Winter Air (Sequel to Night Air)

Chapter 3

*Alyssa's POV*

"You're coming right?" Eleanor asked me as she linked her arm with mine and we walked down the streets of Los Angeles.
"Of course I am," I laughed at her question, gripping my leftover Applebee's in my free hand and, yes, it was the same Applebee's that Niall and I took Lux to. "I wouldn't pass up a party, you know that."
Eleanor shrugged and looked away from me and towards the busy traffic. "Just wanted to make sure."
I chuckled again. She never bothered asking before, but I just kind of shrugged it off. "You're dropping me off, right?" I asked as I got into the passenger seat of her 2014 Buick Regal.
"Yeah. It's right on the way back to my place so it's no problem." Eleanor told me, getting in on her side and closing the door after her.
I smiled and strapped myself in. "What time does the party start?" I looked to Eleanor and she briefly glanced at me.
"About seven until, well, everyone drops basically or leaves," she said with a laugh. "Why?"
I looked at the clock and saw it was almost two in the afternoon. "Just trying to figure out how late I might be." Eleanor looked back to me for another split second with a confused look. "There's some mandatory meeting after we get through some shooting and outfit fitting and a few other things."
Eleanor smiled at me after she lost her confused face. "You know, I'm proud of you for making it in so fast."
I scoffed and looked out the window. "You're one of the few. The rest just think I'm some useless rookie who only got the job because some other girl got knocked up." I shook my head and felt El's eyes on me from across the car.

"Well, we all know that's not the case and that you are actually a fantastic model. I mean, I auditioned and they didn't chose me and I've been at this for quite a while," Eleanor said. I looked back at her as we stopped at a red light. She had a soft smile and I returned it. I was glad to have a supportive friend like El. She even helped me out by giving me some more modeling tips when I saw her again at the audition. I felt like I only got it because I was "young" and "fresh" and they "liked that", but El insisted it was more than just being younger than most of the others that tried out.

A few minutes later, El pulled her car up to the entrance of the Victoria's Secret Los Angeles headquarters. I thanked El as I climbed out of her car with my food. "Have fun!" Eleanor called and waved. I gave a wave back after I shut the door and walked inside. The hallways were quieter that day as I was a bit early and there wasn't much going on outside of interns and designers that worked there. I headed down the hallway to the hair and makeup room. That day we were just trying out a new collection that had just been released. We were more or less asked to be the lab rats. We would try on the clothes, get all dolled up, and then have our picture taken numerous times. Then, the photographers and sales people would get together and decide whether or not the collection would sell or if we needed to take more photos before just tossing the idea of selling whatever it was out the window. These days were always the longest because there was always a shit ton of things to do. Not to mention, we had a meeting about something after we were finally done. There was no doubt I was going to arrive to the party late, but at least I had a way to unwind since the week was almost over.

Twenty minutes later, the hair and makeup room was full and everyone was sitting in front of a vanity. The place was a sight to see when all of the models were there and the makeup people were busy. "So did you enjoy your time off?" My makeup artist, Josh, asked me.
I smiled at his reflection. "I did, actually. I got to spend some time with friends and do some shopping and get some time in the gym," I told him with a smile. Josh was always my favorite person to work with whether he was doing my hair, my makeup, or asking for some advice on a new thing he wanted to design. He was just so fun to talk to.
"Oo, girl," he laughed, "that's been me with the shopping. I've been shopping nonstop for my little nephew's birthday party and you would not believe the shit I've been through." I giggled as he stopped working and started to speak to my reflection. "I went to Penny's on four separate occasions and not one time did I find what I was looking for. Not once. But then, no, Jeffery goes there one time and immediately finds what I've been looking for this whole damn time." I suppressed my laughter as he shook his head and started to curl my hair. "But I mean, at least he was a kind enough boyfriend to buy it for me to give to my nephew. He's so sweet sometimes." I finally let some of my bubbling laughter spill out. Not because the story was all that funny, but because of Josh's excitement.