Keefer Bernstein had observed a peculiar fact about memory. Any time something greatly out of the norm happened, it was impossible to recall exactly what lead up to the event. That was probably why he had no idea why Holla, internet sensation and fame seeker, was kissing him so feverishly. In his bed room no less. Thankfully they were both still dressed.
“Um.” was all poor Keefer could get out. Holla had a grip on his jacket and was bobbing in and out like a boxer, landing kisses along the side of his face. Keefer's field of vision was filled with Holla's blond curls and the occasional glimpse of her glowing golden eyes. Keefer wasn't sure how to defend himself. The carpenter didn't want to touch her in an inappropriate way, but the idea that maybe there wasn't an inappropriate way to hold her in this situation scared him. When she pushed him onto his bed, Keefer was able to catch her shoulders before she fell on top of him.
“Something wrong?” Her curls were dangling inches away from his face. He could smell her shampoo; exotic fruits.
“What's going on?” Keefer didn't realize how breathless he was until he tried to speak.
“Oh my!” Holla's face suddenly changed to one of concern. “Was all this too much? I just assumed that since we were both neighbors you'd want to get to know me a little better.” Holla rolled off of Keefer and helped him sit up. The fame seeker folded her hands in her lap and smiled. With Holla no longer forcing herself into his personal space, Keefer could see she was wearing a modern white gown. She had accessorized it with a purple fuzzy scarf and a waist buckle. This was an attempt to mimic a popular fashion trend back on earth called “Neo-Glam.” People mixed modern fashion with retro fashion from the 1980s. It was popular with new celebrities and classic rock/punk artists. “You said you wanted me, didn't you?”
That's right. This was the first time Keefer and Holla came home at the same time. In truth, Keefer wasn't aware he was right next door to someone as popular on earth as Holla. He couldn't remember all the details, but he did remember talking with her. He did recall saying he'd like to have her over some time. Wait, was all this a misunderstanding!? Keefer did his best to compose a smile and turned to face the fame seeker. “Alright, so what 'exactly' did I say?”
Holla pressed a finger into her cheek. “Well, I don't remember 'exactly' what you said. But it was either that you'd 'like to have me for dinner' or that you'd 'like to have ME for dinner.'” Holla grabbed the edge of the bed with both hands and started kicking the air. “I thought this was the most interesting way to clear all that up.”
Keefer chuckled nervously. “Well, it's noon time so...”
“You just want a snack then?” Holla gave the carpenter a playful wink.
“No! Heh, not like that.” Keefer waved his hands. “I just wanted to get to know you better.”
“Oh! Well in this day in age, it's really important that you do your research first.” Holla bounced off the bed and wandered towards Keefer's computer desk. Instead of taking a seat, she bent over without bending her knees. Her head hovered level with the computer screen when she woke it up from sleep mode. “First let's take a peak at your search history. Quite a few of my old videos were backed up and you may have seen a few without realizing it.”
Keefer was a little too anxious to turn off the computer screen. “I uh, don't think that's really necessary.” He hoped he didn't look nervous. “Why do research online when you're right in front of me?”
“True.” Se stood up and turned to face Keefer. “I mean, this blouse has a pretty low cut. Why look at a video when you've got the real thing right?”
“Ah...”
Holla sighed and looked away from Keefer. “Yea, it probably isn't that impressive after you've seen 'sponge' right? You know, the experimental film where I get crushed by a human torso inside a submarine?”
“Um, weren't you in a bathtub?”
“So you HAVE seen it! Haha!”
Sponge was one of Holla's more famous films. It was about a bikini-clad slave deciding if she wanted to escape to a life of freedom, or live as a slave inside the bath tub. The climax of the movie has the slave trying to escape the bathtub, only for a another character called Master to show up to stop her. In the final moments of the movie, Master traps slave before shouting “I'll crush you like a spunnnnnnge,” which quickly became a meme after appearing on several reaction images. The film was hailed as a masterpiece by some, but criticized as being little more than soft core erotica as well. The film is known to most people as “That film where you see Holla naked,” as Holla is listed as the actress for both Slave and Master. While Master's body was positioned to hide anything adult rated, it still wasn't a film you told most people you saw.
“Well...” Keefer's face was flushed a most brilliant shade of red. “I mean, I don't think anyone would dispute the fact that you're attractive. And-”
“You know I'm not going to rape you, right?”
“...I had my doubts.”
Holla sat down on the edge of the bed. “I'm not easy, and I don't typically come on that strong to people. But even I need a little cheering up now and then. As one of the first celebrities of this new world I have my work cut out for me. Everyone's so sad.”
This didn't sound like the fame seeker that Keefer met just seconds ago. The unstable bundle of energy had simmered down into something stagnant. Even the glow in her eyes seemed weaker. Keefer almost wanted the old Holla back, but he did feel like this was a woman he could comfort and talk to. He sat down beside her. “We're all still adjusting. I know I have difficulty adjusting moving from apartment to apartment on earth. I can only imagine the kind of unrest moving to another planet must cause people.”
