It’s foggy and cloudy today, and there’s enough moisture in the air that I bring an umbrella in case it rains. But that doesn’t deter people from being out and about. Traffic is bustling, and even from inside the coffeehouse, I can hear honking cars and sirens passing by.

I put on my earbuds and get started on work. The first thing I do is go over the footage and photos that Celeste sent me. As I review everything, I have to admit that it all works perfectly. The lighting, the angles, and the editing…

Celeste managed to set up all the components of the shoot flawlessly in a way that makes everything from Case’s rainbow-colored hair to even finer details like Will’s dimples really shine through the cameras. And she’s already edited out all the unnatural pauses and other awkward instances that occurred while the kids were speaking.

I’m finishing up the transcription of the second interview when Celeste arrives at 10:55 a.m., five minutes earlier than our scheduled meeting time. She sits down across the table from me and wordlessly watches as I type.

Before I begin a new line of dialogue, I pause the video and glance up from my screen just briefly enough to see that today, Celeste is wearing a nice white blouse with a turned-down collar and black square glasses that makes her look like a sexy schoolteacher. Intentionally or not, she’s perfectly executed the hot nerd look.

“Hey,” I say. “Sorry, let me finish this up before we start talking.”

Celeste shrugs. “No worries. I came early.”

She continues watching me work, and although I can’t see her face, the knowledge that she’s observing me is enough for my fingers to make typos they normally don’t, like spelling “girlfriend” girlfiend. I clear my throat, ignoring the heat rising up in my cheeks.

“Sorry, can you not look at me while I work?” I ask. “It’s distracting.”

When I glance up again, Celeste’s slightly widened eyes are blinking rapidly. “Oh, sure. Sorry, I didn’t think—I’m going to go get myself a coffee.”

As she hastily gets up and goes to stand in line at the register, I stare at her back in confusion. What happened? Why was she so flustered?

And then, I realize. After making sure Celeste still has her back turned toward me, I look at myself in my phone’s selfie camera.

Since I don’t have time to think much about how I look before hopping on the Muni in the morning during weekdays, I usually throw on whatever’s clean and don’t even bother with anything other than sunscreen. On weekends, though, I like to dress up and wear makeup, simply because I have more time to do so.