Chapter 28. Juliet, the Model
Juliet, the Model
PRESENT DAY
Luca Clearwater bounded across the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to a shouting, whooping, whistling crowd, taking her place in a patch of sun, like God himself had provided the spotlight for this event.
Summer had dawned bright and early in the Hollywood Hills, and the iconic arched bandshell of the Bowl reflected both the sounds of the audience and the music of the surrounding trees, as if it were all one symphony.
Juliet squeezed Miranda’s hand so she didn’t faint.
“This is crazy!” Miranda’s shout was barely discernible above the cheering. “I’d never even heard of this woman, and she filled the Bowl.”
“Yeah, well, we don’t exactly run in the CNN crowd.” Cybele’s arms were crossed.
Luca seized the microphone and waved for quiet.
It had taken Juliet days of begging to get the girls to come with her to this event—but even if they hadn’t, she would’ve come alone, because Luca had personally invited her.
It had been a thrill to see Luca’s name pop up in her inbox mere hours after Juliet had messaged her in the gym, telling her she would be in LA soon, and the two of them should meet.
“She’s not just a talking head,” Juliet promised.
“Have you seen her résumé? She’s incredibly impressive.
” Luca was a Harvard Law grad, a Fulbright Scholar, and the founder of the Green Lions, and she was only in her early thirties.
Juliet had recently received her GED certificate in the mail.
To be taken seriously by this woman felt better than when Scout had looked at her across the Serpent Room dance floor and waved her past the velvet rope.
When the audience settled into anticipatory silence, Luca began.
“Do you know,” she said, in the deep voice that had enraptured Juliet on the news, “that this venue where we stand used to be a community center? The Hollywood Bowl was originally built for the people of Los Angeles, and it had a mandate to keep its ticket prices low so everyone could attend. Decades ago, it was used for political rallies. Celebrities have been arrested here, back when they were willing to take those kinds of risks.”
Even as far back as Juliet was standing, she could see Luca’s eyes sweep the crowd. “I chose to come here tonight because I thought it was time to bring back a little of that old ethos to the Bowl. What do you say?”
The crowd cheered, including Miranda and Cara. Only Cybele remained watchful.
“I’m here to let you in on a secret. We’re approaching an inflection point in history.
” Luca’s voice rang out with preternatural clarity.
“The extreme hoarding of wealth has become a moral problem. It’s affecting our democracy and our environment.
Reshaping our rights. If you aren’t a millionaire or billionaire, you’re a second-class citizen in a country where that isn’t supposed to exist.”
Beside her, Cybele cocked an eyebrow—and for the first time, it occurred to Juliet that Cybele might be a millionaire.
She’d had that recent run of successful campaigns, hadn’t she?
Juliet thought of her own father’s stroke, her mother’s frantic attempts to keep her younger brothers fed, her weekly deposits into her parents’ bank account.
Maybe she and Cybele were less alike than she’d thought.
Luca began to pace on stage. “Since we’re here in LA, let’s also talk about the city’s most famous industry. Not only do they have money, but celebrities are rich with social capital. And what do they use it for? Starting podcasts. Getting front-row seats at fashion shows. Brand sponsorships.”
“Okay, lady,” Cybele said loudly. Heads turned.
Cheeks hot with the attention, Juliet looked down the line of her friends.
They were uniformly beautiful. Sample-size thin.
Dressed in serious-girl cosplay, an Ulla Johnson midi-dress and prescription-less glasses on Cara, Loewe slacks on Miranda, a Veronica Beard tweed set on Reiko.
All of it so expensive. Like actors playing a role.
With a sinking feeling, Juliet turned to the crowd surrounding them, noting the sea of distressed jeans and T-shirts. No makeup or platform heels or car-payment handbags in sight.
Her friends might as well have WE’RE THE PROBLEM tattooed on their foreheads. Gently, she dropped Miranda’s hand.
“Think about the age we’re entering,” Luca continued, her sweeping gait across the stage as mesmerizing as a swinging pendulum, a ticking clock.
“Rage between men and women has reached a fever pitch. Men dehumanize women, women make monsters out of men—most of them deserving,” she said, to rowdy cheers.
“Not to mention failing health care systems, skyrocketing debt, broken immigration. On and on. It’s almost too much to hold in your head. ”
Out of the corner of her eye, Juliet saw Miranda nodding. Even Cybele watched with begrudging interest.
“In the midst of all this paralyzing uncertainty,” Luca said, “it’s important to focus on concrete goals.
” Her voice—it was the voice of a leader, confident and reassuring.
Juliet had the sudden strange longing to sit at her feet.
“Which brings me to the real reason we’re here tonight.
The only goal that matters from now until November.
We must stop Gabriel Knox from getting elected to the highest office in the land. ”
The entire venue erupted into cheers and shouts, forcing Luca silent for a moment.
