6

Elise was invited to stay and have dinner with the executives and celebrities almost every night. Sometimes, we didn't even see her for a whole week. She would call to tell me she was in Barcelona or Mumbai doing a photoshoot. Sometimes, we didn't hear a word from her.

Once, Karmen just lost it and jammed all Elise's clothes into her suitcase, zipped it up and left it out in the hallway. I wasn't there to stop her. I was in the café trying to find any job online. Then at one in the morning, Elise showed up, good-natured as ever, suitcases in hand.

"Sorry," she said and began to unpack.

Karmen blew up. "Sorry? Sorry? We're almost homeless, and you're out there having a damn good time. Now, what are we supposed to do, go down to the street and stand like a statue for money?"

I was starting to consider it. It could be a life-saving occupation if it came to that.

Elise just shrugged. "I was working."

"Right! Working as you eat lobsters and drink champagne while we had peanut butter sandwiches," Karmen scoffed. I hated to admit it, but sometimes, Karmen and I stalked Elise's Instagram to see her frolicking at some paradise-like island with other models. Karmen even went further to report her pictures for nudity (though Elise was just looking too hot in bikinis).

"Are you stalking me on social media?" Elise said, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, Elise," I said. "The important thing right now is that we're broke. And the rent is due in two days. We don't have any money."

"I got paid, guys, don't worry," she said with a smile and went to her room. I let out a sigh of relief. Karmen looked a little embarrassed, but she tried to act cool.

"I'll pay Princess Peach back," she said.

"If we find a job," I said.

"When we find a job," she said. "I refuse to take her money."

I felt the same way, but it seemed Elise was our breadwinner for now.

~*~

Living for a week on seventeen bucks was a special talent. Every penny counted. Repugnant as the thought of handing money to Celie was, we decided to eat in the deli. There was just so much tuna fish and peanut butter a girl could stomach, and we had enough cash for two corned beef sandwiches.

A few days later, Karmen decided that enough was enough, so she got a job as a waitress at the deli. Well, the whole story happened faster than a farmer could milk a cow. It started when we found Ms. McHugh bending over with color drained from her face one morning. She was sent to the ER afterward and was now recovering from the high blood pressure. The doctor advised her to take a long rest. Celie had no replacement and decided to ask if any of us wanted to take a part-time job waiting at her deli. I was surprised that Karmen agreed. It was that time that we realized we had hit rock bottom.

Karmen had her waitress uniform the next day. She pretended that she was just helping out while Ms. McHugh was sick.

"Some pride to swallow, eh?" Elise said to her as we sat down at our table. Karmen looked like she wanted to kill her with a spoon.

"May I take your order, your highness?" she said. I tried to civilize them by taking up the conversation to another direction.

"So how long are you going to work here?" I said.

"Until I stumble upon two million dollars on the street that is," she said sarcastically. I kind of felt bad for her. I would have taken up the job but Celie only offered one position.

"Aw, don't be so bitter about it," Elise said with a smile. "Perhaps it's a good time for you to practice your walk, especially with those shoes."

Karmen looked down at the black old-fashion oxfords that Celie required her to wear. They were hideous.

At that point, I thought Elise's saliva must be pure acid. I could feel the sizzling burn from where Karmen stood.

"I'm afraid, one day, you'll find one up your rear if you don't shut up," Karmen shot back. These two needed to stop biting each other.

"Okay! That's enough," I said and had to push Karmen away with our orders.

After breakfast, Elise left and I went for a walk. You can't spend all day cooped up anyway. It isn't healthy. I walked up to a certain block where Elise said Clarice's place was. If I could accidentally-on-purpose run into her, I could strike up a conversation. I would portray myself as the strong, silent type, not too nice, but with a sense of maturity.

Of course, Karmen and Elise were my best friends, and you weren't supposed to screw up your friends. But Karmen didn't deserve Clarice. And Elise, well, I wasn't sure she was that into the Elven Princess. I had a feeling that she went out with her to piss Karmen off. She hadn't even mentioned her at all after that night. Besides, if I didn't step up my game, waiting for someone to fall for me could take forever!

I looked from window to window, up and down the block, half believing it wasn't a waste of time. Did I expect a golden aura to be emanating from the building that housed Clarice Kingsley and her legs?

I almost laughed at myself afterward. On my way back, I found her- on the billboard. It was a group photo for some bikinis commercial. I also found Elise on it. Their smiles froze at each other. I felt my chest tighten with jealousy and decided to return to the deli.

It was the first really sweltering day of the summer, and the air was heavy and humid. I escaped back to the air conditioning, waiting for Karmen to finish her shift and Elise to come home from work. I was already sweating in this hot weather. Now imagine what was like in the kitchen where Karmen was. Poor girl. The air was like vaporized oatmeal. I waved at the Jogging Grandma as she jogged by, energetic, cool, and sweat-free. Everyone seemed to have things to do and places to go.

