You guys got me to #25 on Teen Fiction and #88 on the Watty Awards. That means so damn much to me you probably can't understand. I cried when I saw my ranking ;). Please continue commenting and voting?
But anyways, do you guys think that maybe you could vote and comment for this chapter like you did last? I have a question for you: who do you think Kirsten is going to end up with? Harrison or Garrett? Give me a reason.
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<3 Infatuated
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Lauren swept a critical eye over us, placing her hands on her bony hip. When we all passed her test, shifting uncomfortably under her judging stare, me looking down at my blue pump covered feet, she took a step back and clapped her hands together, making all of the cameramen and makeup artists scatter nearer to the props section.
"Alright. Garrett, Angela, Alonzo, and Kirsten. I'm personally team America, so let's make this a good one, okay? Now, who's dating who? I want to get this whole chemistry love thing right cause it's more fun and to see if I can encorporate it into the photoshoot."
We shifted awkwardly, at least me and Garrett did until I said, "Alonzo and Angela are currently dating."
Lauren clapped her hands again, the bracelets on her arms jangling. "Awesome! Let's get this started. I'm your photographer for today! Kirsten? Can I get you next Garrett? Fold your arms over, look tough with a little smirk on your face? Yes, yes that's great. Lean on his shoulder a little as if you need him to support you. Pierre, fix that hair. More tough! Yeah, that's right. I want this first set to show off your mean side."
She paused, tilting her head to the right side. "Kirsten I want you with the knife. Garrett, I want you with spatula and Angela, I want you with that huge ass grate. Yep, good good. Alonzo, toss that apron over your shoulder like a superstar."
Somewhere in the background, a fan turned on, whipping Angela's hair back as we positioned ourselves; I stood next to Garrett, my arms crossed over and the knife tip in my mouth, like a pirate from Peter Pan, careful to stop my hand from shaking so I wouldn't slit my mouth open. The morbid appearance as blood dripped down my face all over my body might send the wrong message into the media world. Garrett placed his elbow easily on my shoulder, crossing his over arm over so the spatula was next to my ear. Angela pouted into the camera and leaned completely on Alonzo from behind, her blond hair and the grater resting on his chest casually. Alonzo then stood, hand on his hip with an arrogant look on his face, no smile, just a conceited smirk, the apron flung over his shoulder, the white contrasting nicely with his red sweater.
"Perfect, perfect!" Lauren shouted over the camera shutter going off and the fan noise. I could feel a trickle of sweat going down my back as I shifted a bit uncomfortable under the hot lights gleaming onto my visauge. "Angela get closer to Garrett! It makes it look like Kirsten and Garrett are a couple and we don't want the media to gobble that up. Great! Keep that look on your face. Kirsten, nice creative touch with the knife! Garrett cross your arms, act more dominant and demanding!
" New positions! You're getting the hang of it! Must all watch America's Next Top Model in your free time. I've guest worked on that show three times already."
This time, Lauren stuck me next to Angela in the middle of the stage, wanting us to look like the mean girls while Garrett and Alonzo shielded us from the world. I held an egg beater in my hand, pointing it at the camera with my legs out in an Uncle Sam position and a slice of tomato in my bare mouth, the juice trickling down my chin, while Angela held a pot loosely in her hand, dangling down to her knee thanks to her overexaggerated relaxed position. Garrett had his arm over Angela's waist, gripping it possesively with a knife pointing out from her hip as Alonzo stood closely next to me, a rolling pin being slapped in his other hand like a teacher dolling out a punishment back in the day. I must admit that we probably looked like an intimidating group, more intimidating than the smiling Aussies.
Lauren was constantly moving, asking us to shift around so that our arms and heads were in different positions every time. After she seemed satisfied with the film that she produced on a small screen, viewing it for over five minutes as we stood awkwardly with the props in our hands, me with a chewed up tomato, she clapped her hands again, it seemed to be a habit of her as a way to gain attention, and shouted, "Dang guys, that was really good, way better than the Aussies. Let's move on to the next section. I want some funny poses okay? Too mean makes us look like a bunch of bitches."
We all nodded our heads like obedient soldiers and got into our new positions as she directed. I found myself sticking out my tongue and holding a chopping board over my head as if I was about to break it like a crazy ninja. Garrett donned a white apron spelling "Kiss The Chef" and held a smiley face pancake on a plate while Angela licked a spoon covered in white frosting and Alonzo juggled plates in his hands like an expert. Every few seconds as my tongue got drier, the camera flashed, and Alonzo continued to throw his props around, I would gear myself for a big crash next to me, but none came.
I switched spots with Angela and we took a couple more shots, Lauren occasionally shouting orders as my shoulders, arms, and legs gradually got more tired.
Then came the last major pose. After we were 'refreshened' by makeup artists, hair sprayed, lips reglossed, and bronzer reapplied, Lauren directed us around once more.
