Fashion Week had just begun and all of Thneedville was abuzz with activity. Pretty much every fashion designer, fashion model, and fashion icon known in the Land of Seuss was there and everyone was having a great time… well, almost everyone. Martha May wasn't having much fun at all; she wore a silvery white cocktail dress, only this time it wasn't so tight, along with a pair of gray stilettos and her hair put up into a tight bun just like at the benefit.

She sat next to Johanna as she watched the fashion show, which lasted for a total of two hours, and then came the after party. To everyone else, it was a smash; but to Martha, it was more boring than a complete guide to the Dewey Decimal System followed by a six-hour documentary on the History of Yarn. She stood with Heather and Johanna, trying not to look bored.

"Isn't this great, Martha?" Heather asked, unaware of Martha's apparent discomfort.

"Not really, no." Martha muttered, faking a smile.

Johanna turned to her and said, "Why don't you go get us some punch? Just so you won't have to stand here all night."

"Okay, Johanna." Martha said as she went over to the refreshments table.

"Where's she going?" Heather asked.

"She's getting some punch." Johanna said before tensing up; as she watched Martha walking towards the punch bowl, she saw a certain someone heading towards her. "…Oh no."

Martha stood at the punch bowl and filled three glasses, but before she could walk away, she stopped and gawked at the food on the table in front of her. Everything was fake, nothing was real; it almost looked like gelatin.

'Seriously? How could anybody ever call any of this edible?' She thought. 'No Who Pudding? No rare Who Roast Beast? No moose juice or goose juice? No stash of Who Hash? No slew of Beezlenut Stew?! How can anyone possibly indulge in these artificial, practically radioactive sludge balls these people call food?!'

She then felt someone tap her left thigh. She jumped and looked to see a very short man with a stupid looking haircut and wearing a pale gray suit. He was giving her a devilish smile.

"Um, can I help you?" She asked.

"Somebody get me a glass, because I just found myself a very tall drink of water." The man said, trying to sound suave.

Martha grimaced; she had no idea who this man was and he was really giving her the creeps. "Uh… no." She slinked past him and quickly headed over to Johanna with the glasses of punch in hand.

He sneered.

"Here you go, Johanna. You too, Heather." Martha handed Johanna and Heather a cup before taking a nervous sip from her own.

"Thanks." Heather said as she took a sip.

"You don't know who that was, do you?" Johanna whispered into Martha's ear.

"You saw that?" Martha nervously asked.

"Sure did. That was Aloysius O'Hare."

"It was?"

"Yeah. And he doesn't look too happy. Oh, here he comes." The three girls stood straight as Mr. O'Hare came up to them with two large, beefy bodyguards.

"Ah, Johanna Starling. I'm so glad you could make it. It's so nice to see you again." He said, offering his hand to her.

"It's… nice to see you too, Aloysius." Johanna said as she shook his hand, struggling to sound calm.

Mr. O'Hare glanced up at Martha. "So, aren't you going to introduce us?" He raised his eyebrows at the nervous redhead.

"Oh, this is Martha May." Johanna answered. "She's… my new Fashion Consultant, as well as the company decorator."

"Decorator? For what? Parties?" O'Hare scoffed.

"She decorates the office for holidays and special occasions. Last Christmas, she went all out. Trees, lights, carolers, everything. And I must say that I was very impressed."

"Really? That's a new one. You're never impressed, Johanna."

"Well, what can I say? Martha May is… full of surprises."

"You know, Martha May is such a beautiful name." O'Hare took a few steps closer to Martha, which only made her more uncomfortable than she already was.

"I have a boyfriend." Martha quickly said, taking a step away from the small man; she was glad she could finally use that to her advantage.

"Oh… that's a shame." O'Hare said, trying not to sound angry. He snapped his fingers and one of his bodyguards handed Martha a small plastic bottle with O'Hare written on it in big bold letters. "Have a breath of fresh air." He winked at her. "It's on me."

"Uh… thanks?" Martha said uneasily, looking at the bottle in confusion; it was a simple, empty plastic bottle.

Heather nudged her in the ribs and whispered in her ear, "It's a bottle of fresh air. Don't take it for granted."

"…Okay, then."

It was then that two women approached the group. One was slim with fair skin, almond-shaped hazel eyes, and short jet black hair and wearing a deep red cocktail dress and the other had a slightly bigger frame with darker skin, gray eyes, and braided brown hair and wearing an auburn dress with a slightly longer skirt. Johanna turned her head and smiled at them.

"Ah, Esmeralda, Desiree. How lovely to see you again." Johanna said, shaking their hands. "I was starting to think you wouldn't be able to come this time."

"Are you joking, Johanna?" The woman in the red dress, Esmeralda, said with a laugh.

"We wouldn't miss this for the world." Desiree added.

"So how've things been for you girls?" Johanna asked.

Martha stood next to Johanna in silence before she felt something big behind her. Then she felt she was being pushed away from Johanna and Heather; she looked and saw it was Mr. O'Hare's bodyguards. They were leading her away from the party and she had no idea why.

"Uh, excuse me? What are you doing?" She nervously asked. "Where are you taking me? What is going on?"

The guards pushed her to another corner on the other side of the room where nobody can see what was really going on. They looked down at her and stepped aside to reveal Mr. O'Hare approach her. Martha took a step back.

"Mr. O'Hare? What's going on?" She asked. "Johanna is going to wonder where I am."

"Not really." O'Hare answered. "She'll be talking with those girls for a while. From what I can tell, they'll have a LOT of catching up to do." He scooted closer to her and gave her a sly smile. "So, you say you have a boyfriend, huh?"

"Uh, yes. I do."

"And does he know you're out here with Johanna?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't he come with you?"

"He has important work back in Who York. Plus, he wasn't invited."

"Ah, I see." He gently nudged her in the leg with his elbow, which made her even more nervous than before. "Since your boyfriend's not here, why don't you and I get a little…" His guards lifted him up so he was at eye-level with Martha. "…close?"

This made Martha grimace in shock, horror, and disgust. She took a few steps back, nearly dropping her bottle of air in the process.

"Are you out of your mind?!" She screamed. "NO! Not in a million lifetimes!"

Martha's sudden outburst had caused most of the guests turn their heads in her direction, including Johanna and Heather's, but Martha didn't seem to care. O'Hare paused before his shocked expression slowly twisted into an angry snarl; Martha furrowed her brow, folded her arms, and glared at him as he was placed back on to the floor.

"Listen to me, missy." He hissed, waddling closer to her. "You've just made the biggest mistake of your life. If you ever do something this stupid again, I'll be your worst nightmare. I'm Frankenstein's head on a spider's body!"

Martha scoffed. "Do you seriously believe that's going to scare me? I've seen and felt worse."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. And just for the record, Whoville is a much better place to live than Thneedville will ever be."

"Whoville? You mean that dingy, dirty, remote town in the mountains way up north? You're joking. Why would anyone want to live up there?"

"Because everything there is real and everyone is genuinely happy. Oh! And one more thing, Mr. O'Hare." She picked up a stray cup of punch from behind her. "…I'd rather kiss a diseased webbed-footed batula than you ANY DAY." She splashed the cup of punch into O'Hare's face and stomped down hard onto his foot before storming off.

O'Hare cried out in surprise and pain as everyone in the room gasped in shock. Johanna and Heather watched as Martha briskly walked away from everyone and out the door, unable to figure out what just transpired.

"What was that all about?" Desiree asked.

"Someone's either having a bad night or being a poor sport." Esmeralda commented.

Heather and Johanna looked at each other in confusion and remained silent, not sure of how to respond.