11
"Hello, Ly!! It's been a long time!! How are you?" greeted the tall lady in her thick Kiwi accent. She smiled at Alyssa, revealing her perfect set of white teeth. With her long and slender legs, she easily towered over Dennise.
"Amy!!!" Alyssa, to her excitement of seeing her long time friend, let go of Den's hand and took Amy in a tight embrace. "I missed you! When did you get back?"
"Few months ago!" Amy answered, taking Aly in a hug again. After breaking the hug, she stared at Alyssa's face with a sympathetic look. "I heard about you and Lau... I thought you'd make it... Everyone did..."
"Yeah... well..." Alyssa side-eyed the person beside her and took her hand back in hers again, lacing their fingers together. She met Amy's eyes again but this time, her vibrant smile was back. "Anyway, this is Dennise. And Den, this is Amy, one of the creative directors of the summer fashion show on April."
"Dennise!" Amy kissed both of Den's cheeks enthusiastically. Somehow, this made Den more comfortable with her. "I see you're doing good, Aly. That's nice to know."
"Thanks, Amy. Teka, 'di pa ba kami late?"
"No, no. Sakto lang. They're still preparing."
"You're getting good in Tagalog na ah..."
"Oh, I have to if I want to live here." Amy gestured the two to follow them. They used the elevator in getting to the seventh floor where the casting event awaits them. "There you go."
"Wow. Talagang may catwalk. Ilan ba ang kasama sa show?"
"Four big names and I am so excited for Hyped. Thank you for bringing the Singaporean brand here in the Philippines, Ly."
"We just franchised. Ikaw naman, para namang sa amin 'yung clothing line." Alyssa chuckled.
"Still the humble one, huh? Come here. They want to meet you."
Alyssa and Dennise were lead to the panel table. There, Alyssa met the fashion designers and product managers of the different clothing lines.
"Take a seat, hon." Alyssa pulled a chair first for Dennise and sat next to her, making sure she was okay. "Coffee or fruit shake?"
"Shake nalang, Ly."
"Sure. Two fruit shakes po please. Thank you." She told the server that was attending the guests. "Ate Rachel was supposed to be here..."
"Uhm, she works for Hyped too?"
"You can say that... She's a model. Hindi mo alam?"
"Oh... Silly, I should have known. Tindig palang niya eh."
"But she's more of an editorial model pero minsan, she models for Hyped."
"Here, Ly..." Amy occupied the chair beside Alyssa. She was holding some portfolios in her hand that she carefully placed on the table. "Some of the potential models' portfolios. You might want to check it before we start in five minutes."
"Thanks, Amy." Alyssa took one and scanned each page. Not long after, she'd shut it close and pass it down to Dennise. She did the same for the next four portfolios which made Amy think that she was not interested in the other models.
"You don't like them?" Amy asked.
Alyssa politely smiled and shook her head. "It isn't like that. May hinahanap lang... There you go. I was told she'd be here."
She pushed the portfolio back to the table as Amy surveyed what was on it. Seconds later, she giggled. "Of course, you'd go for her. Bawal biased, Ly!"
