"And that's it!" Susan McMillan's voice rang from speakers set around the room as she spoke from under a spotlight and behind a podium. "Just follow my five simple rules, and you'll live a happier, more confident life."
The audience in the darkened ballroom clapped as Athena's erstwhile helper lead her inside.
"And now, as a first step towards your new, confident selves, I want everyone here in this audience to remove one item of clothing."
What?
The lights went up. Before Athena could process what was going on, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the young man from the door. She looked around, and saw a sea of ushers and helpers each going up to a guest, removing jackets, removing shirts, removing pants, and the next thing Athena knew, the young man had removed her trench coat.
"Aaaeeeee!" Athena shrieked, drawing every eye in the room towards her. She was wearing nothing aside from a pink bikini and a pair of heels.
"Here we have a true example of bravery," Mrs. McMillan spoke into the microphone as she gestured towards Athena and looked her straight in the eye, "a master class in confidence. This young lady may look afraid, but displaying that fear is itself an act of confidence. Please, miss, come here and join me."
More hands than Athena could count reached out to push her towards the podium, and despite her protests, soon found herself thrust into the spotlight alongside Mrs. McMillan.
"Look at this face," Mrs. McMillan continued. "This is the face of a person who is going somewhere. Who is trapped in a young person's body, in a young person's world, but who is just itching to escape to the next level of life. Once she gets there, there will be no stopping her."
Athena blushed awkwardly as she tried to stand in as non-revealing a pose as possible.
"Now," the older woman's voice rang through the room once again, "who here wants to cut through that red tape of youth and give this young lady an immediate shot at the success she will surely find as an adult?"
The crowd erupted into a chorus of shouts. Everyone was clamoring to be the one who got to... give Athena a chance? What transaction was even going on here?
Mrs. McMillan pointed to someone in the crowd, and they quickly swept Athena away. As she was dragged out of the room, she could see the young man from the door, grinning and giving her two huge thumbs up.
Athena wished she could share that man's optimism.
