Judgmental (a Percy Jackson AU)

Medea and Jane

      "Move to the right," Medea said.

      Piper shifted. She felt uncomfortable in the tight pink dress she was wearing. Her feet felt pinched from the tight high heels she had been outfitted in. The couch she was lounging on was blood-red and plush, but Piper wasn't allowed to relax on it despite the fact this shoot had been going on for nearly nine hours.

   "Suck in your stomach and arch your back," Medea instructed.

   Piper did what her photographer asked for, but she could see from Medea's face that it wasn't enough.

    "I don't know why your agency sent you here," Medea said. "I'm going to tell them that I don't want to see you again. You're nothing special. I see prettier girls at Walmart everyday."

   Piper clenched her jaw. She was used to photographers being rude, but it never became easier. Piper hated the idea that pain became easier to deal with by experiencing more of it. In Piper's experience, dealing with something rotten made it more putrid with time ⁠— not less smelly and not easier to ignore. If anything, it became harder to deal with over time because what was once an anomaly was now routine.

***

    The next day, Piper arrived at for a fashion show. As the makeup artist, Lacey, helped make up her face, Piper heard the sound of clanging footsteps. They could only mean one thing: her boss, Jane, was here.

    "Piper McLean," Jane said. "That blouse looks tight on you."

    "I've lost weight since the last show," Piper said.

    "Yes," Jane said. "Three pounds in two weeks. You should be doing better. You've been given an opportunity thousands of girls want and you're throwing it away. Why? Is it because you're a glutton? Is it because you're not trying hard enough?"

    "I'm following a meal plan," Piper said.

   "Well cut it," Jane snarled. "It's your job to eat little."

   "Of course, Jane," Piper said, trying to not let tears slip from her eyes.

    Jane was right. Piper was paid to be a living, breathing mannequin and like any mannequin, she was replaceable. Another one could be found and Piper didn't want that to happen. She was from a rural French town where there were few opportunities and little hope. Factories had moved overseas and people like Piper's dad ⁠— an ex-patriot from America ⁠— who used to be so full of hope had become hopeless.

     When Piper had been scouted during a trip to a mall in Paris, it had seemed like the perfect opportunity. She imagined a chance to give back to her father and escape a small town. Instead, she was sent overseas and now lived in a country whose language she had only used in school. Piper had been working in the U.S. for a month, but she already knew that the chances she would ever make a break in the fashion industry was slim. There were hundreds of girls and women who were prettier and more talented.

      Still, this job was the only opportunity she had. Her work permit meant she couldn't legally work anywhere else in the United States, but the job paid badly. Sometimes, Piper was paid only in clothes or handbags, so she had a lot of nice stuff, but rent was tough to be pay. As she prepared herself for the catwalk, Piper prayed that one day she would make it and no one would dare tangle with her again.

***

   When she got home, Piper stepped on the scale. She felt like it was her living horror show. More than Medea or Jane, this was what determined her future. This was who she was: a number that fluctuated everyday. She stepped off of it and tried to ignore the pain in her stomach. When it became too much, Piper pulled a carry-out box from her fridge. She opened up the box and told herself she would only eat a bite, but the numbers flew through her head and before she knew it, the entire meal was gone.

     The numbers whirled through Piper's mind and the guilt settled down in her stomach. She walked to the bathroom again and pulled out her living horror show. She stepped on a machine and once again, it dictated her worth. It was as harsh and blunt as Jane or Medea and when the number settled, Piper groaned and stepped off the metal box. Before she left the bathroom, she drained the numbers from her stomach into the toilet and flushed them away.