plait the hair so you can switch wigs for each photo. That way, we won't damage the natural hair with chemicals or cut it into some strange style you might not like."
"Sounds great to me," Shaundra replied, trying to imagine what she'd look like in a wig. It would be a good thing to know just in case her hair fell out.
The hairstylist's name was Ai and she had magical fingers that relaxed Shaundra as she massaged her scalp. She was even gentle as she plaited the hair into cornrows. The other women went through similar processes, but it took a little more work since their hair was baby fine.
"The wigs will go on after the costume," Ai told her as Chie arrived to get them. "See you again in a couple of minutes in the wardrobe room."
They followed Chie to another large room filled with clothes. All four women stopped and gawked at the beautiful gowns and party dresses. Chie told something to the wardrobe people and left. She returned a few minutes later. "The men are getting ready and will probably have their preliminary pictures done. They're doing the rock shoot first."
"The rock shoot?" Izanami asked, looking at Chie oddly. "What is rock shoot?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. All the photos for our next issue will feature a music genre." She turned to Shaundra. "You won't be included in this first picture. But don't feel left out. While they're doing this, you'll be getting ready for the classical music shoot."
"Seems like that should be me," Dorothy replied with a yawn. "Since I'm older than the dinosaurs."
"No, Mr. Niigata put a lot of thought into this. He definitely wants you in the rock shoot. I've seen the costumes. You're going to love them."
Chie picked up the phone. "They're ready."
A young Japanese man entered, looked the four women over and began pulling clothing bags from one of the racks. He was nicely dressed in a well-tailored brown suit and a yellow shirt beneath. "Which one of you is Ms. Brown?"
Dorothy raised her hand. He handed her a garment bag.
"Narita?"
Chirau's hand flew up.
He handed her one of the bags.
"And you must be Kudo?"
"Yes," Izanami said, looking a little perplexed by everything.
He handed her a bag too. "My name is Katsou and I'll be assisting you with wardrobe today." He turned to Shaundra. "You must be Ms.
Morrison."
"Yes," Shaundra answered shyly.
"I have something special for you. You are going to love it."
Shaundra was amazed by how well most of them spoke English. From the beginning, she'd thought there was going to be a problem understanding people, but so far, the only ones who didn't speak much were Aomori, and she didn't think that was because they couldn't. They just chose not to.
Dorothy, Izanami and Chirau giggled from the dressing room.
"We'll let them get finished first and then we'll concentrate on you."
He showed her to a seat. A few minutes later, the other ladies appeared.
Shaundra gasped. "You girls look far out."
The two Japanese looked lost with her choice of words.
"You look great." She rephrased the words.
They both bowed thanks.
Dorothy's costume consisted of tight blue jeans and a light blue T-shirt with a peace sign in the center. She also wore some pretty white sandals.
Chirau wore a red halter top, a white mini skirt and black go-go boots, while Izanami wore a pair of low-riding, white bikini jeans, a red midi-top and had on a pair of black sandals similar to the ones Dorothy wore.
"They're on their way to hair and makeup," Katsou replied, handing Shaundra a garment bag. "Your turn." He gently pushed her toward the dressing room. Dorothy waved to her as she went off with Izanami and Chirau.
Shaundra walked out of the room and headed back into the dressing room, found an empty booth, and began removing her clothes. She unzipped the bag. "It's white and strapless," she muttered as she removed her costume. "And a long, white a slip, great." There was also a smaller bag inside with gloves and jewelry. At the bottom of the bag she found a box containing a pair of white heels adorned with pearls and a pair of hosiery. She paused, not sure if she should put on the shoes first so she wouldn't muss the gown by sitting down in it. White wasn't exactly her favorite color because stains always managed to get on her clothes for no reason.
The decision was made when she checked out the short zipper. There was no way she could just