"Excuse me, ladies.", I said in an even voice, then followed Marilyn.
They said nothing. But as we exited the place, I felt the jealous, piercing stares of the two of them on our backs.
I already knew, as I closed the door why they were so jealous. I'd seen Marilyn's face while her makeup was incomplete. I knew enough of the universe to know she was a natural beauty.
But Angelique and Essence, I had the gut feeling, were not so. I vaguely felt they were the types to never be seen without their makeup. They clearly didn't feel others should be more beautiful than the two of them.
And, where Marilyn was nice, polite and kind; again, they were the opposite. Angelique and Essence felt superior to the others, so why should they lower themselves enough to be nice to others.
I'd seen this all before. Not just on Earth, but on my home planet as well. This reminded me of a situation my eldest sister was once in. I thought with a bittersweet smile of how she handled things.
'How she would have handled things here if she was here.', I thought sadly.
At the top of the stairs, Marilyn turned back to face me again. Her eyes searched my face for a moment, then she opened her mouth, as if to say something, when I interrupted her.
"Don't worry about me.", I reassured her. "You've put up with them for a lot longer than me, I'm sure!"
Marilyn looked surprised at my words. Surprised I had said that.
"I can handle myself, if and when the occasion calls for it. I know what to do and how to act. Believe it or not, I am only here for the short-term, not the long-term. And if Angelique and Essence cross the line, they too may find themselves here only for the short-term as well."
I gave Marilyn a meaningful look when I said that.
Surprised at me she let out a nervous giggle. Then looking at me seriously said, "Well, I am sure that Essence and Angelique are saying the same about you in there."
She pointed her chin back at the women's changeroom.
"Well, let them." I said with a careless shrug.
I grabbed Marilyn's arm and tucked it in my own, leading her down the stairs with me.
"I am not afraid of them. They don't know it yet, but they are no match for my brains, talent or power."
"But there are many wolves who they have influence over. So many male wolves are brainwashed by them. That's one of the reasons they get away with so much. No one would dare fire them!"
I laughed. "Who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?", I joked.
Then, at the bottom of the stairs, I faced the direction of Mr. Jackson, and waved to him.
He saw us and waved us over to join him.
Marilyn and I said no more on the matter as we crossed the floor over to the big stage.
There were a number of people milling about in front of the big stage.
"Mr. Jackson always makes an announcement before we get started with dance practice.", whispered Marilyn.
"Alright, everyone.", called Mr. Jackson loudly.
Everyone quieted and he began.
"This is just a reminder that the big boss will be back from vacation next week. As we all know, this means on his first day back, he will inspect the premises. I will let you know right now; I suspect that will happen on Wednesday. So, everyone be prepared. You know what he is like, I don't have to tell you."
Mr. Jackson scanned the crowd.
"And, it seems as usual, that our two divas are not yet present, even though they know I like to start on time."
There was universal giggles and laughter heard from the crowd.
'Wow.', I thought, 'That's a pretty good indication of just how disliked the pair are. Hmm. That means it will be easier to get rid of them than I thought, if the time comes.'
"So," continued Mr. Jackson, "We will have an introduction of our new dancer to the remainder of the people she's yet to meet, then we will rehearse the numbers. The gentlemen will do their number first, followed by the girls' chorus number with the male background dancers, then Marilyn's solo. After that, we shall see if the Divas will do their numbers."
Mr. Jackson then introduced me quickly to everyone left to meet. I met people who controlled lighting, music, costuming, and stage backgrounds. I also met Mr. White, who was the assistant manager, and the two male dancers, Mike and Todd.
Although I really didn't get much time to speak to them, I both Mike and Todd to be welcoming and friendly.
Marilyn ushered me over to the far wall, where there were a few folding chairs. She handed one to me and took one herself. We set them up in front of the stage, as if we were the audience.
On stage, Mike and Todd were tap dancing. They both wore fedoras and performed a 1940's inspired tap dance battle style number.
First Mike did a number of moves and then paused. Then Todd did his best to do moves of his own that would outdo what Mike had done. The back and forth between the two dancers continued until the end of the number, when they both danced feverishly at the same time.
The skit ended with them both falling to the stage in exhaustion and was intended to inspire laughter from the audience.
As the guys climbed down from the stage, to grab a drink of water, Marilyn stood.
"I'm in the next number.", she told me. "But I have to remind Mr. Jackson that we have to modify it. We are missing two of our dancers."
She rushed away calling, "Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson."
I saw her speak quietly to him for a moment, and he nodded.
Then Marilyn went with Mike and Todd up onstage.