Forgotten

Part 67

Alexis' POV:

"That's it", Nichole said, as she set her camera down.  

I looked at her questionably.  "That's... it?"

She smiled.  "Yep.  That's it, babe."

"Wow", I said, happy that we had finished the photo shoot, but now wondering what all this meant.  "Now what?  I mean... what now?"

 "Now... we give the photos the the agency.  And let them decide.  It's all out of our hands now."

And with that, there was a sense of finality.  That was it.  This is what it all came down to.  I sighed nervously.

She put her arm around me.  "Babe, it's gonna be fine.  You've put the work in.  And gave it your best.  Now, it's out of our hands."

"So now what?" I asked, as she packed up her equipment.

"Now we wait.  We wait to hear the agency's decision."

The decision.

The decision if they were going to use me for the cover of the magazine.  Or not.  The decision that could potentially decide so much of my career.  Or lack of, for that matter.  The decision, that I only knew too well, could make or break me.  It could elevate me to success.  Or leave me standing on the sidelines, never to get back "in the game."

And the truth was, like it or not, modeling had become important to me.  And it's not like it was the end all be all.  Because it wasn't.  I was in college, deciding to major in art.  I would be a college graduate in a few short years.  So, it's not like modeling was all I had.  But all the same, unexpectedly, modeling had somewhere along the line, become important to me.  Because, quite simply, it made me feel good about myself.  It gave me confidence.  

But when I was modeling, it was always just me and Nicole.  She didn't allow anyone else in the room when we were shooting.  Because she knew, that would be too much for me.  Because she knew my past, and all that I had been through.  She knew I needed things to be kept simple, and uncomplicated.  And she was definitely right about that.

Then suddenly it hit me.  The reality of the situation came crashing down upon me.  

"So", I said, as we walked to her office to finalize everything before giving the final photos to the agency.  "What does all this really mean?"

She gave me a weird look." Lexi, what do you mean?"

And I suddenly felt overwhelmed.  Because I knew we had talked about it, but up until now, it all felt like... well... just talk.  Because honestly, I didn't think I'd ever actually get this far, because the agency had, after a long process, had narrowed it down to just me and two other models, both of who had way more experience than me.  Way better credentials.  Way better... everything.   So, I didn't even really know if I had chance.  But regardless, it suddenly all felt real. Or at least one step closer to being real.

"We already talked about this... a lot", she said.  "Before you decided to even take this on."

"I know.  But it never seemed real.  Until now."

"Well, it's hard to know exactly.  But being on the cover of a magazine could potentially skyrocket you to international fame, Alexis."

I gulped, suddenly feeling even more nervous . "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

"Why do you say that?" she asked, stopping what she was doing, and  looked up from the photos that were scattered all over her desk.

"I don't know.  That sounds... kinda scary", I said, honestly.  Because up until now, my modeling "career" was just part time, scheduled around school, kinda do what I want when I want type of thing.