Tina let me borrow her car and let me drive to the site.

When I arrived, there were lots of people. The producer walked my way, greeted me, and told me where to go.

When I got to the dressing rooms, I put on the outfit that they told me to wear and headed to the cosmetics section.

After the artist put on a primer and some eyeshadow, she let me go and I made my way to the styling section.

They styled my hair into a fauxhawk.

Then, I was ready. The producer told me that I’d be modeling with someone else. This means that if one of us isn’t good enough, then we’ll either be replaced, or we’ll have to stay there longer than we should have.

He showed me who the female model was and we greeted each other.

“Hello, I’m Shay. I’ll be your partner for this shoot. Please take care of me.”

“Hmph. Guess you don’t look too bad. I’m Natalia. Don’t drag me down,” she said before walking to the stage.

“...”

‘How kind of her..’

I followed her and waited for directions from the photographer and producer.

Through my experience, I learned different poses and facial expressions.

Natalia was a Latina beauty. She had thick, dark eyebrows and gorgeous lips. She was wearing a white silk dress and white heels.

I was in a black suit and tie. 

During these past two months, I visited the gym room in the penthouse on a daily basis. I woke up, worked out, cleaned up, then made breakfast and got started with my day. So I not only grew taller, but I also got more fit. 

This made the suit I was wearing look better than it would have two months ago.

“Okay, I want to see romantic things from you two. I won’t give directions, so act as you please.”

Natalia smiled and brought herself closer.

“Not going to be dominant? If you won’t, I will.”

“Hm? You want me to be dominant? As you wish then, my lady.”

I took her hand and dipped her like we were dancing.

Continuous clicks were heard.

I then brought her back up, stepped to her side, and put my arm on her shoulder.

She wore a shocked expression for a moment before fixing it.

Natalia pushed my arm off of her and spoke to me.

“I’ll tell you what to do, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Okay.”

“Put your hand around my waist and the other in my hand and hold me close. Then look at the camera.”

I did as she instructed.

It seemed a little boring to be honest.

She gave me several more instructions and the camera clicked away.

When the producer called the end of the shoot, Natalia walked away from me in a hurry like I was carrying a contagious disease.

Because she was walking too fast, Natalia twisted her ankle and started to fall to the side.

I rushed in as fast as I could and caught her.

The camera clicked.

I picked her up and walked her to a chair where she could sit down and the camera clicked multiple times again.

When I put her down, she thanked me and hid her face.

‘Tsundere.’

I changed out of my suit and changed into my normal clothes. I also removed all of the makeup that was put on me.

When I walked out, I asked the photographer for the photo they thought was best and gave them my email.

I received my pay and left.

Finally I could go back home! It was so tiring!

When I got home, I was sent a photo from the shoot and saved it to my camera roll.

It was me carrying Natalia off the set. It turned out pretty good too! Some photographers really have an eye for opportunities.

 

The week went by excruciatingly slowly and it was basically a repeat of Monday, every day, except the photoshoot was the commissions I received.

It was Friday and the voting was going to begin.

I wore the outfit I got from the first modeling gig.

They counted the votes and announced the results.

Miss Laura announced the honorable mentions, which numbered at around 20. Then she announced the people who placed.

“Okay, so I’ve tallied up the votes. The third place prize goes to the Black Cat Top!”

It was a black crop top with string where the shirt opened up near the cleavage area. It also had three white whisker markings on the left and right side.

“Second place goes to the Conflicting Jeans!”

That was mine! I actually placed! I was content with even getting in the top 10, let alone top 3.

“And drum roll please!” There was a drum roll from the crowd. “First place goes to Starry Day Hoodie!”

The crowd oohed and aahed.

It was beautiful! It was the inverse of the starry night. What a work of art.

I was shocked and moved. The first place winner should be proud.

The crowd dissipated and the winners came to collect their prizes. I got my bonus money and started to pack my bags when I got to the penthouse.

Tina was on the bed while I was packing.

“So, how did you like it here?”

“It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. Even though this past week those evil chiefs gave me tons of work to do, I still enjoyed it because I could help people and make them happy with my contributions.”

“I’m glad to hear that!”

“Thank you so much for taking me in and helping me with my skills. I’ll never forget this debt.”

“Oho? Speaking of debt, where’s my money?”

“Damn. I thought you forgot about it,” I said with a sour expression.

“I’d never forget. After all, I’m a businesswoman. Now, hand it over.”

“Fine,” I grumbled as I handed her $10k.

“And? How much more did you make?”

“About $11k.”

“See? You’re making some bank. What are you going to spend it on?”

“Bills first, then I might get a motorcycle.”

“Awesome! I might visit you once in a while. You’ll need to take me out for a joyride or something.”

“Sure. Just let me know when you’re in town.”

I finished packing and walked my suitcase to the elevator. Tina followed and we headed down to a car.

The coworkers whom I grew close to these past few months, the chiefs, Kevin, and his friends all bid me farewell.

“I’m going to miss you, Shay!” Laura said

“I’m going to miss you more!” Charity shouted.

“Stay safe, Shay,” Teagan said, then left.

Kevin didn’t say anything but ran up to me and hugged me. His friends followed up, and soon everyone that was seeing me off was in a massive group hug, save for Teagan.

Tina saw this moment and snapped a picture.

When everyone calmed down a bit, I also bid them farewell.

“Guys! Thank you so much!! I’ll definitely come back next summer! Don’t forget me!”

“We won’t. It should be you who doesn’t forget us!” Kevin said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

“How could I? Just wait. Next year, I’ll come back and hang out for the summer.”

“We’re counting on you. See you until then, Shay.” Charity barely stopped herself from grabbing me again.

I took one last look at everyone before taking my glasses out and heading inside the car.

