Melissa Smith was texting on her phone, not watching where she was going, when she entered what she thought was her next class. Looking up, she noticed she was in what looked like some kind of warehouse. There were chairs, and racks of clothes, as well as people milling about.
A woman approached her. "I know you've been doing your best here, but I am afraid we decided to go in another direction."
"What?" Melissa said, "Direction? What are you talking about?"
"Well, we like the idea...I mean, fashionista...popular...that's good stuff. But, we want to feature Melissa Smith in a more central role, and quite frankly, I don't think you can handle it."
"Handle what? I mean...who are you? Are you a new teacher or something?" Melissa said.
"Kate, the new showrunner," she said. "Honestly, I knew I should have gathered the entire cast at once, but...I thought talking to you individually would be more...polite. Look, there's no easy way to say this, but...we're bringing in another girl to play the part. We're going to do some edits on it as well, change a little backstory."
Melissa was completely lost. "Then I'm calling my parents..."
Kate was about to respond, when someone approached, looking around, equally confused. "Look, I didn't want you to be here when I offered her the part...but...I guess she got here early." Standing there, looking around, and then trying to go back the way she came, was Yuki Meshida.
Melissa hadn't been exactly nice to the somewhat shy Japanese student. Yuki had studied English and spoke it well, but when she got flustered, she stumbled and couldn't remember her words. And Melissa Smith tended to make her uncomfortable, commenting on her conservative dress, as required by her father, and pretty much anything else. "What is SHE doing here?" Melissa asked.
Kate approached Yuki. "I think we're really underutilizing you in this role...and quite frankly...the role is just another example of the silent Asian trope...I think they just put you here in a failed attempt to make things look more diverse, you know. But, the writers and I have decided we want you front and center." She put a hand on Yuki's shoulder and the girl suddenly stopped trying to make a quiet exit. "First, those clothes are totally wrong for you. Wardrobe has something new waiting."
"Okay," Yuki said, calm and collected. "Thank you."
"I'll get you your new scripts, if you can hand me that one," she said, gesturing to the one in the teen's hand.
Yuki handed it over, and was whisked over to a nearby director's chair, where two individuals began to help her out of her outfit.
Kate turned back to Melissa. "We don't need this to be awkward, I do still have a part in mind for you, and I promise you'll get exposure, even if you'll have fewer lines."
Melissa decided she'd had enough of this, and reached into her bag to get her phone and call someone.
"How is this?" one of the two wardrobe artists said, interrupting.
Yuki was dressed in an exact copy of Melissa's outfit. Her hair was loose, and styled around her shoulders. While physically she was still the same, whatever makeup and hair magic they'd done to her, she looked amazing. Melissa was dumbfounded by how that could be possible.
Kate grabbed her bag and the phone she'd grabbed out of it, putting it around Yuki's shoulder. "This is the direction we're going."
"Wait a minute..." Melissa said, as Kate took her arm.
"I'll take this," she said, grabbing at the bound script in Melissa's hands. She opened the binder and removed several pages, replacing them with new ones. "We're giving Melissa an Asian mom."
The original Melissa looked at her. "You really think that she's better than me?"
"Well, I think she will be at this part..." Kate said, closing the binder and handing it over to Yuki.
The girl suddenly stood up, looking around. "This isn't my class," she said, in perfect English, looking around.
"Why don't you join the next scene, Mel?" Kate said.
"Now," Kate said, "let's get you fitted for something different." She said to the girl standing there.
Meanwhile, the new Melissa Smith turned a corner, then slid into a seat next to Karyn. "Would you believe I went to the wrong class?" She said to the other girl. "I mean, I really should stop walking and looking at my phone."
Karyn stared at her, her mouth wide open. She knew Yuki Meshida, though not very well. But she was dressed differently, and...well, talking. Karyn had barely heard her speak, much less at full speed, in flawless unaccented English. "Yuki?"
She got a frown. "Yucky?" The other girl said. "Are you all right?"
Karyn tried to think of a response to that.
"Karyn, seriously...why are you staring at me like that?...say something..." She said.
This had to be another change...and Karyn had to roll with it. "Did you...do something with your hair?"
"What? No!" She pulled out a mirror from her bag and looked at herself in it. "You had me worried there for a moment," she said. "What is with you today?"
"Nothing," Karyn said.
"Wel, if you can't tell your best friend, who can you tell?"
"My...best friend?"
"Okay...ONE of your best friends," she said.
"Ms. Smith," the teacher said, "I am so sorry that my teaching is interrupting your socialization with Ms. Black...Would you prefer to leave?"
"Sorry.."
