Styling hair is a much more important part of life in Darrow than it ever was in D.C. I have always cared about making sure that my hair looks presentable and professional, but in D.C. all that meant was making sure that I blow-dried and used a little bit of spray if it was too frizzy. Here, people spend a lot of time on their hair. Almost all the women I work with use pincurls overnight, and they spend so much time brushing their hair into nice waves in the morning. it's unfortunate that nobody here respects the success perm.

For men, hairstyles involve lots of product and very precise comb-overs. I am fantastic at them because of the fact that I practice so much with Magnus.

But first, blowdry until barely damp. I make sure to point the drier away from his face so that it does not burn his skin.

"Yes. First thing in the morning, she gave me the details," I tell him. I watch his expression in the mirror. I know what we're both probably thinking — if only it led home. "It apparently leads to another version of Darrow. Same landscape, mostly the same streets too. But reports say that the fashion there is very different, and technology is not as advanced as here. It's kind of creepy, don't you think?"