Another Part Of Me

Chapter 35

Luciana stood behind the backdrop with her name on it. She tapped her fingers on the side of her thigh and waited on her cue to rip through the plastic. Her dancers were on stage in still positions. Once the music started, she ripped through as the audience went wild. "Hello, Sacramento! How are y'all doing tonight?" She smiled at their cheerful response. "5,6,7,8!"

Luciana's POV

I wasn't nervous at all. The pain and suffering in my life must have meant something, because it all lead up to this moment. From all those voices in my head telling me I'd never grow up to be somebody. I've realized that I am a somebody, and I'm a somebody with ambition. I feel like I can do anything.

As I watched the smiling faces and the dancing people in the audience last night, I realized that I do have a purpose here on this Earth. I made a promise to myself to live my life to the fullest and to leave the past behind me.  I'm praying to God that my crew and I will go even farther, with faithfulness in our every step.

I received a call from the Fashion Magazine representative the other day. They'd scheduled an appointment for me to come and model for their next cover. I was super excited. I haven't done any modeling aside from my album shoot. I was feeling kind of under the weather, but I hoped I still look decent.

I arrived at the set at about 12 in the afternoon. A tall woman walked close to me with open arms. She looked like she was in her 40's or early 50's. She was much taller than I, and she had beautiful vivacious blonde hair with brown highlights. She rested her arm across my shoulder.

"Come, come! I must introduce you to everyone."

She told me her name was Claire. As I walked into the dressing area, there were multiple people working and they were all dressed in black. It was such a friendly environment. They made me feel comfortable.

After my hair and makeup was finished, I glanced in the mirror. I gasped. They'd tied my hair into a ponytail that draped to the side. They'd also enhanced my eyelashes and polished off my look with a shimmery black lipstick.

"Wow. You guys are good."

The photo shoot went well. The photographer told me I was a natural, and I was given information about the magazine's release date. I thanked them and was on my way home to rest. I couldn't bear with how terrible I was feeling any longer.

I'd scheduled a meeting with the band and the crew, but before I could call them to let them know I was cancelling, my house phone rang. I dropped my bag in the living room and headed over towards the phone.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Luciana, it's Carlos. I was calling in regards to the meeting."

"Oh yeah, I was just about to call you all. I'm cancelling it for today. I'm a little under the weather."

"I can hear it in your voice. Is there anything you need?"

"That's really sweet of you. I should be okay though."

"Are you sure?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, talk to you later."

"Bye."

I called the rest of the crew seconds later. I was glad they were understanding. I started losing my voice which scared me. This was a bad time for me to have a cold or fever. We had a lot to cover. I made myself some chamomile tea and sat at my coffee table in silence.

Unexpectedly, about ten minutes later, there was a knocking at my door. I looked through the peephole, but I couldn't make out the person's face. I cracked the door open a tad and saw it was Carlos. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hands.