Inside the door, I paused, looking distastefully at the employment section. Looking for a job was harder than working. I scanned the first couple of ads. All of them said experienced required. How are you supposed to get experience if no one will hire you because you don't have experience?

I tried not to feel so self-conscious about being the only one unemployed. Then Celie whizzed by my table and looked at me.

"You're not working?" she said. I didn't want her to think that this would lead to rental payment complications, so I smiled brightly back.

"It's my day off," I lied.

"Well, it looks like every day is your day off," she said with a raised brow.

"Look, Celie, I'm trying my hardest to find a job, okay?" I said. "And I'm going to have one sooner or later, so don't you worry about that."

"I'm not worried," she said. "Just want to let you know that the rent is due next week."

I scowled in disgust at her. I wondered if that was what she did all day, going around reminding people about their rent due.

"Is that all you can think about?" I said. "What good would money do you then?"

"Well, I would die happier," she said and walked away.

~*~

On Monday, I was in the grocery store, filling up my cart with our usual cheap instant everything, when someone called my name.

"Azra!"

I looked up. There was Clarice, smiling and waving. Did it just happen? I strut myself all over the neighborhood with absolutely no results, and now that I've finally written her off of my mind, guess who finds me? And I didn't even expect her to remember my name.

Clarice bounced forward with her Barbie doll's legs. She still looked all voguish even in a plain tank top and white shorts. It was like she just stepped out of a billboard. That should be a crime.

"Am I ever glad to see you!" she said breathily. "What are you doing here?"

"Er...finding the cure to cancer?" I said. Clarice blinked back for a second and then she burst out laughing.

"You're funny," she said. "Yeah, silly me to ask."

"If you're here to shop, first you have to get a cart..." I said.

"Actually, this is more like an assignment," she said. "And I'm just happy I ran into you here. I wonder if you could help me out."

"What?" I asked. She blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, in one interview I sort of told a reporter that I can cook a vegetarian dish," she said. "But I only know a little bit about it. Then a cooking show invited me as a special guest. Now I'm in trouble! I don't know what I should make on the show that won't make a fool of myself."

"Oh, I see," I said. "Model's life, huh?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug. "Elise told me a lot about you. So can you cook?"

"Not very well," I said. "Why?"

"I really hope you can help me out then!" she said expectantly. I wanted to roll my eyes. She showed me a list, which she had written exactly one word: Beans.

"What's this?"

"My homework. It's a cost versus nutrition chart on at least twenty different items. Can you help me find them? I don't even know what they are."

What an honor! For this bright shining moment, I found myself wishing I had Celie's mouth. I mean, what had she done for me? Aside from dating both of my best friends?

All I said was, "Well, I'm kind of in a hurry to get home so I can start looking for a jo..."

"That'll take two seconds, Azra!" she assured me, grabbing my arm and swinging it. Calling my name with such a sweet voice was bad enough, her touching me...oh well.

I found myself being led by the hand through aisles of vegetables. My cheeks burned hot with that physical contact. She had a pretty strong grip, too.

Very quickly, I learned why Clarice would have a panic attack on the cooking show. She didn't know a carrot from a radish, and it wasn't because she was colorblind, it was because she didn't want to know. I had never seen any girl care so little. I ended up doing all the work, choosing her ingredients. When the cart was filled, I handed the list to her.

"What am I going to do with all these?" she groaned. "Gosh, I hate cooking! I even have to remember not to put salt in my coffee."

I laughed in her face. It felt great after all the time she ignored me.

"Well, good luck with the show," I said.

"Thank you so much, Azra!" she said. "You're a godsend."

"Er...you're welcome," I murmured.

"Oh no! I'm late!" she said. Then she and her vegetarian list galloped off. I wondered if I had dreamed up the whole thing. What I was painfully aware of was the fact that she did not ask me for my number, let alone a date.

I was still dazed half an hour later. I started the shopping. But it didn't go very well. Every time I picked up an item, I kept seeing it as Clarice's face and her stupid vegetable list. Our usual groceries were among the most expensive and the least nutritious products in the store.

Maybe this encounter with the Elven Princess wasn't a waste after all. When you buy instant and prepared stuff, it costs a whole lot more than when you buy the ingredients and make it yourself. Plus, instant food is full of cheats and lies. In fact, when I checked all the labels on the stuff we'd been eating for the last few months, there were all sorts of crazy chemicals. No wonder, we were all feeling like killing each other sometimes.

So I got this brilliant idea. Instead of buying microwave chicken nuggets, I'd buy fresh chicken, instead of TV dinners, I'd buy real food. And while saving a few cents here and there didn't seem like much, you've got to figure on three people eating three meals a day, each consisting of at least four or five elements, we could save twenty-five bucks a day! Seven hundred and fifty bucks a month! More, if you calculated it against Celie's deli prices! Maybe Clarice Kingsley was going to poison somebody on the TV show, but it was the answer to our economic prayers.

I walked back home a little happier than usual. I couldn't wait to cook a real meal for the other two girls.