That's What You Get, Open

[Autumn Michaels]

It was the technical first day of classes, but everyone was still moving in. Autumn had already unpacked all her thing and arranged them the way she wanted. Her roommate for the year had yet to show up, so Autumn had taken advantage of it and got all of her things the way she wanted them. She looked around the room, noting the things she still needed. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. There was nothing to do. All of her friends were still unpakcing and she still had the weird occurances of the night before on her mind. Shaking her head sharply, she stood up and grabbed her keys and purse. She needed to get out of the school, might as well go pick up what she needed. So she walked out of her room waving to a few of the people who had their doors open. On any other day, she would have gone in to chat with the people she knew, but not today. She really needed to get to the mall.

So she walked out the main door of her dorm building and toward the parking lot. Her lime green VW Beetle convertable, an investment she made that summer, sat on its own in the dorm parking lot. She walked up to it and unlocked the driver's side door, sliding behind the wheel. Putting the top down, she clicked the seatbelt in place and turned on the ignition. Sublime blared from the stereo system as she pulled out of her spot and drove in the direction of River Ranch Mall. It was only a few blocks, but for some reason traffic was a bit crazy so it took her longer to get there than usual. Finally reaching the mall parking lot, she got her car into a space and turned it off. Hopping out of the car, she grinned. She liked the mall, for the most part. It was pretty crowded that day, and she could tell that most of them were St. Marina's students or parents of student who had forgotten to bring something for their dorms.

Pushing open the front door she shook her head. People milled everywhere and pushed to and fro. It was days like this she hated malls. When you couldn't get anywhere because no one was moving or they would randomly stop and cause people to run into them. Eventually, she just gave up and decided to head to the food court. Maybe after a quick dinner, she thought, things will clear up a bit. It was worth a shot. So she made her way down the stairs and to the food court where she went to the Chinese place and got a lo mein and a bottled water. She looked around.

"This would be a lot better with another person," she mumbled, before taking a bite of her dinner.

[Katherine Tolbert]

"Mother, why in the seven hells did you decide to come to the mall on the first day of school at St. Marina's? I'm going to be living at home anyway and Jess really doesn't NEED that canopy for over her bed! You know it won't last."

"I know, dear, but this was the only time I was available and I wanted to talk to you about the article you wrote for Pink."

"Good luck, in this mess."

Katherine Tolbert muttered under her breath as she dodged a rhino disguised as a woman, who was intent on getting to the bed linens first. This was the WORST idea Mother has ever had and she's had some doozies. She grumbled to herself as she tried unsuccessfully to dodge one of those huge strollers that every Super Mom seemed to have and cursed as she knocked her foot against the wheel.

"Excuse me young lady, watch where you're going," the mother snapped as the kid started to wail.

"Sorry," she snapped. "Mother, I'm going to the food court. I am in serious need of caffeine."

"Mmhmm, whatever you say dear."

Not even paying attention to me. Kat grouched to herself as she pushed and shoved her way out of the Bed, Bath, and Beyond and headed for the food court. A soda or a giant milkshake was seriously needed. So, Kat waited about five minutes in line at the milkshake stand before she finally got the sweet treat she desired. As she walked by, sipping the chocolate treat, she noticed a girl who seemed...rather familiar out of the corner of her eye. And so, being bored as could be, Kat went over to say hi.

"Hey there, your name's Autumn right? St. Marina's?" she asked with a smile. "Mind if I sit down? My mother's off getting my sister something for her dorm and I was in serious need of a break."

[Autumn Michaels]

Autumn looked up as a shadowed passed before her and stayed there. A girl stood before her, blonde, and a fairly familiar face. She must have gone to St. Marina's, certainly not a senior, but she knew she'd seen her around. But it seemed more than that. She felt something more than just a passing glance at school. Smiling, she nodded. "Oh of course, please take a seat. It's Kathrine, right?" she replied, gesturing to the seat across from her.

