“Just around. I don’t know,” she said, looking down at her hands. “I miss him sometimes, you know?”
Trihn knew where she was coming from. Pace might have been a total asshat, and Stacia might be a dumb blonde cheerleader, but together, they had seemed to work. It hadn’t made sense, but it’d worked for them.
“Does he know that you miss him?”
She scoffed. “As if I’d tell him. He’s so arrogant. He would use that to his advantage, and I can’t be with him the way he is now. Plus, I have Marshall…and that’s what matters.”
“I just think that Marshall seems like a tactical choice, and Pace seems like one that comes from your heart.”
“Pace is a quarterback, too, Trihn,” Stacia reminded her. Her eyes were wide, as if she didn’t want to consider that she actually cared for Pace.
“I know, but he’s not the starter. You don’t even know if he’s going to the NFL.”
“I don’t want to talk about Pace,” Stacia said quickly. “We broke up. We’re…whatever…on and off again whenever he feels like it and isn’t fucking someone else. I’d rather talk about Damon and him working with Chloe and your model call! I’m really excited for that.”
“Me, too. Are you and Bri still coming to the studio to help out this afternoon?”
Trihn had booked out the studio for her model call. She’d emailed some of her friends who she’d modeled with in the past. She hadn’t heard back from anyone, not that she had really expected to. The university didn’t pay for models, and unless she wanted to pay out of her own pocket, she would have to get a bunch of models with little to no experience. Offering free headshots and runway experience wasn’t exactly the same as hiring models for a magazine shoot. Having gone through this process herself, she knew it was going to be an ordeal. She had a feeling she was going to be there all night, even with Bryna’s and Stacia’s help.
“Yep! We’ll be there. Hopefully, it’s only one day though because, from here on out, we’ll have four to six hours of practice every day to get ready for the NCA national competition in Orlando.”
“Think you guys will bring home first prize this year?”
Stacia nodded vigorously. “Getting fifth last year was an embarrassment. We can do better, and we will!”
“I believe it.” Trihn grabbed her purse. “I have to get to class. So much work to do on top of this fashion show. It’s going to keep me plenty busy. I’ll see you guys at three.”
“See you then!”
Trihn left the house, and the weight of all the work she had to do before the end of the semester crashed over her. It was well and good that she was wrapped up in her boyfriend, but she couldn’t let everything else slip.
By the time the afternoon rolled around, she was already mentally exhausted and had three new papers to work on for next week.
Bryna and Stacia showed up ten minutes after her, and the visual arts major she’d gotten to photograph the models appeared right behind them.
“Hey, thanks so much for showing up,” she said, shaking his hand. “I’m Trihn.”
“Jasper.” He swept his longish mop of hair out of his eyes and itched for the ponytail holder at his wrist. He was lugging a giant camera bag, a tripod, and some other equipment, including one that looked like a boom.
She wasn’t entirely sure how he was carrying it all around.
“You can set up in there. We’ll send models in to you after their interviews and measurements,” Trihn told him.
“Cool.” He nodded and then disappeared.
He’d had experience working with the fashion design school in the past, so she was sure that he would get the shots she wanted. It would be different when they did the photo shoot with her designs. She’d want to be there to see what was going on. But, right now, he could handle it on his own.
“Where did you pick him up?” Bryna asked, sitting down on the desk and raising an eyebrow.
“He’s working for free.”
“You get what you pay for,” she said.
Trihn rolled her eyes. “And that’s why millionaires pay for your time.”
“Because I’m worth it, of course.”
“Okay. Girls should be showing up soon. I’m going to sit out in the waiting room with the girls, so I can observe them without them knowing who I am yet. I’ll need one of you checking people in. Stacia, probably you since you’re friendly.”
Stacia skipped over to Trihn and took the clipboard. “Got it.”
Bryna rolled her eyes. “I’m friendly…when I want to be.”
“Right. Let us know when that time comes around this year,” Trihn said.
Bryna flipped her off.
“Once everyone has shown up, I’ll work with you on interviews, and Stacia will direct people into the room.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll just sit here and wait then,” Bryna said.