Chapter two: Decision
MISAKI POV
I suddenly woke up by the irritating sound of my alarm clock.
Shut up... I tried to grab my alarm clock, but eventually smacked it onto the floor. When I got up to pick it up, I caught a glimpse of the time. I immediately shot out of bed, grabbed my uniform and ran to the bathroom frantically.
NORMAL POV
Meanwhile, the forgotten boyfriend of Ayuzawa was happily making a gourmet breakfast for his lovely girlfriend.
"Wow brother-in-law, Misaki would be so lucky to have you in the future," Suzuna beamed at his professional-like techniques, but of course still in her usual monotone voice.
Minako laughed, "She would've burned down your apartment,"
"You mean house?" Suzuna chimed in
"Or a mansion!" Minako and Suzuna both sighed dreamily at the thought of Misaki getting married off to Usui.
Usui also chuckled at the thought.
MISAKI POV
What's all the chatter? I thought, while hectically putting on my uniform. I ran down the stairs in a matter of milliseconds and headed out the door,
"Bye Mom, Suzuna-" I managed to say but then backtracked.
Why is Suzuna still here? Shouldn't she be heading to school too? And what is that...smell? This cooking somehow smells familiar...
"USUI!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? MOM? WHY ARE YOU SO CALM?"
NORMAL POV
"Oh Onee-chan, why're you in such a rush, its only seven," Suzuna remarked.
"Ah yes, yes, sit down and have some breakfast! Son-in-law made it! He's so professional...if only we could eat this everyday..." Minako sighed again.
"Son-in-law..." Misaki was at her limit now, "USUI ANSWER MY QUESTION!"
"When I was leaving, I wanted to make breakfast for my lovely maid, but Minako and Suzuna came downstairs and joined me," he said nonchalantly, "Oh and I also wanted to see my beautiful girlfriend's face in the morning and soon as possible, so I reset your alarm clock time, and stole this from you again," he said while holding up the business card once again.
Curious to see what it was, Minako asked to see it.
"Oh my god Misaki! I never knew that you wanted to be a model!" she beamed at the sight of the card, "If you were to take this job, it would solve all our money problems," Minako started to fantasize again, "My own daughter, becoming a world-renowned model,"
"A-aren't you going a little overboard mom? I didn't want to be a model, a customer at Maid Latte recruited me...I was going to go by the office today and decline his offer anyways, " Misaki said, embarrassed.
"Oh, well if that's what you want..." Minako slightly disappointed began to poke at her eggs and sausage around her plate, and gently sipped her strawberry smoothie.
Feeling guilty, Misaki took the farthest seat from her mom, which was coincidentally next to Usui.
She came out of her thoughts when she felt a warm hand on top of hers under the table. She looked up and saw Usui's smiling, reassuring face. He seemed to want to say, "Don't worry, whatever you choose, I'll be by your side."
She quickly turned away with her face on fire, "Stupid Usui,"
"You're so sly, Ayuzawa,"
After school, and all her student council duties were finished, she made her way to the modeling agency. On her way to the company, her mind was filled with occupied by one question, a question that could possibly change not only her own life, but those around her.
Am I making the right choice?
If she were to decline the offer, her life would go on as always, working at the cafe, being the school president, attending school normally, taking care of her family, and the debt that her father left her family with would still exist.
But if she took on the job, her whole life would change. She wouldn't have much time to work at the cafe, I wouldn't have time to be the school president or attend school, my family wouldn't have me to take care of them, and most of all, the debt that has been living with her family for ages, not being able to be repaid, would be paid.
Soon enough, without knowing, she arrived at the building that held the famous modeling agency, Hideyoshi.
Nervous, she went inside the building. It was clean and stylish. Glass doors, wide open space, sparkling chandeliers, marble floors, everything looked like a million dollars. Not matching with her school uniform and school bag that was won when Suzuna entered one of her raffles.
Not knowing what to do or where to go, she walked up to the front desk in the middle of the humongous room.
"U-um, do you know where "Hideyoshi Reader Models" is?" she showed the business card to the two receptionists, that also looked like a million dollars.
"It's the whole seventh floor," one of the ladies answered, dumbfounded, while pointing to the elevator to the right of them.
