Awks. ✓

Chapter 32: Stop Being So... Naked!

"Come again?"

I must've heard him wrong because I could've sworn I heard him say we were supposed to be 'seductive' and 'sexy' for this shoot.

"Aww, is little Mari shy?" Elliott gushed, holding both his cheeks as he swayed left and right. "Is my baby girl going to faint?"

That earned him a punch in the arm. Alexander found it quite amusing because I noticed him snicker before regaining his signature scold. "And my name is Marianne, doofus. Not Mari."

"How come Tom gets to give you a cute nickname but I can't?" Elliott pouted, rubbing his sore arm. "This is racism."

"Racism?" I scoffed. "Yeah Elli, that's totally it. I'm a racist. You got me."

He gasped and pointed a finger at me.

"And you call me Elli!!" He exclaimed. "All the more reason for me to call you Mari!! They even rhyme!!" He fiddled with the pink piece if paper in his hands. "Goals if you ask me."

There was no winning against Elliott, that was for sure. I sighed and waved my hand in the air in dismissal.

"Call me whatever you want." I told him, even though I knew I was going to regret it somehow.

While he was fist pumping victoriously, I decided to include the girl who was sitting across from me. She hadn't spoken a word since we left our designated lines.

"I'm Marianne." I introduced myself, stretching an arm out for a handshake. "Marianne Evans."

She placed her hand in mine, her small fingers hesitantly wrapping around my own.

"I'm An... Angela Han." She stuttered, her voice almost inaudible.

She seems so shy and innocent. How will she hold up with this photo shoot? Maybe I'm not alone...

Alexander was the first to pick himself up from the ground. We all followed his actions and got up as well.

"Tenth floor." Elliott directed, shaking the paper in his hand. "We're working with Marcus again."

A sigh of relief escaped from my lips. A photographer I was familiar with, maybe that would make things less awkward. Key word: maybe. After getting up, the four of us marched together towards the elevator.

Throughout the short trip to our destination, I managed to make small talk with Angela. She hadn't fully come out of her shell yet but I managed to learn a couple of things about her. For instance, turned out she had been a model since she was five and was originally from South Korea.

"Annnyeonghaseyo!" I excitedly said to her.

She giggled, closing her eyes and covering her mouth with her hand in the process. "You can speak Korean?" She asked, almost sounding impressed.

"I wish." I said as we walked out of the elevator. "A friend of my mum's is obsessed with Korean dramas. She forces me to watch them with her whenever she comes over. You'd think I'd learn a bit of the language, but that's all I know."

"It's a very easy language to learn." She responded, a faint blush tinting her cheeks as she spoke. "But I think the actual idea of learning any new language is what's difficult. The idea itself is one big anxiety attack just waiting to happen."

I nodded in agreement, astounded by how intelligently put that statement was.

"About time you kids made it."

I rolled my eyes instantly at the sound of his voice. Inhaling through my nose and exhaling from my mouth, I began the process of mentally preparing myself for the sight of his pink and blonde hair, not to mention another pair of neon leggings.