CHAPTER 2
Tonight's the event held by the new fashion designer Rhine Hicks. Her clothes are not that good. I've worn better clothes made by amateurs. So far, hers are the worst.
"Vi!" I shouted. All the girls inside the dressing room turned to look at me.
Violet walked towards me. "Yes?"
"How come that girl gets to wear the corset while I don't?" I looked at the African-American girl across the room. My voice is loud and clear that all eyes turned to her. She twitched on her seat. "I mean, look at her. Compare that face to this," I put my hand under my chin, "face."
Violet frowned. "Blair, Rhine assigned those clothes to her."
"What? But I want to wear a corset too! Call that stupid amateur! Now!"
"Blair, we have no right to make demands like that. She's the organizer of this event. You're only a model and-"
"But I'm her star model! If she won't give me what I want, I won't even hesitate to leave this goddamn place!"
"What's happening here?" Rhine Hicks entered the dressing room. She turned to me expectantly, most likely annoyed. Among the girls here, I'm the one who complain the most. And that's saying something 'cause we're all brats.
"I want a corset," I demanded.
"You won't need it."
"I don't care. I want to wear one."
"It's not suitable for the gowns I made that you're gonna wear," she explained to me in a gentle voice that resembles a doctor talking to her patient before giving her an injection.
"I don't care. Give me a corset or I'll leave."
We stared at each other. The tension here is tangible. She's the one who broke the stare first.
"The answer's no. You can leave if you want to. Let's just see what your parents might say about that."
I stood up, enraged. "You bitch!" I threw her the lipstick of the girl nearest to me. It missed.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Look who's talking." She picked up the lipstick and handed it to the model who frowned. She threw the cosmetic in the trash bin. Rhine shook her head and left the room.
I screamed out of frustration. "How dare you walk out on me? I should be the one who'll walk out! Scene-stealer!" I stamped and get out of that room. There are so many people already. It's too crowded that I accidentally bumped into a girl with long brown hair and big lips. Actually, if she hadn't been wearing sky-high pumps, she'll look like an elf.
"I'm sorry," she told me. I just rolled my eyes at her. What a clumsy person.
I went outside for a smoke.
"Do you have a lighter?" the voice sounded familiar. I turned to have a look at the speaker.
Oh.
"Hector," I acknowledged him and handed him my lighter.
"I thought you're quitting this?" he asked, gesturing to the cigarette.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Who told you?"
He shrugged. "It's not healthy for women."
"And it's healthy for men?" I snorted. "I learned from grade school that men and women have the same respiratory system."
He just shrugged. "So you're a model here?"
