TAMPA BAY MODELING
Born
Beautiful
A
short story series about the adventures of a model By C. A. Passinault
Episode
1: Independence
PAGE
1 - 2
- 3 - 4
- 5 - 6
The
Drive Home
Page
4 of 6
DJ
Santana's Take
me away filled the warm air over the streetlight-lit causeway.
Wind ripped her hair and blasted her ears. Cameron was pushing her new
car along at a decent clip, her thoughts settling down from a long day.
She loved Tampa Bay at night. The Florida sky was clear, with a canvas
of stars shining clear and bright. The full moon rippled off the dark
water of the bay. The song always reminded her of this exact place and
time of the evening.
She slipped on her wireless head set over her ear and turned it on. The
blue tooth transceiver synched up with the cell phone in her purse. She
tapped the button and spoke after a tone. "Ryan." The phone
automatically dialed his number. She really loved her toys. In the case
of her cell phone set up, it didn't come cheap, but at least she didn't
look like a dork talking with a wire hanging down to her waist from her
face like most people with so-called cheapo head sets. She looked like
a pretty dork talking to herself, period. It was bad-ass blue tooth, baby,
and it was the
coolest of the cool things to have in 2004. Her friend Jenny was more
hung up with cell phones that had a camera built into them. Cameron was
less than impressed with camera phones, and considered them to be gimmicks.
The resolution sucked. Besides, lots of perverts liked the camera phones
and seemed to make a lot of phone calls in places like locker rooms. While
there were also perverts with expensive cameras who called themselves
modeling photographers, at least they had cameras that worked well, and
you could figure them out long before you were around their cameras. Cameron
had become a camera fanatic over the years, as through her career she
had been exposed to lots of expensive digital SLR's that cost thousands.
When a girl was used to professional cameras, a gimmicky cell phone camera
just didn't interest her. Jenny wasn't a pervert, but she was like a lot
of typical American consumers- easily impressed and manipulated by marketing.
Hmmmmmm..... Cameron..... Camera...... it had to be a coincidence. She
smiled. Maybe she really was born into the business. Modeling was in her
genes, after all. Something about her career just felt more right than
everything else in her life right now, and she wasn't sure if that was
a good or a bad thing. The jury was still out.
After a few rings Ryan's voice mail picked up. Damn.
The voice mail message ended. His voice sounded stoned. She spoke again.
"Hey, sweetheart, it's Cammy. I'm meeting Jenny and some friends
for dinner. Call me. If you have time, we can get together tonight. If
not, I'd love to stop by and see you later tonight. Kiss kiss."
She tapped the button and disconnected. She hoped that her music didn't
drown out her message. Ryan and her really needed to talk. This was getting
ridiculous.
The song transitioned to another dance mix, and she turned down the volume.
She tapped her head set again.
"Jenny Z."
The phone barely rang.
"We're already here, Cammy! Where the hell are you?"
"Really? Five minutes from Rocky Point, almost back on the Tampa
side. Why are you already there? How...."
"I am your best friend. What kind of stupid question is that? I just
know you. I figured that you'd be in the area in the next few hours."
"Lucky guess." Cameron suggested. Sometimes, Jenny managed to
surprise her.
"Get your pretty, nice model-ass over here. I got us a table, and
Jack just got here. Want us to order for you?"
"Want to read the menu for me?"
"Smart-ass. See you in a few."
The rest of the night didn't nearly have the fast pace as the rest of
the day. Everything seemed to slow down. Sure, it was fun having dinner
with her friends Jenny and Jack. They talked and ate, and Cameron interjected
enough into the conversation so that that she made the couple feel like
she was into it. Jack was looking for a job. Nothing strange about that.
Cameron could relate, as modeling was like eternal unemployment full of
endless job interviews and one-day jobs that didn't last and were supposed
to lead to other jobs from other companies. Job security was a luxury
that models did not have and could not afford to have. If a model was
locked into a forty hour work week, the number of go-see's that they could
attend would drop, their schedule would be limited, and with that they
would be stuck in a rut with regular paychecks and, if they were lucky,
benefits and a 401K, but low pay. Everything had trade-offs, and the corporate
world that Jack existed in would drive her bonkers. Modeling required
discipline and the ability to budget money, and those attributes got Cameron
through the lean times. Of course, then there were taxes, which had to
be filed four times a year instead of just once; every career has its
drawbacks.
Cameron looked at the lights of the Howard Franklin bridge far in the
distance. The moon seemed to dance on the water. It didn't tire like she
seemed to at the end of every day, and she was always inspired by the
view here. Too bad Ryan was AWOL again. She came to expect his absence.
"Well, did you?"
Jack's voice pulled her out of her trance.
"Oh, excuse me?"
"He asked you a question! Haven't you been listening?" Jenny
quipped with ten times the energy that Cameron possessed at that moment.
"Did you get the job?" Jack asked.
"Oh, I don't know. They told me that they would be in touch."
Cameron was now in tune with her friends. Jenny sat there tight against
Jack, pretty as could be with her short blond hair and model-quality bone
structure. She was petite compared to Jack, and he towered above her.
