Chapter Text
“And that concludes our last show of the day, folks! Thank you so much for attending the Hot Glass Show at the Corning Museum of Glass! We hope to see you back soon.” Amy said into her microphone as the crowd gave a round of applause. Most of the crowd these days was from overseas, mainly from China, Japan, and India. Jennifer stood next to Amy, and the two bowed, earning them another round of applause before the audience exited the hot glass studio.
Jen smiled over at Amy.
“Well, that concludes our day. The crowds were pretty energetic today, don’t you think?” Amy said, smiling as they started to clean up the work area.
“Yeah. But also, I think most couldn’t understand what we were talking about,” Jennifer chuckled. Amy looked over at her glass-blowing friend.
“Jen, you sound so racist,” she chuckled.
“You know better than anyone else I am not a racist… I'm just stating the obvious, that's all.” Jen chuckled as she swept the floor, gathering broken glass and making a neat pile.
Amy smiled as she cleaned the tools Jen had been using only moments ago.
“The vase you made today was absolutely gorgeous, by the way,” Amy said as she put a few tools away.
“Well, thank you. But I’m not done glassblowing for the day.” Jen said as she put all the broken glass into a trash can.
“Oh yeah! How is your piece coming? You're making it for that charity event they are holding in two weeks, right?” Jennifer wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded.
“Yup. And it's coming along good, actually. Just a few more things to add, and it'll be done.” She said happily.
“What is the charity event for Jen?” Amy asked as she finished up.
“It’s for the organization Unicef. They help poor countries or something. I don’t really know much about them. What I do know is that there are going to be a lot of A-list celebrities there.” Amy’s eyes went wide at the sound of famous people.
“Really!?! Can I come?! PLEASE!” she begged with stars in her eyes.
“For that very reason. No.” Jen said, chuckling. Amy frowned and pouted.
“I never get to have any fun…” she muttered softly.
Jen moved a strand of her blonde hair out of her face as she looked at the work area.
“Well. Looks like it will be ready for another round of shows tomorrow,” Amy said as she stood next to Jen.
“Yup..” Jen said softly.
“Alright, well, I have to get out of here. Brad is taking me out to dinner tonight.” Amy said with a bright smile. Jen smiled at her redheaded friend.
“Oh? Where is he taking you tonight?” she asked as she walked with Amy.
“To The Gaffer. You know Jen. You really need a boyfriend.” Amy said, smiling.
“No, I don’t, Amy. I am an independent woman, and I don’t need no man in my life.” Jen said, rolling her eyes with a chuckle.
“Besides. Unlike you, I have things I need to focus on. I don’t need any distractions.” Now it was time for Amy to roll her eyes.
“Oh yes. Because you lead such an exciting life.” She said sarcastically.
“You need to live a little. You’re always cooped up here at The Studio. There’s more to life than just glass.” Amy said with a small frown.
“Amy, I’m fine. I have a whole life to do that. I'm only 30.” Jennifer said as they got to the back entrance of the museum.
“Have fun tonight, ok?” Jen said as they stood outside.
“I will, don't worry. Don't stay up all night working on your masterpiece. You have two more weeks.” Jen just waved her off and began walking across the street to The Studio.
She walked through the main public entrance and walked through the Make Your Own Glass area to get to the workshop. There were a few people packing up, but everyone was heading out for the day except for Jen. They all smiled at her as they left while she prepared her materials.
Jen took out the parts she had made the night before out of the annealing oven and set them down someplace safe but close to her workstation. She had been working on this piece for months now, and she couldn’t believe she was almost done. And the thought that some celebrity might buy it and have it in their homemade her head spin.
She attached the pieces she had made the night before to the main piece and made sure everything was positioned right before moving on to make the last remaining pieces she would need to complete the work of art. She took a long metal rod and got some molten glass on the end, and began molding and forming the glass to what she wanted. Jen did this over and over again until she was happy with the pieces she had created.
She made sure to put everything she made carefully into the annealing oven before she cleaned up her station and made sure that it was ready for someone else to use.
Jennifer yawned as she walked outside to her car. She pulled her jacket closer to her body as the chilly October wind rushed by, a trail of colorful leaves following. It was now pitch dark out, making Jen wonder what time it was. She got in her car and saw the clock on the dash that read the wrong time. She needed to set the clock one hour ahead, but she didn’t know how, and she was too lazy to look up how to. The clock read 9:33 pm, making it 10:33 pm.
She ran her hands over her face and started her blue 2007 Toyota Camry. She turned on the radio and turned down the volume, so it was softly playing in the background, just enough to keep her awake if she started to fall asleep. Jen drove home on the dimly lit streets of Corning, New York.
It was quiet for a Thursday, but she didn’t think much of it. Corning was a pretty small town. After about 10 minutes, she was back home and exhausted. She quickly ate a little bit of yesterday's leftovers before heading to bed. She always forgets how soft and comfortable her bed really is when she lays down for the night. She turns on the tv in her room, putting on some sitcom that she could care less about. It was just something to fall asleep to. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, but with sleep came dreams. And with dreams came nightmares.
Jennifer tossed and turned until she woke a few hours later, breathing heavily. She ran her hands down her face and sighed.
“Why won't they stop…?” She muttered softly. She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, and tried to fall back asleep.