"Garrett hoist Angela into your arms. Yes, don't be shy and Alonzo stop giving him death looks. That you growling? Alonzo, grip your girlfriends legs so that she's straight from her stomach to legs. No! I don't want to see the underwear! Pierre? Mind getting two sets of forks and butter knives? Garrett, Alonzo, hands out in front, grasp those utensils and hold them out in front of Angela's body. Use your arm strength men. Kirsten, go get those white porcelain plates and the red checkered napkins. Stick those right on Angela's body like on a table. There we go! Kirsten squat down, no not like you're about to take a piss but act as if you were sitting in a chair. Yep. Take that bowl of red, white and blue ice cream, I don't suggest eating it since it's mashed potatoes in reality. Act as if you were going to take a big spoonful! Good! Now all of you, don't budge!"
Lauren's request was completely unreasonable for me as my calves strained from doing the sister of wall sits, my feet trembling and hurting inside of my pumps. I envied Angela as she propped an elbow up with a smile on her face, completely relaxed as Garrett and Alonzo held her, their arms trembling slightly under the strain.
Finally, with a couple of last shots and more shouts, Lauren set her camera onto a tripod and clapped her hands... again.
"You guys are so great! After your crazy culinary gig, you should totally get into the modelling world!"
I looked at her as if she was crazy; I was not going to spend my youth eating cuccummber spinach sandwiches on thin slices of whole wheat bread.
"Anyhow, Kirsten, I need you right now by yourself. I want some individual shots of everyone and maybe some pair ones. You call them sous chefs or whatever, right? Okay then, everyone off! You all can admire. Tommy, drag that table and that chair up for me? Kirsten, hop onto that stool. Yep like that. Trying lifting up your right leg and placing it on the table, heel and all. Perfect! Now take that fork and put it in your mouth, downside. Good good! Now give us a nice sultry look yep!" The shutter went off a few times before Lauren beamed. "Awesome! One more shot!"
The table was removed and I was asked to lean against the seat, bracing myself again the head of the chair and putting my other hand on my hip. Pierre positioned my hair so it spilled down the front of my dress and I stood there for a couple of seconds, a placcid expression on my face as Lauren commanded.
"Alrighty! Angela, you're next!"
I stepped off the stage shakily, giving Angela a smile as I headed to Garrett and Alonzo who both had their arms crossed over their chests, Garrett looking at me while Alonzo following Angela with his eyes.
"That was really good. I liked it." Garrett whispered to me as Angela started to do her thing.
I blushed, my hair hitting the fan and muttered a quiet 'thank you' as the camera continuously made sounds and Lauren praised Angela on her modelling ability.
When Garrett was called up and he walked away with a small swagger, I watched him as he mounted the steps and shot Lauren a dazzling smile, confidently and easily taking the pan and following her directions.
First, Garrett winked into the camera, the pan causally behind his back as if he had just slung a jacket of his shoulder. Then, he put on a chef's hat and sat on the table, legs resting on a chair, but even with the ridiculous get up, he still managed to looked handsome and confident doing it, as if he was right in his element. Which he probably was since he had done photoshoots before.
After Alonzo finished with a bunch of whipped cream on his dark face, Lauren grinned and muttered, "Okay then! Kirsten and Garrett, you guys are up!"
I looked over at Garrett as we ascended the steps and he looked rather comfortable as we stood on the stage while I was feeling nervous. Ignoring the pain in my feet, I plastered on a smile as Lauren started giving us directions.
"Garrett, you comfortable with being real close with Kirsten?"
From behind me, I could feel him stiffen, and a sad smile appeared on my face. Then he muttered 'no problem' in a gruff tone and Lauren smile.
"Alright then, wrap your arm around her waist, yes right there, and place your chin on the top of her head. There we go. Kirsten cross your arms and lean back into his touch." From behind Lauren, Alonzo wolf whistled as Angela rolled her eyes at her boyfriend before shooting me an encouraging smile.
"Loosen up guys! It's not like I'm acting you two to makeout or something!" Lauren shouted as she shot a couple of images, frowning down at her camera.
I tried to wiggle a bit to loosen up but I was trapped in Garrett's arm and my wiggling probably would look like I was grinding with Garrett. Regaining my position, awkwardly trying to make it professional as possible, I sighed when Lauren signalled a scene change.
"Okay guys. Now I want you two to lean against each, back to back. Yeah, act like you guys are supporting each other. Fold your arms across your chests. Look at me! Tough, tough! Come on, add some dimension!"
After we were done, Alonzo and Angela went up and proceeded to shoot their pictures, one second looking into each others eyes and the next sticking out their tongues at the camera. Once they finally finished, Lauren clapped her hands and shouted, "we're halfway there guys! Who's excited for the promotional video?"
Looking down at my feet that looked swollen and red, I groaned.
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Pierre was waiting for me when I got back to the makeup room, a row of hangers, attached to numerous articles of clothing, on his skinny, tattooed arm.