"I just came to pick up a few things for my room. Luckily, my parents have decided not to even bother coming with me to buy anything. Last time my mother came with me she was the one who had to take the break. She's not one of the shopping types," she said with a smile. "Today, I needed one. There are just way too many people here today. I almost got run over by this old woman who was a lot stronger than she looked." She laughed a little bit and shook her head. "That's first day of move in for you though."

[Katherine Tolbert]

"Yeah, but just call me Kat. Nice to meet ya and thanks."

Gratefully, Kat pulled out one of the plastic chairs and sat herself down in it. Today she was wearing a pair of camouflage pants with a dark pink T-shirt and camo jacket. Kat did enjoy the camo, since her grandfather used to be in the army, plus it just looked good with the pink. As Autumn mentioned what she was here for, Kat had to smirk a little bit.

"I know the feeling. This rhino disguised as a woman tried to mow me over and when I told her to move, she knocked me into a rack of clothes with her hip. I'm just going to let my mother handle this one. She's the editor in chief of a magazine and doesn't tend to get out much."

In fact, this is the first time I've had the chance to see her in about a week. She's been practically living in her office these days, trying to get this new section of Pink off the ground. Although it was a feminist magazine, people tended to link "feminist" with "lesbian" and her mother was doing all she could to combat that image.

"This is also why I'm glad I live at home. Everything I need is right there in my room."

[Autumn Michaels]

"It's a pleasure Kat," Autumn said with a smile. She watched as the other girl sat down. Her camo outfit was a bit of a contrast to Autumn's own crisp white skirt and lavender cami. Her white peeptoe heels clicked lightly on the floor when ever they moved. It was one of those days she just wanted to dress up. Usually she would have been in jeans and an old tee, but it was just one of those days. She smirked a little and nodded.

"Yeah, it's a dangerous sport, shopping sometimes. I was almost afraid to go into some stores because some of these women are dengerous when you get in between them and a sale," she couldn't help but grin. She perked a little when she heard that Kat's mother was the editor of a magazine. "What magazine would that be?" she asked. She read quite a bit of magazines and was always curious about the people that managed to get them into print. It was something she might be interested in.

"I don't live too far from the school, but my parents insist that I live on campus. They say it matures a person to live on their own, even if it is just in a dorm. It's not terrible, I don't have to answer to them and I can come and go when and where I please, so I guess I can't complain. Sometimes I wish I could stay at home since I wouldn't have to spend so much money, but I guess it's alright," she said.

[Katherine Tolbert]

Kat chuckled a little. She kinda liked this Autumn chick. She was cute and a sharp dresser and she obviously knew up from down. Unlike some girls she usually ran into at St. Marina's. But when Autumn asked which magazine Kat's mother was in charge of...she hesitated just a little. If I tell her what it is, will she think I'm a lesbian? Or my mother? Does she even know about it? Giving a shrug and deciding to take a chance, Kat grinned.

"My mother is the editor-in-chief and founder of Pink magazine. It started in San Fransisco, but now she's opened another office near here. It's a feminist magazine devoted to women in the modern age. Politics, education, charity, new movements and rising stars who are all strong women, you know, things like that. I just submitted my first article to the magazine about being an independent teenage girl in this modern world," she chuckled a little. "Mother wanted to 'talk' with me about it, but got distracted by some bath towels or something."

Kat took a sip from her milkshake and almost groaned in happiness as the sugar and ice cream made her wake up just a little bit more. A person would think it would've given her a headache, but not Kat.

"Bummer about living on campus though, I hope your roommate isn't too bad. My friend Adri...has my sister Jessica as a roommate. I feel so bad for Adri cause I know my sister is horrible. Plus their personalities clash so bad it just makes for bad vibes in the air, you know what I mean?"

[Autumn Michaels]

"Oh, I've read Pink," she said with a nod and a smile. "I like it a lot. It's refreshing to see a magazine like that and not these terrible things like Seventeen and all that. I mean, they've got some good articles occasionally, but they're always about how you need to be a size 0 to be happy too sometimes, know I mean. Your mom's isn't like that all. I'll have to keep an eye out for your article, sounds like something I'd read."

