Unchanged

Chapter one

It was a cloudy day in Maribor. The sky was an ashy grey with great clouds not letting the sun's rays penetrate them. a trickle of rain had begun to shower and you could already see people with umbrellas and raincoats roaming on the cobble streets. strong gusts of wind blew occasionally, picking up dust and twirling them in clouds. Very suitable weather for one to just stay home and read a good book, or listen to music.

But Melania had work to do.

Although she has been waking up at 7am for almost a year , she hasn't been accustomed to waking up so early. She clearly is not an early bird. You could tell by the very poor effort to arrange her hair. She wore a thin scarf which hid her face and a Hollister dad hat which made her face almost unrecognizable. Her thin body was accentuated by the slim denims and the crop top she wore. With an iced latte in her hand, she hurriedly walked towards Model Group HQ. 

Model Group is a widely popular modelling recruitment agency based in Slovenia. Every year, a healthy number of models complete the requirements to take part and excel in modelling  and graduate and, with luck, move away to model for designer names like Yves saint Laurent or Salvatore Ferragamo. The successors of Model Group have occasionally been featured in the likes of Vogue, Vanity fair and The Row, and have been nominated for the best modelling agency three consecutive times, one of which where they have grabbed the coveted title. 

Melania too is an aspiring model who has almost completed her training. This will be her final day that she will be spending in there. After today, she just has to wait for the confirmation that she is eligible for a modelling career. Melania was quite nervous. She had come a long way from home, a long way from everything she knew and loved. She wanted to succeed, if not for her, for them at least. God, she missed Vlad. 

She stepped in the doors with a cold blast of icy air. Inside the place, everyone was rushing around trying to put in the finishing touches for what will be the final task for the models.

Since it was the final day, as a final task, the models were assigned particular outfits curated by a renowned panel of judges and they had to showcase them on a runway, which is also judged. A lot of factors come into play here. The flair, the grace and the poise, the body language and the reactions, not to mention the outfit - all of which are judged on and graded - are essential to nail the task. Its just like RuPaul's drag race but a bit less formal and without the guest judges.

Melania quickly put away her iced latte and took off her scarf. She then searched for her studio where she has to get a makeover before putting on the outfit and heading onto the runway. A narrow and long hallway stood at the far side of the entrance which led to the studios. Other contestants had already gone in to get their makeup done and Melania realized she was a bit short on time. Her shaky foot carried her to Studio D, where Svetlana was already waiting for her.

"What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I was nervous. I came a bit late." Melania said weakly, her cheeks flustered and red.

"Well, no time for that. Come, sit down. We're on in twenty minutes!" 

Svetlana hastily guided Melania to her chair where she sat with her skin pale as a ghost. Svetlana applied some mascara and eyeshadow on her eyes while complaining about how she has too visible dark circles under her eyes, to which Melania apologized. She was donned with a layer of concealer and some bb and cc cream with some bronzer and contour to really pop her face out. Melania had her thin blonde hair straightened and tied into a low ponytail.

"You're lucky you're so pretty. Otherwise this would've probably taken an hour."  Svetlana said to which Melania giggled nervously. 

The theme for the task was "2018", and Melania's outfit was inspired by the 2018 Prada women's fall/winter collection. Dystopian, sci-fi themes were prominent in Prada's collection, and Melania's outfit was no different. Bright neon green heels took the center stage, with a loose peplum dress with a waist strap and hues of orange, black and pink mixed boisterously, sat with a transparent black shoulder strap. To complete the look, a bright orange Prada robot handbag has been put in place.

Just as she finished putting on her outfit, the announcement was given for the models to be onstage as they start in five minutes. Melania quickly adjusted her dress and put on some finishing touches on her face. She looked in the mirror one last time and admired herself. She wanted this. She has been working all these days for this. She took a deep breath and headed for the main stage.

The place was decked out in lights. There were lights above, near and on the stage. A big stage was prepared for the models to walk on. A black runway with lights at the sides led to the table of judges right in front of the stage. Cameras and cameramen were moving here and there to capture snapshots of the models. One after the other, models filed in onto the stage. They had all been assigned different outfits from the same theme. There were the likes of purple and black jackets and coats, with black and green boots dominating the footwear colors, to describe a few.

Melania looked at the other models, who looked as nervous and anxious as she was. Their faces showed signs of nervousness, with some of them starting to fidget nervously. She saw the others' outfits which looked a bit poor than hers, but again, its all about the way the model carries it.

She wondered how Vladmir might be doing now. Probably off doing something productive, she hoped. God knows how often she thought of him. The events of what happened a year ago frequently gets replayed in her head like it happened mere seconds ago. She longed to see his charming, wide smile, his blonde hair fraying in the wind, his arms holding hers. Since she had left for Slovenia, Vladmir hasn't called or texted her. Melania was very worried but she had been too absorbed in work to be able to contact Vlad herself. Whatever he was doing or wherever he might be, Melania hoped that he was doing well.

Another announcement for the models to get in their positions snapped Melania out of her thoughts. It was time for the models to show their outfits. They went behind the stage where each one came out from one side and walked on the runway. All of the models flaunted their worth and poise, leaving the judges very entertained indeed.

As the last model had walked off the runway, a tumultuous applause from the judges came shortly after. The final task was finished, and with it, a year of hard work. Melania breathed a sigh of relief as she headed to her studio to change to her casual clothes. Since the course is over, Now comes the waiting part during which Model Group picks five graduates and announces them. Its nerve wrecking. Melania hated waiting.

-------------------------------------------------------one week later------------------------------------------------------

Melania poured her morning cup of hot coffee as she stared out of the window to a very rainy Maribor day. Big, fat raindrops peltered the window and kissed the glass while slowly slithering down. The day was cold and dark and dreary with grey clouds covering the sun. Melania was bored. She was planning to go outside today but that has been completely removed from the equation due to the bad weather.

 She thought of calling Vladmir. She wanted to check up on him so bad. She wanted to tell him what she was up to, how Slovenia is like, How she actually wakes up early now. She was just about to contact him when her phone rang.

"hello?"

"Hello, Melania. This is Katie Olbygov from Model Group. We have contacted you to let you know that you have been selected among the five graduates of our 2020 batch. Many congratulations and thank you for all the hard work you have done. From Model Group, we wish you a very bright future moving forward. Thank you again and have a good day."

+lmao ok well here it is i personally think i could have done better but i like the way it turned out. Again, feel free to rly pour the feedback i wud greatly appreciate it thank u :)+