Regina straightened her extra short purple plaid skirt and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. Making sure that her stylish red beret was properly positioned so that it slightly covered her right eye; she boldly stuck one fashionable purple wedge in front of the other and strode out onto the glistening walk-way. Tilting her chin upward, Regina cat-walked towards the end of the path and struck a pose, making sure that her silver halter shone in one of the spotlights. After a second of silent awe, the crowd below her cheered and she turned and sauntered away, back into the darkness of backstage.
As soon as Regina disappeared into the dark doorway, Melissa; complete in an adorable light blue night-gown and a matching blue hair-ribbon, shoved Regina aside and pranced out the door, beautiful and glowing. Before she left she made sure to smack Regina on the head with her blue purse. Regina scowled and rolled her eyes. Melissa always thought she was the queen of everybody. Heading towards one of the benches, Regina plopped down and grabbed her teal bag from underneath it, pulling out a bottle of water. Meaghan, one of the other girls backstage, sat down beside Regina and rumpled her curly chestnut colored hair, which was set to match her dark blue ruffle skirt. “Got a mirror?” Meaghan mumbled, holding out her hand. Regina nodded and pulled out a mirror from her bag, not bothering to reply. Talking was something that one did very little of backstage at a fashion show, especially with a self-conceited snob of a fashion queen like Meaghan.
Meaghan took one look at herself and whipped out her own bag, a hot pink purse with studded rhinestones. Without a moment of hesitation she snatched out a bright pink lipstick and smeared it over her lips, jumping up as soon as she was done. Throwing the mirror back at Regina, Meaghan shoved her lipstick and bag back underneath the bench and scurried out the door just as Melissa walked in. “Watch it,” Melissa growled, retreating towards a bench opposite Regina.
Ripping off her blue hair-ribbon and throwing her blue purse down on the ground, Melissa stomped towards a tall, thin lady standing in the corner, making sure to kick Regina once as she passed by.
“Miss Me-lody!” Melissa whined, whipping open her gold cell-phone. “This is stupid! I told you I didn’t want to wear this lame blue dress with these dumb heels! I almost tripped in the middle of my cat-walk!” Miss Melody stared at Melissa unsympathetically and sighed dramatically, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder. Dusting at her golden diamond-encrusted shirt, Miss Melody studied her well manicured, jewel-encrusted nails and said with pretend sympathy, “I am so sorry you almost tripped, darling. Those heels are simply too much, and I told the caretaker to polish that walk-way.”
Melissa frowned and stuck her nose up in the air, simpering, “Well, next time make sure he polishes it. And I don’t want to wear these stupid heels ever again, or else I’m calling Mrs. Hurston.” Miss Melody looked up, for the first time looking even the slightest interested. “Darling,” she coaxed, “Don’t call Mrs. Hurston, now. We’re all fine!” Melissa huffed again and spun around, sauntering away. “Make sure of that!” she ordered.
Regina rolled her eyes again. There was Melissa, acting like she owned the place; threatening people with Mrs. Hurston. Mrs. Hurston was Melissa’s rich aunt, the one and only financer of The Devil’s Angels, the fashion industry that had hired Regina to model for them last summer. It had been the perfect dream job, the one thing Regina had wanted ever since she was old enough to understand what the word ‘Model’ meant. And she was good at it, even Melissa had to admit that. But the one thing Regina hated the most was the fact that even though Melissa would have to admit that she was good at modeling, Regina would have to do the same for Melissa. They were both good, both pretty and fashionable, with a thin, fit body and enough style and glamour to impress the crowd. The only difference between them was that Melissa always got the best outfits, the best jobs, and all because of Mrs. Hurston. That was something Regina would never get.
A tap on her shoulder made Regina jump. Looking up, she saw Eliza; her best friend, grinning down at her in a tight silver dress with gorgeous silver streaks in her dark brown hair and sparkly silver eye-shadow. “Oh. My. Gosh.” Regina cried, springing up from her seat. “You look amazing! Way better than Melissa!” Eliza smiled. “I know,” she admitted, laughing. “But hey, you look really good too, Regina!”
