"Make sure you do a full face shot," Brandy snapped at her photographer. "That means tits and up." I don't want my viewers to think I'm some disembodied head floating over this sorry excuse for a town."
"S-Sorry." Her photographer, a nerdy little wimp just out of journalism school, struggled to carry what looked like less then 20 pounds of equipment. Brandy sighed. She was two weeks shy of her 30th birthday, and still stuck doing shitty little side stories that no one would read outside of National Geographic. Her assignment today was to celebrate Earth Day by covering some sad ass traveling hippy festival way out in Buttfuck, Georgia. She had enough footage of dirty, greasy hippies writhing around in mud to last a lifetime, and she was only sticking around to complete her scheduled interview with the lead hippy that organized the festival. Then she could look forward to spending the next 5 hours driving back to civilization. She only been there for two days, and was already sick of the thick wilderness that spread out in every direction. In the hot Georgia sun, this place was more like a festering mosquito covered swamp then a nature reserve. Brandy slapped at a bug that landed on her arm. It was getting dark, and the rest of the horde would be coming out soon. Where the hell was this guy?
She flipped open her make-up compact and patted some foundation on her nose. Her exasperated expression stared back at her. She had always been lovely, and despite her anxieties about getting older, her face was still youthful and fresh. Her smooth brown skin was flawless and her hazel eyes were striking. Her full, pouty lips were her own, but the 36D breasts were thanks to her plastic surgeon. I am absolutely fucking gorgeous, she thought to herself, so why am I stuck here with some clueless intern when I should be the next Oprah?
"I think we should head back to Atlanta, Mrs. Washington," Eric said. "We should have enough footage for the article." Brandy frowned.
"First, it's Miss. Washington, Eric, I'm not old." She barely disguised her contempt for him. "And second, I've been doing this since you were eating boogers in freshmen AV! Don't you dare tell me how to do my job."
Her photographer shifted uncomfortably as he struggled for the right words. Brandy motioned for him to shut up. They had wondered into a small clearing off to the side of the festival. Two girls and a guy were sitting around a silver pot, laughing and passing around a thickly wrapped cigarette. The girls had long, waist length hair that was woven with different colored flowers. They were both brunette, and wore flowing skirts that came down to their ankles. The youngest, who looked about 20, was bare breasted, and the older one had only several dozen beaded necklaces to cover her chest. The male was maybe in his mid twenties, and had shoulder length blond hair. He had on a pair of blue jeans and nothing else. The three of them saw Brandy and Eric standing and waved them over. The smell of smoke was familiar to her, and Brandy smiled when she realized they were smoking a blunt.
"Roll camera," she whispered. "This is a good chance to get some footage." She put on her best smile and walked towards them.
"We should go," Eric blurted out, far too loudly. "We shouldn't be around drugs." Brandy rolled her eyes at his cowardice and ignored him.
"If you don't want a smoke," the shirtless man said, "you can have a cup of passion fruit tea." He picked up a small wooden bowl and dipped it into the steaming metal pot. He filled it about halfway with tea and passed the bowl to Brandy. She smelled the dark brew. It was scented of lemons, mangos, and cinnamon. Passion fruit seeds floated on the surface. She looked at him and he smiled back, his youthful face still visible in the dim clearing. "Don't worry," his voice was cheerful and smooth, "it's all natural tea. Good for keeping the mosquitoes away."
Brandy took a sip. It tasted a little tart. Better then expected, but not as good as Starbucks. If only these hippies had some Splenda. She took another sip and then set the bowl on the ground.