"Oh, thank you," and she headed to the elevators, but due to her superhuman-like powers, she heard the receptionists gossiping:
"What is she doing at Hideyoshi? She doesn't look like model material, she's...plain," the first lady said, disgusted, pointing her well-manicured nail at Misaki, " Look at us, we're much better looking than that wench, and we only got jobs as receptionists,"
"I don't know, maybe she got Mr. Hideyoshi mad and was ordered to beg for forgiveness, or maybe she got a job as a janitor" the two of them stared at Misaki, while laughing their heads off.
I'll get them later Misaki thought as she entered the elevator, cracking her knuckles.
Once she got off the elevator, she was pulled back in by a man, that seemed familiar...
"Great, you're here, now we have to get to a photo shoot, then we have to come back here to discuss you're career..." the man said and pushed the button on the elevator that brings you to the 21st floor.
"Wait,wait,wait...who are you?"
"Oh, forgive me, I'm Hideyoshi Yuuto, nice to meet you," he extended his hand towards Misaki, and she timidly reached for it.
"Ayuzawa Misaki..." she said as he shook her hand hard and went back to ranting.
"So after we finish the photo shoot-"
"Wait, what photo shoot," she says
"You came here to accept right? So I booked you a job and I also got you a manager, you'll meet her when we get there,"
This is getting confusing by the second
"But I came to decline your offer..." she said carefully. He looked confused for a moment and started to laugh.
"That's a good one, Misaki! No one declines an offer by Hideyoshi," he says, a little too self absorbed for Misaki's liking.
"But it's true," she remarked, he stopped talking for awhile, but immediately went on with his narcissism
"Well, it's too late now, we're going to be late," the elevator finally arrived at the shooting site. People looked extremely busy getting ready for the magazine shoot. The whole time she wondered what a plain person like her was doing in this place.
"Just try it out, you might like it. After we finish, tell me your final answer,"
As Misaki stepped out of the elevator, a tall, mature-looking woman approached her.
"Finally! The stylists were waiting, let's go-Oh pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Michi Masami, your new manager. Pleased to meet you," and then she pulled her by the back of her school uniform collar towards what seemed like the dressing room.
Along the way, Misaki heard more gossip: "How did she get here?" "She's plain, and normal," "She wore her school uniform to a photo shoot!" "Is that a Seika High uniform? The high school with the demon President?"
Misaki wanted so badly to explode, but she was in a workplace. And if (only if) she becomes a model for real, it would be bad for her image.
What am I thinking?! I'm not really going to accept his offer...right?
"Ok, so you're going to get all changed and made-up, then when it's your turn, you're going to go up there to the site with the black with glittery purple curtains and introduce yourself. We chose the nicer photographer for you because you're a newbie, but don't mess up. After that, just try to follow the photographer's instructions and do your best. When you're done go back to the seventh floor. If you need anything, just ask your stylists, okay?" she smiled sweetly, patted Misaki's head, and then walked out of the room.
MISAKI POV
Immediately the two stylists started working. They stripped me down until I was left with my bra and panties. One of the stylists giggled (I think she was around 20 years old?) , "Polka dots," my face immediately went red, but they continued with their styling.
At the end, I was wearing a white cami that stopped right above my "cleavage" with a black knit cardigan, a black pleated skirt that went right above my knees, thin gray leggings, and brown high heeled boots that went below my knees, completed with a wide, but thin, gray muffler.
After, they quickly brushed down my hair and curled it into one big curl that started out wide, then became thinner along the length of my hair, and put it to the side. They used the hair straightener to curl my bangs inward.
They sat me down at the makeup counter and walked me through the layers of makeup they applied to my face, they said that I needed to know how to do it so when I'm outside of the company, paparazzi don't see me with an un-made-up face. It went something like this:
"Apply a thin layer of foundation to cover your blemishes, then outline your upper eye lid with a black liquid eye liner, apply a little sparkly purple eye shadow above the eye liner, use a thin layer of dull pink lipstick then put on a layer of the same color lip gloss on top. That's about it. You can use different colors if you want a different feeling. This time we're going with the light, cutesy but a sexy feeling, so we're using darker colors for you eyes," they went on and on with their make-up ranting, like they expected me to buy all that expensive make-up and use it correctly.
