"I'm going to give it a shot, just for fun."
"Seriously, Jessica, come on. Let's go. Not only will your parents kill you, but it will piss Ben off."
"I just want to get some information, that's it. They won't be calling me. I mean, look at me," I said, throwing my arms out to my sides.
Alison let out a laugh at my gesture, and then we heard a lady's voice ask, "Can I help you, ladies."
"Oh, hi! I am interested in—" I hadn't even gotten the words out of my mouth when she shoved a clipboard and pen into my hand.
"Fill these forms out, and as soon as you return the release forms and the attached questionnaire, we will take a couple quick photos." She turned and walked away before I could ask her questions.
I shrugged, looked down at the forms, then to Alison, and walked over and took a seat on a bench. She sat down beside me and pulled out her phone while I began filling out the three forms. A half hour later, I wasin a changing room with some select outfits. I changed into the first one and stepped out behind the camera where the impatient lady took a slew of photos. This went on until I had been photographed in all of the outfits.
"Are you sure your friend isn't interested?" the lady asked through the curtain as I finished changing back into my own clothes.
"Yeah, I’m sure," I mumbled.
"It's an exceptional opportunity. She should give it a go."
I let out a laugh. "She won't, so don't bother."
Once I changed, I grabbed my purse and walked across to where Alison sat, looking bored out of her mind. I felt bad for making her waitso longand was hoping she wasn't too angry with me.
"Have you traveled the world enough now?" she asked, annoyed, as she lookedat her watch. "Ben called me looking for you, since you didn't answer your phone."
"You didn't tell him what I was doing, did you?" I questioned as I grabbed my bags from beside her.
"No, I just said you were trying on clothes."
"Great, thanks. I'm sorry about making you wait. It was so fun, and for a minute, I saw what it would be like to be in that world. It was probably a waste of time because they sure won't be calling me. Let's go." I pulled my phone from my purse and quickly sent a text to Ben.
Chapter 3
Ben - 6 months later
It was Friday night, and Jess and I sat in silence in my car looking out over the view of the city. This was another one of our special quiet places to come and be together and watch the twinkling lights from the city below.
"It's beautiful up here," Jessica murmured.
A breeze blew, and I caught the scent of the cherry blossoms in the air. "So what made you want to come all the way up here?" I asked, taking hold of Jessica's hand and bringing it to my lips. "We could have gone to the drive-in or something."
"I wanted to talk to you about something." Jess shrugged and looked over at me.
"Okay." I felt the unease in her stare, and suddenly I was afraid of what she had to say. I knew Jess had been struggling since we had graduated college, but she wouldn't tell me with what.
"Six months ago, they held a model search at the mall. I had totally forgotten they were even coming. Anyway, I filled out their application form and had some pictures taken." Jessica reached down into her bag and pulled a brown envelope from her purse and handed it to me.
"What is this?" I questioned.
"Open it!" she said, clasping her hands together and bringing them up under her chin like she did when she was excited about something.
I slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a thick stack of papers. On top sat some beautiful images of Jessica, which I flipped through slowly, taking them in. "These are amazing pictures of you. It was nice of them to send them to you. I love this one," I said, holding up what I thought was one of the best shots of her.
"Yeah, they are great, but that isn't all they sent me," she said, the excitement building in her voice. She reached over and pulled the images off the thick pile of paperwork, producing what looked to be a contract. "Two weeks ago, they called and presented me with an enormous opportunity, and here it is! All in black and white." She squealed. "I waited to tell you until I got the paperwork."
I began reading the letter that sat on top. Words like contract, New York, California, moving. They were the ones that jumped out at me, and I felt my chest getting tight at the thought of her going away. I swallowed hard. "What does all this mean, Jessica?"
"It means they are offering me a modeling contract in the big city, Ben. It's my dream come true. I'll get to model and see the sights, and I am so excited that I wanted to share this with you in our special place."