The days went by, and I hadn't heard anything from Daniel. I had asked Audrey about what was going on, and she claimed she knew nothing about it, answering with a grunt and a shrug each time. "Come on Audrey, you have to know where Daniel is," I said that Saturday while I was getting ready to go off to Henry's bar for my next gig.

"What can I say?" said Audrey. "You're gonna see him at the bar tonight."

"I just feel like he's avoiding me," I said, looking in the mirror.

"Oh, come on Rowena, don't be silly," said Audrey. "Look, I'll see you at the bar, I think my dad's down there waiting for you."

"Okay, I'll see you later," I said. I turned to leave when Audrey caught me lightly by the shoulder.

"And don't worry about Daniel," she said. I smiled a bit and headed down. Why Daniel was bugging me so much, I didn't know. I didn't have feelings for him; in fact, he annoyed the living daylights out of me on a daily basis, even when he wasn't around. Maybe I just let men get to me too much, like Mr. Holland. I had written to him again to tell him what was going on with Henry to get his advice, and I was impatiently awaiting his reply. I couldn't tell if it was because of feelings or because I really needed his guidance right now. It seemed it was either him or seeing Daniel again that was on my mind lately, and it was driving me insane. When I got down the stairs, Paul was sitting on the couch in the living room waiting for me with his guitar. I walked over to him and stood squarely in front of him of him once I got down.

"So, does the band know what we're gonna end up doing tonight?" I asked, trying to shut the two other men out of my mind.

"Yeah," said Paul, pulling his guitar case over his shoulders. "I'm gonna tell you now, it's bound to piss Henry off, but I like the way you think Rowena."

"If it pisses him off, he's just gonna have to deal with it," I said. "Maybe all of the rock music before that will distract him. Throwing a jazz number in there won't hurt anything if the crowd likes me anyway."

Paul laughed. "Oh Rowena, you never cease to amaze me," he said. "Come on, let's catch a cab before they all drive off."

"Good idea," I said. Paul patted me on the shoulder and the two of us headed out the door. I was very nervous about this particular show; I tried to keep comfort in the fact that Audrey would be there later, and that Paul had been like a father to me since I came to New York. But I had no way of knowing what Henry would pull on me once I got to the bar and when he would find out that the band and I were going to sneak in "As Time Goes By" in the middle of this newfangled rock n' roll set. And also seeing Daniel…it felt strange.

Paul hailed a taxi, and we rode it to the bar as usual. Audrey and Nancy weren't there yet when we got there, but Henry was, with a couple of other, very attractive women, each with huge, layered Farrah Fawcett hair. Paul and I walked in, and Henry's face seemed to light up.

"Well hello Rowena!" he greeted with open arms. He turned to his female…er…friends. "Ladies, this is the lovely Rowena I've been talking so highly of. You think you could do your work on her?"

"Well," said the blonde woman in a sultry voice, twirling her hair. "She's workable…it'll take some time but we'll see what we can do."

"W—workable?" I asked, confused.

"We gotta give you a makeover honey," said the brunette.

"For what, dare I ask?" asked Paul for me.

"Her new look for her new music!" said Henry. "Don't worry buddy, Rowena's in good hands, isn't she girls?"

"The very best!" said blondie.

"I sure hope so…" I mumbled.

"Okay girls, we haven't got all day!" said Henry. "Bring our little songbird into the bathroom and make her pretty!"

"Right away!" said the brunette. She firmly grabbed me by my arm and steered me off to the bathroom, blondie in tow. I looked back at Paul who just stood there and shrugged.

"Okay sweetie, let's get a look at you," said blondie when we got to the bathroom. She pulled up the stool in the corner and pushed me down on it so I could sit in front of the mirror. "Whaddya think Shari?"

"I think it'll be a nice project," said the brunette, Shari. "Brandi, gimme my makeup bag." Blondie Brandi handed Shari her makeup bag and Shari rummaged around in it.

"So…what exactly is this for?" I asked shyly.

"Oh, silly girl," said Brandi. "Henry told you! Your new show! Rock n' roll!"

"Ah…yeah…right," I said. I wasn't sure how I felt about these two bimbos who didn't know a saxophone from a clarinet messing with eyeshadowes and lipsticks on my face, but if it was to keep my job, I supposed it had to be done. I still had a plan to sneak one of my songs in there after all.

"Okay sweetie, we're almost done here," said Shari as she painted on the reddest shade of lipstick I had ever seen onto my lips.

"Shari, I wanted to fix her eyes!" Brandi whined.

"Fine, do it," Shari huffed.

"I can't see what I look like," I said, trying to crane my neck around the two women to get a look in the mirror; they were blocking my way though. "Can I trust you two?"

"Please honey," Shari said, with sass. "We are professionals; we know what we're doing."

"Well I'd like to know what you're doing," I muttered under my breath, frustrated.

"Hold still and you'll see, we'll make you look like Ann Wilson," said Shari. "Brandi, are you done yet?"

