anything,” said Cary, with a snap in her voice to quiet Terra. “You really don’t need to go this far.”

“Au contraire!” said Serafine. “You do your grace on stage no justice. Thrown into the roiling seas, you emerged from the maelstrom with the visage of a warrior. And of course, you’ve rescued my dear cohort Odila from the foolish trap of her own creation!”

“I’m not sure that really came out as you intended it,” Cary said, cut off by the electric chime of the front entrance opening once again.

“Cary! I’m glad I caught you early!” said Lori, walking through the door with the click of her heels. “Oh, Serafine, those are lovely! Did you pick them out yourself?”

“With a little help from a floral arrangement master,” said Serafine cheerfully.

“The most charmed floral arrangement master in Ferris City, no doubt,” said Lori lightly picking through the blooms with a twittering giggle. “Anyway, Cary, I’m glad that I caught you. First of all, congratulations on your good show Saturday.”

“Thanks. Really,” said Cary. “But as I was just telling Serafine--”

“But! I want to make sure that you’re compensated properly for all of your effort,” said Lori, handing over a small stack of paper. “So I think it would be good to start recording the hours that you help DCT.”

“Recording hours? No, no way,” said Cary, once again throwing her hands in front of her. “That's way too much. After all, I was the one who crashed--”

“Don’t be stubborn now,” said Lori, lifting a scolding finger. “After all, you and I both know that you have a stressful job as it is! If you work yourself too much without proper compensation, you’ll burn yourself out.”

“Taxation forms...signed affidavits...is this a witness statement?” said Cary, flipping through the folder deftly. “Even if I was going for compensation, this is a little much, isn’t it?”

“Oh. Hmm,” said Lori, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I honestly am not sure. I just printed off everything I could find on the internet. I figured more is better than less. Or that you could make some sense of it?”

“Hey, s’up my Care-bear!” trumpeted Odila, barging through the front door, giving a sarcastic salute as Dusty followed with a bright smile. “I’m here to keep my promise and do your stupid whiny appointment thing!”

“Your appointment isn’t until Wednesday!” said Cary, slamming the wad of papers together like a book.

“Man, first you moan about me not showing up, now you chew me out for being early,” said Odila with a shrug. “Some people!”

“Dare I ask what you’re doing here?” asked Cary, shooting Dusty a look.

“Oh, I’m just her ride,” Dusty said, putting her hand above Odila’s head and pointing downward.

“Gooooood morning everyone!” sang Iona, somehow finding enough space in the open door frame crowd to enter with a twirl of a flourish. “Wow, a big batch of my favorite people all in the same room! Love you guys!”

“Okay, you have an appointment today,” Cary said.

“Gosh, you’re right! I do!” said Iona with a bob. “I almost forgot!”

“Ah ah aaaaaahhhh of Dream Come True in the same room!” sputtered Terra, fumbling with the phone that seemed to be leaping out of her hands on its own. “C-can I please take a picture?!”

“Group squeeze!” trilled Iona, as Cary found herself pressed-in on all sides by DCT, cut off by several snaps of Terra’s camera ping before she could even protest.

“Holycrap holycrap this is amazing,” said Terra, staring adoringly at her phone screen. “All I need are those flowers to be for me, and I’d literally actually die.”

“Well, I certainly think I could spare one,” said Seraf, plucking a blue rose from the bouquet and handing it toward Terra.

“GOODBYE WORLD,” she screamed, eyes were now wide as stage lights.

“Alright, enough!” said Cary, pushing herself from the group. “I’ve got a huge pile of work to do, no thanks to you guys!”

“So you’re living your dream, eh?” said Odila.

“No, I’m not!” said Cary. “Look I’ll...you all have appointments this week, so I’ll talk to you then. Please show up for your actual appointments. Please.”

“But today is Iona day! Hooray!” said Iona, lifting her hand in a cheer. “And just to give you a reminder Cary! Make sure you have your after-work free! Because I’ve gotten together your Special Reward for all your good work!”

“That sounds kind of weird, not gonna lie,” said Dusty.

“Gracious, I hope it wasn’t flowers,” said Serafine, looking at her bouquet.

“I hope it was a compensation contract,” said Lori, “because I bit off more than I could chew.”

“Psst! Cary!” said Terra, leaning over the desk and cupping her hand toward Cary’s ear. “I hope you know that you’re living several forum threads wildest fantasy right now.”

“That’s one hell of a stage whisper you got there,” said Cary, glaring at her.

“Just letting you knooooow,” loud whispered Terra again. Cary’s face all but collapsed into an open palm.