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Chapter 1.4: A New Life

The Moen Label headquarters in Los Angeles was smaller than she expected. The paid driver of the company waited for her at the airport and took her to a small shopping district. And right under a hair salon was the building. She could see someone waiting in front, a woman dressed in a miniskirt and button-up top. Her stomach turned sour as she stepped out of the car with her backpack on and her suitcase in one of her hands. Everything felt like it was going in slow motion as she walked up to greet the woman. Behind her, the car hurried to pull off into the road. The teenager wished she had been allowed to go with her mother now. It was scary to be alone in a new environment. Still, she managed to smile and address the woman without her voice shaking. Her free hand went out, and the woman shook it enthusiastically. 

“Hi, my name’s Fern, and I’m the new trainee that just signed on.” She had no idea if the woman had been told everything just yet. But from the look in her eyes, the woman seemed to have a plan for the day.

“It’s great that you’re here, as you made it just in time for orientation. All the other recruits are sitting in the main area, where someone is telling them what lessons they've been assigned, where their dorms are, and all the other basics. I’ll lead you to them and you’ll be all caught up.” The conservatively dressed, headscarf-wearing woman opened the building door and Fern’s ears were filled with retro 2010s pop music.

Fern bit her bottom lip to try to control her increasing anxiety as she followed the woman in. The building was much larger than it appeared. She found herself in a medium-sized waiting room with plastic chairs and magazine stands on one side. The other contained a pair of desks with phones, file cabinets, and laptops on them, which made her think they were for receptionists. They quickly walked from the room into a hallway that was full of doors and was lit by a blue light bulb. The teenager could see that one room was full of desks and bookshelves that held some textbooks. Another much larger room was obviously for dance practice. She could not look any closer as they stopped at a stairway. Down they went a rickety, old-fashioned staircase that took them to another metal door. 

Once the door pushed open, Fern rubbed at her eyes as she was met with a bright light shining in them. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, wincing. Whatever was lighting this part of the building was way too strong. After she felt better and collected herself, she realized that the woman had stopped before a red metal door. It had a small circular window that showed some bunk beds. Fern flushed, as she knew this was her dorm most likely. It weirded a part of her out; it was in the basement. Also, she began to smell what had mildew down here. Fern's nose wrinkled in displeasure but the teenager refused to voice any distaste she had for fear of being ungrateful. Instead, she listened to the woman explain everything further. Her voice became monotone as she repeated words she most likely said over a hundred times over the past year. She moved her hands around as she stared at the doorway. 

"This floor contains all the dormitories and a washroom for you all to use. We set the washroom up like a basic locker room with open showers and cubbies. Toilets are in every dorm room and every weekend you will clean it with your roommates. We provided an electric heater in your room as the building doesn't have heat. Follow me." She pushed the door open, allowing the teen to come in.

The dorm was very cramped at first glance. It had a pair of bunk beds and a separate, pull-out bed that was already opened. All of them looked untouched, with the beds still being made and the singular closet empty, with all of its hangers completely bare. A door was at the right of the room that was most likely the restroom. No signs of life showed, as it all still looked clean and somewhat unused. This made Fern believe that everyone who would be staying in the room had just arrived like her. The aforementioned heater sat unplugged in the closet, along with a large window fan. Overall, the room was very barebones but used every inch of the limited space it had effectively. It would take some getting used to. With the small closet-sized room that had to have the toilet being so open and the beds so close together, personal space wasn’t really that large. She had a ton of space in her bedroom back home, so it was shocking to see. 

The older woman gestured for her to put her stuff down, and the teenager chose one of the empty bottom bunks. Fern turned to see the woman looking at her with a certain amount of urgency that made the blonde feel a wave of embarrassment overcome her. For a moment, she had forgotten her place and stewed in her thoughts longer than she needed to. Here she had been taking her time to look around the dormitory when they were on a schedule. She felt bad knowing that the other trainees were probably befriending each other and learning the essentials without her. Already, the blonde was falling behind everyone else. This realization and other self-loathing thoughts sat in her mind as she stood before the older lady with her hands tightly clamped together. The teenager was a real mix of emotions, and she hoped that the rest of the day was basic and calm.

The woman clapped her hands. "Thank you for picking your bed without much fuss. In the past, we have had some girls cause a fuss over them, but right now, this is all we can afford.”

Then she straightened up and became stern once more. “I'm going to introduce you to the others and then you will be on your own for the time being." She led her back into the hallway and pointed her downward.