Friday the 13th – 6:35 A.M.

The Same Morning.

"This is it, this is it!"

Waking up with a large smile on her face, Joy jokingly rocked out to the cheerful tune of her ringtone as the sound of it rang throughout her small apartment. It was the same Triple Dent gum jingle that she had been listening to since she was in high school.

"Triple dent gum will make you smile, Triple dent gum- it'll last a while! Triple dent gum will help you mister to punch that breath right in the kisser."

"Triple dent guuuum! Ah, I love it!" the young woman giggled, eagerly jumping out of bed.

To say that she was simply excited would have been a major understatement. She was ecstatic; ready to get to work and ready to get back into the ring, because she was a lawyer, dammit! After taking her short leave of absence, the only thing that the woman wanted was a second opportunity to fight for what was right. She wanted to fight for the people; to help the people. The smile on her face was unstoppable, because today was the woman's first interview with a new potential law firm, and Joy Dee Light could barely reign in her enthusiasm.

"Triple dent gum- la, la, la," Joy happily hummed, as she rummaged through her shoes, "Triple dent gum- do, da, da!"

Digging deeper into the pile, the woman swayed her hips along to the mental song that played within her mind. Mindlessly, she threw the unwanted pairs behind her. Nope, nada, zilch; why would I buy that? Uh-uh. What? As if!

Eventually Joy cheered, pulling out a slim and beautiful black pair of pumps. "Eureka!"

"Gotta look good for the exec!" she enthused, sashaying out of her closet.

The woman sauntered back into her bedroom, stopping only to pause in her doorway and stare adoringly at the dress that she had laid out carefully over the end of her bed the night before.

"Mindy really outdid herself. Gosh, it's so beautiful… I mean, seriously, this seriously has to be one of the best dresses that I have ever s-"

Suddenly, her phone began to ring.

Joy paused, before suddenly laughing and mouthing along with it, as she hopped across her room to pick up her cell phone.

"Triple dent gum will make you smile, Triple dent gum- it'll last a while!"

"Well speak of the devil."

Joy clicked the 'ok' button and raised the piece of technology up to her ear, singing, "Triple dent guuuuum! Oh, hello there Mindy. What's up?"

Her friend only scoffed at her through the line, forcing a serious edge into her voice. Ever the perfectionist as usual, Joy silently mused from her side of the line.

"Are you wearing the dress I made you?" Mindy immediately questioned, airily glancing down at her finely manicured nails, "You know that I would be upset if you wore anything less than perfection."

Joy could hear the minor threat that was hidden in the younger woman's words, and she physically swallowed down at her sudden slight trepidation.

Enthusiastically, she chirped with a toothy smile, "Yep, and I was just about to change into it! The dress is absolutely beautiful, too. Thank you so much for tailoring it for me. I cannot imagine how long it must have taken you to make it."

"Yes, well it did take a while… but only the best for you Joy."

Joy heard the sincerity in Mindy's voice and cheekily giggled, tactfully musing, "Ya know, it is still so amazing how we are both such good platonic friends with Red; San Francisco's resident hot ass. I mean, just who would have imagined that such a big brute like him could ever have a pair of such beautiful, intelligent, and very eligible women as his best friends, huh? I can't believe that we met through him though. Hey, remember how angry he got at us last weekend?"

"When he was stomping around the apartment like a big baby?"

"And pouting like a child-"

"Cursing at the sky-"

"Dammit Joooooy!" Joy yelled, guffawing loudly through her speaker.

The pair of women then laughed together, until Mindy took on a slightly embarrassed tone, and she awkwardly cleared out her throat, before audibly choking down an indignant noise from her side of the call.

"Well the man is not that bad Joy… Although, he is sort of temperamental... And loud… And humongous. But really, all Redford truly needs to do is just shave that long, overgrown and orangey-red beard off of his face, so that he will finally have some women interested in him-"

"Women like you," Joy helpfully quipped.

The short, dark haired woman could only let out a low groan at that, before she felt utterly flustered, abruptly faltering over her words.

"N-Not that I'm saying I like him."

Joy laughed, "And he's also the reason why I am now the owner of such a lovely and gorgeous dress-"

"Psssh Joy, just what kind of person are you making me out to be? L-Like I would ever go and make you a dress just so that I could get in Red's good graces. I m-mean, we're friends Joy… You do know that we're friends, right?"

Joy could practically hear Mindy's shoulders sag in submission, and the girl's souring tone combined with her sad question made Joy smile softly. She felt her heart tighten. Though the two women had only been getting to know each other for the past few months, the pair was quickly becoming bonded, almost like sisters, and it made the older woman feel somewhat guilty for playfully teasing Mindy.

"Aw, I know that we're friends Min-Min, which is exactly why I will be seeing you this Saturday! I am buying, so hopefully I can snag this job just so I can afford it."

Mindy laughed, gradually becoming eased by Joy's assurance even if she still was not too used to having a female friend to talk to… As an outcast, the woman had never really had that many friends over the years, but she was steadily becoming used to the comforts of having a female companion, her first real girl pal, and it was all thanks to Red. Unknown to him, he was the woman's rock. Mindy's red-headed hero in faintly fuming armor.

"And don't worry," Joy abruptly joked, sporting a Cheshire-like grin since Mindy could not see her, "It's okay buddy. I'll make sure to talk you up to him. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure that he likes you too. Hmm… is it too early to say 'marriage'?"

Mindy blushed, coughing embarrassedly into the phone.

"M-Marriage? Oh, Joy you can't be serious!"

"You bet your pretty ass I am!"

"Y-You really think so?"

Joy grinned, "Of course! So you make sure you've got your partying shoes on for tomorrow. Whelp, I've gotta go now! Time to dress up all hot and sexy for this job interview-"

"You're a dork," Mindy smirked, "Still, I believe in you. Knock em' dead Joy."

"Got it! Also…" the lawyer trailed off.

Mindy paused.

Curiously, she asked, "Also, what Joy?"

It was a long moment of silence, before the woman in question finally sniggered evilly.

"Buh-bye future Mrs. Redford Hot."

"Joooy!" Mindy cried, as the older woman finally hung up on her.

Joy stopped cold. Immediately, she began to chortle at her own hilarity, and grabbed the dress, throwing it over her body. A smile broke out across her features at its softness; the absolute yellowness of the fabric fitting nicely against her curves and hugging her in all of the right places. Her blue eyes brightened, as she took in her appearance through her bathroom mirror, quickly running into the kitchen to begin cooking herself a quick breakfast of eggs and toast.

"Eggs, eggs, eggs," she muttered her appetite's mantra, rapidly reaching into the pantry above her stove to pull out her seasonings. Just as she was about to sit her container of salt on the counter, her fingers clumsily slipped, making the tiny figure of glass fall onto the counter and spill a few grains of salt.

"Oops, I've got this," Joy rapidly piped, grabbing at the pieces of salt with the tips of her fingers and tossing it religiously over her shoulder, "Oh, you can't get me world."

The woman then confidently strode toward her fridge, sashaying her hips as she threw the bottom portion of it wide open. A wave of cold hit her, and an artificial light from within the fridge glossed over her. Smiling, she bent to look inside.

"Jobless women can't afford any bad luck today!"