She grinned and took a sip of her water. Kat seemed like a down to earth kind of girl, not preppy or snobby like some of the people she met at school. It was nice. A few of the people she'd met at St. Marina's were pretty cool, but she usually got along a bit more with the kids at Thaddeus Polk. She sighed a bit and looked around. People still crawled all over the mall. It didn't surprise her, it was only late afternoon and it wouldn't clear for another fwe hours. She just had the best timing for this place. it was always packed.

"Honestly, I don't even know who my roommate is yet. She hasn't shown up yet. Maybe I'll luck out and she won't show up," she said with a laugh, which continued as she talked about her friend. "I know all about bad vibes, my roomie last year, ugh, let's just say I wanted to kill her. Her boyfriend was almost always over, which was annoying. I hope your friend survives though. She should be fine though, you can always escape your room if you hate your roommate, or request a room change after a little while."

[Katherine Tolbert]

Relief flooded through here. So, she's not only read our magazine, but she's a fan of it too. Nice. Mother will be thrilled about that one. Not only that, but it was so difficult to find someone who read it for the articles rather than because it featured women. Most guys pick it up and think it's a lesbian magazine. So do most women. Man are they sorely disappointed. Kat grinned and chuckled, sipping her smoothie until the straw started to empty. Frowning, she shook it and realized it was empty.

"Well damn that didn't last long," she muttered and tossed it into the nearest trash can. "And I'm glad to hear you like Pink. I think it's a great magazine for women. It covers everything that say Ladies' Home Journal and Cosmopolitan doesn't. Seriously, we need more magazines like that. ....Or maybe not, because then we'd have to worry about competition."

She chuckled a little and listened to what had happened with the roommate Autumn had last year. Then she burst out into full-blown giggles. Although she wouldn't leave her home and her father for nothing (at least not right now) sometimes the stories you got from living on campus were hilarious.

"Damn, ya know, it's times like this I wish my dad and I weren't so close. The fact that he'd be all alone with my younger brother Scotty if I left is the only thing that's keeping me from moving onto campus. That and I'd have to deal with Jess and Maggie all the time," she rolled her eyes. "I tell ya, sometimes sisters can be just as bad as roommates from hell. Because unlike roommates, they have no concept of the idea of privacy. Especially in a big family like mine."

[Autumn Michaels]

Autumn smiled as she looked down at her own plate, which was now empty. Sighing, she threw it away and drank some more of her water. Now she really had no excuse to avoid the crowds, but she still did not want to push her way through people so she sat back down. "It really is a great magazine. Great concept too. I can't read Cosmopolitan anymore because all it's about is the best way to screw your man and stuff like that. I swear I picked it up the other day and thought I'd picked up some other magazine. It's sad that women actually read that trash sometimes." One could see that Autumn was passionate about the topic. She hated the fact that sex and stick thinness was what sold magazines or anything for that matter, to women these days. She liked to think they were more intelligent than that.

She laughed along and shook her head. "I honestly don't think anything could be worse than some of the sounds I heard from her side of the room," she said in disgust, before giggling. While it wasn't an ideal room, she was sure it was better than some. She knew some of the girls were terrors to live with and she was almost glad that she'd just gotten the one who needed to be with her boy friend all the time. It didn't bother her that much in hindsight, obnoxious while living with her her, but in the end, she might have done the same thing had she had a boyfriend.

"My parents and I are extremely close," she said. "We kind of have to be since my dad's family and my mom's family don't get along too much. See, my mom is Korean, my dad is white, and when the two married, let's just say there are a bunch of prejudices that pop up. So we band together to get through it all. Family parties, like Christmas at our house are the worst. But it's brought us together, my parents, my sister Kimmy and I. Kimmy actually just started at St. Marina's this year. I should have checked if she needed anything," she said the last bit almost to herself. "We're not a big family though, so privacy is pretty safe with us. Our parents don't butt in and Kimmy and I tell each other everything anyway."

