“Stand there,” Marie said, bodily moving Luc onto the marked dot in the staging room. The scan started off the moment Luc stopped moving, arms laying flat at her sides, itching to be crossed over her chest.

  Marie had good ideas, even if Luc was loath to admit it. Her outfit might not have been anything special, but she’d been wearing it for years. It was special, and the idea of it being stripped away left her feeling bare in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time.

  That wasn’t even considering the money. Since getting her own apartment, she’d been able to save up some money, putting it aside for whatever she planned to do after college. Mage Academy, if she got in. Moving out of this town even if she didn’t.

  Even though moving would mean leaving them. Her thoughts went to her friends and her stomach twisted, tying itself in knots at the idea.

  “Uh, Luc?” Marie tapped a finger against Luc’s forehead, eliciting a quiet thud from her skull.

  A growl slipped from Luc’s lips before she could stop it. “What was that for?”

  “I’ve been showing you outfits for the past five minutes, and you haven’t reacted to any of them.” Marie planted her hands on her hips, a disappointed pout to her lips. “I put a lot of work into those.”

  Luc dropped her eyes to the ground, unable to meet Marie’s disappointed gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  Heels scuffed against the floor, scratching quietly as Marie crossed the space between them. Her hands, warm and without a single callous on them, slid into Luc’s empty hands.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Marie said, her voice soft. Too soft, to the point it grated against Luc’s ears. Why did she always talk to her as if she was some wounded animal, ready to take off and hurt herself more. “Are you okay? We don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to.”

  “I’m fine,” Luc said, pulling her hands away. “Let’s just get on with it. And nothing too expensive, okay?”

  She tucked them against the utility belt she wore, hooking her thumbs into empty loops. Her attention skipped over Marie and landed on the screen, and she did her best not to grimace.

  “Please tell me that's not the outfit you picked for me,” Luc said, doing her best to keep the judgment off her face. She had thought that Marie had a good understanding of her, but the outfit did not reflect that. It was classically magical girl, yes, but so much worse than what she was wearing now. Pink, and frilly, with so many layers to the skirt that it stuck up almost like Marie's tutu.

  Marie laughed and shook her head, dark curls bouncing past her shoulder blades. “No, of course not,” she said. “I was just checking to see if you were paying attention.”

  “Good,” Luc said, the relief evident in her voice. “Because I think I would rather be caught dead before wearing that out to work.”

  “You don't need to be dramatic about it,” Marie said with the roll of her eyes. “It's really not that bad.”

  Luc looked at her again and the girls sighed. “Okay, maybe it is that bad. But you'd look good in it.”

  Luc looked at the dress again and shook her head. It got worse every time she looked. From blocky pink, doll-style shoes with ruffled socks, to the knee high socks, to the goddamn bow perched atop her avatar-self's head. Even it looked unimpressed. “No, I wouldn't.”

  Marie made a face like she wanted to agree, then pulled the tablet out from under her arm. “But like I said, that was just to see if you were paying attention. I have some very specific ideas about your outfit and you have to promise to let me explain each choice before arguing with me.”

  Luc hesitated before agreeing. “Fine. Just make sure none of it is too expensive, okay?”

  “I could always buy it for you—”

  Luc cut her off before the idea could find its legs. “No,” she said, doing her best to stay calm. Why was this always what Marie resorted to? Maybe things were different when you grew up with money, but Luc couldn’t imagine giving out money so easily, much less receiving it. “I bought my first outfit on my own, I got my apartment on my own, I’ll do this on my own too.”

  Marie made a small noise in the back of her throat and looked away, dropping the matter far too quickly for her.

  “What?” Luc demanded, suddenly suspicious. Marie never dropped anything that quickly.

  “Nothing,” Marie said with a slight shake of her head. Her voice rose in volume as she continued to speak, staring pointedly away. “I’m actually going to let you keep that utility belt of yours. I think it’s the one thing you wear that’s actually distinct.”

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Though not entirely distracted, Luc glanced down at the yellow utility belt. The wear and tear she’d dealt it was obvious in the nicks and scratches, the missing notches and the stains. It had been well used, and well loved, and she’d made it into something that was always useful, no matter the circumstances. Even if it was a little bit ugly.

  She couldn’t imagine not wearing it. “That’s good.”

  Marie tapped a button on her tablet, changing Luc’s appearance on the screen. “The first thing I’m doing is putting you in pants.”

  Sure enough, a pair of pants appeared on Luc’s avatar-self. They were baggy, cinched in only at the waist and right at her ankles, and covered in so many pockets Luc had to wonder where pockets ended and pants began.

  She nodded in approval. “I like it.”

  They were dark, far darker than her current outfit, but they’d be able to hide a lot more stains. Blood, oil, grease, whatever it was. Things that took hours to get out of her skirt.

