La Vie En Rose

Chapter 17

Do Wah Doo - Kate Nash

“Gigi.” Alma ripped the double doors open, ran in and slammed them shut, backing up her body against them. She was breathing heavily as she clung to the doors. I was stationed at the two tables Alma and I set up earlier, tapping a pen against the plastic table.

I let out a heavy sigh, predicting what she was going to say. “I knew it. No one showed up. I am a failure. Of course no one showed up - I’m a nobody! Why would anyone want to model for MY-”

“GIGI.” Alma cut me off. “There are over SIXTY girls waiting outside this door right now. The line is going out the main entrance!”

“WHAT!?” I exclaimed, jumping out of my chair. I grabbed the table for support as the chair I was sitting on, toppled over. Sixty models were auditioning? I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“I’m gonna call for back-up.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket, striding across the room briskly. “We’re gonna need it.”

“Wow. Okay.” I tried calming myself down. “This is really happening. What should we do? Should we start calling them in?”

“Yeah, lets get a head start.” Alma nodded in agreement as she held the phone against her ear. She waited patiently for the person she was calling to pick up. “Paul, we have an emergency. Round up the troops and get to the Radisson hotel as quickly as you can. This isn’t a drill.”

She hung up and stuffed her phone in her back pocket. I looked at with disbelief.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked Alma as she picked up the polaroid camera.

Alma flipped up the flash on the camera and looked at me. “Trust me, reinforcements are necessary.”

Without warning, she pressed a button on the camera, the bright flash instantly blinding me. Everything went black for a second while my eyes tried to re-adjust.

“Hey!” I blurted out. “I wasn’t ready!”

“Test shot.” Alma laughed, pulling out the polaroid, shook it rapidly and gave it to me. “Keep it. Consider it the moment you realized that one day, you’re going to be a big, famous, fashion designer.”

She tapped my cheek twice before turning on her heel and walking over to the double doors, saying something about bringing the first model in. I muttered an ‘okay’ while I peered down at the polaroid Alma took of me. In the picture, my hands were on my hips and I was looking straight at the camera, my hazel-colored eyes holding a look of willpower. I was so ready to start the process of elimination. I decided right then and there, that I was going to make my clothing line a monstrous success, come rain or shine.

When Alma begged for reinforcements, I didn’t take her seriously at first. Now, it was totally understandable. It was now a little past four in the afternoon and I was positively exhausted. We weren’t even finished yet, was the best part. The models kept coming and it was hard to keep up. Alma’s friends came to good use for the auditions, thats for sure. Three of Alma’s friends showed up within twenty minutes after she made the phone call: Paul, the twenty-two year old gay hair-stylist, who was currently employed by Miu Miu, Paul’s boyfriend Mikey, who didn’t let the cold weather refrain him from wearing jean cutoffs and finally, little Louise, a small red-headed girl, who was overly-excited to help me out with the auditions. The five of us eventually fell into an organized routine once we got things started. Louise was standing by the door, calling in the next model when I was ready, Alma took the head shots by the wall, Mikey collected the contact sheets the models brought with them, while Paul and I sat at the table and watched the models do their signature walk. Luckily, Mikey had brought along his stereo player so we could play music during the process. It helped lighten up the atmosphere in the room easily.

By the seventy-eighth model, I was ready to call it a day. My hand felt cramped from writing a ton of notes on each model, I was developing a mild headache and I was out of coffee.

“Hey Louise,” I called across the room. “how many more models are waiting outside?”

She peered out the door before answering. “About ten are left. Want the next person to come in?”

I let out a yawn and nodded. “Sure. Bring her in.”

I peered down at the notes I made about the previous models in my notebook. I had to eliminate so many girls. Some were too short, too old, too young and even, too angry in the face - seriously, since when did thick eyebrows start becoming a trend?

“I heard Gigi King was holding auditions here?” I heard a fake, high pitched voice call out loudly. “Does she accept sexy males too?”

I looked up from the table and grinned when I saw the guys walk in. Garrett and Kennedy started to dreadfully imitate a walk on a runway - Kennedy even shrugged off his jacket and threw it over his shoulder as he did a twirl - while the other guys laugh.

“What are you guys doing here!” I asked, genuinely surprised to see them. “I thought you wouldn’t be back until five?”

“Who’s the man candy on the right?” Paul leaned over and muttered in my ear. Of course, he was referring to John. “Delish.”

I widened my eyes at Paul and laughed at his comment before turning back to the guys, hoping they didn’t hear him.

“We finished early.” John answered. “We’re gonna wrap up the rest of the shoot tomorrow.”

“It’s really ironic actually,” Garrett started as he hopped up on the table and swung his legs freely. It was good to see he was finally overcoming his hangover. “our music video is based around a fashion show.”

“I think we hang out with you too much.” Kennedy added. “You’re influence is definitely eminent.”

I laughed. “I’m glad I could be of help.”

“So, when are you gonna be finished?” John asked, bending over the table, leaning both hands on the edges. “There’s gonna be a party at a friend’s house tonight in Long Beach and you are all invited.”

I noticed Alma, who had somehow wondered over to the table, light up when she heard the invitation was extended to everyone. I leaned back in my chair and sweetly smiled. “Only a couple of models left and we’ll be done.”

“Perfect!” Pat clapped. “We’ll wait for you. I need to take a shower anyways. I still smell like a naughty, little girl.”

I gave him an incredulous look. “Excuse me!?

“What kind of music video is this?” Paul questioned. “Sounds like my kind of video.”

“He’s kidding.” Kennedy glared at Pat. “You’re kidding.”

“In Pat’s defense, the hot babes wouldn’t leave him alone the whole day.” Jared said. Hot babes? Suddenly, I didn’t really want to hear about this so-called music video anymore. “The boy has needs, you know.”

“Alright, alright!” I said quickly, shooing the guys off with a flick of the wrist. “Get outta here, all of you! I want to finish this auditioning.”

“Catch you on the flip side, G-spot!” Kennedy called as they exited the room. I waved lazily in returned, leaning my cheek against my propped up hand. Now I had another thing to worry about: What was I going to wear tonight?

“Does it look like I’m trying too hard?” I asked loudly as I gave my reflection in the mirror an uneasy look.

“What are you talking about!?” Alma looked at me like I was crazy. “You look fine! Come on, everyone is waiting downstairs in the lobby.”

Before we headed off to the party in Long Beach, I dragged Alma upstairs to the hotel room so I could do a quick outfit change. I was now wearing a plain, black tank top, tucked into my olive colored skirt, that had a little bow decorated on the front. I matched the outfit with a pair of sheer black tights in case it got a bit chilly out later.

“Damn, John is going to melt when he sees you in those.” Alma commented as she watched me slip on my black heels. “In fact, probably the whole band are gonna get hard-ons when they see you.”

“Alma!” I scolded.

“What!? Boys will be boys, am I right?” She raised her hands in the air and shrugged.

“Yeah but, my relationship with the boys is completely platonic.”

“Except for John though, correct?” She stood up from the bed, crossed her arms and gave me a knowing look.

I decided not to answer. Instead I ran a hand through my wavy hair, grabbed my leather jacket and opened the door to the hallway. “Ready?”
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HAPPY DOUBLE UPDATE DATE! Yes, you heard me correctly. I'm posting another chapter right after this is posted. Originally, I had this very long chapter that ended up being 15 pages long. That's overwhelming. So I cut it in half - which is a pity, because it made this update seem a little bit of a filler/boring/shortie.

OH CONTRARY, MON AMIES! Get a new pair of underwear ready, my beautiful loves, because when you read the next chapter, you're gonna need them. Trust me.

I hope you guys are ready :D