They finished my outfit with a pair of black fake glasses and a gray, knit slouchy-beanie-beret with little threads of white. This all took around 10 times what it takes for me in the morning, which is no more than 10 minutes.
"All finished!" the two stylists beamed at their masterpiece. I, too, was amazed by how I was transformed. I suddenly had a blast of confidence, but it was a different kind of confidence, different from the confidence I had when I'm the school president, and different from the confidence I wear when I serve the customers at Maid Latte. It was, weird, but somehow, nice.
I made my outside the dressing room, with my new-found confidence, and headed towards the shooting site the company assigned me. I saw people gaping at my make over, while thinking,
Hmph, now you change your mind?
I walk up and introduced myself, "Hello, I'm Ayuzawa Misaki from Hideyoshi, please take care of me," I bowed to the staff manning my shoot.
"Yes, yes, now lets start the shoot. Since you're a newbie I'll give you some tips for posing. Try to show off the clothes in a way that matches the concept. We'll take all night if we have to, so give it 500%, and you won't have to stay here forever," the lady behind the expensive looking camera said, "Let's start,"
I tried to remember how the models in Suzuna's magazines posed, and tried to mimic them. Putting my hands around my face, on my hips, flat on my legs, turning to show off different angles, put my legs in different positions, showing off the clothes and curtains, and trying hard to manage my expression against the bright lights.
After a few hours of posing, breaks, criticism, and praise from the photographer, the shoot was finally over. I didn't realize how much work modeling was until now, and I admit it seems more...fun. I felt so absorbed in this kind of work, like I was in a different world.
When I snapped out of my reverie, I heard the photographer tell I did a good job for an amateur, and I noticed all of the staff and even some models watching me.
"Thank you for your hard work," I said and bowed, then walked out of the site towards the dressing room to wash off the make-up and change, but someone stopped me, a man around my age with gray hair.
"Hey, you were great for a newbie. I'm Shinobu Ken, mind going out with me? You know, like being my girlfriend," he said with a fake gentlemanly smile that reminded me of Igarashi Tora from Miyabigaoka.
I scoffed, "Why would I go out with someone that I don't even know. Besides, I have a boyfriend," I went around him and went to the dressing room.
As the stylists helped me change, I asked them who that Shinobu Ken guy was.
"You don't know you Ken-sama is!?" the stylist that laughed at my lingerie said
"He's one of the most famous male models in the industry!" the other one said
"Hmph, a guy like him should know who to ask out," I said
"HE ASKED YOU OUT!? AND YOU SAID NO!?" they both yelled in unison as they washed the makeup off my face and brushed most of the curls out of my hair.
"I barely know him, and he had a bad vibe. I have a boyfriend anyway," I blushed at the thought of what happened at breakfast that morning.
"Well, whatever you say. You might regret it later on. Okay, I couldn't get all the curls out so I tied your hair up, so it doesn't look weird. Don't forget to buy the make-up and wear it!" the first stylist yelled as I grabbed my school bag and exited the dressing room.
"Oh! My name is Haruna and she's Kasumi! Be sure to remember us when you get famous!" she said, lastly
"Right, right," I said waving my hand and headed back to the seventh floor. On my way, I remembered what I actually came here for.
"Ugh, stupid, stupid," I hit my forehead as the elevator neared the floor where the agency was.
I went out of the elevator and looked for Michi-san and Hideyoshi-san. I found them talking at the break room.
"Oh Misaki you're finished! Have a cup of coffee, or would you prefer ice water?" Hideyoshi said as I entered the break room.
"Water is fine," I awkwardly said and sat down next to Michi-san, "Thank you,"
"So Misaki, how was the shoot?" Hideyoshi asked me
"Good, I guess..." I replied while taking a sip of water, unexpectedly, modeling for hours made my really throat dry.
"Well, what's your answer? Do you want to keep doing shoots like these?"
"I don't know, I have school, and my family..."
"Don't worry about that! We'll make sure your modeling schedule doesn't clash with your school time, and your family will be safe and sound. And the pay is good so you won't have to worry about your money problem,"
"How do you know about tha-"
"We have our sources,"
"Well..."
"What do you say, Misaki? Will you join the agency and become a model?"
Yay! Another chapter! I'm glad that at least one person like my story, and I decided to write another chapter. This chapter was a little ooc, but you probably expect that. Thank you for reading!