Jack had sandy brown hair and a ripped physique that was apparent even
though a suit and tie. As opposite as their sizes were, they were the
perfect picture of a couple in love. Love. What in the hell was that?
God, if Jenny were taller than 5' 1'' and weighed more than 98 pounds,
she would make a great model. Jenny, though, was a dance instructor, and
Jack, well, was unemployed at the moment, but had worked in Insurance
call centers.
"Ouch." Jenny winced.
"What do you mean Ouch?" Jack asked, "I think she got it!"
"In model-speak, 'We'll be in touch' usually means that they aren't
going to get it." Jenny explained, "Sorry, Cammy."
"Well, no, I don't know if I booked it or not. The whole go-see was
weird. Maybe they meant what they said instead of what it would normally
mean."
"Maybe." Jenny shrugged, "You do seem to make more than
I do."
"I think that you got it, Cammy. You're beautiful. Why wouldn't you
get it?"
Jenny ribbed Jack. "HEY!"
"Maybe because I'm a bitch. I wish I could make things easier on
people. I wish I could make it simple for people to book me."
"Why don't you tell me I'm beautiful, eh?" Jenny turned from
Jack and looked at Cameron, "You're not a bitch, Cammy. You are a
professional, and that professionalism earns you respect. If you went
into those auditions all wishy-washy and eager-to-please like the other
models, then it would be harder for them to consider you. All those jobs
that you get are proof! Maybe it actually is simpler to book you, but
you don't see it that way because you don't want to."
"Those other models let the bookers give them their go-see leads.
The agencies deal with all of the nasty things that could happen."
"You don't believe that, Cammy." Jack interrupted, "We've
known you too long. You make your own gigs happen, and you've been doing
it for a long time. You've made a believer out of me! As a matter of fact,
I was going to ask you to look over my resume and help me fix it. You're
better polishing resumes and writing cover letters than I'll ever be!"
Cameron raised her eyebrows. "Thanks..... I think."
They laughed.
"I know that you don't doubt what you're doing, too. It must be something
else." Jenny looked over Cameron carefully, inquisitively. "What
is it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Cameron looked out the window again,
"Maybe I'm
just tired."
Maybe. Maybe Ryan wouldn't seem like such an asshole tomorrow. Maybe she'd
feel better after a good night of sleep.
Next
Page: A New Day
PAGE
1 - 2
- 3 - 4
- 5 - 6
PUBLISHED 05/13/11
UPDATED 05/21/11
© Copyright
2004 Independent Modeling. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
|
|
|
REFERENCE
GUIDE - MODELS - SERVICES
- FEATURES - RISKS
- SCAMS - MODELING
JOBS - RESOURCES - CONTACT
ABOUT
- TERMS - NEWS
- OPINION - RATES
- FEATURES - MODELING
CAREER RISKS - TAMPA MODELING SCAMS
- RISK ANALYSIS
SYSTEM - TAMPA BAY MODELS
- TAMPA MODELING JOBS - MODELING
RESOURCES - TAMPA BAY
- CONTACT - TAMPA
MODELING BLOG - TAMPA
MODELING SERVICES
TAMPA
BAY MODELING AGENCIES - FLORIDA
MODELING AGENCY LAWS
©
Copyright 2004-2023 Tampa Bay Modeling. All rights reserved. Presented
as-is, with no guarantees expressed or implied. Informational use only.
Tampa Bay Modeling is not legally liable for the content on this web site,
and use of any content waives us from liability. Anyone using the content
on this site or attempting anything described on this site assumes all
legal and civil liability. Please be familiar with with your local laws
before using this site. Information on Tampa Bay Modeling is not to be
taken as legal advice or advice which may be covered under any licensed
or regulated profession. Opinions expressed on this web site are those
of the individual contributor and may not be shared by other contributors,
models, photographers, advertisers, or businesses who may be involved
with this web site or our online community. Tampa Bay Modeling is a free,
no-obligation professional modeling resource web site operated from Riverview,
Florida, by a team of professional freelance and agency-represented models.
For more, please read our Terms Of Use, and our Disclaimer,
for Tampa Bay Modeling.
Raptor
Class Web Site by Eos MediaArts, a Passinault.Com company.
Raptor Class 0001,
commissioned 011806.0800
hrs. Raptor 3
Variant of Raptor Class.
Web
Site Design and photography by Aurora
PhotoArts Tampa Bay Photography and Design. Tampa Bay Events
by upcoming Passinault event planning and stage production companies (as
of 12/27/16, those businesses are coming along, well). Word to
Ya.
Tampa
Bay Modeling Web Site Launched 10/18/04. Redeployed as a 3rd Generation
Raptor Class site on 01/18/06. Raptor
2 upgrade applied 09/07/07. Upgraded to Raptor
3 variant on 12/16/07.
05/02/12
- 01/13/13 - 07/24/13/2023 - 01/24/14/0824 - 01/01/15/0905 - 01/28/15/0945
- 01/03/16/1844 - 01/03/16/1852 - 09/02/16/0445 - 12/27/16/0339 - 01/04/23/0012/0202/
- 11/13/23/1151/
TAMPA
BAY MODELING UPDATE HISTORY
© Copyright
2004-2023 Tampa Bay Modeling. All rights reserved
|
|
|