SHOOT: A Novel

by Kristen Flowers

  Everything seemed like some sort of crazy dream. Against all odds, I had managed to be booked by one of the top modeling agencies. I didn’t think that was any small coincidence and figured I would have to be a fool to let such an opportunity slip through my fingers, especially because I truly was interested in it.

  Once I was done taping up the pictures above the desk and thinking about my parents and siblings, I went right back to feeling out of place. I knew there was nothing in my limited wardrobe that was nearly as glamorous or sexy as anything my new roommates would have. I didn’t know much about the current fashion trends and now I was mentally kicking myself for not having looked into that. Instead, I had taken to the streets of New York my first week there. Maybe I should have been shopping after all. My thoughts were interrupted when Nadine knocked on the door.

  “You need any help picking out an outfit?” Nadine asked after I opened the door.

  When I bit my lip and looked down at my feet, she cautiously approached the closet and pulled open one of the doors. Right then, Sarah and Caroline stepped in.

  “What’s up guys?” Caroline asked, but didn’t wait for an answer before peering into the closet from behind Nadine. They realized I didn’t have anything remotely Brooklyn-worthy and consulted each other silently, seemingly coming to an agreement purely from looking at one another. Without a word, Nadine walked forward and grabbed my hand to take me into the living room where she signaled for the other two to bring out some options from their own wardrobes. That was when I pieced together what they had been talking about.

  I wanted to protest and assure them I couldn’t accept it, but at the same time I knew I had no choice. If I wanted to experience the nightlife I needed to look the part. Besides, maybe it could be like a bonding experience to have them fix me up in a way I couldn’t do on my own.

  They showed me a million different dresses. I had no idea what to choose since I had never worn anything remotely close to them in my life. Finally, Nadine helped us decide on a little black dress thinking the simplicity of it might help my transition. There was just one little problem with it. It was skin tight and many inches shorter than any dress I would have bought on my own. But when I looked in the mirror I couldn’t deny how good it looked on me. It was well suited for a night out.

  Once the matter of the dress was settled, they started to tug at my hair and put make-up on me. They did what they called a “full face,” because it was my first time and we were heading out to a trendy club so I really needed to do it up. When they finished, Nadine handed me a pair of blue velvet pumps. I looked them over skeptically. They were extremely tall and I worried I would be unable to walk on them.

  “I know it’s daunting but those are the type of shoes you better get used to in this line of work,” Nadine said with a slight laugh.

  “Your feet will hate you at first and, well, that never really stops!” Sarah said and the three of them erupted into laughter. I chuckled nervously, but my mind was still stuck on learning to handle the shoes I held in my hand. I was really in the city with a potential career in front of me and now I was befriending my roommates, all of whom had plenty of tricks and tips to share with me.

  Nadine stood up and thrust her hip out, placing her hand on it and making her face serious. “You need to learn the walk,” she told me before walking up and down the living room as if it were a runway. “Even your everyday walk should look more like you’re strutting your stuff.”

  “Modeling can feel like a 24-hour job,” Caroline said with a look of worry.

  She seemed the most serious in sharing these inside tips of what it was like to be a model, but I knew that even what Sarah and Nadine said with laughter had merit. I was making mental notes of everything and it was starting to feel overwhelming, so I excused myself to go into the kitchen for a glass of water.

  “That doesn’t look anything like a strut!” Nadine called after me, making Sarah burst into laughter once again. Being a good sport, I playfully swayed my hips in exaggeration before turning into the kitchen. I heard Caroline’s soft laugh and it brought a smile to my face as I poured some water into a small glass and drank it in one gulp.

  From the moment I had set foot in Grand Central Station, every day had been quite the roller coaster of emotions, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was all just part of my budding new life.

  The girls lead me to what they said was a popular bar. It looked like a regular, old brick building kind of tucked away in an unassuming part of the neighborhood. There was a steel-plated sign titled “Roses” set above the door with a string of bright red lights outlining it. Even the sidewalk area was packed with hipsters and yuppies.

  The girls tugged me inside and I quickly looked around at the trendy place. One wall was exposed brick while the opposite wall had a dull, dark wallpaper. All the tables and chairs I saw were made of dark wood except for the barstools that looked like copper. The bar itself was painted a deep turquoise color. I found the way it looked among all the kitschy rose décor interesting.

  As I looked around I noticed most people were drinking a beer with a blue emblem on it. When I got a closer look I noticed it was Pabst Blue Ribbon, something I had seen in the grocery store at Fort Dodge but never thought it was a popular choice.

  Nadine saw me eyeing the beer, “You shouldn’t drink beer. It has too many calories.”

  “And you get bloated,” Sarah added with a laugh as she motioned towards her stomach.

  “I’ll order us all a round of vodka soda,” Caroline spoke up.

