A calming green mist gathered around my ankles as I inhaled my last steadying breath before starting the show. I doubt the other models in line behind me could see the apple green fog floating backstage with us. Still, I had this confident feeling that the spirit of the mall was with me that night.

The music starting was my cue to start strutting.

During all the rehearsals, the runway hadn’t seemed all that special. But now, with the lights and the underground techno bass pulsing everywhere, my road to the end of the catwalk seemed to stretch off into infinity.

The handmade outfit I wore began to feel like wings, helping me take lift. The crowd below the platform became a shallow sea of purple plasma. Digitized palm trees sprouted on either side of the catwalk, bowing overhead as I passed by. 

In the distance, I saw one of the mall’s fountains. It glowed like a seafoam beacon in the theatrical darkness. I approached as if it were my throne, the sequins woven in my bodice feeling more and more like mermaid scales harvested from some ancient aquatic dynasty.

The mist rose up again, as if reminding me that I had a job to do. Barely aware that I was at the edge of the catwalk, I struck my signature pose before turning sharply and making my way back to where I came from.

Once I was backstage, reality blinked into existence again. I was hurried along and changed into another outfit. Elliot was there, praising my performance and urging me to keep up the pressure. I wasn’t aware until that moment, but apparently my presence was giving the rest of our models a boost in confidence. No one had made a mistake. 

Glad to hear that the show was going smoothly, I got in line for the next round of looks. I and the other models stole secret, excited smiles every now and then. It was clear we were all thinking the same thing – that this was going way better than expected. 

When I was close enough to the curtain, I peeked through the opening to see that the showroom was packed with people. I wanted to look around for Bobby, but there wasn’t enough time.

My third time on the runway allowed me a little more clarity than before. I noticed that London’s models were already out there. I made sure to give them space without breaking my own stride. Even though I was sharing the stage, I still felt like all eyes were on me.

Once again, I was living in the moment.

I didn’t even notice that the mist had changed from green to red.

Or that one of London’s models had it out for me.

Gravity betrayed me as a shoulder collided with mine, nearly sending me toppling over the side of the catwalk. The only way I could catch my balance was by pivoting into a small tight turn. My blunder threw off the rhythm of the walk. Now I was too close to the model behind me, but at least I had survived.

I threw a quick glance to see who had tried to sabotage me and my heart sank.

Mercedes?

This couldn’t be real. I had no time to check again – she was already too far away. Besides, I needed to keep a cool, confident expression for the rest of the show.

Once backstage, I was approached by Elliot. 

“Aqua! You all right?”

“I’m fine. How bad was it?”

Elliot shook her head. “I don’t think that many people noticed. It happened so fast and your recovery was insane. Has anyone tried that on you before?”

“No, but I once took a modeling class that had us practice what to do in case it happens.”

Needless to say that I was pretty grateful for those lessons. Elliot had to wrap up the show with the other designers, so she told me we’d talk later. I pulled myself together in order to do one last walk at the end.

When everything was finished, I found Mercedes and confronted her.

“What the hell was that?”

I had caught my friend off guard. She looked at me with wide, terrified eyes. Before she could respond, London swooped in and put herself between me and her.

“Excuse me, but who do you think you are? Don’t come over here to harass my models.”

I almost laughed. “Harass? She was the one who almost pushed me off the stage! Plus I know her, so please let us finish our conversation.”

London lifted an eyebrow. “I saw what happened. You were taking up the whole stage and crashed into Mercedes. She did nothing wrong.”

From behind London, I could see Mercedes looking at the ground in what seemed like regret. Why wasn’t she speaking up for herself?

When it was clear that Mercedes wasn’t going to break her silence and London wasn’t going to back down, I narrowed my eyes at London and said, “Your model… eats french fries.”

London gasped, but I didn’t stick around long enough to see what she had to say. What I did wasn’t at all mature and Mercedes was probably going to pay the price, but I didn’t care.

On the way to the dressing room, I ran into Bobby. 

“Aqua! Found you!” He held up a bouquet of white lilies. “They uh – they ran out of roses. These are for you.”

My little episode with London and Mercedes made me forget about Bobby. I knew he would be in the audience, but the flowers made me go speechless. Either way, he didn’t seem to notice.

“Do you wanna go get a bite to eat? Not here. This other place, I mean. It’s… kind of special.”

Bobby and I always ate together in the food court, but for some reason, this felt different. Bobby wasn’t wearing his uniform or the clothes I usually saw him in. He looked… nice.

Bobby’s shyness was also making me very aware of everything that I was wearing – or rather, wasn’t wearing – plus the new hair and makeup.

In other words, I think Bobby wanted to take me on a real date.

I’d admit that some time with Bobby away from all the things going on in this crazy mall was not a bad idea. In fact, it was something that I definitely needed. I told Bobby to wait for me while I changed back into my regular clothes.

When I reached the dressing room, I heard my pager going off. Prepared to shoot a message to my mom that I was going out with Bobby, I nearly dropped the beeper when I saw who the number was from.

Sean!?

Seriously? After everything, now was the time he decided to reach out? And to make things worse, his message read: B a t h r o o m.

I turned the pager down in disgust. Who did he think I was? There was no way I was going to meet him in the public restrooms.

Putting Sean Mori out of my mind, I quickly got into my clothes and fixed my hair in the mirror. Then my pager started going crazy again. 

I groaned as I swiped the machine and glared at the sender. Still Sean. 

Well, so what? I was done with him.

I got back together with Bobby. The crowds were still there, talking to the designers and their models. Whatever aura I was giving off, Bobby picked up on it quick.

“Hey. Did something happen?”

By now, we had put some distance between ourselves and the huge gathering. Most of the brighter lights in the mall were swapped out for calming green and blue hues.

“Huh?” 

It was only then that I felt the tension release from my face. His question had caught me off guard.

“Ever since you came out of the dressing rooms, something looks like it’s been eating at you. Plus you haven’t said a word.”

My pager buzzed again. I wanted to scream. 

I yanked it out from my pocket and read the next message.

0-6-0-8-8-2-5

No way. 

The graffiti on the carousel. The date and time of Harry Shuffle’s death. I learned a couple of days ago that was the name of the old man who died in the mall.

To send me those numbers… it almost felt like some kind of signal. Or a code red for something that couldn’t be explained through the limited characters in a beeper text. Clearly Sean wanted to get my attention. Badly.