"Almost," whined Brandi again. "I'm making the shadow darker!"

"Fine," said an exasperated Shari, rolling her eyes. Brandi roughly spread more shadow and eyeliner on my eyelid; I dared not flinch, or else she would just spend a million more hours trying to fix it.

"Oh damn…" said Shari.

"Dare I ask what happened?" I asked as Brandi was (hopefully) putting on finishing touches.

"We should have dressed you first honey," said Shari.

"Oh no," I said sarcastically. "Whatever are we to do?"

"Watch yourself sweetie, we can do it without smudging," said Shari. "Brandi, are you fucking done yet?"

"Yes, I just finished," said Brandi.

"Okay," said Shari. "You got the clothes?" Brandi nodded and took a handful of clothes and a pair of leather boots out of her bag. I desperately hoped that the small amount of clothing she was holding wasn't my whole outfit. Now that the two women were out of the way, I could clearly see myself in the mirror. What I saw looked nothing like me—I had huge, crimson lips, cheeks that looked like clown makeup, and the eyes that Brandi had practically slaved over were blobs of black and grey shadow with thickly applied eyeliner and false lashes. Ann Wilson? I didn't think so.

"Okay love, put this on," said Shari as Brandi tossed me the clothes and boots.

"If you smudge, just come on back to us and we'll fix it," said Brandi.

"Right away," I said on my way into one of the bathroom stalls. I realized that what I was handed was it…a pair of knee-high leather boots with heels that had to be at least six inches, a tiny snakeskin miniskirt, and a little black leather top, very reminiscent of Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island the way it tied in the front and left little of my torso to the imagination. These clothes were so damn skimpy there was no way in hell putting them on would smudge my makeup. I had everything on and clumsily walked out of the stall; those heels were not going to make the night end well.

"Oh, look at you!" Brandi squealed.

"So sweetie, what do you think?" asked Shari, admiring me.

"I think I look like one of The Runaways," I said, looking at myself in the mirror for the full affect.

"Well that's good then, they're hot," said Brandi.

"Yeah, they're also sixteen," I said.

"Oh, come on hun, aren't you eighteen?" asked Brandi.

"Well…yeah…" I said.

"You're good then," said Brandi. "Right Shari?"

"Yeah," said Shari. "Come on, let's get her out there before Henry gets antsy. He really wants to see her."

"I bet he does," I said. I wondered why exactly I was so skimpily dressed…surely there were other ways to convey rock n' roll in my clothes. What about Converse shoes, or jeans? Something other than what I was wearing now. The women walked me out to the bar where Paul and Henry were still waiting.

"Oh my God girls, well done, well done!" Henry cheered. "Rowena, you look fantastic!"

"I suppose," I said. "If streetwalkers are 'fantastic'," I said.

"Henry, are you sure this was the right thing to do?" asked Paul, obviously uncomfortable. "I think Rowena should keep it…er…classy."

"Oh, but Paul, classy is so overrated!" said Henry. "Sassy is the new classy, don't you forget it."

"Just think Paul," I said. "With what I'm wearing now, the laundry will be a breeze."

"Hey dad, we're here," said Audrey, coming through the door. I noticed with a pang of horror that she had Daniel with her. "Oh wow…" said Audrey when she saw me. "Is that you Rowena?"

"What, you didn't recognize me?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, it's me."

"Damn girl, looking good," said Daniel, looking halfway between repulsed and amused.

"Don't rub it in," I said softly. Daniel was acting like he normally did around me, even though the last time we had seen each other was a few days ago, and on that day he could have kissed me. Was it normal for me to feel jittery here? Or was Daniel just an insensitive little prick?

"Come on Paulie, let's go get a drink on me," said Henry. They and Shari and Brandi went over to the bar, leaving Audrey, Daniel, and me alone in the middle of the dining room.

"I'm going to the bathroom," said Audrey suddenly. As she walked away, she gave me a small wink. I wanted to wring her neck; she left me alone with Daniel on purpose!

"Long time, no see," said Daniel once Audrey was gone. "You look—interesting."

"I know, it's horrible," I said.

"Nah…it ain't that bad," said Daniel, circling me like a vulture. "Man…what am I saying, it's horrible, what the hell did you let them to do you Rowena?"

"I didn't exactly let them," I said. "Your uncle kinda made me. It's a 'new look' to go with my 'new image'."

"Oh, so you're going along with the rock thing?" asked Daniel. "I never thought you would Miss Rowena."

"I'm gonna try and find a way around it," I said. "Don't tell Henry, or anyone for that matter, but I'm gonna sneak in a jazz number in the middle of my set."

"Oh man, that's gonna piss Henry off, that's for sure," said Daniel. "But don't worry Miss Rowena, if he goes at you, I'll be right behind you. You can trust me."

"Nice talk for someone who's been avoiding me for the past few days," I said, the words just slipping out. I started to wish I had never said then until I saw Daniel's features soften and a smile crack on his face.

"Rowena, I wasn't avoiding you," said Daniel. "I just got busy, I promise."