  Caroline walked over to the bar to place the order, inevitably drawing stares from men as she weaved her way through the crowd.

  “You shouldn’t have juice mixes either,” Nadine piped up, “they have too much sugar. Vodka soda, nothing else.”

  It hit me that, although I was naturally thin and had been casted the way I already looked, I had suddenly been thrust into a life where I really had to watch what I ate. I would have to manage every aspect of my physical appearance.

  Caroline came back and handed us all our drinks. I took a sip and grimaced. I hadn’t had alcohol back home, especially not anything with hard liquor. But it was all a part of my first taste of nightlife and that was thrilling. I looked around, fascinated by the way the men and women moved among each other. It was obvious the men were scoping out their options and the women were either trying to get some attention or trying to seem like they didn’t care.

  Very few of them gave off the vibe that I gave off, which was that of just wanting to get out and have some fun while experiencing something completely new. In fact, even my three roommates gave off the vibe of just wanting a good time. There clearly was a sort of ritual to it all, the way the young women and men acted in the bar. I was twenty-two, but had never seen a single night life atmosphere before. Not like this. The only kind of courting I saw back home was men asking women to dance at the local fall festival. This scene was entirely different—so different it practically made my head spin.

  “I spy a table,” Sarah announced before grasping Nadine’s wrist and making a beeline to a table toward the back of the bar, conveniently with four chairs around it.

  I followed behind Caroline, walking a bit slower as I looked around. It was hard not to notice all the men openly ogling us, myself included, and I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Sure I had been checked out and hit on plenty back in Iowa, but the way the men did it here and the environment made for an entirely different ball game. I took a seat against the wall and continued to look around.

  “One day you won’t even remember the feeling you have now,” Caroline told me. I turned to look at her questioningly. “This is all so crazy to you now, I know. A day will come where it’s all so ordinary you’ll barely even remember the spot you’re sitting in and everything running through your mind.”

  I said nothing. I took a sip of my vodka soda and pondered on what Caroline had just said. she was probably right, at least to some extent. B
ut in that moment I couldn’t imagine being completely used to this sort of life. How could I forget anything about my first taste of nightlife in the city? Besides, it was also my first time out with my roommates and I couldn’t imagine forgetting that either.

  Just then, a good-looking man slid into the chair beside mine and turned to flash me a toothy smile. He had wavy, blond hair, but it was too dark to tell the color of his eyes. Either way, he was very good-looking and he was clearly interested in me. Out of a table full of stunning models, it was me who had caught his eye.

  “Hey there,” his voice was deep. I smiled at him and took a sip of my drink, suddenly feeling even more out of place than before. “How’s it going?” he asked, obviously hoping to strike up a conversation with me despite my initial silence. I could sense my roommates staring and me as my cheeks grew hot.

  “Fine,” I replied with a nervous smile. I had absolutely no idea how to go about this. I was still young and naïve, especially being a girl from a small farming town. He chuckled, clearly charmed by how shy I was.

  “You certainly are fine,” he muttered as he leaned in closer. I tried my best not to cringe so obviously at his greasy one-liner. He had come off as something of a nice guy at first, if a bit insistent, but it had all been ruined by that last remark. Perhaps he just wanted to pay me a compliment, but I was too embarrassed to play along.

  He wasn’t the type of guy I was used to being hit on by, neither in looks or behavior. It wasn’t long before I was feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation, so I started thinking of a way to ask him to leave me alone without being rude.

  With a half-smile, I swept my hand through my hair, “I am.” The way I said it, however, made it clear I was talking about my mood.

  “Never seen you here before, but I sure am glad I saw you tonight.”

  “Well,” I said before taking a small sip of my vodka water, “It is my first time.”

  “First timer, huh?”

  That was enough for me. There was something about his tone of voice and the look in his eye that was too much for me to deal with. All I wanted was to enjoy my first night out with my roommates.

  “Yes,” I shot back. My voice had gotten even quieter so that he had to lean in to hear. “I’m here with my friends.” I said pointedly.

  He turned to look at the other three women, who were busy pretending to make small talk amongst themselves, but he seemed to get the hint. He nodded and stood up, walking off toward the bar.

  Not a full second had passed before the other three rounded on me. “He was so good looking!” Sarah cooed, eyes looking over at him.

  “You’re a lot shyer than I thought,” Nadine teased.

  “He was also kind of…” Caroline trailed off and frowned before finishing up her drink. As the other two continued to tease me for being shy and letting him get away, I exchanged a glance with Caroline.

  It was true, I was shy and the moment he started talking to me I felt excruciatingly embarrassed.

  After Sarah came back bearing a second round of drinks, we toasted to my new life before they pulled me to the center of the bar to dance the rest of the night away.