Holla turned her head to look at the carpenter. “You know we're going to have the hardest time right?” She folded her arms. “We're generation zero. We came from a world that had the luxury of government subsidized housing and handicap parking lots. We could come home from our day at work, fill a bowl with ice cream, and spend the evening watching cat videos. We could also make choices.” She started to count her fingers. “What to have for dinner, what to do for a living, who we wanted to have sex with, or even IF we wanted to have sex at all.” Holla shook her head, and her lower lip quivered. “We wasted five years of our lives retreating from an ideal utopia. We complained about earth, but we left because everyone was wrong. It wasn't our inability to prevent wars, control green house gasses, or recycle. A rock was going to be the end of us. Something not of our world. We left behind a lot of good people and-” She paused to breathe. Holla's eyes were becoming wet. “And kids. Lots of kids. They wouldn't have survived the trip. Our youngest passengers are young adults now. Our new world doesn't have any children in it. There's no hope.. Not yet.” She reached up with her sleeve and dried her eyes. When she looked back at Keefer, there was a big, toothy smile on her face. “Which is why I have to be their hope now! My time to shine, baby!” Keefer was so shocked by her reversal of emotions that he didn't even react when she kissed his cheek. “Thanks for listening, hun! You've been a lot of fun!” She hopped of the bed and started to skip towards the front door. What just happened?
“Holla?” Keefer followed Holla to the front door. “What's going on?”
“I think you're pretty cute, Keefer.” Holla giggled as she reached the door. “But you know, us celebrities are at our most desirable when we're still romantically accessible. As much as I'd love to see a little Holla or Keefer running around, I heard motherhood can make your breasts sag. That's just not good for the ol' career.” Holla tapped the open button, and the door slid out of the way soundlessly. “But if you just want to be friends or do somethin' on the down low...”
Keefer had given up on trying to figure out if Holla was being serious or not. It was probably best if he just rolled with it. “Well, maybe we could be friends. I mean I saw sponge, so I'm not sure you have that much more to show me.”
Holla's grin widened as she prepared to step through the breech of the door, but she stopped. “Keefer.” The fame seeker looked over her shoulder at her neighbor. “This is a crazy world we live in, and there will be several points where you will be required to make your own observations. This was true on earth, and I fear it is even more so here.”
“How do you mean?” Keefer folded his arms.
“Well, everyone assumes that I was both characters in sponge. I mean it's understandable, both characters were played by an actress called Holla. For the duration the characters were on screen and the angles the scene was shot at, it wouldn't have been hard to impose an extra of myself into the scene.”
“You mean you didn't?”
Holla's smile shifted into a smirk. “I didn't really feel like superimposing myself in the scene, so I dared my room mate to do the scene with me. Her name was Hollie Anderson, so I put her in the credits as 'HollA' No one could figure out why the 'A' was uppercase in the credits. No one ever suspected that we were two different people.”
Keefer was, again, stunned with shock. He snapped out of it when he remembered something. “Hey um, I don't know if you're busy, but did you want to hang out a bit longer? My sister is suppose to join me for lunch, and I think she'd like you. She should really be here any moment now.”
“Oh uh.” Her smirk disappeared. “I don't think that's a good idea. I don't get along with girls very well. Especially when there are men around to charm.” With a giggle, she stepped outside. “I should really be at my photo shoot anyway. See ya later, neighbor!”
Keefer wasn't sure what to feel at the moment. That woman was a total enigma to him. Well, he couldn't dwell on her now. The carpenter decided to prepare lunch while he waited for his sister.
…
Holla walked into the apartment beside Keefer's and shut the door. In comparison, hers was considerably smaller. Just a single room apartment compared to the labyrinth that belonged to “Keefer Bernstein.” Holla wasn't really comparing those two apartments though. She had some place to be, or more precisely, someone else to be. There was no rush, but Holla did have to shift gears a little bit. The bubbly fame seeker might have the luxory of time, but a by the book woman like Lenna was never late, never made excuses. Holla started to shed her exterior. She tossed her scarf, waist buckle, her clothes, her underwear, everything she had on her person went at the end of the bed in a heap. It was time to become someone else. Holla walked into her closet and pushed some of her coats off to the side. It was difficult to see, but there was a trap door here. Holla didn't hesitate, she lowered herself into the void and closed the trap door overhead. There was a switch down below that turned the lights off in this apartment, but she didn't need to use it at this hour of the day.
As Holla walked down the dark corridor her body began to change shape. Her breasts shrank, and her waist expanded to compensate. Her lustrious golden curls became a short black curtain, and her nose got longer and thinner. Holla had entirely disappeared, and Lenna now stood in her place.The only resemblance between them was their glowing eyes.
Lenna climbed out of the trap door into her own apartment. She got dressed in her work clothes and looked into the mirror. The crimson red suit looked sharp. This was someone you wanted to stand behind, but one you never wanted to face. With calculated movements, Lenna left her apartment.
The overseer approached Keefer's apartment and gave his door a firm knock. Seconds later, he showed his face.
“Hey sis.” He said, struggling to smile. “Aren't you a little late?”
“Long story. I don't want to talk about it.” Lenna sniffed. “Perfume?”
“About that...”
Lenna rolled her eyes and stepped past Keefer. “Is lunch ready at least?”
The carpenter let out an exhausted sigh and closed the door.
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