People don’t take trips, trips take people - Antoine 19

After yet another change of outfit, Antoine found himself back in front of the camera, feeling a lot more comfortable than he had earlier. It was partly due to knowing what was expected of him, having modelled now for the last few hours, but it was mostly due to the outfit he was currently wearing, with its long white skirt, that covered his legs for once, and the loose-fitting blouse, he wore on top that felt soft against his skin. The shoes on his feet weren’t the most comfortable, with their gold platform sole and tall red heel, but Antoine was used to uncomfortable shoes by now, they had become part of his everyday life, and if one good thing had come from being forced to totter around on his fancy Louboutin pumps every day, all other pairs of heels now felt manageable in comparison.

Placing his hand on his hip and twisting his neck to face the camera, Antoine knew the shoot was coming to an end, and it couldn’t come soon enough, his jaw ached from all the smiling and he was in desperate need of the bathroom. But just as the end was in sight, his heart sank as he looked up towards the back wall of the room, to see Lily, having returned from her errands, with her hands on her hip and staring at him with a look of bewildered look on her face.

(See image 34)

He tried to stay calm and focus on the job at hand, but with his girlfriend glaring at him, staying in character became next to impossible, as he became all wooden and awkward. After a few minutes of disappointing the cameraman, he called a halt to the shoot, thanking him for his time and telling him they were done for the day.

Nervously, Antoine stepped down from the little podium, he had been perched on, and slowly made his way over to the back of the room, not knowing what he was going to say when he arrived, struggling to think up any believable excuse to explain why he was suddenly at his girlfriend's place of work, and taking part in a photo shoot.

Stopping a few feet away from her, Antoine looked down at her puzzled face from atop his platform heels, “hi Lil”, he said shyly, before looking down at the ground, unable to keep eye contact out of shame.

“What the hell are you doing here”? Lily asked, “I almost had a heart attack when I realized it was you up there”.

Antoine screwed up his eyes and took a deep breath, things had gone far enough, he had to tell her the truth, “Lil, I need to tell you something, please, don’t get mad ok”?

Lily waited silently ready to hear his confession but just as Antoine was about to speak, Marianne popped up out of nowhere, “hey, cous, did you manage to see Zara in action? what do you think? It’s a great idea, right?  Zara, needs some work and we need a model”.

“Oh, hey, Marianne, yeah, great idea”, Lily replied in a monotone voice, “but do you think you can give us a second? Zara, was about to tell me something important”.

Marianne smiled, “oh, I think I know what it is.  Zara, told me a few days ago, that her dream was to become a model, but she didn’t know how to tell you, look we’ve been doing shoots on the balcony all week, doesn’t she look great”? Marianne said, pulling out her phone and showing Lily some of the pictures she had taken.

A stunned Antoine didn’t know how to respond as an equally stunned Lily, slowly took the phone and flicked through the pictures. 

The next few seconds felt like hours to Antoine as he watched Lily's surprised face, as he felt his palm become clammy and his legs begin to tremble slightly. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Lily looked up, “Is this true, is this what you wanted to tell me”? she asked, "you want to be a model"?

Antoine looked over at Marianne's grinning face, as he resisted the urge to put his fist through it, before looking back towards Lily panicked, “Err… I…I... yeah”, he said almost choking on the word, instantly regretting saying it, knowing he could take it back.

“Wow, I have to say I'm surprised, I had no idea", Lily said shaking her head, "I just wish you hadn't felt the need to keep this from me, you know I would have supported you”, she said pouting, “but, if this is what you want, you have my blessing, after all, you really do look happy in these pictures”.

Antoine felt like he had just been slapped in the face as he just stood there again lost for words, with a stupid expression on his face, she couldn’t possibly believe him, could she? surely, she was just saying all this for Marianne’s benefit.

“Girls, what are you doing just standing around”? Annisa voice boomed in English, as she approached from across the room, “I don’t pay you to stand around and chat”.

Marianne turned, “Sorry, boss, we were just talking to Zara about the shoot", she replied in a little innocent voice trying to act all cutesy, "we'll get right back to work, but before we do can I ask you how you thought Zara did today? She would never say it herself, but she’s really anxious to know what you thought, she has her heart set on working here at Fifi, it would mean the world to her”.

Annisa smiled, “Well, she did ok, I guess for her first professional shoot, but we just don’t have enough work to hire her full time”.

Antoine tried to pick out some of the foreign words, lost again with the pair talking in English, suddenly wishing he had focused more in his school English class.

“Oh, I’ve just had an idea”, Marianne said excitedly, “Annisa your still looking for someone to work in the stockroom, right? How about if Zara, filled both roles, she has loads of experience with fashion, and when you need to shoot the outfits, she’ll be right here”.

Annisa paused to think for a second, as she sized Antoine up, “ok", she quickly replied, "why not, but it will be on a trial basis, tell her to come in tomorrow, Lily, you can show her the ropes, right?

Lily had been standing to the side quietly, looked just as shocked as Antoine with the latest turn of events, “err… yes, I can do that”, she replied hesitantly.

“Good, see you tomorrow”, Annisa said turning to Antoine and addressing him in her broken French. She then turned back to Marianne, “now, let’s get back to work, girls, this place needs clearing away”.

As Antoine watched Annisa walk away, “he looked up at Lily, “what just happened”? he asked nervously.

“You just got a job”, Marianne announced leaping on him and giving him a hug, “isn’t that great, now we can all work together".

From Marianne’s vice-like grip, Antoine looked over at Lily with pleading eyes, begging her to say or do something. But all he got in return was a shrug of her shoulders and a glare, he could tell she was angry about something, but he would have to wait until later to find out.

 "I need to get back to work", she announced and with that, she turned to leave.

As soon as Lily was out of earshot, Antoine wriggled lose from Marianne’s grip and turned to face her, “are you insane”? he asked angrily, “what have you done? I can’t work here”.

Marianne smiled, “of course, you can, Zara, I can't think of a better place for a young fashion graduate like you to gain some experience, oh this is going to be so much fun", she announced happily, "now I better get back to work too, you can find your own way home, right”? And just like that, Antoine found himself alone, his head was all over the place and he felt like he was about to throw up. 

In a state of delirium, Antoine carefully descended the staircase and headed towards the exit, only stopping to half-heartedly return the wave from Annisa, who shouted goodbye from behind the front counter.

Out on the street, Antoine turned left and just started to walk aimlessly with no real destination in mind. For almost an hour he clicked along the sidewalks of Paris, in the designer heels and outfit, that he had forgotten to change out of, eventually stopping as exhaustion got the better of him. 

Leaning against a wall to catch his breath and take the weight off his sore feet, Antoine looked around unsure of where he was, but that was the least of his worries in that moment as the memories of the morning ran through his head, “what the hell am I going to do”? He thought to himself, “how am I going to get out of this mess”?

(See image 35)