‘I’ll see you guys next year.’

The car drove off to the airport.

 

We arrived at the airport and Tina got out first. The driver walked over to my side and opened the door for me. I got out only to see Tina standing there.

I couldn’t hold back any longer.

I walked to her and hugged her.

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I know I thanked you in the penthouse, but I can’t do it enough. Thank you, big sister.”

That one last sentence warmed Tina’s heart up very quickly. If there’s one thing that Tina has ever wanted, it was a younger sibling to call her big sis.

She never had siblings because her parents died at a young age and had to live with her grandparents. 

So right now, in this moment, she wished time would stop. She wished time froze because she didn’t want her little brother to leave her. 

The past two months had affected her without her being aware of it and she realized it only now.

I let go of Tina and bid farewell as I dragged my suitcase through security and onto the plane.

 

6 hours later, I arrived back in my town’s airport.

I pulled my luggage outside and called for a cab to drive me home.

When I arrived in front of my house, it was well past midnight. I paid the driver and got off with my oversized suitcase.

I walked in my house and started unpacking my things. The wardrobe I had no longer fit me. I had grown two inches since I last measured myself (last year).

I had a healthy diet, enough sleep (for the most part), and I worked out every morning.

The shirts that once were baggy on me, were now tight or fit perfectly.

Coming back to this house didn't give me bad memories at all. In fact, I could only remember the past two months of fun I spent with everyone.

I was disappointed in Annika, but I was also disappointed in myself. Disappointed that I basically worshipped Annika as a god or labeled her as my lifeline.

Anyways, I needed sleep and I had a lot to do on the weekend before school started again.

I dove into my bed and fell asleep.

 

When I woke up, it was early in the morning, maybe about 6. I got up every day at 6 so I could exercise. The gym, thankfully, was a 24 hour gym, so I went there and worked out for an hour before coming back.

I didn’t bother putting on contacts because I wasn’t going to see anyone, nor would anyone see me for any reason.

I went outside and opened the mailbox.

Quite the stack of mail gathered in there for the past two months.

Almost each one was a bill notice.

So fun. I sorted through all of the bills.

I departed for a bank and got a debit card and deposited all my money in my savings account.

Then I went back home and called the companies to turn on my electricity and water. The bills got paid and about $1.7k was gone from my savings.

I took a shower because I was smelly from working out.

I almost styled my hair out of habit when I was done, but I just dried it and put on my clothes.

After paying the bills, I searched on my phone where the nearest motorcycle dealership was.

It was a decent hour from me if I walked.

And so I did.

An hour later, I arrived at my destination and entered the building.

One of the salespeople walked up to me and offered one of their best models.

“Do you have a Ninja 400 ABS?” I asked in response to his boasting.

“Y-yes. It’s right here.” He was flustered.

He showed me a white motorcycle.

“Mm Thank you. I’ll take it.”

“Thank you, how will you be paying?”

“Card.”

“Okay, sir right here please. But before that, can I see your license?”

“Sure.” I showed him my license. I didn’t have a wallet yet, so I put my cards in my pocket, hoping they wouldn’t fall out.

When I paid for the bike, I also got myself a Deluxe Ninja cover for the bike, a motorcycle jacket, gloves, and a white HJC F70 Helmet.

All in all, it totalled about $6k.

Now that that was done, I rode the bike to Home Depot.

I bought a new lock for my front door. Since Annika knew where the key was, I decided to change it.

I’ve done it before, so I knew how to change the lock.

I went back home and parked the bike in my garage.

I put the cover in my backpack for school and my helmet on top.

A kawasaki Ninja 400 can go for up to 200 miles before it’s out of gas completely, so I wouldn’t need to fill it today. I’ll do it tomorrow morning.

I went back out to the hospital and spent time with my mother, who was still in a coma.

It was nighttime now, so I had to get going.

I bid farewell to my mother and left for home.

When I reached there, I went to sleep immediately.

The next morning, I woke up, did my morning routine, and got dressed in my lazy attire. I have lots to do today.

The first thing I decided to do was change the lock on my front door.

The second thing I did was fill up my gas tank. After that, I went to the phone store and bought myself a new phone. It was an older flip phone. The only thing I needed it for was work calls.

I asked the person to transfer the number from my smartphone to the flip phone.

Then I got a new number for my smartphone.

I messaged every person I’d met so far and told them that this was the number for my personal phone and the one on my card was for my work phone.

I got replies instantly. It seems like they really miss me.

I went outside and took a picture of my new bike and sent the picture to Kevin.

(What do you think?)

[She looks badass! What’s her name?]

(Doesn’t have one. Would you like to name her?)

[Hell yeah! Let me think of a name for her.]

(Let me know.)

I drove back home and by then, I received a list of names.

[Bai, Chinese]

[Blanche, French]

[Branwen, Welsh]

[Rim, Arabic]

[Blanca, Spanish]

[Shiro, Japanese]

[They all mean white, btw. ^^]

(How about Shiro.)

[I like it.]

(Me too. And whenever I see my bike, I’ll think of you. If you visit my area, let me know so we can go riding.)

[Definitely! I might come when I finish this year. Then it’ll be summer for me.]

(Just let me know whenever you come.)

[For sure. I know you’re probably busy, so I won’t keep bothering you.]

(Alright. Until next time.)

[To be continued.]

When I arrived at the mall, I put my glasses on and walked to Starbucks and the barber shop to let the managers know that I’m back and ready to work.

I also went into another store and bought a wallet with a chain on it, so it wouldn’t fly away if it ever fell out of my pocket or backpack.

Then I visited my mom again for a few hours and went home to rest.

The next morning, I woke up early to exercise, shower, do my routine, change, and eat.

Right as I was changing, I heard the doorknob of my front door rattle and then a knock at my door.