From the Cosmos. [gxg]

i. accidental walk-ins.

A large hand practically yanked her out of the elevator. "Marisol, you're late!"

She looked up at the face of the man dragging her across the office building. It was the tanned, carefully groomed face of one of the lead photographers, Isaac. Marisol yanked her hand away.

Marisol gestured to the clock. "I'm a minute early," she said.

Isaac turned to look at her, his gelled handlebar moustache glistening in the white light of the room, "Whatever," he said, "I need you, we have a cover shoot today."

Marisol's eyes widened. "You should have led with that!" she said. She started running towards the photography area, Isaac close behind.

"I need you to help set up the lighting," Isaac gestured towards the photography screen. "My new muse should be here in 30 minutes!"

Marisol walked to the photography storage closet and set her backpack and skateboard down in a dusty corner. She pushed her way through the tightly packed room until she found a light stand. She picked it up and brought it out to the photography studio. She pointed it towards the screen. From there, she fell into a rhythm, bringing equipment from the closet and setting it up. She flicked on the lights a couple times, making sure they were working. In less than 10 minutes, the room was shining in perfect studio lighting.

Isaac came back around to look at her work. "I know I was right to hire you," he said, "Go move some of the sofas closer to the shooting area for our guests to rest."

Marisol was off without a word. She enlisted the help of a couple of interns to move the couches from by the elevator to the photoshoot area. The sleek white couch was positioned under the air conditioning. Marisol grabbed a lint roller and removed any dust from the couch that she could. She only had a moment to breathe before Isaac yelled from across the room.

"Everybody, our star is on her way up!" He walked to the elevator. "Get into position!"

Marisol's position was by Isaac's side and she was there in seconds. She plastered a smile on her face as a loud ding rang in her ears and the star of the day stepped into the room.

Marisol had no idea who the model was for the day, but when she saw the woman, she had to say that she could have guessed it. Standing in front of her and greeting Isaac was the popular young French actress Colette.

Colette got famous after she scored the lead role on the popular American teen series 'Zodiac Class' when she was only 17. Every teenager knew who Colette was. After she made her acting debut, she starred in several movies and quickly gained over 20 million followers on her instagram. Now, at 20 years old, Colette was what many young teenagers aspired to be.

After Isaac finished complimenting their guest, he put his hand on Marisol's shoulder. He smiled at her. "Can you show our beautiful Colette to the dressing room?" He looked over at a woman who entered with Colette. "I'm going to talk to her manager about the details."

"It would be my pleasure." Marisol smiled at Colette and gestured towards the left. Marisol began walking in that direction as Colette followed her.

Marisol had seen tons of pictures of Colette, but seeing her up close was a different story. She had smooth, dark skin and carefully brushed dark hair that fell past her shoulders. She was also taller than Marisol expected, standing high above Marisol's 5'4 frame. It felt like a giraffe was looming behind her.

She stopped in front of a door and gestured to it. A small bronze plaque rested on the front, reading 'DRESSING ROOM.' Marisol stepped to the side and gestured towards the door. "Here you go, ma'am," she said, "Hair stylists and makeup artists should be waiting in there for you."

Colette looked down at her and smiled. "You can just call me Colette, by the way," she said, "There's no need for such formalities." Her french accent rang out clearly in the hallway.

In another situation, Marisol might be flattered by a smile from such a gorgeous woman with such a cute accent. However, she was at work, and the woman in front of her was an internationally known celebrity. Marisol flashed her signature professional smile to the model in front of her. "Okay, Colette. Is there anything I can help you with before I go back to the studio?"

Colette shook her head and opened the door. "No, thank you for your hospitality..." Colette stared at Marisol, searching her face.

"Marisol," she said, "My name is Marisol."

"Ah!" Colette smiled once again. "Thank you for your hospitality, Marisol."

Marisol nodded in response as Colette stepped into the dressing room. The smile dropped from her face as soon as she heard the door click to a close. She rubbed her aching cheeks as she walked back down the hallway. It's not like she hated her job. In fact, she loved working at Queenly. She had just never been the smiling type. She got to where she was now by being serious and hardworking. She did her job and did it well. The flattery game wasn't her strong suit.

When she made it back to the photography studio, she was informed that everything was being set up by the interns. She sat in a stool in the corner meant for assistants to be on call whenever someone needed her and took out her phone. She didn't have time to check the news this morning, and now seemed to be the perfect time to get a quick read in.

When she opened her news app, a big headline in bold, black letters overwhelmed the screen.

MAGIC RIGHTS PROTESTS CONTINUE AT CAPITOL HILL

She clicked on the article and skimmed through it. Magic had been banned by the government ever since its founding. In the United States, the laws dated back to the Salem Witch Trials, where people were killed for using magic. While magic-users were no longer sentenced to death, if someone was caught using magic, they'd be arrested, and the government would put them through a sterilization program to take their magic away. People had been fighting for the decriminalization of using magic for years, however, the current protests were the result of a young witch being taken from her parents by the government for using magic. The sterilization left the child incredibly depressed, until she stopped eating and eventually passed.

Marisol frowned. Testimonies of several people who got their powers taken away said that their sterilization left them severely depressed, without appetite, and without direction in life. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like a major human rights violation. She'd have to attend a protest in New York if she could. Marisol was about to dive into another article when Isaac shook her shoulder. She looked up at the moustached man.

"Can you go be a dear and get Colette?" he asked, "Our make-up artists and stylists are done with her, but she hasn't left the dressing room." He waved a hand towards the cosmetics staff to his right.

Marisol rose from her stool and stuffed her phone in her pocket. "I'm on it." She walked the familiar route back to the dressing room. When she got there, she knocked on the door.

"Colette?"

There was no response. Marisol rapped her knuckles on the wooden door again. Still, there was no response. Marisol took a deep breath and turned the door handle, gently opening the door and peeking inside.

Sitting in front of the glowing vanity was Colette, who had her eyes closed and her hands pressed to both sides of her head. Her whole face was scrunched up in a pained expression. An odd light emanated from her hands, glowing gold against her head.

Marisol stared into the dressing room, eyes wide.

After a few moments, the lights from Colette's hands faded and her face relaxed. The tall woman stood up and turned towards the door, carrying a happy expression. Colette's dark eyes made eye contact with Marisol's through the crack. Panic took over the woman's face. She rushed over to the door, grabbed Marisol by the wrist, and pulled her in.