Rei threw her magazine down on the table, twisting sideways to look at her friend.

"Shut. Up."

"Um… what?" Usagi asked, smiling anxiously. She began playing with one of her long blonde pigtails.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Look at you, playing with your hair. I bet don't even know who Haruka Tenoh is, do you."

"I mean, sure I do. I just told you, I'm interning for her." Usagi shrugged sheepishly.

Rei's jaw dropped. "I can't believe it! You don't, you really don't." She let out an exasperated sigh, half-smiling in spite of herself as she picked up the magazine.

"She's in this issue, actually," she said, flipping rapidly through the pages. "Just look at her."

Jeez, is she some kind of super model? Usagi thought, biting her lip with anticipation. That would be scary! She realized, her eyes widening.

"It's just crazy," Rei continued, sliding her index finger down the table of contents. "Everyone knows her."

"But why?" Usagi wondered sincerely. "She's just a CEO of a car company."

"Usagi, in this day and age, it doesn't matter what you do. It's how you act and look - those things make you a celebrity. I'm not saying the system has merit, but that's how it is. 'Sides, her company, which has a name by the way - Tenoh Auto - makes cool cars. My brother has one." Rei clapped her hands excitedly once she spotted what she was looking for. She flipped to the desired page, and lay the magazine on her lap, before Usagi. "And it's fine with me if it means we get to see someone so gorgeous."

On the page below Usagi was not the executive Amazonian model with impossibly high cheek bones she had expected. Looking back at her with deadpan grey eyes was a handsome face, youthful and delicate, like a fresh-faced prep school boy. Her blonde hair was cut short, traditionally masculine, except her bangs, widely curved up at the sides of her face, were thick, faintly feminine.

"Isn't she dreamy?" asked Rei. Usagi's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"I didn't know you were into girls," she finally said.

"I'm not dummy, can't you see she looks like a really cute boy?"

"But she's still a girl," Usagi pointed out.

"Well, yes, I know that." Rei snapped. "But looking at her makes no difference. I can imagine."

"So you wish she was a guy?" Usagi asked carefully. She felt confused.

"No, I don't wish anything," Rei said, crossing her arms. "Although if I had someone that looked like that, I'd prefer they were a guy. But that's just 'cause I'm straight. I'm sure she gets lots of girls. Anyway, the point is, what do you think? She's going to be your boss, after all."

Usagi looked down at her again. Her eyes fell on the way her black collared shirt hugged her neck, the broadness of her shoulders. The photograph cut away underneath them, and Usagi found herself wanting to see more. Rei was right, she was attractive. But the fact that Usagi knew she was a woman made her feel dizzy for some reason. As she stared at Haruka's countenance, with its masculine stolidity and feminine delineations, she sensed a new sort of beauty revealing itself to her, a new kind of face she had never imagined before.

"She's beautiful," Usagi admitted.

"Well, I guess she would be, if she was all feminine or something." Rei snatched the magazine away and leaned back on the couch, twirling a long dark strand of hair around her finger as she stared at the picture.

"I just think she's hot," she concluded. She threw the magazine to her side and held her arms out dramatically. "Why oh why are you, meatball-head that doesn't even know who she is, her new intern? I would kill!"

Usagi smiled apologetically. "I had to accept the offer… Setsuna worked hard to get this for me. I don't know what it is exactly I'm supposed to be doing though."

"Maybe it'll help you figure out the path that's meant for you," Rei offered.

"Maybe," Usagi murmured. "I just wish I could play video games all day."

Rei promptly whacked her with a pillow.

"Hey!" cried Usagi, rubbing her arm.

"No, you don't! We all have something we're meant to do, and you'll figure it out! We're still in college!"

"Okay, okay!" agreed Usagi, bracing herself for another pillow attack.

"When do you start?"

"Tomorrow. It was sort of last minute."

"Tomorrow!" screeched Rei. She jumped up, grabbing Usagi hands and pulling her up.

"We need to get you ready! You have to look your best!"

"O-Okay!" exclaimed Usagi. She wasn't adverse to looking pretty, and with Rei's sleek sense of style, she might even feel more confident. Usagi's heart skipped a beat as she recalled Haruka's expression. The look in her eyes made her seem hard to please. Usagi felt excited and terrified.

She was determined to impress Haruka Tenoh.