"I suppose I have no choice but to believe you," I said. Just then, the rest of the band entered through the doors. "Hang on Daniel, I have to go do my sound check now."

"Good luck Miss Rowena," said Daniel, not in his usual aloof, sarcastic way, but in a more distant-sounding, stranger way. I had no time to think of a clever rebuttal or any more on the subject anyway; I followed Paul and the band over to the stage to start the sound check right away.

"Oh, hey Rowena, I'm back," said Audrey as she walked out of the bathroom and to the stage. "Miss me?"

"I could kill you," I said, sorting through cords. "Audrey, you know how nervous I was about seeing Daniel here today!"

"Well sorry," said Audrey. "I just thought I should give you two some time alone after what he left you with last time."

"Well nothing happened," I said. "Not here, and not before, I told you what went on. He just played around with me, that's all."

"Ya know Rowena," said Audrey. "No one here, not even Henry, knows Daniel like I do."

"Your point?" I asked, adjusting the microphone stand.

Audrey rolled her eyes. "The point being," she said. "That Daniel likes you."

"Audrey, you're nuts," I said. "Never in a million years would I think a guy like Daniel would have any interest in me, any day."

"Suit yourself," said Audrey. "But don't come crying to me when he asks you out!"

"Oh please," I huffed. "He'll be the one crying if he does that, cause I'll have to turn him down."

"Whatever," said Audrey. She left the stage to go sit with Daniel at a table. Paul came back from the bar to help with the equipment set up.

"What's got Audrey all excited?" asked Paul.

"It's a mystery," I said. "And you just proved it; you're her own father and you don't even know!"

"I'll tell you what Rowena, that girl has always been a mystery," said Paul, shaking his head. "My own daughter and I couldn't tell you what goes on in her head half the time."

"Well she has it in that head of hers that Daniel's hung up on me," I said as Paul plugged his guitar in.

Paul sighed and shook his head. "I dunno what you kids are up to nowadays anyway," he said. "Is everything plugged in where it should be up here?"

"Yeah, from my end," I said. Henry took his place at the soundboard by the bar. "Henry, are we ready?" I asked.

"Start 'er up hot stuff," said Henry. I flinched a bit at that, and Paul saw me. He gave me an apologetic look, not really knowing what to do. I shrugged it off and stepped up to the microphone. The guitars, bass, and drums started up again; the piano wasn't needed for this gig, sadly. It was so different…the guitars were distorted and fuzzy, the drums loud and obnoxious. Rock music was okay in my book, but it wasn't what I wanted to hear on stage backing me up.

The song was "Magic Man" by the group Heart. It was a good song, but I had a feeling that the people watching the show weren't into the music at all. Nope, all the men were hooting and hollering at me because of my knee-high boots, or the mini skirt, or whatever else. I tried to ignore them and go on with the show, but when I saw the piggy little eyes of Henry staring at me hungrily from behind the sound board, something in me snapped. The song had barely ended before I have Paul and the band the signal to start "As Time Goes By."

"But Rowena, don't you want to wait another song or two?" asked Paul. "We were gonna stick it in there near the middle."

"I know Paul, but I can't take this anymore!" I said, meaning all of the negative attention. "I'm either gonna do what I love, or nothing at all. I want to be cheered at for my singing, not my skin."

"You're unstoppable Rowena," said Paul with a smirk. I was glad he understood. He looked back at the band and said, "Okay guys, let's play 'em some jazz!"

"Alright!" said the second guitar player, running down to the piano at the foot of the stage. Henry looked confused, but I didn't care. The piano started, and the rest of the band followed suit. It felt so good to be singing this type of music again! Yeah, I was still—er—showing, but I didn't care. I sung it out and actually sounded good, not all stuffed up and scared when I was singing the song before. I had a smile on my face and I understood the words. I felt carefree and happy, that was until I finished the song and saw the outraged look on Henry's face.

The room fell deathly silent following that. I saw Audrey's worried face, and Daniel's half impressed-half scared for me one. My insides fell to the floor as I saw Henry approach me. Without a thought, I dropped the microphone which landed with an echoey thud and darted off the stage and out the door. Thinking about it, it was probably a stupid thing to do, seeing as I actually wanted a chance at keeping my job, but whatever, damage done. I knew it was dark out, but I went around to the dark side of the bar anyway, desperate to find a place to hide from Henry. He looked pissed-the-fuck-off…I didn't want to know what he was like mad.

I wondered why I did what I did as I heard Henry go off at Paul in the bar…I thought about going in and helping him out, but when I heard Daniel's voice shouting, defending Paul, I thought against it. Paul shouldn't have to suffer for my shortcomings, but I wasn't ready to face Henry yet. But why didn't I just cooperate and sing the rock music? Exposure is exposure after all, no matter what you sing. Then I realized—I wanted to do what I loved, and no one should have to go down for that. Perhaps I'd have to suffer the proverbial music and tell Henry just what I thought, no matter what the consequences were.