One More Chance

Chapter 2

Dedicated to Sameera, my bff

Chapter 2

"We're done," said the photographer, in his cheery voice. He had been taking pictures of me and another girl for the past hour and still managed to keep a smile on his face. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had three  steaming cups of coffee, with extra fat in them. All the other girl and I coul do was stare enviously and sip our lemon flavoured water. 

The other girl, whose name was Kate or Katie or something, drops the teddy bear she was holding for the last set of photos. Her smile disappeared completely, and her weary face showed. She stretched her slim body and trudged by the door, waiting for her agent.

"Ok, girls. I'll have these sent to you by next week," said the photographer. I nodded, and tied my hair up. It had been smooth and straight in the morning, but the phtographer had wanted it messy and curly. It may have looked good,  but it was annoying. 

The other girl got out her mirror, reapplied her lipstick and sashayed towards the assistant photographer. He was a young man, quite good looking, but the fact that he was staring at my chest for the last hour turned me away from him. Of course, the other girl was having different ideas. I grabbed my phone and left the studio, checking my schedule. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that I had the rest of the day off. Immediately, I went into complete plan mode of how to spend my afternoon. I could go to the spa, or the beauticians. 

I went into the changing rooms and removed the dress, or rather the piece of ripped cloth draped around me. I shoved the clothes into the cardboard box and put on my jeans and t-shirt. The phtot-shoot was nothing big; just a quick set of pictures to update my portofolio for October.

A few minutes later I was outside, walking along the streets of Hyde Park. I loved living in London. It was nothing compared to what I had seen during those trips to Manhattan, but London was home. I grew up in a cheap house in Harrow, but it was still London. It was still the sprawling, vigorous city, despite the dark weather.

Speaking of weather, it was pretty sunny during that day. I was in a coffee mood, so I went into the Costa Cafe and ordered a sugar-free latte. Sugar was a strict no in my diet. Staying slim was something wanted by every model job, however famous you are. A little pregnancy weight could have your career in ruins. Not that I planned on getting pregnant.

A lady with a bulging stomach sat on the table opposite me. She twin toddlers in a double buggy, and a boy around eight and a girl slightly older than the boy. The woman was clearly stressed, and I wondered why she would have another baby. A few minutes later a man wearing a business suit joined her. They shared a quick kiss, and sat down, talking to one another easily. I guessed that he was her husband, and surprisingly I was jealous. I wanted someone to look at me that way, and to speak to me like I was royal. Love was one of the things I didn't have, and maybe that was why I had pretended to love my ex-boyfriend. I wanted love more than anything, I had guessed that what I felt every time I kissed him was love. I figured out there was more to love than that, since I had caught him making out with another girl.

I was glad more than shocked. At least I didn't have to deal with the toilet seat left up anymore. I suddenly remembered that finding a boyfriend was another part of my 'to-do' lists. Having agood looking boyfriend makes a model look good in a magazine. I remembered that my agent had told me to find a man when I had time. I looked around the restaurant and saw a kind of cute guy sitting a few seats to my left. I pictured us together and decided that he would do.

I got up and walked past him to the counter. He turned his head to look at me, which meant that I had caught his attention. I went into the bathroom and checked my appearance in the mirror. I didn't look too bad, since I hadn't removed the makeup done by the stylist in the morning. I powered my face quickly went out of the bathroom. I walked past him again, and this time he definitely checked me out. I grinned inwardly and sat back down, pretending to text.