Madeline Secret Life part 3 of 4

Madeline Secret Life part 3 of 4

I knew it was kind of forward, but I wanted it really bad. He seemed ok with it, so I told him I’d be by sometime around one o’clock. The next day, I walked a couple blocks to a bus stop and caught the downtown route.

I knew about where the shop was, but the neighborhood was pretty rough. As I stood to get off the bus, the bus driver didn’t open the door at first.

“Honey, are you sure you know where you are going?” he asked.

I kind of looked puzzled for a second and tried to be cool.

“Yes, of course. We just moved here recently.” I said.

“Ok,” he said, “Just be careful around here.”

I hopped down the steps and turned and walked as confidently as I could. Of course, I was lost immediately and had to ask for directions from some creepy looking guy. Finally, I got to Glen’s shop. It wasn’t exactly what I had imagined. Yeah, it was a photography shop, but it was not exactly the type of place a young couple might come to for wedding photos. It looked more like a place to get ID’s and passport photos and such. Anyway, I walked in. Glen was alone. The inside was a lot nicer than the outside. The front was kind of a waiting room and the walls covered with nicely framed portraits of people and couples. Glen seemed happy to see me. He said business had been slow today. He asked if I wanted the tour of the place.

“Sure,” I responded, “I came all this way.”

The rear part of the shop was through a door and hallway. There were two “Studio rooms.” Each had a full lighting set for portraits. There were props all over the walls on two sides. Stacked along the walls were various chairs, stands and even a small dark loveseat. The racks contained all sorts of shawls, hats, scarves and such. It was a little like some high school theater room.

The camera equipment fascinated me. Glen knew all about the lens and the lighting sets. I was making small talk and trying to sound flattering, but what I really wanted was to do a real photo shoot.

I told Glen, “I guess in my mind I pictured all sorts of people fussing around the place, a stylist, a make-up person, some assistant’s maybe.” Glen just chuckled.

“I’m not that famous just yet.” he laughed.

The second room was about the same, maybe a bit more for professional shots. Less clutter on the walls and more furniture. There was a white, high-back wicker chair positioned in the middle of the room as if it had just been used. I boldly sat down and with flair tried to act sophisticated. I pulled my hair back on one side and pretended to pose for a shot.

“Do you really think I’m nice looking?” I asked.

“Honey, you got all you need to have.” Glen said smiling.

I was just over five feet tall and weighed maybe a hundred-fifteen pounds. I was proudly wearing my size 36 C bra. My brown hair was just at my shoulders, and long enough to tie in a tail. I had my mom’s brown eyes. My best feature was my skinny legs. I must have had a dozen pairs of leggings, and I wore them all the time.

Glen walked over to a large camera on a tripod and pressed a button. The camera started making a whine noise. Reaching above me he adjusted a large white light shade. Without warning the camera flashed and clicked. He had a small remote in his hand. I guess when he saw what he wanted he clicked it.

“I wasn’t ready.” I complained.

“Sorry, I was just checking the lighting.” he said.

He flashed a couple more times and then walked up to me. He gently raised my chin and angled my face to one side. He adjusted my posture and stepped away. Two quick flashes followed.

“Maddie, I want to be honest with you, I don’t have any work right now that I think you would be interested in.” he said.

“Besides, most models start with a portfolio to get their face out there,” he said. “And those can be expensive to assemble.” he added.

“We could just do a couple small shoots to see if the camera likes you.” he offered.

“I don’t have anyone for make-up or hair scheduled to be in today, so maybe we could just do some candid shots and see what works huh.”

I was beside myself. Visions of fame and success bounced around inside my head.

“Sure,” I said. “Whatever you want to do.”

“Well if you’re up for it, how about some typical shots?”

“Could you try on some outfits for me?” he asked.

He left and came back in carrying a box with assorted articles of clothing in it.
He asked if I would put on one of the outfits and see what happens. He closed the door and left to go up front. I quickly changed the sizes were way too small. I hollered out, if he had something larger. Glen came back and cracked the door open.

“Honey, don’t worry about that. Just make it work.” he said.

I set about trying to get in to one of the outfits. The skirt was ridiculously short, and the blouse would hardly button. I managed to get them on, but I felt foolish. The shoes I just left off.

“Ready.” I hollered.

Glen was very professional when he came back in. He didn’t stare or make me uncomfortable. He went about adjusting the set and moved the wicker chair farther back from the camera. He finally asked me to be seated. Again, with the chin adjust and adjusted the angle of my shoulders. He put his hand on my back and pushed out my chest. He stepped away for a moment and then “flash-flash.”

I thought I was on my way. This was what I had always dreamt of. Millions of people seeing me on an ad. He kept on adjusting me and shot from several different angles. He had me lean forward and act coy, lay back and be sophisticated, I even stood and posed. All the time he was telling me how well I was doing.

“I had a great time doing this,” I told Glen as I left. “But I really don’t want mom finding out that I came here. Could we keep this quiet for a while?” Glen agreed.

I was really afraid my mom would be jealous and put a stop to anymore. Glen told me he would show my test shots around some and see if there was any immediate interest. He promised to let me know.

I didn’t want to bug him, so I let it go for at least a week. Of course, that was like an eternity to me. Finally, I brought up the subject when we were alone. He didn’t say anything definitely one way or another. He asked if I would be willing to do another shoot. He said he would try to have a stylist there to help with things. I was thrilled.

“Yes, of course.” I said.

The next school day I left right afterwards and took the bus to his shop. Sure, enough there was someone else there with him. I figured it would be a woman, but it was a guy about his age. He was very good looking, and well dressed. I could picture him being into make-up and style. He introduced himself as Chris. Sure enough, he had with him a stylist kit and went right to work making me beautiful. He knew colors and tones to highlight my features. I had never had this kind of attention. When he finished and held up a mirror, I was astounded. I looked and felt so glamorous. They took me to the back studio. My heart was racing as I felt this would be the true beginning of my career. The room was set up with an old wood-style beach chair and several plastic potted plants were alongside. The backdrop screen was that of a very modern beach house. Very high fashion I thought.

To be continued