Any other day and she would have politely declined. It was too early to pop pills, not even eight o’clock in the morning! But the day had already been a doozy. Reckless and desperate to pass muster and keep her job, she washed the pills down with just a small sip of water, wishing she could drink the whole glass without fear of the ounces the liquid would add to her weight.

“Whoa, just one of those black caddies’ll do ya,” he said.

“I’ll be fine.”

The changing room was a hive of activity, the air thick with hair spray. There were lots of new Bunnies Sherri had never seen before, college girls who’d been hired for summer. College, college. She could hear Gloria say, You don’t strike me as a college girl.

The week away had stripped her of the confidence she’d once felt. She was jealous and threatened. Why did she put herself through this? She could leave, she could. One phone call and Arthur would collect her in a heartbeat, but then what? She’d be stuck in East Troy forever, her future as closed and certain as Rhonda’s.

She could feel eyes on her. Everyone knew she’d been sent home on demerit, even the newbies. She looked at the floor to avoid their gazes and solemnly changed into her uniform, wondering as she yanked her tights over her hips and applied her fake eyelashes if this would be the last time she’d ever shimmy into her costume or stuff her bra with someone else’s old nylons, the last time she’d stand on a scale or finish a day’s work with blisters on her feet and wads of cash in her hands.

It seemed she’d missed so much during her week away. She overheard someone talk about an INS raid the previous week, when the Mexicans who worked in the kitchen had to hide in the tunnel that led to the employee parking lot. One of the new girls, a gorgeous wispy redhead with freckles, asked another new girl if she’d seen Steve Martin sitting by the pool the day before. “He talked to me! He’s so nice. And cuter than he is on television and the movies. But pale as a dead fish.” Sherri had missed Steve Martin?

“Welcome back,” Val said. “I wore all your clothes while you were gone.” She winked.

“Who’s that?” Sherri whispered.

“Oh, she goes to DePaul. They call her Boo because all through training she didn’t say boo.”