“Honey, are we all set?” Crystal asked. “Do you think I could get some water before I leave? This air-conditioning is murder on my throat.”

“I’ll get you some, but you’re free to go.” The makeup artist left the room.

Crystal paused in front of me before she left. Her face had been transformed into a glittering skull, but she hadn’t changed into her costume yet and wore a cheery floral sundress. The effect was like visiting a ghostly lemonade stand on a hot summer day. “Why don’t you come by my trailer when you’re done? We’ll talk.”

“Come in and have a seat,” Crystal said, ushering me inside.

Her trailer was identical to mine, except her mahogany makeup table overflowed with flowers tucked into tiny glass vases. Their scent was innocent but intoxicating. Kind of like Crystal herself.

“Hungry?” She offered me a plate piled with gooey chocolate chip cookies.

“Thank you.” Lowering myself into a chair, I took a bite, careful not to smudge my lips, though I was playing a fifteen-year-old ingenue and my makeup was practically nonexistent. The cookie was soft and still warm.

“Have some tea, too.” She poured a glass from a pitcher sunning itself on a windowsill.

“You’ve thought of everything,” I said, accepting the drink. “It’s so homey in here.”

“I can make any place feel like home.” She sat on the edge of her makeup table, her dress splaying out around her knees. “Because it’s wherever I am. What about you? Where are you from?”

“L.A. My parents are Tiana Santos and Noah Karman—they’re Influencers. This is my first movie, my first time on my own.”

“I remember them.”

I watched for signs she knew them more deeply than from their Network feeds.

“I didn’t know they had a daughter, though,” she said, and I decided they were strangers.

“They kept me out of the spotlight. Until now.” I sipped the sweet tea. “My IPO released over the summer, and to be honest, it’s been a little rocky. They’re hoping Unseen will help.”

She frowned. “So much pressure for someone so young.”

“It is.”

Her eyes were blacked out by her contacts, so I couldn’t gauge her thoughts, but my instincts told me she was a friend, and I couldn’t wait any longer. “I was wondering if you could help me. I need to get in touch with someone, but all my devices were confiscated, and Bernard out there won’t let me near the Networks.” I nodded over my shoulder to where the robot stood guard outside the door. “And even if I could locate a store to buy a device, my currency account is frozen. Do you have a wrist screen or AMPs I could borrow?”

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t. No data devices for me.”

My jaw dropped. “How do you keep in touch with people?”