Cleo didn't know what her sister was up to, leaving so early for her appointment, but silently she wished Nefera luck too, for both of their sakes.

With the older de Nile ghoul gone, the office descended back into the near silence of occasional page turning and pen scribbling. Studying was starting to grate on Cleo's nerves, but at least she was able to spend some kind of time with her father. This was a real rarity, seeing as he was so busy, and spent so long away from home, but it couldn't be helped; that was just part of being an incredibly important person.

Ramses wasn't very talkative either, because talk was unworthy of his power and greatness. Especially in situations like this, when he did his super important paperwork.

The two de Niles kept on working for about a half hour, until Ramses looked over at Cleo to see how she was doing. "How is it going, my daughter?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's… it's going well, thank you daddy." Cleo hadn't really expected for her father to speak. And she wasn't really sure on what sort of response he had been expecting. Did he want to know what she was currently studying? She doubted he would be all that interested. And probably for the better, because she had lost her concentration a while ago and honestly couldn't recall a single thing she had just been reading.

As much as conversing with her father made for a nice change, it often became awkward quickly.

Nobody would have thought it, but Ramses had lost his concentration as well. He was working on these papers since days, so why not use the conversation to test Cleo a bit? Not that she just sat there to impress him, without actually doing a thing!

"What is your book about, my daughter? What are you currently studying?"

Cleo panicked a little, her eyes darting to the sides as if she was trying to find some way to avoid the question.

Closing her book to look at the cover, she read, "Biteology", and returned to the page she was still holding in place to refresh her memory on what she was actually supposed to have been taking in. "It's about, uh… body systems, and certain differences between different monster species." She looked back up at her father "Nothing particularly regal, but I suppose it pays to know one's subjects… in both senses of the word."

Ramses made a quiet "Hm" sound in reply; that really didn't sound too interesting. "Your sister was an excellent Biteology student."

"I'm sure she was." Cleo lied. She wasn't, and Cleo knew that she wasn't. Nefera hadn't been 'excellent' in basically any of her classes, she had cheated and bribed her way to perfect grades. "Anyway, all of this bodily function stuff is pretty interesting in the sense that it's knowledge we never would have been taught before. Disgusting, but interesting."

Disgusting' was clearly not a word Ramses liked to hear. Not in this topic.

"No bodily function can get described with the word 'disgusting', my daughter!" He didn't sound pleased. One wrong word was enough to make Ramses lose his temper.

"Maybe you should have a conversation with your sister about Biteology. I am sure she is perfectly able to teach you everything you need to know."

Was that enough talk about Nefera? Of course... not!

"Your sister had As in every single one of her classes. I want you to ask her if there is something you do not understand!"

"Oh, I understand, daddy. I-I didn't mean it like that!" Cleo because flustered. She didn't quite know how to respond back to her father in a way that he wouldn't take offensively "I just… it's about digestion and stomach acid and… fecal matter." she pulled a face. "I don't know as Nefera would really want to discuss it with me either."

Ramses faced his daughter angrily. "Your opinion on this topic is really immature, my daughter."

It was the same moment when Nefera stood in front of the huge agency. She touched her slim stomach, feeling the need to throw up in the nearest bush, and not just to feel thinner. She looked around, checking the place for other models. Luckily, there was no one else around yet. That was good, because Nefera really didn't want to be seen while standing in front of an agency, instead of going in. The people could think she was a loser!

Nefera thought about what to say when she went inside. Who would be there? Would they like her? Nefera felt extremely insecure. She didn't want to be here. Why didn't she just fake an illness again?

Cleo was taken aback by her father's outburst. She bet he wouldn't have said it was so 'immature' if Nefera had reacted to it in that way!

Obviously small talk with her father wasn't going to work, so she buried herself in research again. It was easier that way.

She wondered what kind of scheme her sister had cooked up for the competing models, mostly because Cleo couldn't think of any other reason why Nefera would have left so early…

Nefera still stood in front of the big agency. The situation she was in made her want to cry, but she knew that she had to go in now. There was no point in waiting for other models to arrive now.

Right when she wanted to go in, Nefera realized that she hadn't planned anything to make the others fail! Everyting she had focused on was herself… Again! Argh!