[Katherine Tolbert]

"Wow, sounds like a nice family," Kat said with a chuckle. "Except for, ya know, the whole prejudice thing. But it's great that you guys can work together in times of crisis. My mom and dad met when they were younger. I think it was sort of a first love kinda thing. Anyway, once my mom founded Pink, she wasn't home that much so I spent a ton of time with my dad. He's awesome. He cooks, cleans, takes care of us, he can even sew. And the most amazing thing? Dad loves it. He said that it takes a really modern man to be 'Mr. Mom' as it were."

Dear old Dad. Wonder what I'd do without him? Kat thought for a moment, brushing a blonde curl out of her eye. Probably go insane with boredom and just general madness.

"My sisters and I on the other hand...well, let's just say I'd wring Jessica's neck if I could and Maggie's sweet but she's such a stuck-up bookworm. She keeps telling me I'll never make anything of myself because I don't 'apply myself' to my studies. The girl wants to become a psychiatrist and she's taken it upon herself to dissect the mind of every member of our family. It's nuts. I feel bad for my little brother Scotty, having to grow up with all us girls."

[Autumn Michaels]

Autumn grinned and nodded slightly. "It's a great family when the two sides aren't clashing, which we remedy by visiting them. If people visit us, they run the risk of crossing paths, and then things get ugly. Mom and Dad's story is actually a modern fairy tale type thing, they were forbidden from contact with each other because Dad's parent's were racist and Mom's parents didn't like the prejudice of the others. But they fell in love in high school, it's a nice story really. It's cool that your dad can do all those things, my dad is pretty hopeless around the house, plus he's usually working along with mom, so me and Kimmy usually do everything."

She definitely had an odd family, they had a houskeeper, but she always complained she had nothing to do. Autumn was a neat freak, so she tended to keep everything spotless, Kimmy just hated to hear Autumn complain so they were both conditioned to keep everything clean anyway. All the houskeeper had to do really was cook. Autumn and her sister usually joked an laughed about it when the woman went home for the day, and then question why their father still employed her. He told them he just didn't like to fire people, plus she made a fantastic lasgna.

"It's tough having siblings you want to kill. My sister and I used to be like that when we were really little. Now we've cooled out a little. Luckily, I got a sister who could care less about school, isn't obnoxious, and is too lazy to dissect everyone's mind. I just got a chill, laid back sister who's there when I need someone to talk to. I kinda wish I had a brother too though, that would be cool. Plus, I'm sure your brother will survive, only a few years left till college starts for some of you, right? Then he'll have nearly free reign. Bet he's just counting down the days." She grinned and laughed lightly, Kimmy was alreayd counting down, close as they were, she wanted her sister to leaves as soon as possible, because, well, that's what sisters did.

[Katherine Tolbert]

Kat listened with amazement as Autumn described her parents' relationship. It really did seem like something out of a modern fairy tale. She smiled a little, thinking how hard it must be for the two of them to keep peace in the family as well as be together. It's like Romeo and Juliet would've been if the two of them survived. Then she caught herself. Wait a second. I'm not one for sappy romance stories, so where the heck did that come from? Never in her life had Kat enjoyed sappy romance and she HATED Romeo and Juliet. So why was she thinking about them?

"Yeah..." she finally got back on track and chuckled. "Scotty's a little terror. He insisted on trying to put a frog in my bed once and now doesn't do it anymore because I put a worm down his shorts. He still terrorizes my sisters because they're not smart enough to fight back. Well, Maggie is, but Jess falls for his tricks every single time. He can be a real handful, I'm amazed how Dad manages to look after him when he's not in school."

Before she could say anything else though, Anastasia returned, looking beaten and flustered, carrying a bag from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

"Well! There you are, I was wondering where you'd gone off to, Katherine. Oh...and who's this?" Anastasia smiled warmly and ran her fingers through her messy hair.

