Claire and Olivia were sitting in the kitchen in bathrobes, drinking tea, when a tall Asian woman walked through the door. This got Olivia's attention right away, because there weren't many Asians in their area. This woman looked Japanese, whereas Olivia herself was of Chinese descent; she struck Olivia as extraordinarily beautiful, with high cheekbones and piercing dark eyes. Her bearing was imperious, almost haughty; this was definitely not someone to be trifled with.
The woman gave Olivia an appraising glance and said matter-of-factly, "Who's this, Claire?"
"This is Olivia," answered Claire. "The model I was telling you about."
Olivia blushed; she didn't think of herself as a model, and she certainly didn't look like one at the moment, in this rumpled robe with her hair all mussed. Technically, though, she could call herself a model now, she guessed. Thinking of some of the revealing photos Tara had taken, she blushed even harder.
"Olivia, meet Mimi," said Claire. "This is her house."
Olivia nodded, unsure what to say. Mimi clasped her hand briefly in a friendly but businesslike way and said, "Charmed, I'm sure." Turning to Claire she added, "Where's Tara?"
"In the office uploading." With that, Mimi turned on her heel and disappeared into the house, and Olivia heard Claire let out an audible breath. Their eyes met and a sympathetic look passed between them; Claire shrugged her shoulders and whispered, "She scares me a little bit."
* * *
A half-hour or so passed, and Olivia sat staring out the window as Claire did something or other on her phone. She was wondering if maybe she ought to get going, but she had nothing in particular to do, and in this kitchen looking out at the beautiful garden was a pleasant enough place to be. Even so, eventually she decided that she couldn't just hang out forever, and she had just finished changing back into her own clothes when Tara appeared in the doorway.
"Hey Olivia," said Tara. "Could you come with me for a minute?"
Olivia said sure, though for a moment she felt like she was being called to the principal's office. But she hadn't done anything wrong -- or at least, nothing that had seemed wrong at the time.