Confessions of a High School Supermodel

Chapter 9

9

Maddie’s great mood lasted the rest of the day and well into the evening.  At night, she stood in the shower and scraped the thick layers of creams, lotions, powders, and pigments off her skin.  It was actually sort of satisfying scrubbing herself clean and watching the water turn filthy brown from the mixture of makeup, fake tan, and glitter.

And just like that, with the swirl of a shower drain, Maddie’s coach turned back into a pumpkin.  Her Cinderella moment was officially over.  By the next morning, her eyelashes were no longer a mile long, her curls had straightened themselves out, and she was even sporting a shiny new pimple on her cheek, no doubt from all the gunk that had been pressed into her pores.  Even her manicure was starting to chip. (At least her eyebrows still looked awesome though!)

There was, however, one last thing she still had to do for the Victoria’s Secret executives.  All the models that were being considered for the job were required to pass a basic physical examination from a doctor just to make sure they were in good health and able to meet the demands of the position.

Ann explained that it was a pretty standard requirement for models and actors and compared it to getting medical clearance before joining a sports team at school. 

“If you get hired to represent our brand, you’re going to be the new face of Victoria’s Secret.  We’re going to need to fly you around the country for promotional events, interviews, runway shows, and photoshoots.  A lot of late nights and early mornings.  People think being a model is all easy and glamorous, but it’s a lot of work.  It’s going to take a lot of energy and travelling, and we need to make sure whoever we choose is going to be able to handle the physical demands.”

Maddie still didn’t exactly understand why she needed a doctor’s approval, so her dad explained it to her that night at dinner. 

“Let’s say you’re making a movie and halfway through filming, the lead actor suddenly dies,” he began.

“Uh huh,” Maddie nodded.  “Then everyone would be pretty screwed, right?”

“Right.  So basically, they want to make sure whoever they choose is in good health so that they don’t randomly get sick or die and have to stop working.”

She nodded.  “Okay, that makes sense.”

Maddie hadn’t gotten a physical exam since that hellish week freshman year when she’d temporarily lost her mind and decided to try out for the school’s volleyball team.   After a couple of days, Maddie’s arms were covered in purplish black bruises, and her lungs were sore from yelling.  That week had been the beginning and end of her career as an athlete. 

On Sunday, Maddie’s mom checked her into their hospital’s Teen Clinic and told her she’d be back in an hour.  Ordinarily, her mom would have gone inside and seen the doctor with her, but Cassidy needed to be taken to a swimming lesson. 

Eventually, a nurse poked her head in the waiting room. 

“Madison Fox?”

Maddie shyly followed the nurse into the doctor’s examination room. 

A minute later, Maddie’s eyes widened as a tall, attractive doctor walked into the office and picked up the clipboard with her file stuck in it. 

He looked handsome, like a movie star (maybe Tom Cruise?), with thick dark hair and bright-white teeth.

Maddie sat up a little straighter and tried to suck in her stomach a little bit.  Where were those airbrushed abs when you needed them?

“Hi,” she tried to smile winningly at him and still look cool and casual at the same time.