"Expectations, Mallory"
Just being beautiful isn't enough, of course. She lays on the couch in the front room (not the one in the back room; that one has a different purpose), trying to look meaningful. But just like every other time, she's forgotten how much the cushions swallow her body, so she ends up feeling dramatic and silly.
Even so, she's a little more confident each time. It's not something anyone explained to her, but she's gotten the routine down. You get here, you settle in, you try and find things to talk about. Mallory sort of knew one of the other girls who used to come here, and sometimes she thinks about bringing that up, but then Nidra went off to play in a bigger city, so maybe that's not a good conversation starter? So she drinks her bourbon, turns on her charm, and holds her pose. She smiles wryly to herself.
Very few people, she's realizes, appreciate the challenges of being a muse.