Nick didn't look in the mirror today. Sure, he could have. He passed precisely nine between the moment he rolled out of bed and the moment he sat down in the make-up chair. But really, what was the point?

Each day they recreated him: smoothed the character from his face, dressed him in stylish clothes, gelled his unruly hair and buffed his nails and told him the right way to smile. They made him perfect.

Nick didn't need a mirror. He just looked into the face of the person who was creating him and the expression there was mirror enough.