"Ma, you look like a train wreck," Kat laughed and hugged her. "Autumn, this is my mother, Anastasia Tolbert. Ma, this is Autumn, she goes to St. Marina's. She's also a fan of your magazine."

"Really? How wonderful to meet you then," and she extended her free hand gracefully. "It's so nice to meet a young lady of the world. I began the magazine specifically for young women around your ages, girls. Why, I remember this one day in-"

"Just let her shake your hand, Ma," Kat said with a chuckle.

[Autumn Michaels]

"Yeah, it's one of those romances that only happens once in a blue moon, though I think part of the reason they married so quick was because Mom was pregnant with me before they got married," Autumn said with a laugh. She wasn't usually one to talk about her parents' romance, or romance in general, but she was feeling like it that day. It was odd. She wrinkled her nose a little bit. "A frog in your bed? I would kill someone, but at least you got him back. That's all that matters."

She looked up as a stressed woman came over to them. She seemed as though she just fought a major battle, and apparently she won. A warm smile crossed her face and she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Tolbert. I must admit that I do enjoy your magazine quite a bit. It's a refreshing change from most of the other stuff out there." She laughed a little as the woman went on her own little rant, only to be interrupted by her daughter. It was natural when a person had something to be proud of. "What gave you the idea for Pink?" She figured it would be a good question to ask, a conversation starter at least.

[Katherine Tolbert]

"It's wonderful to meet you as well Autumn. What a polite young lady you are. Perhaps you could teach my Katherine a thing or two," she said with a warm laugh as Kat turned pink.

"Maaaa...."

"Sorry dear, you know I couldn't resist teasing you," Anastasia kissed her daughter's temple and released Autumn's hand as the girl asked about her magazine. "Ah...well, it's quite an interesting story, you see. Scoot over, Kitten and let me talk."

Kat chuckled and moved over to the next seat so her mother could sit down. Good thing too, she looks worse than release day at work. Anastasia brushed her hair back and set down the bag as she turned to Autumn.

"I came up with the idea for Pink when I was a younger woman and we lived in San Fransisco. I had always been an advocate of women's rights through politics and cultural movements, as my mother had been before me. However, I didn't want to force women to choose between being homemakers and being 'modern' as the case may be. No, no, I understand that there are just some things that shouldn't be bothered with. I believe that every woman has the right to choose what she wants to do with her life, but that doesn't mean she can't keep up with the rest of the world. So that's when Pink was created. It was a small magazine at first, with only a few articles and exhibits with female artists, doctors, lawyers, CEO's, even several teachers and nurses. But it wasn't until Naomi Wolfe gave an interview for our magazine that we hit it off. And so, Pink grew to take in more of the modern world for women and we're still growing everyday."

She beamed, obviously proud of her life's work and Kat couldn't help but feel proud as well. Yes, women had come a long way for equality, but they still had a long way to go.

"Ma's brilliant, but sometimes she can get a bit carried away and forget the rest of the world though," Kat laughed. "Dad says it's like living with a successful author or something."

[Autumn Michaels]

[Sry it took so long... stupid job]

Autumn listened closely to the story of how Pink was born and smiled. She knew it took a lot of work to get things like that done, and have them be successful. It was a gamble, really, because one could never truly know whether or not the endevour would fly or flop. Honestly, Autumn was glad that it was successful, because she loved the magazine. She laughed a little and nodded. "I can understand that. I mean, it's easy to get carried away doing something you love to do. I do it all the time. After all, it's what gets you through the day sometimes."

She glanced around and sighed. The mall was finally starting to clear out, thankfully and she would be able to get her things soon. She glanced at her watch, still plenty of time to shop and get back. Maybe her roommate had arrived. Looking back at the mother and daughter, she smiled warmly. "I've always thought of going into journalism or something like that. It just seems so interesting."