7. Lessons, Licenses, and Appointments
105 0 5
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

We went to an empty parking lot. 

“Up front is the speedometer, then the tachometer is right next to it. Your limbs are independent. On your right side, you’ll be breaking, and on the left is the gears and clutch. The right side of your handlebars has the kill switch, which is used to turn off the engine. The start switch is right below it. You see your mirrors, which help you minimize your blind spots. The lever on the bar is called the front break and the throttle is where you’ll have your right hand.”

He continued on and on.

“The rear brake is near the right foot, so it’s easily accessible. When breaking, you should push down on the rear and pull the front brakes at the same time. Else, you could lose control. The foot pegs are further back. Now onto the left side. You control the horn and blinker with your left hand, like you would with a car. It’s the button and the switch on the handlebars. Then the left lever is called the clutch. You hold it down to change gears, which is the bottom right pedal. Neutral is in the middle of first and second gears.”

“Okay, I got it. How do you change gears though? Is there a specific order?”

“Yeah, so if you’ve ever driven a manual car, you’d need to go to higher gears as your speed gets faster. Same applies to motorcycles. As your speed increases, you go to a higher gear. Press the clutch and press down on the pedal to go into first gear. Then you transition into second gear, which would be going past neutral and to the top. When changing to third and other gears, you hold the clutch and go back to neutral and bring the pedal to the top. Repeat for each gear except first.”

“I see!!! That’s simple to understand.”

“Right? That’s about all you need to know about the motorcycle’s controls. If you have any questions, let me know. You’re going to try them out yourself, so you can remember the information easier.”

“Understood.”

I got on the bike and played with the controls. I familiarized myself with them and our time soon came to an end.

It was soon 9:20. We left the lot and he dropped me back from where he picked me up from.

The next day, I repeated my schedule and rode Kevin’s friend’s motorcycle.

I started out slow and easy, then I gradually sped up. I fell numerous times, but thankfully, it wasn’t fast.

It was just like riding a bike, but with power.

With each day, Kevin and I grew closer and closer.

By now, a month has passed.

Kevin and I were practically best friends. We rode motorcycles every day. His friends had so many different types of bikes, and I rode them all. I can’t believe they let me. It was so thrilling and I made lots of friends.

I had work and modeling gigs weekly. By this time, I had earned what I owed and was now earning money for myself. Tina and I got along really well.

My schedule changes every week. I’ll go from learning how it’s made to how to apply. This goes for everything. When I was in the chemistry part of the cosmetics department, I learned how they make the makeup, and the next week, I learned how to apply it.

I learned how to style more hairstyles, dye hair properly, cut hair, and more the first week, and gave new ideas for hairstyles the second week.

Then the first week, I learned all about designing clothes and why they use math when designing and how important everything really is, no matter how small. The second week, I started helping with designs and did some designing myself.

I just kept learning and learning. I’d do photoshoots every now and then to get some quick cash. I was cooperative and the crew didn’t have a problem with me, so that was great.

As I adapted to the changes and a working environment, I came to pick up on some very useful, yet unexpected skills.

For instance, because Tina would often get in my face and also since I lived with her, I started getting desensitized. The first few weeks, she was wary of me, but then she relaxed around the house.

She used to only stay in her room unless it was dinner or breakfast. She started walking around the house in loose clothing. Sometimes with not much on. And I got desensitized to her behavior and looks.

She’s like a big sister to me, so I didn’t care much for it.

And since the professionals at work were helping me and giving me feedback, my skills improved greatly and I started to think independently.

I got a picture from every photoshoot as well. And I needed to go buy a bigger suitcase for when I left for my home.

If I was being honest, I never once thought it was boring being here. But since I have a month left, I’d better make the most of it.

I became a reliable person in the company in a month. So much, that my coworkers would often ask me for tips. I feel at home here. It’s almost funny.

I had told Kevin that I could not ride with him for at least 12 days because I wanted to get my drivers and motorcycle license. And to do so, I needed to get at least 50 hours of experience.

Each day, I went to work, helped around and played my part in the company, then practiced driving.

It was a struggle because I was new. It’s scary driving someone’s car knowing you could break it.

Last year, I took the online course for Drivers safety. But I could never actually practice because my mother was in the hospital. I had my learner’s permit, but now I was actually practicing.

And so, at the end of 11 days, I got the requirement for the number of hours. I went to the DMV with Tina, since I asked her to be my stand-in guardian.

I took the driver’s test and passed after all my hard work. It wasn’t all that hard. All I needed to do was park normal, parallel park, reverse, 3 point turn, and use my signals for turning.

At the end of it, they gave me my license and I was now eligible to drive. The next thing I needed to do was my motorcycle class so I could obtain a license. 

It took me 4 days because what I needed to do monopolized most of my time. I used my free time to complete the course. Kevin and his friends cheered me on when I told them I’d be taking the course.

