The evening
shot was dragging out. This time she wasn't about to replicate her
stupid mistake. Christina asked for a short break, fired up her phone
and sent Ulf a short email saying she was going to be late.
She didn't
have time to wait for a reply, but at least she didn't just vanish
like she had done that time. He still hadn't forgiven her entirely.
And it promised to be a fun date to boot. She'd make up for
that one as soon as she had time. If she could. Ulf was always the
better one at planning their few dates. He had this uncanny ability
to draw up new plans with but a moments notice and act on them.
Whatever he was doing for a living he was very, very good at it.
I almost
never see him any longer. Different classes, her modelling job
and now the culture festival planning kept her from their own club
room. On top of that her own little secret. A cram school where she
concentrated on learning Japanese. She couldn't afford another set of
disastrous exams like the last finals, and as with Ulf her Japanese
was the worst impediment.
All in all it
meant she only saw him during short breaks and possibly when they
arrived at school. It was driving her mad.
Those thoughts
cost her another set of shots that had to be retaken. Kinoshita-sensei growled and she meekly accepted his admonitions.
That last set had been anything but professional. Another fifteen
minutes delay and she had effectively burned half an hour. There
would be no meeting him tonight neither.
Christina made
a renewed effort to focus on her job, and the next hour passed
without any major mishaps. There were snide comments though. She rose
in fame much faster than anyone else, and with her own photographer
this shortly in her career resentment grew all around her.
I don't
need this crap. First those idiot seniors at school and now the same
treatment here. But it wouldn't go away. She knew from her
previous life how lonely this job was. Only the second tier models
made good friends, and those came later in their careers when they
made safe money but weren't seen as a threat any longer.
After the shot
finished she changed clothes. She made sure to check her clothes for
needles or anything else that a jealous model could have planted
there before she put them on. She sniffed everything she used for
removing her make-up for the same reason. Now wasn't a good time to
end up with blisters in her face because of some perverted idea of a
prank.
When she
started out on this road for the first time the dangerous pranks,
which were really not pranks, had scared her. This time she took them
for granted. Scarring a model's face opened up a chance for someone
else.
They might
look beautiful, but fashion was an ugly business, and she knew that
better than almost anyone else.
She left the
studio and entered a late summer's evening. Japan wasn't Sweden.
Summer dragged on much longer here. Outside her bike waited with
flattened tires, so she brought out the compact pump she always
carried with her. At least no one had come up with the idea to slice
them open and a couple of minutes pumping was a low price to pay for
the career she had ahead of her. After checking that her brakes still
worked she pedalled away.
Nothing short
of a physical assault scared her much, but since the episode in the
locker room that scared her a lot, and now there wouldn't be an Urufu
to come to her rescue. That made her treasure his birthday present to
her doubly.
But I still
want to spend more time with him, she sulked as she took a corner
and came up on the streets taking her home. Damn, I shouldn't have
stood him up on that date! One way or another it would cost her.
She didn't know how, and she didn't know when, but sooner or later
there would be a price to pay.
When she came
home she fished up her phone. There were three messages. Two from Ulf
and one from Ko-chan.
The first was
a reply to her earlier email where he hoped she wouldn't be too late
and that he'd call her later. The second from Ko-chan asked if it was
OK to transfer some of her planning work to Ulf.
The third made
her heart jolt. Ulf was coming over and could she please wait for him
until she heard him at the door?
Christina
dropped her phone to the tatami mats and got out of her baggy clothes
faster than she would have thought possible. Seconds later she tore
through her wardrobe. He's
coming here! Ulf's coming here!
Something nice
for him. Not too overdone, but still something to tell him how much
she had longed for him.
She had donned
a top she knew emphasised her curves and was looking for a skirt to
go with it when she heard knocking on the door. She gave that skirt a
moments thought before she giggled and ran for the door in her
panties.
Just as she
opened it her phone rang from where she had dropped it earlier.
Funny, that's Ulf's signal,
she thought as she opened the door. Who? That's not Ulf.
Two hands
pushed her inside and when she fell on her back she heard a roar from
outside. Someone was sprinting up the stairs, and the stranger who
had pushed her vanished.
What's
going on? A head showed in the door opening. “Ulf?”
“Did he hurt
you?”
“What?”
Ulf rushed
inside and she found herself caught in a bear hug. “I told you not
to open the door before I was here!”
“Is she OK,”
another voice said from behind Ulf's back.
What's
happening? “Ulf what's going on?”
“Amaya,
thanks. We got here in time.”
“Ulf! Tell
me what's happening!”
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