  “Looks more like you already, doesn’t it?” Luc nodded, and Marie kept talking. “It’s easier to sell a brand you believe in. The more like you it is, the easier it’ll be for you. So, pants!”

  She waved her free hand at the screen in celebration.

  “What else is there?” Luc asked, leaning forward to try and get a peak at Marie’s screen.

  Marie slipped away from her, grinning from ear to ear as she clicked on the next item. A pair of sturdy boots appeared next, stopping right above the cuff on the military pants. It was a little bit hard to imagine running in them, but they did match the design so far a lot better than her current pair of shoes.

  Marie gave a quick explanation of the shoes, but Luc didn’t need to be sold on those, and she quickly moved on to the next item.

  The sleek, cropped hoodie that appeared next wasn’t what Luc had expected. It was an electric, blueish purple color, matching well with her black pants, while at the same time being eye-catching. The symbol on the back was even more so.

  Luc’s avatar turned to reveal the gear in white on the back. It wasn’t as distinct as Marie’s wings, but it did draw the eye, and Luc nodded in approval.

  “I like it.”

  “Good,” Marie said, sounding smug. “I knew you would.”

  “It’s not as ridiculous as I thought,” Luc admitted. “Is there anything else?”

  “A pair of gloves,” Marie said, bringing them up. A pair of mechanic’s gloves appeared on her avatar’s hands and she considered it, trying to decide if they would get in the way or not. They might, but she still had burns on her fingers from the other night, and those swayed her into giving a small nod.

  “I’ll take it,” she said. Marie let out a whoop of success and held out the tablet to Luc to allow her to buy the pieces. She did her best not to cringe at the price, but decided she could still afford rapid delivery.

  They waited in the staging room for a bit before their package arrived, rapidly delivered by whatever mage service the commission paid for and helped subsidize.

  Luc ripped open the box, then glanced up at Marie. “Are you just going to stand there? I need to change.”

  “I’m not complaining,” Marie said. The corners of her lips twitched, the only sign of her emotions behind her quiet facade. When Luc continued to wait, content to outlast her, Marie sighed and stepped toward the door. “Fine. I’ll wait at the car.”

  Luc changed and integrated her new outfit, the fabric resting like air against her skin. Her old outfit appeared off to the side, dropping into a heap unceremoniously.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Luc picked it up and folded the clothes to her chest. Just because they were old, basic, and worn didn’t mean they meant nothing to her.

  Old outfit clutched in her arms, Luc stepped out of the staging room and paused. Mrs. Oscar started and turned the other direction, as though she’d just been caught staring.

  Luc had been avoiding her the past few times she’d been to the commission, something easy to do now that she had the commission app. An app that Mrs. Oscar hadn’t wanted to tell her about.

  She stalked toward the desk, growing more confident with each step in her heavy combat boots. Marie had the right idea when she picked these shoes.

  Luc reached the counter and cleared her throat. Mrs. Oscar, unable to ignore her anymore, turned to face her. “What can I do for you, Miss Gadget?”

  “Do you have something against me?” Luc asked, feeling emboldened. Maybe it was the outfit. Maybe she was just tired of pretending being treated this way was okay. “Your job is to help magical girls protect this town, but you refuse to give me the commission app, refuse to tell me about the grade two test, and tried not to give me jobs! So what is it? What did I do to you?”

  A sigh slipped from Mrs. Oscar’s lips as her shoulders slumped. “You didn’t do anything, Luc,” she said. “And I’m sorry for keeping the app from you. I can see how it was a bad decision.”

  “So why make it?” Luc demanded, slamming her free hand onto the countertop.

  “We don’t give out the app to just anyone, to be fair,” she said. “We vet people first, and admittedly, I didn’t think you’d stick it out. You were so young. But then you kept working, and you were at my desk just about every day, begging for work, making a nuisance of yourself.”

  “So why not get me out of your hair?”

  “Because, for better or worse, I started to care about you,” Mrs. Oscar said, looking away. “I didn’t want you to get hurt, and I wanted to make sure you were eating, because it didn’t seem like you were.”

  Luc followed the woman’s gaze to the snack bar against the wall, her stomach sinking as she tried to remember whether it had been there when she first started working as a magical girl. Everything was so fuzzy, she couldn’t quite make it out.

  Mrs. Oscar looked up at her, a smile pulling at the wrinkles on either side of her lips. “For what it’s worth, I am unbelievably proud to see you doing this well.”

  Luc stepped away from the counter, queasy as she stared at the woman. She opened her mouth to say something, then turned away, unable to find the words. Having people who cared about her… Did she even deserve it?

  She stepped through the front doors of the commission to find Marie waiting for her, frantically beckoning her forward to discuss their next job.

  Luc siddled up to her, pressing against the girl’s side, and forced herself to relax. For better or worse, there were a lot of people who cared about her these days. And maybe some people always had.