The End Of You And Me | BOOK 1 (Completed) & 2 (Currently Writing)

TEOYAM | 14. All The Games We Play

I looked at Harry in anticipation of a punch line after he mentioned Genevieve. He was joking right? He had to be joking.

But then, the punch line never came.

What came after, however, was definitely a punch. Not a literal one, but like an emotional punch and it hurt more than an actual punch. I forced a smile on my face as I nodded, looking away from the curly haired boy. "I'll check if I can sneak away." That was a lie, of course. There was no way in hell I was skipping just to have a very awkward dinner at Harry's apartment. Lord knows I will stab Genevieve even with a butter knife if that was the only thing I could stab her with. If I wanted to get into Juilliard on my own, I can't have murder in my record.

"I'll see you at 7pm? Or do you want me to pick you up?" My heart skipped a beat when he said those words and looked at me with hopeful eyes, but I knew better than to let my emotions get the best of me.

"No, it's fine. I'll get there on my own." I assured him as I played with my bag strap. "Talk to you later, okay? My uncle is waiting for me."

"Okay," he smiled at me a bit awkwardly as I took a step back from him and walked away. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in when I exited Trinity.

I took a cab to Lincoln Center in my school uniform. What happened before I left school occupied my thoughts so much I forgot to change into casual clothes. The realization only hit me after I got out of the cab and had a good number of people looking at me weirdly. Not even a minute later, my Uncle's assistant, Clarissa, approached me.

"There you are! Just in time for last minute fittings. Come on, Veronica. Your uncle is waiting." She took me by the hand and dragged me inside before I can say anything.
"Wait, fitting? Isn't fitting in two hours?" I asked, allowing Clarissa to drag me to the tent where the show for Zara was gonna be held.

"We've made last minute changes because there are way too many things to check for tomorrow's show." She explained without looking at me. She pushed me inside the backstage where everyone was busy with make up, hair and getting dressed. Stylists were rushing while stage managers were shouting and pushing models towards the entrance to the runway from the backstage.

"Double time, everyone!" Clarissa shouted as she clapped her hands together, stopping everyone from whatever it was that they were doing for a second or two. "Come on!" She clapped again, snapping everyone back to reality and everyone tried their best to move quicker. "Come with me, Veronica." She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me to an empty chair in front of a lit up dresser. She placed her hands on my shoulders and forced me to sit down. She then walked away and in less than a minute, she came back with a make up tool box and did her magic on my face.

Not many people were aware of it but before Clarissa became my Uncle's assistant, she was a very talented stylist. It didn't surprise me that she finished my hair and make up in twenty minutes. She snapped her fingers and another assistant took my hand and dragged me to the dressing room to change into my first outfit for the show before I was pushed towards the entrance to the runway.

I had two dress changes during the dress rehearsals. The second one was not planned, however. One of the models had to leave early because of some family emergency and Clarissa, without thinking twice, pointed at me to walk her part. I didn't get to talk with my uncle much during the rehearsal because he was talking with so many people. After the rehearsals were over, he pulled me to the side and gave me a hug.

"I was told you were walking for the Academy of the Arts show." He pulled away from me, slowly stroking my hair. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've talked to some people--"

"It's alright, Uncle. I wanted to try it on my own," I smiled. "See if I have what it takes to get in."

"Of course you have what it takes to get in. You're an Ortega and a Rockefeller." He moved his hand to my shoulders as we walked towards the exit.