Oh gosh, why was I doing this? I was standing in front of the modeling agency's building where this Rodrigo guy had called me in for a casting today. A few days had passed since I messaged with Ferran, our last interaction being me sending him the sports therapist's number and him thanking me for that, but I hadn't reached out since, and neither had he. Which was the right thing to do, because he was in a relationship.
But that didn't change that he was right about this modelling thing. If they chose to represent me, it would be easy money that I could earn next to my normal job. And I could use every single extra cent right now as I had finally found a one-room flat, which was expensive enough alone, as it was in a nicer area. Though I preferred having less space rather than living somewhere I could get robbed or stabbed on a daily basis.
"Hello, Catalina, nice to meet you. Ferran spoke highly of you. How do you guys know each other?" this Rodrigo guy greeted me at the reception. "Um... hello! Ferran and I... know each other from way back in England. We're acquaintances" I tried to say, sounding as distant and professional as possible. "Come in, our agency's director and another scout are here, we'll just have a chat and get to know each other before shooting some test photos, how does that sound?" he asked friendly and I nodded.
I was nervous, I had obviously heard a lot of negative opinions on the fashion world and was a bit afraid... but there was no reason to, they were really friendly, all three of them. At some point, they asked me to change into a two-piece swimsuit, which I had brought, coming prepared, but they didn't make me feel uneasy. It was obvious they wanted to check out my figure, but there were no uncomfortable feelings or situations. They shot some pictures and seemed all quite happy with me. "You're 179cm? Wow! You could do Haute Couture!" the director noted and I blushed heavily. I was just an ordinary girl - yeah, I thought that I didn't look too bad, but Haute Couture, modelling, and stuff like that, it had never really been on my radar.
"So... I think we can all agree on wanting to sign you" Rodrigo said and his two colleagues nodded. "Oh wow! I'd love to!" I replied and they handed me a contract. "Read this carefully and sign and send it to us via e-mail when you did" the other guy told me and I nodded, thanking all of them for their time and the opportunity. I returned back to Sara and Dan's place with a huge smile on my face and they cheered me on when they saw the contract papers I showed them.
I spent the time after dinner, reading the pages attentively and this wasn't a joke. There were strict diet and weight requirements I would need to stick to in order not to lose my contract. But I decided to give it a try, I really wanted to make the money. And have some nice professional pics taken, maybe I could get better matches on Tinder then... I sent in the signed contract and got an answer back with some of the pictures taken today, and Rodrigo telling me to start a new public Instagram account (since I told them I had basically closed my old one) to post them.
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📍 Barcelona, Catalunya, España Tagged: lina_ferrero fifthmodels NEW FACE // CATALINA
user1 Very pretty lina_ferrero Excited! 😊✨ user2 Nothing special
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📍 Barcelona, Catalunya, España Tagged: fifthmodels lina_ferrero New chapter 📸
sara12233 YESSSSS GIRLLLLL 😍 dan_thekitguy Joining the hype party 🤩 miguel_ferrero Happy to see you're doing well, sis ❤️ user1 Who is this girl
Unbelievable. It was 2am now and I was staring at my phone screen, better said, my Instagram profile. My followers had skyrocketed after the agency had tagged me on their profile and so many people started following me. Semi-famous people, people I had never seen or heard of and... Ferran. Shortly after, he had also slid in my DMs, gosh, what was wrong with this guy?
ferrantorres Seems like everything worked out 😊
lina_ferrero Yeah, thanks But now unfollow me straight away or I'll get death threats from crazy fan girls
ferrantorres Don't worry, I'm not Pedri or Gavi Also... Lina? You're without doubts a Cata, not a Lina
lina_ferrero Your gf has a lot of stan accounts, ready to type away the wildest theories so UNFOLLOW ME I've always been Lina for everyone, you're the only one calling me Cata
ferrantorres Ok, ok, jeez, unfollowed!!! Do you like Cata? You never said anything
lina_ferrero Because it doesn't matter as you shouldn't be talking to me anyways - you have a girlfriend!!!
ferrantorres My God, it's not like we're sexting, you're being paranoid
lina_ferrero No, I'm protecting myself. Please stop texting me, or I'll block you, I'm serious!
That seemed to have put him off, because he read the message but didn't reply. The days passed and in the meantime, I had been casted for two small campaigns that I shot after my normal work shifts at the store. Since I was also following Barca accounts now, to be up to date for work, I was notified that it was Ferran's birthday today - well not actually today, as his real birthday was on February 29th, but that only rolled around every four years, so he was celebrated today on the 28th.
"Do you think I should text him a happy birthday?" I asked Sara as we were closing my last suitcase together. I was finally moving into my own apartment tomorrow and couldn't be more excited. My best friend acted like everything was fine, but I knew that she was happy to get her couch back and have a normal sex life with her boyfriend again without having to text me to stay out for another hour or go for a walk in the meantime. "I mean... What's the worst that could happen?" she asked and raised her eyebrows. "Girl... If we start texting... I don't know if I can stop it and I don't want to be a homewrecker..." I sighed. "There's always two people in this, Lina. If he's unhappy in his relationship it will show" she replied. "Still! If he's unhappy or whatever, he can break up with her! I'm not the girl going after taken boys!" I told her. "Then you shouldn't text him, maybe..." she mumbled, also unsure of what to say.
Hours later, I was laying for one last time on this couch, my phone screen with the last conversation with Ferran open. No, I couldn't text him. His girlfriend was with him for sure and if that message popped up... I only know that if I was her, I'd go mad.
