“Long story short,” Lori said, resting her chin on the tip of her pointer knuckle, “I want you to attend a taping of mine.”

Lori, and all the other members of Dream Come True (or DCT as the Dreamers will have you know) were Cary’s clients at Career Forward, the only unemployment office in Ferris City. After their band was investigated due to possible criminal action on the part of their manager, the group were placed on hiatus, with the looming possibility of dissolvement. So in part sincere backup, mostly shameless publicity stunt, they all got together to get ‘real jobs’ as a group.

It was an absurd idea that Cary still only partially accepted in her mind, but after two months of their antics, Cary had long since run out of fight against it. And since Lori’s appointment was every Tuesday, a long enough distance from the weekend when she was swept into the bar and their collective frivolity, Cary had long forgotten about Lori’s request for a ‘big favor’--which after being swept into a gay bar seemed almost inane.

“A taping?” Cary asked curiously.

“For a television series,” Lori said, lacing her fingers together with a nod. “I’ve been selected to be one of the celebrity guests for the season. Have you heard of ‘Home Cooking and Chill’?”

“Of course! My mom’s absolutely nuts about that show,” said Cary. She felt herself perking up at the unfamiliar sensation of finally being in on something current. “You actually got chosen to be one of the features? That’s amazing!”

“Oh, it’s nothing that grand,” Lori said. Her hands now clasped together to hide a bit of an embarrassed grin. “It was already being talked about that someone on DCT would show up, but...after everything that happened, I suppose I was the safest choice.”

She gave Cary an assuring smile, so bright it closed her eyes for a moment, which put Cary into a moment of pause. Lori was unassumingly humble compared to the rest of the pack but “safe” didn’t seem like a fair adjective to describe her. If anything, her centeredness made her seem all the more unreal.

“But I don’t want to make you feel put upon,” Lori assured. Cary suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing she was caught in her own reflections.

“Oh, no no!” Cary said, feeling a small tinge of her own embarrassment, and unconsciously picking up Lori’s file to hide it. “I’m just surprised, I guess. It sounds more like a ‘fun after work’ thing than a favor.”

“I suppose it is,” said Lori with a chuckle that hinted a restrained nervousness. “But it really is a big favor for me, at least. You’re helping me be a nosy hen.”

“A what?” Cary said, almost laughing in surprise.

“It’s true,” Lori said. “I’m mostly doing this to help Serafine.”

“Serafine?” Cary asked. “Is she going to be on the show too?”

“No--but she’s insisted on going either way,” said Lori with a chuckle. “All the other members of DCT are pretty occupied. Our schedules have gotten pretty slapdash with filler assignments in the wake of the investigation. All except poor Serafine.”

“I guess I can kind of see it,” said Cary. “DCT was really built around Strawberry Cherry and Iona, right?”

“Originally, yes,” said Lori. If Cary didn’t know better, she could have sworn she saw a dash of bruised pride“Serafine and I were later additions to bolster the numbers.”

“So Serafine got shafted for being an outsider, huh?” asked Cary.

“Actually, it’s very much the opposite,” said Lori. “Serafine is by far and away the most popular member of DCT.”

“Really?!” Cary said. She felt a bit foolish the minute she blurted it out--Serafine was Cool Dream, for goodness sake. And beyond that, with her flashy image and charming mannerisms, she was the picture of a career idol.

“Serafine’s style is very much at home with DCT,” said Lori, as if agreeing with Cary’s thoughts. “So when DCT got put on standby, it hurt her more than you would think. She’s not someone who you can just throw around as a background extra easily.”

“Yeah…” said Cary. “So you want me to come along to make her feel a little less on her own?”

“Exactly,” said Lori, tapping her chin. “Don’t think I’m just shopping for a warm body though. I have a feeling you two would get along very well together.”

“Oh no, no no no,” said Cary, laughing louder than she’d intended. “No, Serafine is like...Serafine is Cool Dream. I think Odila called me a walking manilla envelope the other day.”

“She can be so bad sometimes,” said Lori, giving a quick wave as if to dispel any lingering cheekiness from Quirky Dream. “I’ll admit that Serafine has an intimidating first impression, but I assure you, there’s no sweeter or friendlier person. And she seems quite taken with you.”

“Absolutely not,” Cary said.

“Absolutely so,” said Lori with an encouraging nod. “She was quite impressed with how you handled Odila’s mock interview, you know.”

Cary groaned, and felt her face sink into the back of her hands. In an attempt to get media attention off of Dusty, who had been tricked into sleeping with the producer when she was a teenager, Odila arranged a mock-interview that she prepared to bomb as a spectacle on national television. But Iona, worried about both of her friends and trusting Cary’s instincts, pushed her onto the stage to get to the bottom of Odila’s stunt. It saved both DCT’s and Ferris City’s reputations--and won Cary status as a memetic supervillain.

“I want to forget that ever happened,” Cary said.

“Now now,” Lori giggled sweetly. “You did us a real service that day. And if anything, your background is even more of a boon..”

“Because I’m a shining pinnacle of normie society?” asked Cary, collapsing into her palm. It was meant to be a joke, but it seemed to hit Lori surprisingly hard; for a moment, her eyes closed deeply as if returning to something deeper than her smile could handle.

“Speaking a someone who’s been a part of ‘normie society’,” Lori said, “you really need someone outside of the circle to talk to.”

“When you were a nurse, right?” Cary asked. Lori’s eyes opened. Her smile didn’t return.

“That’s right. Everyone else has someone that they can talk to. Odila and Dusty are as thick as thieves, and Iona’s really been falling into step with you.”

“What? No way,” said Cary, feeling herself smile despite herself. “Iona’s just super friendly toward everyone. I mean…”

“Hmm hmm,” said Lori with the closest she could come to a knowing smirk. “Well, either way, everyone has someone they can lean on when things are tough. I want Serafine to have something like that.”

“But I thought you two were pretty good friends,” said Cary.

“We are,” said Lori. “But I’m still a member of DCT, so I’m not really someone to talk to outside of drama.” She gave a self depreciative shrug. It struck Cary as absurd to think she was somehow any less a part of the drama, but her internal rebuttal was lost to Lori's next reasoning: “And Serafine really should have more friends closer to her age.”

“Lori, you’re not too old to hang out with Serafine,” said Cary, hearing the eye-rolling apparent in her own voice. Lori was in her early thirties, which continued to surprise Cary, as with her petite frame, full cheeks, and deep black coils that bounced every time she smiled, she easily could pass for someone a decade younger.

“In age, maybe,” she said. She gave Cary a look that was warm, but had a drop of mystery, as if she was aware of something she wanted Cary to discover on her own. “But in spirit...Serafine has a youth that I want her to enjoy.”

“Well, you definitely came to the wrong person if you’re looking for a ‘youthful spirit’,” Cary snorted. To her surprise, Lori burst into a bright laugh.

“Well, then in that case,” said Lori, “I suppose I need someone to talk to outside of the circle too.” She gave another small nod. “So do an old soul a favor, would you?”

“Alright, alright,” Cary said, a quick glint from Lori letting Cary realize she'd just been turned around.. “Not like I have much of a life outside of work anyway. When’s the recording?”

“Well, technically, it’s tonight…” said Lori. “Obviously, we can wait until next week, if you need.”

“Nah nah, I’ve got nothing going on,” said Cary, sighing. She gave a passing look at Lori’s resumé, suddenly realizing how used she got to not doing her actual job with the DCT gang.

“How spontaneous!” said Lori brightly. “I can see we’re already rubbing off on you!” Cary could only smile awkwardly in return, not bothering with the ‘not in a million years’ that was hovering at the back of her mind.