Regina shook her head. “No, I don’t. You could find this anywhere on the street. I mean seriously; dark red plaid beret, silver halter, purple plaid skirt, black leggings and purple wedges. Even that weird girl in biology, Allie something I think, dresses better than this everyday. They didn’t even give me a purse or a frayed scarf to go along with it, and I’m wearing basically no makeup or jewellery whatsoever! Eliza, Miss Melody is going to fire me soon if I don’t attract some more attention!”
Eliza laughed and rolled her eyes. “Regina, you’re being overdramatic. Miss Melody isn’t going to fire you for something that isn’t even your fault. She’s the one that assigns the outfits, not us. And besides, you still look really good, Regina. You have a natural flare for looking amazing all the time.” Regina grinned. Eliza was always there to cheer her up. Plus she was always right.
Shaking her hair out of her eyes, Regina dug into her purse until she pulled out a tiny digital camera. “Smile!” she called, snapping a picture of Eliza posing. Eliza laughed. “Okay, I have to go now,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at the door. “It’s almost my turn.” Regina nodded and looked up at the clock on the wall. 9:45 PM. “I have to go, too,” she muttered. “My mom’s picking me up at 10. Good luck on your cat-walk.”
Eliza bent down to give Regina an air hug. “Can’t mess up my make-up,” she said with a smirk. “Sometimes being a model is the pits.” Regina giggled and got up, swinging her bag over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow at school. Remember, that history report is due.” Eliza stuck out her tongue and Regina giggled as she headed towards the small, cramped change-rooms. Pulling out some cloth from her bag, she changed into her usual attire, complete with a long, sweeping black coat from Louis Vuitton. Gorgeous.
Regina quickly stepped out of the change rooms and through the back exit, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of Melissa. She raced through the loaded parking lot, heading towards an old, scraped blue car parked to the side.
Reaching it, Regina pulled open the door and slid inside, safe. From the front seat, her mom turned to smile at her. “Hi, honey, how was the show? You did great, sweetie.” Regina smiled back, still keeping one eye locked out the window. The door of the back exit had slid open and Melissa was just coming out, still wearing the blue gown. It figured. Being the great Mrs. Hurston’s niece meant that you got to keep all the clothes you modeled.
Regina’s mom tapped her arm gently. “Regina? Are you okay, dear?” Regina nodded, finally looking away from Melissa. “I’m fine, mom. And the show was really good.” Her mom smiled and gave Regina a hug, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Well, I’m glad to hear that, sweetie. I’m proud of you. That was amazing. Now, ready to go home?” Regina nodded tiredly before falling asleep on the seat of the car.
“Good morning, sleepy-head. Rise and shine!” a voice called in Regina’s ear early the next morning. Regina yawned and opened one eye, squinting in the bright sunlight that streamed from her bedroom window. It was Eliza. “Eliza!” Regina cried, sitting up in bed. “What are you doing here?” Eliza grinned sheepishly. “I begged your mom to let me come up here early and wake you up. But Devin isn’t here yet. He’s coming to pick us up for school later.” Devin was Eliza’s older brother. He was a senior in Red Dale High School and already drove a car, while Eliza and Regina were still juniors. Regina had had a crush on Devin since forever, especially since he drove them to and from school every day.
Regina let out a loud yawn and got up, squeezing Eliza in a tight hug before flipping through her closet for something to wear. Finally she pulled out a cute, girly dark blue mini-skirt and a long, sleek silver cashmere hoodie, paired with dark blue high heals that matched her skirt and glittery silver leggings. “Hmm… you don’t think this is too simple, do you?” she asked Eliza, examining herself in a mirror. Eliza pursed her lips and thought for a minute, then walked over to Regina’s dressing table. Pulling out the top drawer, she took out a pair of sparkling silver earrings, some silver bangle bracelets, two glittery hair-bands and an electric hair-curler. Twenty minutes later Regina, with her newly curled brown hair tied up in two cute pigtails, grabbed her backpack and a silvery-gray purse and the two of them headed off.
