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Tessa kept all that to herself. Instead, she forced a smile and said, “Hollywood is the land of opportunity. I think it’ll work out for me.”

Tiffany appraised her through clearly condescending eyes for another moment before simply shaking her head yet again and stomping off.

Tessa sighed, grabbed the mop from the bucket, and got busy.

Fifteen more minutes. She could do this.

Right?

The following morning, Tessa awoke bright and early.

It felt strange not to be going downtown to the Donnely Building to start work. She’d done so since she was sixteen years old. Even in high school, she’d wake up early, go to work before the sun was out, do her job until it was time to leave for class, then head right back after school and get to work once again.

There hadn’t been any time for extracurricular activities, but it had helped her family make ends meet. That was all that mattered.

It seemed like so long ago now.

Well, the high school part. Not the work part. Because work was what she’d done since graduating. Often six days a week.

And if the Donnely Building had been open on Sundays, it likely would have been seven.

“No reason to dwell on it,” she said as she appraised herself in the mirror. “As of this morning, your job with the Donnelys is the past. Hollywood is your future!” She squealed in excitement and looked at her stuffie—a tattered plush bear wearing a pink dress sitting on the vanity by the sink—and said, “Today is the day. We’re finally going to Hollywood, Buttercup!”

Buttercup just kept smiling at her.

“We’ll start a new career. And we’ll get to be with other Littles. It’s going to be amazing!”

She picked up the bear and hugged her.

“I wish I could hold you all day. But I’m going to keep you in the suitcase,” Tessa explained. “It’s a long trip to California and I don’t want to lose you on the bus.”

They would be on the Greyhound for a couple of days. It would be boring, but so worth it! Besides, maybe she’d get to sit by a window and be able to see parts of the United States she’d never seen before.

Well, she hadn’t seen any of it, she realized.

She’d never been farther than fifty miles outside Pittsburgh.

So, if there was a bright side to the long, arduous journey ahead, it was that she’d experience lots of new places, even if it was just out a window.

Before she climbed on the bus, though, she still had a couple of things to do. She checked the clock on her phone.

Two hours left.

Plenty of time.

After taking one last look around her small boxy apartment to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she put Buttercup in her rolling suitcase, zipped it up, and then grabbed the handle.

Just one more stop, and then it would be time to set out on her grand adventure…

“Good morning, Mr. Banks! How are you feeling today?” Tessa asked the elderly man.

He was sitting in the large dining hall of the senior center, wearing a smile like he always did. Standing, he tipped the ball cap he wore that proudly displayed his Korean War service. “Good morning, Tessa. Oh, I’m pretty good for an old geezer.”

That was his answer every time Tessa asked, but he always grinned as if it was the first time she’d ever heard it.

“Are you ready for your big trip?”

“I am,” she replied. “But I’ll miss you and everyone else.”