BPOV
Thursday, it was fucking Thursday and we hadn't heard a thing.
There had been several points in the week that I had felt like a caged
animal, just desperate to break my way free and get the hell out of here, but
Alice was always there to calm me down.
I was also turning into a nervous wreck as Alice started bringing over
some of her things. She even wore two tops at one point and God knows what else
each time she came over. I wanted to laugh at her, but I just couldn't find it
in me.
I was a head strong girl, learning to adapt without a mother's love, in
a town where everyone knew your business and that's why I was nervous. We were
going out into the real world, a world I didn't know much about.
Alice was a bit more streetwise than me, mainly because of her father's
work, so she was happier than I was about it all. I wasn't actually unhappy,
just concerned and confused a little. This set me on edge because I always
liked to know what I was doing or where I was going, not that I ever went far.
"Chill out, Bella, I have a good feeling about this," she
said as she started to straighten my hair.
We weren't going out, or doing anything special, she was just trying to
cheer me up.
We had already re-styled our clothes and had done our nails in an
attempt to take our minds off of things. In addition to the library not needing
me this week, I was rattling around this house going out of my mind.
I hadn't seen mom all week so far and she hadn't left out any money for
groceries, so I took it that she was leaving me to fend for myself, again, and
I did just that. I used what money I did have sparingly and used stuff that I
had in the freezer to make food stretch for longer.
I was downright depressed about that.
"Dad said that I could stay over tonight because he's heading into
the city first thing in the morning for the whole weekend." Alice smiled
at me in the mirror and I couldn't help but smile back. Her father didn't leave
her on her own much, but when he did, it was either for the weekend or the full
week.
Most of the time, if it was just for an overnight visit, he would take
her with him and tell her to go shopping or something to keep herself busy, but
other times she was allowed to stay with me.
Her mother had died when she was young, about five I think, and it had
been just her and him ever since. I tried telling myself that he was only
strict because he cared about her, but I knew that wasn't the case.
"That's great news, Alice, it means we can plan more," I
smirked as I leant into her touch.
I never tired of how she made me feel and she always knew, without me
saying anything, that I needed her. Not in a sexual way, but in comfort,
something that I'd never had with my mother.
I was a good buffer for her, too, because of her father. I didn't think
he had an affectionate bone in his body and she needed me as much as I needed
her. We were like the proverbial baby that required simple touch to thrive.
"We'll get out of here, Bella, I promise you," she said in a
small voice as she set the straighteners down on my desk and hugged me from
behind.
We looked in the mirror, smiled and then burst out laughing for no
reason.
This was just how we were.
~(*)~
Friday morning came and I woke up to Alice tangled tightly around my
body. I smiled gently as I extracted myself from her grip and walked to the
bathroom.
When I was done, I sat down at my desk and booted up my shitty excuse
of a computer. I had gotten it second hand from a neighbor a few years ago and
it was seriously on its last legs, but it was all I had and I certainly
couldn't afford anything else.
As soon as the welcome page came up, it signaled a bunch of new emails
and my heart started pounding in my chest again.
It was there.
An email from the agency staring me in the face.
I jumped out of my chair to wake up Alice when I saw that they had
replied. I couldn't do this on my own. I still had no idea what the job was
for, but we already had so much riding on this.
Alice stood next to me with bleary, but excited eyes as I opened the
email and read the contents.
"Dear Miss Swan, thank-you blah-dee-blah-blah," I said as I
scanned the email.
"Oh my God, they want more from you!" Alice squealed as she
was obviously the faster reader out of the pair of us.
My fingers were shaking as I scrolled the page slowly, taking in every
word.
"They want a video of you and some information, like your size and
tastes in things," Alice jumped up and down, but I stayed rooted to the spot.
There was the crux.
"Alice, I don't have a camera here, how can I send them a video of
myself?" I asked dejectedly.
"We can do it at the library!" she laughed as she rubbed my
shoulders. I felt a calming wave hit me at her touch and I couldn't help but
lean into her again.
"Okay, but your turn, go check your emails while I make us some
coffee," I stumbled out of the room, still shocked that they were pleased
with my application.
When I came back upstairs, I was bombarded with squeals and laughs as
Alice's email was proudly on show. They had contacted her too, wanting the same
information.
I couldn't contain the smile that broke out as I thought about both of
us possibly getting an interview for the same company.
"Okay, so we have to get ready and see if we can persuade your
boss to let you use the video equipment," Alice said happily as she took a
mug from my hand and started to sip it.
She was squirming at the chance to play makeover with us and for once,
I didn't mind.
An hour later and we were modestly dressed with limited make-up and
were heading to where I worked.
Alice wanted to have me in something more revealing, but as we had no
idea what we were videoing for, I had put my foot down... a little. I was in a
pair of fitted denim leggings and a spaghetti strapped black silk top. In
exchange for the top that didn't show my cleavage, I'd had to agree to a pair
of black heels. She left my hair down and free and we finished off the outfit
with some bangles. Alice actually managed to keep it downplayed with a simple
floral pattern fitted dress, that landed mid-thigh, paired with a necklace and
a bracelet. She was stunning as usual.
Her long flowing hair just screamed out for attention and I had to hold
my fingers in place and not touch.
My boss was fine with us using the equipment and even helped us set it
up, even if we were being vague on what we were actually doing. He gave us
permission to use the old store room too, which wasn't too bad once we had
moved a few things, but it took longer than it normally would have done because
Alice didn't want us to get our clean clothes dirty.
Suddenly we were ready and the nerves hit again. What if they didn't
like me? Would it show on the camera that I was too nervous? We had so much
riding on this and I hated to feel out of my depth.
"I don't know what to say, Alice," I mumbled as she hit
record and the tiny red light on the camera started to blink.
She gently ran her finger down my cheek as she smiled softly.
"Just be yourself, Bella, they'll love you, just like I do,"
she smiled again which caused all the nervousness to wash away from me.
She gave me a tight squeeze and then stepped out of the frame as I took
in a deep breath and I looked up to the camera shyly.
"Hi, I'm Isabella, Bella, Swan."
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