Working in Fashion

In Thneedville

Months passed. Christmas was over and spring was in the air. Martha was still working at Who Runway, but she wasn't too happy about it. She knew exactly what was coming up: Fashion Week in Thneedville. She would much rather stay at home curled up with a good book, but she also knew that she had to be there for Johanna's sake.

The day came and Martha absolutely dreaded it. She packed up some of her things along with a lot of things for work, but before she could close her last suitcase, August approached her.

"And just where do you think you're off to?" He asked.

Martha didn't turn around. "I have to meet Johanna and Heather at the airport in a few hours. She wants me to go to Thneedville with her for Fashion Week."

"Thneedville, eh?" August echoed. "Oh, yes! Yes, now I remember. You know, I heard that place is practically paradise. Everything is plastic and fake, simply gorgeous. Just exquisite, don't you agree?"

'Oh, gag...' She thought with a shiver.

"Isn't that the place where you have to BUY fresh air?" She asked.

"Yes. Aren't you excited?"

"Uh... yeah, sure."

'Me? Excited?! Not in a million, trillion, bazillion years! I've been dreading this trip since I first got this promotion.'

"That's good." August went over to her and shut the suitcase for her; he handed it to Martha along with the rest of her luggage. "Now you shouldn't let me keep you here any longer." He started to push Martha to the front door. "Johanna is waiting for you. You don't want to be late or keep her waiting, do you?"

"No, of course not." Martha quickly said.

"Then get going!" He opened the door and pushed her out. "I'll see you in a week. Have a good time, my Little Flower."

And with that, August slammed the door right in Martha's face. She sighed and furrowed her brow.

"Please don't call me that anymore." She muttered as she took her bags and went over to the elevator.

At the airport, Johanna and Heather were patiently waiting for Martha to arrive. And she soon did.

"Martha, there you are." Johanna said, checking her watch.

"Let me guess; I'm late." Martha commented.

"On the contrary, dear. You're right on time."

"I am? That's a new one."

"But that's good. Our flight is about to leave in an hour. Come on, girls. Let's get to our seats."

"Yes, Johanna." Martha and Heather said in unison, grabbing their bags and following Johanna to their plane.

The flight was rather long and Heather seemed to be very excited. Martha on the other hand was bored out of her mind; she tried to keep her mind off of things by reading a book, but it was no use. She couldn't focus on the story; she could only think about Thneedville and what would happen. Then, the plane landed. Martha rolled her eyes and departed with Heather and Johanna in front of her. The moment she stepped into Thneedville, Martha couldn't believe what she was seeing.

This town wasn't as bad as she first thought... it was WORSE. Every towering building in sight seemed to be made of metal or plastic, maybe both; there were odd looking cars and vehicles that looked very unsafe, the trees were nothing but metal husks with giant light bulbs for leaves, the bushes were inflatable, the flowers and insects weren't even real, the entire city was surrounded by a huge wall, and there were trucks with "O'Hare" printed on them driving around with empty containers. That must've been the company that sold fresh air to everyone here. Martha cringed at the sight; she could hardly believe that she was going to stay here for an entire week.

"Martha, I know how you feel about this place, but you're just going to have to deal with it, at least for the week. We all have to." Johanna said. "Right, Heather?"

Heather was staring starry-eyed at the city before her until she quickly composed herself and looked back at her boss. "Yes, of course, Johanna."

"Johanna Starling and company!" A man in a pristine pale blue tuxedo called out; he holding up a sign with Johanna's name on it and was standing in front of a white limousine with sixteen wheels.

"Oooh, I love limousines!" Heather said excitedly.

"A limo? With sixteen wheels? ...That is not natural." Martha muttered before she and her colleagues went over to the man.

"You must be here to take us to our hotel." Johanna said.

"Yes, ma'am. Hop on in." The man said, opening the limo door.

"Come on, girls." Johanna ordered before she, Heather, and Martha climbed in. The man took their luggage and out it in another part of the vehicle closer to the front before they drove off to the hotel.

At the hotel, Heather and Martha were sharing a room while Johanna had her own private suite. Heather wasn't too happy about this situation, but Martha seemed fine with it. She had a roommate back in college, how different can sharing a hotel room be?

"I'm going to take a shower." Heather said.

"Okay, then. I'll be out here if you need me." Martha said before her co-worker went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

When she was alone, Martha went to the balcony. She looked out at the town in silence, unsure what to say or think about any of this. She heard a door open in the room and footsteps approach.

"Martha?" Johanna's voice asked.

"Hi, Johanna." Martha answered.

The fashion icon stood beside the redhead and gazed out on the town with her.

"...I know your views on this town and I don't blame you. I can't stand this place either." She said.

Martha's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course. At least Who York has real living plants and animals, not like this place. Plus, paying for fresh air is wrong and just plain stupid. And the mayor AND founder of O'Hare Air, Aloysius O'Hare himself, is nothing but a short, greedy, ol' tightwad."

Martha giggled.

"No, I'm serious. Aloysius is a pretty bad person, believe me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he and August May-Who are somewhat the same."

"I'm sorry, but I'll believe it when I see it."

"I don't blame you for that either. You've never even met him. But he'll be there during Fashion Week, which starts tomorrow night I might add. So be prepared."

"Okay."

Johanna smiled.