I finally obtained my license. The test was easier than expected because I took my driving course a year ago and still retained the information.

It was 15 days into the second month and I was getting sad. The time I spent with the employees and with Kevin was really fun.

I had bonded with the chiefs of each department. Yes, even Teagan. He warmed up to me eventually.

For the remaining 14 days before I started to pack my things, I worked on some projects with the design department. The workers got a challenge. 

It was basically to receive a piece of clothing and modify it yourself. It had to be done within seven days and in the last week of the month, it’d be on display and people would vote which was the best one. They would even do a public survey and whoever got the most votes got a bonus.

The prize money for first place was $2,000, second place was $1,000, and third place was $500.

I was excited. I was handed a pair of black jeans.

I brainstormed for two days worth of free time, and finally got an idea.

The clothes I wear most often are black and white colors. What if I created a black and white fade?

I got a big bucket and filled it with water, then I added bleach. After doing that, I put a little less than half the jeans in the bucket and waited for 90 minutes. 

I slowly stirred the water around every once in a while.

When 90 minutes passed, I took the jeans out and rinsed them with gloves on. Normally, I wouldn’t have to use gloves, because I wouldn’t be touching the bleach, but the fade kinda required me to do so.

I started rinsing the jeans and let some of the bleach settle in a spot that wasn’t in the bucket.

After rinsing the jeans for 10 minutes, I washed out all the bleach and let them dry.

The next day, when I went over to the jeans, and looked at them. They were black at the top and white at the bottom. The fade wasn’t much of a fade, so I decided to lightly “paint” them a lighter color.

I got a small container and poured some bleach and water in it. I took a paintbrush and got it wet.

Then, I quite literally painted the bleach on and waited a few minutes to wash it out. 

I repeated this process multiple times on each pant leg to get the result I wanted.

It was Friday, and the due date was Sunday at 10 PM.

In addition to the fade, I decided to add some zippers and a smaller loop under the front left belt loop and one in the back belt loop. I went to Home Depot and bought a small chain. They cut it to the length I asked for and I went to pay.

When I got back to the penthouse, I used a chain connector for each of the small loops and hooked the chain on it.

This took about two days.

When it was Sunday, I turned in my project and proceeded to my work.

During this past week, I haven’t only been experimenting with dye and making my project. I also learned how to make someone’s skin glow using highlighter and how to do advanced eye makeup. Not only that, but I also learned how to define eyebrows.

I got yelled at.. A lot, but it was worth it because I was showing results. I often asked questions regarding how to do things and added my own input.

And in the styling department, I continued to style peoples’ hair. The girl, whose hair I did on the first day I arrived, came back with her aunt, who was a movie star.

I styled her hair like a princess and we not only swapped business cards, but she told me she’d recommend me to others. 

Because I passed both license tests, Tina gave me a HUGE stack of my business cards that she made for me. It had my name (Shay), number, YouTube channel, what I can do on it, and my sponsor.

It was a black card with silver writing.

 

Shay

(***)***-****

YouTube: Shay

Hair Stylist,

Clothing Designer,

Makeup Artist,

Model

Sponsored by OmniBeauty

 

Even though I haven’t touched my YouTube channel since a few months ago, the subscriber count rose to 1k.

 

The day whisked away and it was soon Monday. The outfits were on display and people who walked by could vote if they wanted to. There were some votes already in the bucket.

This week, I was getting crammed with work. I had literally no free time. I was working from 8 AM to 11 PM. That’s a good 14 hours! So this week, I’d be working 98 hours!!! I think that’s illegal.

“I want to shoot myself,” I said as I trudged to the elevator.

The cosmetics department gave me 4 appointments this week and a crap ton of files to go through on the side effects, causes, and statistics of new cosmetics.

The styling department gave me 5 appointments and I got 3 commissions on top of that.

Then the designing department… Well, there wasn’t much to do except discuss things at meetings and help coworkers.

BUT STILL! It was a lot. My hands were hurting. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. I also had to do my last modeling gig, but that was later today.

I reached the styling department and found my client in the chair. It was a man and he wanted me to cut, dye, and style his hair. By now, I had a trusted coworker to be my assistant, so I called him. His name was Danny. He was very vigorous.

I started to wash the man’s head, then I combed his hair and started cutting it to the length he asked.

Then, I dyed it black. His original hair color was brown, so he wanted to go for black.

The whole process took about 4 hours. Then I styled it for him. He wanted a design on the left side.

I did so. He asked for a DNA design. I did a long squiggle line, then another one overlapping the first one. Then I shaved the lines in the middle and faded it out so it wouldn’t look sloppy.

When it was done, I looked at the time. My lunch break was taken over and I had to immediately go to the cosmetics department. 

Instead of walking, I ran as fast as I could because I’d already be late. Thank god, throughout these two months, I’ve found some shortcuts and saved me time.

