“Alright Maddie, I’m gonna need you to lean a little farther forward.” Maddie tilted her hips, her chest pushing prominently forward with her legs spread uncomfortably far apart. The lace teddy she wore barely covered anything and the fabric was grating against her skin. “That’s great babe, now look surprised.”
What the hell? Maddie thought. This was a shoot for a catalog, not a porn intro. She flatlined her lips and cocked an eyebrow. The man behind the camera grimaced and moved from his crouched position on the floor to a stand. His accent suggested his Austrailian origin but had a slight Eastern US overlay, as if he had moved to the States when he was young.
“Alright, that’s not right. How about something more relaxed? You’re on a beach and you see the man of your dreams out in the water…” With that image, Maddie burst out laughing.
Man of my dreams, yeah right. She stood straight and held up her hand.
“I’m gonna need five minutes. I’m thirsty.” It wasn’t true but she needed a break anyway. She grabbed the satin robed placed just off to the right of the photoshoot area and draped it across herself. Modeling was getting to be a drag. Her dream had always been to act but she took advantage of the modeling opportunity when it surfaced. Besides, it’s not like she could complain about her life. She had more money than she knew what to do with, she was told she was beautiful on a daily basis, and, after a shoot or two was done, her free time was her own. She reached the table that held numerous water bottles, grabbed one and cracked it open. She downed half of it just as her assistant reached her. The nervous looking Asian man lightly tapped her elbow. Maddie turned and cocked her infamous eyebrow again.
“Miss Tyler,” the man began in a soft voice. Too soft for a man, really.
“There’s a package waiting for you.” He looked over his heavily rimmed glasses. He motioned toward the back of the studio, where assistants for other people were wandering around.
“I left it back here.” He finished.
Maddie set the bottle down and followed him. His name was Greg. Or was it Craig? She wasn’t sure to be honest. She had had three assistants start and quit in the last month. Craig made number four. It wasn’t as if Maddie was hard to work with. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She had always been a person to take care of herself and do things for herself. Her modeling contract, however, dictated that she needed an assistant. It was supposed to relieve the models of weight on their shoulders but it seemed more of hindrance to Maddie than anything. They reached the back of the studio and he handed over a padded envelope. When Maddie grabbed it from his hands, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Maddie looked over the package. It was a computer generated label and had no return address. She opened it, tipped it in her hand and a heavy
necklace fell out. It was antique looking and held a large, emerald color stone in the middle. She glanced inside the envelope to see if there was a note or something but it was empty. She dropped the envelope and held the necklace up to the light. There seemed to be some sort of inscription around the edge of where the stone was held. Maddie rubbed at it slightly but it was still too tarnished to read.
“Miss Tyler! We’re ready when you are please!” The photographer shouted across the room. Maddie lifted her head up at him and smiled slightly. She looked back at the necklace in her hand and walked back to the shooting area. She walked right up to the photographer and held up the necklace.
“What do you think about adding this to the shot, Jack?” He was looking down at his camera, fiddling with the lens when replied.
“Sure babe, whatever.” He didn’t even look up as she placed the necklace around her neck. Immediately her legs gave out and she collapsed on the floor. Her head spun in circles and everything went black. Then, a blindingly bright light shot through her vision and a gravelly voice spoke to her.
You are mine now. I am yours. We are Earth and we are together. Maddie couldn’t place the voice as male or female. It held of twinge of authority that made her shiver. All the sudden the spinning and the light stopped. Maddie opened her eyes to see Jack and Craig standing over her. Jack was speaking to her but she couldn’t hear him. Craig looked worried. Craig always looked worried.
“Babe? Babe? Can you hear me? Maddie?” Jack’s voice finally pierced through the cloud hanging in Maddie’s ears. She sat up, sweat pouring down her face.
“Maddie?” He asked again. She took a deep breath.
“Wow, what happened?” she asked. She took the bottle of water Craig held out to her and took a small sip.
“You passed out,” Craig answered.
“Do you need something more to eat?” He pushed his glasses up farther on his nose and shifted slightly on his feet. Maddie heard Jack mumble something about a hangover and she ignored him. She would never drink the night before a job. She looked up at Craig again.
“Actually,” she replied as she took his hand and stood,
“I think I’m done for today. I’d like to go back to my hotel room. Tell Jack that if he hasn’t gotten his shot, we can reschedule for another day.” She turned and walked out of the studio, still in her lace teddy and still wearing the emerald necklace.
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