"You were really good." Pierre mused, as he inspected me. "Real good for a newbie."
"Thanks." I muttered tiredly, groaning when I saw the ever present array of makeup and accessories. "Now what do I have to do?"
"Here." Pierre chirped, shoving the hangers into my hands. "Take these and put them on. I won't watch, I promise. Then we'll go from there."
Quickly stipping out of the flag dress and my shoes, taking off my necklace and earrings with fumbling hands, I eyed the tight white dress that Pierre had shoved into my hands before putting it on and zipping the back. I admired the style and cut of the dress: it was obvious that the designer had gone for a dress that looked like a chef uniform and he or she had a done an exceptional job, especially with the stretchy fabric.
The top of the dress was a V, a collar pushed down to the right side by a set of uniform buttons found on a chef's attire, revealing skin from middle to left, without a sleeve at the left. The collar edge led to a line in the fabric that was sewed with the same buttons, going from the chest all the way down to the top of my hip. The dress ended at mid-thigh and the one sleeve went down to my wrist, the entire getup tight. Pierre paired my outfit with a pair of strappy, gold high heels, dangly gold earrings, and a simple gold necklace that had to be draped over several times.
Pierre then ushered me into the high stool again, taking out my tight ponytail that was giving me a headache and brushing out my sleek hair before taking an curling iron and working on several strands of my dark hair, easily wrapping them around the hot rod.
After he was done with my hair, now in loose, hot curls that traveled down to the middle of my back, Pierre took off all my makeup. "I'm going to go for a more natural look for the promotional video, okay?"
I nodded but then he shook his head, and scolded me for moving.
After been dusted, smoothed over, glossed, and fussed over, Pierre spung the stool around for the second time so I could take a look at myself. This time, he had applied a thin line of eyeliner to both eyes, swept my eyelashes up a bit more, and then covered my eyelids in glittery, gold eyeshadow that contrasted nicely to my green eyes. My lips had been painted with a shimmery, pale pink color, lighter than Angela's previous ones, and my cheeks were void of any rouge.
"Thanks so much Pierre." I muttered gratefully, smiling at him through the mirror.
Pierre patted me on the back and merely nodded a welcome, a smile on his thin face.
"I'm getting so sick of this." Angela muttered at me as we headed to a new room, this time a stark white void of any color except for the black cameras and video equipptment cluttered around a corner. She was dressed in the same outfit as me except her dress was a bright red and her shoes were blue.
"I'm getting sick of these high heels." I grumbled, looking down at my feet that thankfully had gotten less lobster red than when they were in the blue pumps.
"Okay guys! You all looked refreshed." Lauren called out, a cameraman following in her footsteps. "This is Andy and he's actually the head camera man at ICAF. He's going to be the one videotaping y'all today while I direct. Andy, meet Angela, Kirsten, Garrett, and Alonzo."
The portly brown-haired man flashed us a white smile, waving awkwardly around all the equipptment. "Nice to meet you guys." He said in a soft voice, beginning to set up the recorders and cameras.
"Alright! Everyone get to their x's!" Lauren shouted as everyone launched into a bustle.
I walked quickly to a spot on the floor that was taped with electrical tape and read Bellini. Standing over it, awkwardly close to both Angela and Alonzo, I waited for Lauren's instructions, trying to ignore the camera men walking around us and the cameras at the front of the room.
"This'll be a lot quicker than the photoshoot guys. I'm only going to need maybe two or three shots. That's all." Lauren said, signalling to Andy.
Andy launched into action. "Okay, you all's theme will be spaghetti and meatballs. Tommy, give Kirsten the ladle with the marina sauce, give Garrett the grater and the hunk of cheese, pass Alonzo the dried spaghetti, and give Angela the meatballs."
"Kirsten, when we start, I want you to fling the sauce at the camera guy. Place the ladle at your left hip and when we start, move your arm in a sweeping motion so the sauce come out. Garrett, it should be pretty easy. Grate the cheese, but looking fierce doing it. Alonzo, hold up the noddles and then break the sticks in half and then drop it to the ground. Angela, toss your hair back and eat a bite of the meatball. You guys got it? I hope to finish this in one shot."
Bracing myself, I watched a guy next to the main camera hold up the black and white sign. Another shouted three, two, one and then the former guy snapped the sign down and I was in action. I flung the spaghetti sauce at the camera man, twisting my body and letting my hair fly into my face. I could hear Alonzo break the spaghetti but couldn't tell if Angela and Garrett and done their part.
When Andy yelled cut! after what seemed like five seconds of filming, a smile went on his face and he started clapping. "Awesome guys! That'll be it. You guys were really amazing. Everything was perfect. We're going to edit it a bit and put it into slow motion for the video."
Lauren clapped as well before coming over and giving everyone hugs, but all I could think was that it was finally over and I was glad that I didn't have to clean up the mess we made.