New York, July 2017

'Hey mamasita hold up!'

Amy turns around as her friend Trevor comes sprinting towards her. She smiles as she tucks a lose strand of hair behind her ear and then wraps her arms around him. The handsome football player picks her up and twirls her around before finally putting her back on her feet.

'I wanted to wish you good luck before you go off.'

'Trevor, it's nothing special. They will probably take two or three pictures that end up somewhere in a folder only to never see daylight again.'

'Impossebro man. You are like the hottest chick on campus!'

Amy frowns her brow but before she can really reply her [i]bro[/i] has already tapped her on the shoulder with his fist.

'Ya know… for a lesbian.'

Her mouth drops and some air escapes. She blinks twice before she knows what to say.

'Oh whatever Trevor. You are just jealous that I can get it on with more girls then you. Or are you jealous of those girls that they can get with me huh?'

'Ouch mamasita… wraff!'

Amy starts laughing at the puppy imitation and kisses the soft brown cheek. Trevor is clean-shaven and smells like soap. Not bad for a football player. Not bad at all.

Dallas, July 2007

'Karma, you will do wonderful. You have the voice of an angel and you come up with the most fantastic songs. I don't even know how you do it.'

'Mom please…'

Karma gently breaks free from her mother's tight embrace. The smell of weed is making her slightly nauseas. She knows that her mother means well. That's not it. It is just that this feeling is gnawing on her brain. She hasn't been able to write songs since… since she decided to let Amy go. A stab of pain hits her in the middle of her chest and tears instantly well up in the corner of her eyes. She swallows hard and tries to breathe the pain away. It's been 2 years, 3 months, 5 days, 6 hours and 37 seconds now and she was still counting them.

'Oh Karma dear, I know you are scared but there is no need. You will have such an exciting time. You are going to play music and make friends and maybe even try some pot sometime.'

Her father starts to laugh softly at his own joke and her mother eyes him adoringly. Another stab at the heart. Amy used to look at her that way when she would say something stupid or weird. She even gave her that look every single time a boy made her throw up. Karma realized that she had lost it, she had lost it all because of a boy.

'I am such an idiot.'

The expiration leaves her mouth before she can help it and her parents stare at her in shock. After a few seconds, that feel like an eternity, her mother reaches out for her redheaded daughter. No longer able to hold back the tears Karma storms out of the room. She needs air.

New York

'Okay, I need you to lift your chin and tilt your head slightly to the right. Yes! That is perfect don't move!'

The photographer almost explodes from enthusiasm as he makes Amy take on the most ridiculous poses. She is not sure if it makes her comfortable or exactly the total opposite. It is not like she would say anything about it if she was uncomfortable, that was not her style, but she still wonders. It was all so new and unfamiliar to her that she is not quiet sure how to behave.

"Okay, I need you to keep your head still but move your stare towards the light over the…NO! Don't move your head, do not move your head!"

"I…I…I am sorry."

"I told you not to move your head and what do you do? You move your head. It's not rocket science. F*ck! Now we have to start over again. Move your head back as closely as possible… Yes, YES! Like that! Wonderful! NOW listen; move your tiny little eyeballs alone towards the shiny bulb behind my left shoulder. That's a good girl… Now try not to blink."

Amy's throat instantly feels dry. She is definatly uncomfortable now. If people will treat her like this she's not so sure if this is the way she wants to make some extra money.

"Phillip! That is quite enough, you are terrorizing this beautiful young girl."

Amy cannot help but move her head towards the soft and gentle voice. There, right behind the bright lights is the silhouette of the woman who just spoke. The blonde frowns her eyebrows and tilts her heads as she tries to see more.

"Mary, what a delight!"

The photographers voice instantly rises by two octaves. It is not a secret that this Mary is important. Perhaps she owns the studio? Amy doesn't exactly know what it is and the woman must have seen the puzzled look on her face since she elegantly steps into the light and walks towards her. Amy's mouth drops as she sees the long slender legs and the velvet red heels, the laced white dress tightly around the beautifully formed body, the way her red hair sways with every step and then her lips… Ruby red lips that look extremely delicious.

Dallas

"I expect nothing but your full attention and presence in every single class. I cannot care less if you are sick. Right now you might hate me for it and think that I am harsh but do you want to become an artist? Get over your little tiny egos then and get used to this! The life of an artist is hard! If you don't want to lose yourself in a world of drugs, eating disorders and weird fetishes then you need to prepare yourself."

Karma swallows hard as the teacher is spitting her words out into the class. With her raven black hair and glasses she looks so uptight, so strict. It is slightly scaring her. But there is a truth to her words. Karma cannot afford to be so damn distracted. She cannot spend her days here as she did the past years, filled with thoughts of Amy. It is time to let her go now, time to take her life back in her own hands.

'Pretty face, I just asked you a question.'

Karma's eyes shoot up. Did she really just do exactly what she vowed herself not to do?

'I, uh, I…'

'You probably have a very good excuse of not paying attention huh?'

'Well, Ms. I am… see the thing is…'

'The thing is that I don't care. I will grant you this one time, you can choose right now; pay attention or leave."

'Thank you Ms. Of course I'll stay. I am so terribly sorry.'

The teacher runs her eyes over Karma's body. Her facial expression does not change one bit but she does slightly nod at the stage behind her.

'Get up there and show us what you got.'

Well f*ck…