Let Me In (Au) - An Ereri Story

~6~ The Interview Pt. 2

Levi steps into the room, full of confidence and looks directly at me. I can see his tongue dance across his teeth, then he clicks it and gives a small half laugh, half scoff. "Well, I hope you can all model and my photographer can work his magic on you all. 'Cause, damn, you all look like shit."

My mouth gapes open and I just stare, incredulously. The fuck? I turn to Connie and see he has the same look plastered across his face.

"Jesus, you should see the looks on your faces. It was a joke." He drawls shaking his head at us. "You. Come here." He says, pointing at me.

I gulp and open my eyes wide. I look at Connie nervously and he just shoves me forward and shrugs. "Me, sir?" I say pointing to myself.

"Yes, you." He sighs. I walk towards him. "Now, I want you to stand in the middle, just there, and give me your sexiest look. Alright? Just remember, you have a job on the line."

"Okay." I squeak out, and follow his directions. Shit, I'm glad I looked up basic poses online last night. I place one of my thumbs in my pocket, the other I use to push back my hair slightly and I tilt my chin up, staring into the camera. With what I hope to be a sultry look.

"Nice..." I hear the cameraman say softly. "That's really great." He takes the shot and pulls it back to take a look, showing Levi. He just gives the man a nod.

"Next!" He says.

"That's it?" I ask.

"For now, I'm cutting everyone down after each round. I only have space for two new models, you're lucky you even made the cut, Kid." He says before turning away. "I'll be back in an hour, Erwin. Keep them on their toes, will you?"

The cameraman, now known as Erwin, nods his head and motions for Connie to step up. "Sexiest pose, please." He repeats Levi's instructions.

We each do several poses, never getting to take a look and just hoping we make the cut.

The doors reopen to reveal Levi and Hanji in tow. "Alright, Erwin, what's the verdict?" He asks.

"These two, are alright. This one has some great potential and this one... He has guts, he's raw but I can work with it." He replies, never looking away from his camera as he shows them the shots.

Levi nods and flicks his wrist. "Springer, Jones, Garrison and Jaeger: You're through. The rest of you, I'm sorry but it's time for you to go." My eyes open wide and I look at Connie with a wide smile that he returns. "Don't get your hopes up just yet kids, there's still a long way to go." He sighs before turning away and following the rejected applicants out of the room.

"Alright, let's take a break. Follow me and I'll take you to the cafeteria." Hanji says and walks out of the room. "Okay, so you have 20 minutes to freshen up and get a snack. We'll be back to get you then."

After scoffing our light snacks and a quick conversation on the shoot, Hanji and Levi enter the cafeteria and call us applicants over. "Okay, this time you're not doing the same kind of shoot as before. It's gonna be for an underwear campaign."

"Great, this is where I get thrown away." I whisper to Connie who just snickers in reply. "Thanks for the vote of confidence there, man." I glare at him.

"Sorry! Just chill, you'll do fine. It's not like it's your dream job anyway, yeah?" He whispers back.

We return to the studio, which is suddenly a lot warmer. "The heats on for a reason. Trust me, no one wants to be stripped down to their boxers in the cold." Erwin says as we enter the room and Hanji takes a seat in the corner, her clipboard in hand still. "Right, all of you get undressed and take a seat when you're done. I'll call you up when I'm ready."

"And suddenly I feel ridiculously self consious." I say with a nervous laugh as I begin taking off my clothes.

"You're not alone in that one. I feel way out of my depth here." Connie replies.

"What? You were a natural up there earlier. It's like you were born for this!" I punch his shoulder lightly.

Once we're undressed we take a seat, shortly after Erwin calls one of the other guys up first. The guy, Jones, fumbles a bit at first, not knowing how to stand. He holds his hands in front of himself and covers his junk.

"You do realise this would be for an underwear campaign right? So, you can't cover the underwear...?" Erwin says, raising an eyebrow at him.

I felt sorry for the guy. He was first up and he was standing in his underwear in front of a bunch of strangers. I'd be the same.

Shit, I gotta do that too. How the fuck am I gonna pose?

Erwin sighs and takes a couple of halfhearted photos whilst shaking his head. He gets the next guy up who is marginally better and can actually strike a pose. Even if it is really awkward.

"Alright, Springer, you're up." He sighs to himself, setting the camera up again. "You two are my last hopes so I pray you don't let me down."

Connie steps up and actually amazes me. He's fully pulling it off, his tan and abs make for a great photo. "Looking hot, Con!" I cheer him on and he smirks.

All too quickly its my turn. I step into the middle and bite my lip softly. Thinking of what pose to strike and then it hits me. "Alright, you can do this, Eren" I say pepping myself up. I walk to the back and lean my body softly against the wall, bending one of my legs slightly. I raise one of my arms and place my hand behind my head and rest it on it, then with my other hand I hook my thumb into the band of my boxers and turn my face away a bit.

I hear multiple snaps of the camera and adjust my pose slightly every so often. "Yeeesss, you have talent kid. Raw talent." I hear a loud clap at the back of the room and I drop my pose suddenly.

Levi is standing there, a small smirk on his face and he's clapping his hands. At me. He's clapping, at me. I raise one of my arms and rub my neck and give a shy smile. I can feel my neck, ears and cheeks burning. "Well, Erwin, do we have our new models?" He asks.

"Yes sir, I believe we do." He says with a smile.