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“A fitting? Are you serious? The ball is in ten hours.”
Emmaline smiled and waggled her eyebrows. “We can’t have you wearing something off the rack to the Manutai Jubilee Ball. Come on.”
A waiting limo took the women to a tall building shaped like a giant spiral seashell. Jayna had been curious about it ever since they’d arrived in Manutai. Once inside, a maglift whisked them, limo and all, to a private car park on the top floor.
Emmaline exited the limo and gestured for Jayna to do the same. Together they walked into a huge open room with a reception desk and what appeared to be a small fitting room on one side. On the opposite side of the room, a piece of clear rectangular glass over three meters long rose at a forty-five-degree angle from a broad, short platform.
“We’re here, Lena!” Emmaline called out.
A woman with light brown skin and black hair pulled up tightly into a bun came out from behind the fitting room. She walked elegantly towards Jayna, the gauzy tropical print fabric of her pantsuit flowing behind her.
“Okay, let’s see what we have to work with,” she said in a French accent. Lena scrutinized Jayna for several long moments. “Oh, yes, we can do amazing things for you. We’ll get your measurements, and then we can begin.”
Jayna stood up straight and held her arms out to the side. Lena gave her a tight-lipped smile and pointed to the fitting room. “Step into the multi-scanner, please.”
Jayna felt her cheeks flush. “Oh, right.” As if a high-end place like this would use anything as simple as a tape measure.
As soon as she entered the multi-scanner, every surface lit with brilliant light. Jayna squinted. The door closed behind her, and Lena’s voice came from hidden speakers. “Hold still. This will only take a few minutes.”
Jayna did her best not to move as the room buzzed and vibrated around her.
“Very good. Now deep breaths,” Lena said.
Jayna did as she was directed. After several deep breaths, the lights dimmed, the vibrating stopped, and the door behind her clicked open.
As she left the chamber, she became aware of a loud humming sound. Once her eyes adjusted to the ambient light in the room, she gasped. The tall piece of glass spun so quickly that it was nearly invisible. And on the spot, there was now, well…it was her.
Jayna stared slack-jawed at a near-perfect reproduction of herself standing in the middle of the floor. The anatomically ambiguous digital mannequin was naked, and the sight of it made her feel exposed.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Emmaline said quietly.
“I guess,” Jayna said. “I was thinking more like ‘creepy.’”
Emmaline let out a tiny laugh. “It gets better. Watch.”
But instead of getting better, the situation only grew creepier as Lena intently studied Jayna’s naked digital likeness.
“You have an impressive physique,” Lena said at last. “Quite unique. What exactly do you do again?”
“I’m a performer and athlete,” Jayna said, giving the vague answer she always used when talking with someone she thought might not respect her chosen career.
“Don’t be so modest,” Emmaline said. “Jayna is an award-winning mermaid.”
Lena’s eyes lit up. “Ah, yes. I thought I recognized you. The mermaid Olympics or something like that? Well, I have the perfect dress for a mermaid champion.”
She gestured, and a long emerald-green gown shimmered into place on the mannequin. The dress had a fitted bodice with long sleeves and a floor-length skirt that hugged the hips and thighs and flared at the knees. “It’s daring, but you simply must wear a mermaid skirt.”
“Oh, I like that,” Emmaline said. “Do you think you could do it with beads, you know, kind of like a golden age Hollywood starlet?”
“Oh, we can definitely do beads.” Lena gestured again, and the gown was instantly covered in an elaborate pattern. “And I’m pretty sure with muscles like those, we could skip the plastic and do genuine crystal.”
Jayna had worn enough beaded tops that she worried about wearing a gown covered with them. “Won’t that be heavy?”
Lena dismissed her concern with a wave. “It adds a couple of kilos. It should be nothing for a strong young woman like you.”
“What if you shorten the sleeves?” Emmaline asked. “Would that reduce the weight?”
“It would,” Lena said, and with a gesture the sleeves shrunk to cap length. “Or better yet, we’ll give you a halter top.” The sleeves pulled back far enough to reveal the mannequin’s collar bones. “If I had your shoulders, I’d never want to cover them.”