“He represents an existential threat to women,” she shouted, meeting the crowd’s volume, the air in the Bowl charged.
“And to anyone who isn’t a one percenter, the poor and downtrodden and huddled masses.
That’s why we need you and everyone you know to join us in a demonstration of our voice.
Let’s show the world that Knox’s home state says no to tyrants.
” She raised her fist. “That even after all these years, and all the hits we’ve taken, we still have some goddamn fight left in us! ”
Miranda gripped Juliet’s shoulder, her fingers digging in.
The rally exploded with noise.
Juliet wiped her hands on her jeans as the door opened and two stoic women with earpieces swept inside the room. Her palms were sweating worse than they did during go-sees.
The security guards propped the door open, and suddenly Luca Clearwater was inside the room.
Up close, she was even more striking, raven hair stick-straight, features so symmetrical they looked like they’d been drawn with a ruler.
She was an average height, only reaching Juliet’s shoulders, but somehow she managed to look down at all of them as she held their eyes.
Luca stuck out her hand. “My new friend Juliet Stone. It’s a pleasure to meet you. ”
Juliet was struck by the urge to confess that her real name was Snodgrass and she’d abandoned it out of sheer vanity.
There was something about Luca’s piercing gaze that demanded honesty.
But she squelched the compulsion and simply shook Luca’s hand, hoping Luca couldn’t feel her sweat. “You were amazing out there.”
She smiled. “Thank you. I was excited to get your email.” She turned to the other women. “You’re all members of Our Ladies of the Dark?”
Cybele snorted. Juliet’s face flushed. “Oh, we’re not—I just used that name in my message because I knew you’d recognize it. We don’t actually call ourselves that.”
“We’re adults.” Cara adjusted the thick black frames of her eyeglasses. “Not a high school club.”
Luca gave them a small smile. “We find having a name pretty unifying in the Green Lions.”
Juliet’s blush flamed higher.
“But that’s neither here nor there.” Luca stuck her hands in the pockets of her trousers, winningly casual. “What matters is you’re doing good work.”
“Your opinion of the work celebrities do sounds pretty low,” Cybele said.
“It is,” Luca admitted. Her security guards stood behind her with their hands folded in front of them, wearing neutral expressions. “But I’m thinking you’re not like most.”
“Was it the New York Times article that tipped you off?” Miranda joked, her peacemaking instincts out in full force. “If so, our lawyers advise us to deny everything.”
Luca’s smile widened. “Listen. These days, I might spend most of my time in DC, but I grew up in LA. It will always be my home. And one hears things. Especially about potential allies.”
Juliet’s heart lifted.
“Which is why I’m glad to meet you.” Luca’s voice was earnest. “I’ll lay my cards out.
My organization is desperate for a wider audience.
If we had the kind of platforms you do—especially Scout, with her Instagram following blowing up—it would be a game changer.
One arrest, and you’re already dominating the news—”
“Not arrest,” Miranda corrected. “Scout hasn’t been charged.”
“My mistake. But it proves my point: You’re already reaching young women the Green Lions have been trying to form a relationship with for years.
You’ve got young people so fired up they’re starting to look for ways to act.
Do you know how rare that is? How hard? I do this for a living, so trust me when I say: You could do so much good if you were willing to come out of the shadows.
” Luca’s teeth were straight and white. “And get your hands dirty with us.”
“Of course we’re willing,” Juliet said, still reeling from the respect in Luca’s voice. “I’m sure we could convince Scout.”
“Hold your horses.” Cybele crossed her arms. “I’m not saying I like Gabriel Knox any better than the next girl, but you seem to be planning a war. Why should we sign up to march on the front lines? In case you haven’t heard, we’re already in enough trouble.”
Luca studied them for a moment. “I’ll tell you something I don’t tell most people,” she said quietly.
“A lot of the women who join the Green Lions come to me drowning in guilt over who they’ve been in the past. They’re haunted by women they’ve let down, friends they didn’t watch out for, sisters and mothers and aunts who suffered, and they didn’t do enough.
But they’re awake now. They want to make amends. ”
The pull of Luca’s gaze was magnetic. “I have this theory: Women are experiencing a period of sped-up evolution. Scientists call it epigenetics, phases of fast transformation, when an entire subset of a species mutates quickly to respond to the demands of their environment. Women are starting to understand that things aren’t just going to magically work out for us—we’re not just going to eternally move forward on the timeline of progress.
We need to become something different if we’re going to survive the coming world—the political division, the environmental damage, the social upheaval.
Men aren’t evolving at the same rate. They simply don’t have to; it’s not being demanded of them. ”
Luca took a step closer, and Juliet’s heart beat harder. “You ask me why you should sacrifice, be on the front lines,” Luca said. “But let me ask you a question. What kind of women have you been all your lives? Is there anything you need to repent for?”