Welcome to Gaia! ::

Steph met with Samantha at the table. On her plate were some... interesting choices of food. There were plenty of healthy vegetables, but after that, there was this strange, pinkish-gray matter that looked completely unappetizing. It seemed the kind of food you'd see in North Korea. Next to that was a granola covered hybrid of soy cubes and spinach. What even was that? Whatever it was, she was eating it with gusto.

"So tell me, darling. Have you found any good bridesmaid dresses for me? If you haven't picked anything you liked yet, I could always inspire you with some of my latest modeling photographs."

Steph grinned whilst daintily flicking her hand towards herself. "Oh, you mustn't worry about my schedule. It's extremely flexible. I shall be ready for you whenever I'm needed, Samantha. If you can find that perfect moment, don't hesitate to contact me."

Although Samantha was shoveling it in rather quickly, Steph was eating at a snail's pace. She made sure to make every bite as delicate and gracious as she could. And she always dabbed a napkin on her lips each time. It didn't come off as well-mannered as much as it did showing off. One couldn't help but think that behind her neutral expression, she was looking down on the others at the table who didn't eat like her.

Once Rodger had left the table, presumably for more shrimp, Steph stopped eating. She sighed before gazing out the window. The night sky was so dark that it was no longer blue, now a black colour dotted with white stars.

Without even looking back to her, Steph asked, "It's beautiful, isn't it? The Sky? The stars? The moon?" She continued to sit unmoving, entranced by the view outside the window. One would think that in those high dots, she saw something that the eyes of many did not.

"It's simple.", Steph said, "The sky looms above me, above you, above us all. When your mood is beautiful, when your surroundings are beautiful, the sky is beautiful too. I live the dream, Samantha. My skies are always clear and shining. My life is beautiful, just as me."

She turned her head to Samantha to ask, "How is your sky, darling?"

[This seems like a good spot to end this scene.]




Stacy had refreshed herself for the morning, and had recently finished breakfast. Before she went to work, however, she had some time to spare. She spent that time searching around her closet. "Oh come on... It's gotta be around here somewhere..." Clothing and knickknacks littered the floor as she knocked them off their respective shelves. "There it is! The exercise tapes that Mom gave me!" To think, she had borrowed them a long time ago, but never gave them back. Only now, she needed them. The case was white with purple outlines. On the cover read, "Basic Fitness With Katie Wong". A young woman of Asian descent was lifting her legs on a yoga mat underneath the title. "Let's go put this in the DVD player, and see what I can do!"

The DVD player was rather old, and took a few extra seconds to buffer before playing anything. But once it started, it played like normal. Stacy used the remote controller to select "workout 1" to give it a shot. She was greeted in the video by the same woman on the cover, who introduced herself as "Katie Wong". Katie's personality could be described as 'overly peppy'. She was like a stereotypical valley girl, who was trying to do cheerleading. Stacy found herself enjoying this person's presence on the screen. They were like a close friend who just happened to know how to stay in shape. Katie mentioned that her training techniques required a yoga mat, something that Stacy didn't have. She thought that the rug in her living room would suffice, so they got started.

As they began doing the leg-lifts seen on the cover, Stacy was amazed by the amount of stamina the trainer in the video had. She just tried to keep up with the pre-recording, doing what she did and not giving up. Her body was quickly beginning to feel tired, but she ignored it. She wasn't going to lose weight by resting every three seconds. They moved onto a couple of other moves after that, as Stacy continued trying to emulate the video. One thing that Stacy liked about Katie is that she was never boring. During the entire workout session, she wasn't just repeating numbers or interjections. She tried to have a nice conversation with her through the other side of the screen. Stacy learned about the news in her life, what she liked, and what she thought about things. It was like being with an actual person, who just wants to be friends with you.

When the first section was finally over, Stacy turned off the DVD player. She lay on her rug, tired yet satisfied. She had just taken the first step towards reshaping herself. Now she just had to do this every day for a long time in order to see results. She groaned when that idea crossed her mind.

[You think Samantha will find the time to call her bridesmaids about the cake-tasting soon? Stacy's gotta get to work, so she should either hurry or wait until work's over.]

[Drinking? Nude girls? What does Maddy get up to in her spare time? lol]

Stacy peered out from her window. Nathan wasn't there today, so that meant she could get to her car without another crazy distraction. She opened her door, and made her way to the vehicle, when she suddenly heard her cell phone ring. According to the caller ID, it was Maddy. Stacy pressed the call button to answer.

"Stacy's here. What'cha need?"

"Any time, darling! Just tell me the address and I'll be there", Steph's voice said over the phone.


Stacy looked regretful at her phone. "Sorry. I have to go to work. I won't be free until 6:30. Can the cake-tasting be done later today?"