  I arrived to Shoot bright and early on the following Monday. Thankfully, Caroline helped me navigate public transportation the previous day so I was able to make it on my own. I felt like it was quite an accomplishment. Sonja met me in the lobby again once I arrived. As we made our way up the building I was feeling a little more confident than before. Sonja said she wanted to start getting my modeling portfolio together as soon as possible.

  I took an entire day over the weekend to read up on my new career. I also picked my roommates’ brains that night and Caroline’s the following day. I was determined to feel at least somewhat prepared for my first day of work. Modeling was not a 9-to-5 office job where I had to clock in and out and keep my boss happy, but it was still my first day of work. It was on Saturday that I learned a portfolio was basically my calling card, it was one of the main things that would make or break me in the industry.

  “We want to send out your portfolio to all the big fashion labels just in time for New York Fashion Week. They have model selections coming up and we all are in agreement that you’ll be a prime candidate despite your lack of experience.”

  I listened intently but as we walked into a hair-and-makeup room and Sonja walked out to fetch Carol, my thoughts started to drift. Even though Sonja had a ton of confidence in me, New York Fashion Week was a major event. Models worked hard for years to get a chance to be in it.

  Yet here was this top level scout from one of the top agencies having full faith that I would get in on my first try with zero experience under my belt. I looked in the mirror and tried to see just what was so amazing about my looks, but failed. I knew I was pretty, but I never thought of myself as that pretty. When I looked at my reflection it was just my face and nothing more. I didn’t see a model—just me.

  “Its nice to meet you!” A woman said with a warm smile and an extended hand as she walked into the room. “I’m Carol.”

  “Chloe.” I said as I reached out my hand.

  As soon as our greeting was over, Carol got to work on styling my hair. She started by running a hot flat iron through it even though my hair was relatively straight, but the end product looked a lot sleeker and lustrous than usual. She ran some product through it to give it more of a shine and then mussed it up just enough to give it character.

  “How do you like New York so far?” Carol said as she bent forward and observed every aspect of my face

  “I love it.” I started to tell Carol about my roommates. “I’m so glad they’re all so cool and friendly. I think I might have had a meltdown if they weren’t!”

  “You’d have been fine,” Carol told me before applying makeup on my cheeks.

  “I guess,” I sighed. “It’d have been a lot harder, though. They took me out to a bar called ‘Roses’ my first night there. It was a good ol’ time, but this guy put the moves on me and I wasn’t really into it,” I laughed before closing my mouth as she got to work.

  “That’ll happen. Especially with your looks, you know? You’ll have hundreds of men fawning over you at any given point in time.” I closed my eyes as she applied what felt like all the eye makeup in the world. “I’m glad you were able to push his advances away, but you’ll soon learn the shyness of yours will shed little by little. New York has that effect on people.”

  I gave her a half smile as I pondered over what she had just said. It took over an hour to get my makeup done and that left me in disbelief. Despite my roommates applying a “full face” when we went out, it wasn’t nearly as involved or heavy as what I had going on now.

  When I was done, Carol stood behind me and admired my reflection alongside her.

  “Beautiful. I know it might seem like a lot of makeup, but the camera will like it I promise.” She said with a smile and patted me on the shoulder.

  She handed me a robe and stepped out, letting me know I needed to get out of my clothes, save for my bra and panties, and into the robe before heading over to the photography studio.

  “They’ll have some pre-selected outfits and clothing items there for you,” she explained. I took the soft robe and quickly undressed to pull it on, tying it snug before stepping out and walking down the hall to the photography studio.

  When I stepped inside my heart dropped. The first person I saw was Brad. With all this talk about makeup, hair, and Fashion Week I practically forgot about the drop-dead gorgeous photographer.

  Sonja walked over to me with a smile. “You’ll be working with Brad again since he did such a spectacular job on your test shots. You two really had a natural chemistry and that always helps producing great photos.”

  She stepped aside for a moment, leaving me an opportunity to look at Brad with his tight white t-shirt, well-fitted jeans, and his camera in hand. It wasn’t until I heard the clicking of Sonja’s heels that I turned to see racks of clothing behind the big
lights. There were plenty of shoes and accessories to choose from. I was starting to feel overwhelmed yet again. Certainly I wouldn’t be expected to throw together a glamorous outfit, right?

  As I watched Sonja rifle through the clothes hanging from the racks, my eyes started to sparkle. There, in front of me, were so many pieces of clothing from world-famous designers and they were being carefully chosen for me. It was exhilarating.

  “Everything looks good,” Sonja said as she stepped away from the racks and turned to face Brad and I. A small bit of horror ran through me when I realized Sonja didn’t pick out an outfit for me to wear. “I’ll be in my office,” Sonja went on.

  I gulped and turned to look at Brad, blushing. I didn’t know how to act around men and he made me feel quite vulnerable with his camera and dimpled smile. Now I was going to be alone with him and I was more than aware of being dressed only a robe and my underwear.