Outside, Devin was leaning against the hood of his shiny red jeep, looking perfect with his tousled hair, gleaming blue eyes and brilliant smile. When he saw Regina he winked, tossing his car keys up in the air and catching them. Regina blushed, brushing her hair back nervously, but Eliza just elbowed her and smiled.
“Wanna catch a ride?” Devin called out, grinning at Regina. Eliza rolled her eyes. “Devin, you know we ride with you everyday. If you’re trying to be the next Romeo, you’re definitely not cutting it.” Devin glared at Eliza and she glared back, daring him to comment. He didn’t. Instead, Devin pulled open the front door of the jeep and climbed inside, starting the engine. Eliza rolled her eyes again, opening the back door and sliding onto the leather seat. Regina followed, still too frazzled to think too clearly. The only thing she could think about was how Devin was handsome enough to be a male model. He was even more handsome than Ethan, that model she had met during a photo-shoot for JCPenny.
Eliza elbowed her again, jotting Regina out of her thoughts. “You still like Devin, don’t you?” she asked, whispering in Regina’s ear. Regina blushed again and shrugged. Eliza smiled. Regina looked down and tugged nervously at the hem of her skirt. Suddenly Devin spoke. “Hey, Regina,” he said, his voice deep and handsome. “Are you still modeling?” Regina, caught off guard by the question, jumped and asked, confused, “What? Right now?” Both Devin and Eliza laughed, making Regina blush yet again. “Oh, no, I…” she said, flustered. Devin shook his head, his eyes meeting hers as he stared at her in the rear-view mirror. “I’m sorry. I meant, do you still do modeling?” Regina nodded, and muttered yes. They had already arrived at the school parking lot and Devin was backing into one of the parking spaces. There was no time to say anything. As soon as the car stopped moving, Regina flung open the door and jumped out, running away. Behind her, she could hear both Eliza and Devin shouting her name, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was to get away from all that embarrassment. She had been so dumb! How could she have messed up such an easy question like that? And Devin had laughed at her. He must think she was such an idiot! Mascara and tears running down her face, Regina headed for the one place she could think of to hide and get herself back into see-able condition. The girl’s bathroom.
Ducking inside, Regina quickly grabbed a tissue and started wiped away her tears and mascara. Gazing at herself in the mirror, she sighed and shook her head miserably. Her face was red and blotched, her mascara all gone, her lipstick was smeared all over her face and her eye-shadow and blush had somehow smeared together all over her nose. Washing her face off in the sink, Regina reached for her bag to begin operation re-beautify, but to her surprise, all her hand felt was air. Suddenly she realized the awful truth: She had accidently left her purse in Devin’s car! The purse that had her cell-phone, makeup, accessories and her whole life in it! Now the only thing she had left was the heavy backpack on her back, and it was crammed with nothing but homework, homework, and more homework. She was doomed.
Roughly pulling off her hair-bands, Regina stuffed them into her pocket and tried to sort out her messy new curls. Nothing seemed to work. Finally, Regina just left them to crowd around her face and, taking a deep breath; walked out of the girl’s bathroom, for the first time in her life makeup-less.
To her dismay, the first person she bumped into was Eliza. “Regina!” her best friend cried, hugging Regina in a tight squeeze. “Are you okay?” Looking up, Eliza stared right into Regina’s face and gasped. There was nothing shiny, glittery, colorful, or even slightly bad for the skin. Regina was makeup-less. “Regina, what happened?” Eliza asked, bewildered. Regina couldn’t even manage a single laugh at her friend’s shock. All she could say was, “Purse.” Eliza’s eyes instantly moved to Regina’s shoulder, which was surprisingly empty without the usual cute bag hanging there. In fact, Regina didn’t even seem like the amazingly gorgeous model-girl she always was, but somehow, she was even prettier in her own way. “What happened?” Eliza asked again, not sure of what else to say. Regina took a deep breath and her voice wavered like she was going to cry again, but instead she said, “I left my purse in Devin’s car.”
Eliza nodded, understanding. It might not seem like such a big thing, but Eliza knew how big a thing it really was for Regina. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I’ll go find Devin and get it back for you. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Regina nodded gratefully and she let out a deep breath. Suddenly, someone bumped into Regina, making her turn around...
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