Stephanie Zhao considered her job to be a blessing and a curse. Working part-time at her mother’s nail salon in Chinatown was a good way to earn some extra money. She was a 21 year old college student at NYU and wanted to enjoy the city life once in a while. The job was also opportunity to spend time with her mother who was the hardest working woman she knew.

There was a lot of physical contrast between Stephanie and her mother. Stephanie was 5’8” which was tall for an Asian woman. Stephanie was also slim and youthful-looking. While Stephanie couldn’t afford the most expensive clothes, Stephanie always made sure to look as pretty as possible. She always had a fresh manicure and pedicure and wore just enough makeup to turn heads. Stephanie enjoyed getting attention from men and women alike.

Her mom, Xue, was only 5’1”. She was also stout and didn’t do much with her appearance. Her mom was gorgeous once. Stephanie saw enough photos to understand how her father fell in love. However, her mom didn’t bother anymore – especially after her father was killed in a freak construction accident ten years ago. Stephanie knew that the death of her father was especially hard on her mom – but her mom put all of her heart and soul into Stephanie and her nail salon.

The one thing that bothered Stephanie was the occasional mean customer. There were some snobby people who would visit their salon – they would either critique every aspect of Stephanie’s nail technique or they would make racist comments, they assumed that the girl born and raised in America couldn’t speak English well. Stephanie tried to not show it so much, but she was a sensitive girl whose feelings got hurt easily. Her mom would always tell her to “grow up”, but the mean comments hurt Stephanie all the same. After a really bad day, Stephanie would run into the bathroom to cry.

“You ready for busy day?”, asked Stephanie’s mom, “summer almost here.”

“You can always count on me, Mom”, responded Stephanie with a smile.

“Good. Now that you off from college – you can work full-time.”

“Of course, I can really use the money!”

As more women wore open-toed shoes in the summer, this was really the busiest time of year for women to get a manicure/pedicure combo.

There were two other nail artists who were supposed to be working today. There was Maria Alvarez. She was a 23 year old full-time nail artist. Maria had an associates degree but she didn’t seem to have any plans to pursue more education. Maria had a real artistic talent and had big dreams of producing art – whether paintings or sculptures- that would help her make big money. Maria would constantly network with her customers to see if any were interested. Some of them were, at minimum, millionaires. Maria was 5’4” and incredibly stylish. Maria was a little plump but she had curves that would make men go wild.

Then there was Amy Liang, Stephanie’s best friend. Amy was also attending school at NYU. Amy was sweet, nerdy, and shy. She was only 5’1” with a brilliant scientific mind. Amy was the best friend Stephanie could ask for. However, Amy had no self-confidence. Stephanie had been working hard on building Amy’s self-esteem. Amy had a natural beauty to her even with her glasses. Stephanie got Amy a job at the nail salon in hopes to see Amy be more confident with other people. The nice customers really were great for Amy. But unfortunately, there were also the nasty ones.

Stephanie couldn’t help but notice the diverse footwear of the four of them. Stephanie was wearing her favorite flip flops. Her mom was wearing Toms. Maria was wearing strappy sandals. Amy was wearing flats. Stephanie admired her new pedicure from the nail salon – her toenails were painted a dark red. She felt ready for a busy day and was looking forward to helping others enhance their beauty.

Three young women walked into the nail salon. Stephanie noticed the expensive designer clothing right away. She hoped they weren’t the entitled types – she would soon find out – but didn’t seem promising from the get-go.

The first was a petite blonde who seemed to be the queen bee of the group. The other two women seemed to wait for her to take any action. Stephanie could have sworn she saw this woman around campus. Stephanie doubted this “queen bee” knew who she was.

The second was Hispanic and of average height. She had long black hair which clearly went through the utmost care. She seemed to be the most observant of the group – looking at the setup of the salon with judgment which could easily be seen from her facial expressions.

The third was a tall brunette who was even more fashionable than the other two. Stephanie quickly locked eyes with the brunette who gave a warm smile. Stephanie smiled back. She supposed that the brunette was the nicest of the three, the smile seemed genuine.

The trio approached Stephanie.

“You speak English, right?”, asked the queen bee.

“Fluently”, responded Stephanie.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. This was a queen bitch.

“Three mani/pedi combos. And make them good! We are looking for the perfect Chinatown salon and most haven’t done so well with us.”

“Umm.. Amy, Maria, and I will help each of you.”

Amy and Maria walked over to the trio.

“I want the little one with glasses”, said the queen bee.

“Maybe Maria or I could”, began Stephanie.

“No, I know who I want doing my nails and I pick her”, interrupted the queen bee.

“Alright, Amy. Are you ready?”

Amy nodded quickly and nervously.

“Amy, if she gives you any trouble – let me know ASAP.”

“I can tell you’re great at customer service”, said the queen bee sarcastically.

Stephanie ignored the comment.

“I’ll work with my fellow chica”, said the dark-haired woman, “even though, she looks like she had a much more unfortunate upbringing than me.”

“You know nothing about me”, responded Maria, “but I’ll take you.”

Amy and Maria took their customers to get their nails done.

“So looks like you’re stuck with me, Stephanie”, said the tall brunette.

“How did you know”.. but Stephanie looked down at her name tag and chuckled.

“My name is Julie. So nice to meet you. Sorry about my friends. Sophie can be a dumb blonde. Veronica has her insecurities too.”

“Some friends you have”, said Stephanie, “I am very protective of mine.”

Stephanie took Julie to their station. Stephanie was already liking Julie a lot. She wondered why a girl like her had such nasty friends.

“I have to warn you”, said Julie, “I have large hands and feet.”

“Not at all”, said Stephanie, “perfect size for a tall girl like you. You must be..”

“5’11. I wear a size 11 shoe.”

“At least you’re a white girl. I’m only 5’8 and people make fun of me for being so tall – especially since my mom is so short.”

“I love your nails. Did you get them done here?”

“I did”, said Stephanie excitedly, “my mom is the best nail artist I know. But she’s trying to get all of us young ones up to speed for the summer.”

“I’m sure you’ll do a great job, Stephanie.”

Stephanie started with the manicure. Julie wanted them polished green. Stephanie couldn’t help but to admire Julie’s long fingers. Stephanie primarily considered herself to be straight – but moments like these made her question her own sexuality. Maybe she was bi.

Stephanie then worked on Julie’s feet. They were long and slender. They were also incredibly smooth. Stephanie usually liked to add a little extra by stripping her customer’s feet of calluses, but Julie had hardly any calluses at all. Stephanie was extra careful – she felt a need to make Julie proud.

“So, do you go to school around here”, asked Julie.

“I go to NYU. Finishing up my junior year.”

“Me too. It’s such a large school. I’m not surprised we haven’t met.”

“Small world in the city. If you’re looking for some extra pay, my mom would probably be happy to hire you.”

“Heh. My mother would kill me if I got a job here.”

Stephanie realized it was a stupid comment on her part – Julie looked like that she didn’t need to work a job like this. Julie was probably well-funded. Stephanie found herself so curious about Julie.

“Just a silly joke. I hope I’m doing a good job.”

“You’re doing a fabulous job!”

Stephanie could hear an angry, “you’re going so slow – who are you, my grandma?”

Stephanie then heard a soft, “sorry – I’ll go faster.”

“You better go faster! I’m thinking long and hard about what tip I’m going to give you at this rate – four-eyes.”

Stephanie was already miffed about how Sophie was treating Amy.

“Jules, I’ll finish your right foot in a minute. Just need to take care of an emergency.”