Aim High, Never Rest

I held the elevator door open until Katie walked in after me.

Today has been a great day, all thanks to Katie Knight. I don't know how she did it but she pulled a few strings, got me to audition for the cover girl of Barracuda's venture of female products, and I got the part.

Everyone praised me for having the look which I find quite surprising. They all complain that I should act more confident instead of feeling so small and shy. Katie reassured everyone that I'd fix that. If I want this life to work out, I'm going to have to work on being more outgoing and confident. 

"Katie, again, thank you" I looked down at my super wise agent.

Katie may be super young and unqualified for this job but she is capable. If she got a former small town nobody a promising modeling career, she is more functional than just capability. 

"Your going to be a model and I'm going to be rich so we both benefit from this exchange" Katie winked and the elevator stopped on the second floor.

When I got out, I decided to follow Katie to her apartment. I wanted to see what the other guys are up to and maybe say my greetings to Mrs. Knight.

Carlos was on the sofa, frowning at something he was watching on TV. Kendall, Logan, and James were playing the table hockey they had in their living room. James and Kendall on one side and Logan flailing his hands around the multiple handles on the other. He looked to be struggling, playing alone against two.

"Hey guys!" I greeted.

"Hi Hannah!" they replied absentmindedly, not caring about my entrance.

"Darn it!" Logan muttered, dropping his hands.

"Carlos, why won't you help Logan?" Kendall asked, turning to the depressed looking boy on the bright orange couch.

My heart broke at the sight. What was he so sad about? Seeing him so crestfallen makes me want to destroy the person who made him like that. 

"I'm depressed" Carlos mumbled, barely looking up at his friends. He didn't even notice my presence until I slumped next to him on the sofa.

"Hey" I shot him a smile, hoping to bring a tint of his happiness back. He looked at me and gave me a silent greeting.

"What's wrong?"

"There's this epic movie coming out on Friday and no one wants to go out with me" 

"What?!?!?! No one wants to be your date? That's ridiculous!" I blurted out, immediately taken aback by my sudden outburst. 

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at us. I turned to them and saw devious smiles on their faces. Before I could even wonder what they were think about, they crowded around us.

Kendall put an elbow casually on my shoulders, giving me a suggestive look.

"I don't know what your thinking but..." I examined James and Logan, both giving me wide grins. Their eyes lit up with happiness and hopefulness. It'd be sad if I broke their spirits. But they better not make me do something completely embarrassing and ridiculous.

"So Hannah..." Kendall started, glancing at Carlos before returning his gaze to me.

"Would you..." Logan cut in.

"Like to..." 

"Be Carlos' date to the movies on Friday?" Kendall finished for his other two friends. I stared at them in shock, eying Carlos from the corner of my eyes. His expression was unreadable, making me fearful to respond. 

I contemplated, thinking about the wrong message people would get. But I really didn't mind. Carlos is amazing and unique which is someone I'd like to have around for a really long time. I wouldn't want to let him down during this beginning stage of our friendship. Besides, I think he's absolutely adorable. It wouldn't be torture to go out with him. So I don't see any problems.

"Sure, that sounds great. If Carlos..."

"Carlos agree" Kendall cut in, sending a glare to Carlos, daring his friend to tell him otherwise. 

"Well then, I'll talk to you guys later!" I turned to leave, passing by the kitchen. Mrs. Knight emerged from the spot to greet me.

"Hannah, honey, would you like to stay for dinner? Fish sticks will be ready in ten minutes" she asked, running a hand through her curly, auburn hair. Her smile was polite and kind. Something I don't see much in West Palm Beach.

I smiled back, shaking my head. "I would love to stay but I'm officially late for my usual family dinner time so I really have to go. Thanks for the offer though" I thanked as politely as possible. 

It's already 7:45 and I'm twenty minutes late to our original dinner time. My family and I always have a set time of eating at 7:25 for dinner. Anyone breaking the rules will be looked down upon for the rest of the night. Running later than I already am would be impolite and disappointing. This made me wonder why I had followed Katie into the hotel room in the first place. Well, at least I got a date with Carlos and earned myself a first modeling job. 

Life was good for me.

Mrs. Knight send me off to the hallways with a word of farewell. I returned the gesture with a sweet smile. This lady would be wonderful to live with. 

My room was a few doors down so it didn't take me long to whip out my card and unlock the door. 

When I walked in, the whole family of three glared at me from the kitchen table. 

I guiltily stepped into the kitchen to face the consequences.

"Hannah, what took you so long? Where have you been?" my father asked sternly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I..." I stumbled through my words, trying to remember where I've been.

"Oh, guess what?" I asked, suddenly excited to sharing the news. 

Hopefully they'd be happy for me.

"What?" Cassie rolled her eyes at me, annoyed.

"I got the modeling job! I'm going to be the cover girl for the Barracuda women perfume!" I squealed, jumping up and down. 

My mother's eyes lit up, kicking off her seat to run over to me with her hug. My dad smiled at me with admiration in his eyes. Cassie, on the other case, glared at me from her seat and didn't take much action.

"I'm so happy for you. How did this happen so fast? Wow, I didn't expect you to want to be a model in the first place! You're going to be amazing. You're going to be a star!" my mother exclaimed, jumping up and down, dragging me along with her.

Yep, I'm going to be a star. And somewhere deep inside of me felt glad that Cassie envied me over something she wanted for once. This is the first time I easily got something she wanted badly. 

And it felt good.