Confessions of a High School Supermodel

Chapter 10

10

Maddie and her mom sat in Ann Sterling’s spacious pink office in cushy leather seats.  They sipped delicately from mini bottles of Perrier given to them by Ann’s secretary.  For once, Cassidy had been left at home. 

Maddie looked around, enjoying the plush, cozy office.  It looked even better in person than when she had seen it on TV so many weeks ago!  There were those signature pink Victoria’s Secret stripes painted down the length of the walls.  All the furniture was mirrored, and Ann had dozens of photos arranged elegantly on the walls, all in glossy white frames.  There was a large bouquet of white roses in a crystal vase sitting on one corner of her desk, and a white candle burning in another corner, giving off a sugary, vanilla-y scent.  The entire effect was feminine and girly, yet still sophisticated and chic.  Maddie casually thought to herself that if she were decorating her dream bedroom, she’d want it to look similar to this.

“Thank you ladies so much for coming all the way down here!  I know you and Maddie must be very anxious.”  Ann smiled serenely at Maddie, her expression not giving anything away. 

“First of all, I have something I’d like to show you both!” 

Ann reached down behind her desk and pulled out a large posterboard.  Maddie gasped.

Printed on the board was one of the photos from Maddie’s photoshoot.  Maddie’s breath caught in her throat as she carefully examined the photo.  It had come out even better than she’d ever dared hope.  This particular shot showed Maddie grinning happily and swinging a fluffy pillow around, looking like she was about to hit someone with it. 

Ann looked at Maddie’s excited face and beamed.  She pulled out another cardboard image from behind her desk.  This was obviously one of Maddie’s dancing poses.  Maddie’s curls were splayed out around her and her arms were up, mid-shimmy.

Maddie felt her mom stiffen slightly next to her, but she herself was mesmerized. 

Maddie analyzed the photo of herself.  Her body looked surprisingly good!  That fake tan and airbrushing made her look sleek and toned instead of mushy.   Her skin looked completely flawless, and blemish-free (thanks to the magic of Photoshop, no doubt!)  Best of all was the expression on her face.  She looked so… so happy!  Maddie couldn’t remember the last time she had seen herself look that joyful and carefree.

 “They came out beautifully didn’t they?  I always knew I could spot talent!” Ann declared confidently.  She suddenly leaned forward and a businesslike expression flitted across her face.   “Usually, all of our top executives would be here to deliver news like this, but since I was the one who discovered you at the mall and worked so closely with you at your photoshoot, I wanted to be the one to talk to you first.” 

Maddie felt blood rush to her ears as time seemed to move in slow motion.  Would they really have called me all the way to this beautiful office just to reject me?  No one in the world could be so mean, could they? 

“Maddie, your pictures have been reviewed extensively by our board members.  I don’t know if anyone has told you this, but through the course of our search, we’ve reviewed pictures of over five thousand girls, many of them highly experienced professional models.  You weren’t always the most obvious choice for us, but for some reason, we just kept coming back to your pictures.  We think you’d make an absolutely wonderful choice for us.  We would love to offer you the opportunity to be the face of the Victoria’s Secret Pinkette Collection.”

Maddie felt her mind go sort of blank.  Is this really happening?  She couldn’t think.  Am I hearing this right?

Maddie couldn’t believe that just a few short weeks ago, she had been convinced that this whole thing was just the girls in her class playing a joke on her.   She wasn’t a glamorous supermodel about to represent a national brand.  She was just Maddie.  Until now.