A girl that looked about 17 was waiting in the entrance.

I entered and approached her, trying to catch my breath in the meantime.

“Hello, are you here for an appointment?”

“Yes, my name is Maddie.”

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No, just about 5 minutes.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry about the delay.” I finally managed to catch my breath. “This way please.”

“Thank you. By the way, are you okay?” She asked with a concerned look on her face.

“I’m alive.”

She followed me to a chair and sat down in front of a mirror.

“I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Yep.”

I walked away and went to wash some of the sweat off my face.

I grabbed the brush holder and tied it around my waist. Then I splashed water on my face and dried it with a paper towel.

When I got back out, I happened to pass a mirror and saw that my reflection looked more alive.

I reached the girl again and started questioning her about her preferences.

“What do you want me to do to your face?”

She looked at me right as I was rolling up my sleeves so I could use my arms as a palette.

Her eyes shook in fear and looked at me like I was a monster.

I caught onto what she was thinking.

“No, no. I mean do you want full coverage, partial, or no coverage? I’m not going to hit you.”

“Oh. Full please.” She heaved a sigh of relief and calmed down.

“Yes ma’am.”

She looked at me curiously. Her big green eyes were bright and beautiful.

“Please make me look beautiful.”

“Hm. As you wish.” I didn’t know any other way to express my emotions.

I started with a skin treatment. Then I applied some primer. It’s important for you to use primer first. Primer evens out skin tone, hides pores, and keeps your makeup in place without smudging.

I put a concealer on her face to hide some blemishes she had.

“Please don’t move your face unless I say or change your expression when I am putting on your foundation. If you do, you’ll have foundation lines.”

She nodded and I went to get some foundations that matched her skin tone.

I found two, and I applied each onto either side of her face to see which would be best.

The second one was the perfect foundation for her, so I put the other back and cleaned the other side of her face.

Then I applied it to the rest of her face.

When I finished, I grabbed a powder to keep the foundation set, dry, and allow me to put on new makeup without smudging.

I added a light blush, some highlights, and a tad of bronze to make her cheekbones more prominent.

Then I got out a palette for eyeshadow.

“How is it so far?”

“I-is this even me?”

“Yes. Do you want some eyeshadow?”

“Yes, what designs can you do?”

“Anything, to the best of my ability.”

“Can you match my outfit?”

“As you wish. Please close your eyes and try not to open them. I might mess up if you do.”

I used multiple brushes to do her eyeshadow. The bigger it was, the more faded and less impact it had. It was great for a fade.
Maddie wore black jeans and a blue crop top.

I decided to do a black to white fade. 

I did the base of her eyelid in a black, then I added a dark blue, light blue, lighter blue, greyish metallic blue, and then a white and faded it out so it wouldn’t be sharp. Then under her eye, I did a white line under her bottom eyelashes.

After I finished both eyes with eyeshadow, I put eyeliner on her. I did a double winged style to make it more dramatic. Then I drew on and over her eyebrows to make them more defined.

She had black hair, so defining her eyebrows was simple, yet tricky. It was tricky because if I messed up, then I’d have to redo some things.

“Oh. You can open your eyes now. Do you want mascara?”

“Yes please.”

“Okay.”

I grabbed a thing of mascara and took out the brush.

“Okay, but please, try not to blink or move. Mascara is a challenge if it gets on you or in your eye.”

“Got it.” She then froze like a statue.

I turned the chair Maddie was sitting in and faced her towards me.

“Here goes.”

My face got closer and closer to hers as I was looking at her eyelashes. I started applying mascara.

I could feel heat on my face for some reason when I was applying it.

I looked directly in her green eyes and finished the first eye.

Then I went to the second eye.

When I finished applying the mascara, I backed away and realized that Maddie hadn’t looked at herself in the mirror yet and was still flustered from a few moments ago.

“Maddie. Maddie? Hello, anyone there?”

“What? Oh yes.”

Her face was a bright red.

I had just realized it, but the heat I felt earlier was her blushing. 

‘Oh. I’m so sorry, Maddie.’ I internally apologized.

“I’m done. How do you like it?”

She looked in the mirror.

“Wow!! I love it! I’m like a totally different person!”

“Thank you.”

“Of course!! Do you have a business card I can show to my friends?”

“Yeah, here you go.”

I handed her my business card and she put it in her bag.

I walked her out and she thanked me once again.

That makeup appointment took a good two hours. Now that I finished, I had to start on the files.

‘I swear, they’re doing this to me because I’m leaving next week.’

And with that, I arrived at the design department an hour later.

Miss Laura told me to go walk around and help the other coworkers.

I did so until three hours passed and it was time for me to head to my modeling gig.

The school wifi finally unblocked Scribblehub, so I can publish during the day! I'll be writing for the next few hours. We're almost caught up to where I let off writing.

5