Well, it was too late to think of anything now. Evil schemes needed to be prepared, Nefera knew that best. She would have to win by her own unprecedented talent, not by the other ghoul's failings.

She took one last breath before making her way into the agency.

Cleo had reached the stage of impatience where she had begun to tap her pen against the side of her notepad to fill the silence of the room. Looking over the top of her text book, she met her father's agitated gaze and immediately held her pen still with a sheepish smile.

Why had she agreed to spend the entire afternoon here, again?

"Learning will take you far in unlife," Ramses simply stated before paying attention to his paperwork again.

The agency door opened and Nefera entered. She was extremely nervous but didn't want anyone to see that. The princess was told to sit down in the waiting room and wait for the audition to start.

When Nefera opened the door to the waiting room, she saw other models already sitting there. She wasn't first?! How dare they come earlier?!

Whatever, these other people were losers anyway. Worthless losers. They wouldn't reach anything in the model business because of their endless stupidity and ugliness.

Nefera took a seat, actually looking at the others before judging them. She quickly understood that these other common models were no competition for Nefera. Nefera was god-like. The others were less than ordinary.

Now she just had to wait for the actual audition to start and everything would be good, right?

Cleo checked the office sundial. Nefera's audition should be starting some time around now, shouldn't it? Which meant she would be home soon. Which meant that her father could busy himself with fussing over her and how well everything had gone, and Cleo could go back to her room and do something that wasn't studying.

For once, she would be happy to have her sister take their dad's attention for the day.

Cleo spoke up, filling the silence of the room. "Do you think Nefera's in her audition about now Daddy?"

The older de Nile daughter was one of Ramses' favorite speaking subjects, so at least this conversation might go a little smoother than the last.

Ah, finally a topic worth of Ramses' attention! The fact that he was busy with his work and not a talkative person didn't make him say much though. "Certainly."

There were more models coming in, Nefera watched every single one of them. Were they prettier than her? Did they have better chances to get the job?

There were some models actually quite pretty…and skinny. Ugh.

The audition started a minute later. The models had to leave the room and meet with the people who were 'testing' them. Nefera wasn't the first one who left. It was a tall vampire ghoul with blonde hair.

Nefera tried to focus on herself when she heard some of the waiting models talking about someone. She heard words like 'ugly', 'pathetic' and 'loser' many times. Nefera turned to the models, fearing that it was her they talked about.

But, no, it was not. It was the tall, blonde vampire that had just left the room. Nefera wondered if they would also talk about her that way when she was out?

The door opened and the vampire ghoul came back. It looked like she didn't get the job, because she put on her jacket and left the agency.

What a loser! That wouldn't happen to Nefera. She was a winner.

The model they wanted to see next was, yes, really, Nefera. Suddenly, the crown princess was really unsure about the statement she had just made a second ago in her head.

When Nefera got up to leave the room, she heard the other models laughing. Were they laughing about… Were they laughing about her?!

"No doubt we'll be receiving a phone call in moments to tell us that Nefera got the job! They probably won't even bother seeing the other ghouls once she walks in." mostly because she probably will have bribed them, Cleo thought, but she kept that part to herself.

Maybe they would have some sort of celebration for her sister for returning to her modelling career. That would certainly brighten up Cleo's summer, even if it wasn't a party for her, it would still be a party.

Nefera turned around to face the models. They were laughing. They were pointing. They were laughing and pointing at Nefera.

Seconds must have passed because the monster auditioning each of the models came into the waiting room. "Nefera! Where are you? We don't have all day!"

Help came too late as Nefera noticed that the make-up she had covered her birthmark scar with was no longer in its place. There were people laughing and pointing at her, the man she wanted to impress was yelling at her and every monster in the whole room could see the terrible flaw she was born with.

This situation was way too much for Nefera and more than she would ever be able to handle. It made her lose control over her body and mind. The room began to spin and suddenly, Nefera was gone.

Some minutes of silence in the de Nile office passed. Just like Cleo had said it, the phone began to rang. Ramses grabbed it, expecting the message that his daughter had gotten the job.

It was a different message they told him though.