The Designer and the Model

Chapter 4 - Modeling?

Chapter 4

"Tea is ready, get down here now!" Mom hollered out from the kitchen, putting my headset down I rushed grinning ear to ear as I went to the kitchen.

"Hey mom, smells good." I look up a chair and ladled some of mom's delicious spaghetti onto my plate before searching for the cheese.

"Get down here now, I know you were out of bed today I found your robe not stuck to you. Don't be disrespectful and have a fucking family dinner with us like normal peo-"

"Yeah, I'm here love."

I slurped up my spaghetti as I turned in my chair to see dad, back in his robe. Kind of disappointed I focused back on my plate.

"How was work mom?" I asked as she sat next to me. She eyed me strangely and shrugged before focusing back on dad as he joined us.

"You can put that disgusting robe back in the washing basket after dinner, it wreaks of cigarettes and fucking sadness."

Uncomfortably shifting in my chair I trained my brain on my mouthful of food.

I didn't know how to tell mom and dad I got the job, I didn't want to make it all about me. I wanted to hear about mom's day so she knows I care.

"Was it busy today mom?"

She stopped her fork and closed her mouth with a sigh "Charlotte it's the same every fucking day, I clean up after other people than come home and clean up after you people. It's not interesting."

"She's just asking love, Charlotte had an interview today. Didn't you?"

I shrunk as mom death glared dad across the table but smiled nervously at dad wiping my mouth "yeah I did."

He gave me a wink and gestured me to tell more.

Dad and his car were gone when I finished my interview, he had to get a tow back home and so I had to take a bus. When I got home he was back in bed so I hadn't had the chance to tell him anything.

"Well?!" mom snapped at me.

"I got it." I flinched quietly as my cheeks pulled my face, mom looked from me to dad and gave me a waiting stare.

"I'm going to start Modeling, I'm getting picked up tomorrow to get driven out to Manhattan."

My face started to hurt from all the smiling, it warmed my heart to see my mom smile back, but it was short lived.

"What do you mean by modeling? Modeling what? How do you know it's not a sex trafficking thing?!" She scoffed at me shaking her head and dropping her fork. She starting leaning her head in her hand.

"Mom it's legit, there was heaps of people lining up to be there and it's not anything weird like that. There is this designer that's looking for a model, everyone had to do a runway and photoshoot. They didn't want anything weird from me, if it was anything like that you know I would have left." It took a bit to convince her but dad was really proud and excited for me, even offering to dip into his saving to get me some new clothes for my trip. Mom busted that idea but I appreciated that he was onboard.

-

"Alright, I need to go to work" mom gave me a too brief hug and a pulled smile, "call your dad when you get there and give him the address to where you will be staying so we know where you are. Good luck and I hope it works out for you but I'm serious. No funny stuff, if things seem sketchy, I don't care what they give you or even the money, I don't want you doing anything like that. Okay?"