“Fuck!” It’s always the perfect word for Krest Li Voulden to say to a stupid being. Her flawless back got pinched by the zipper when the helper zipped up the clothes for her. She wasn’t contented of cursing her that she even slapped her. It caught the attention of the people there—fashion designers, models, helpers— everyone. They were all busy fitting and adjusting clothes but their ears were listening to the commotion. “Quit your job,” she said with full authority.
“But ma’am I need this job.” Yanna fell on her knees as she bowed her head low and touched the feet of Krest. She was not even her direct employer but she pleaded anyway, to save her job because she knew how powerful Krest is. If she tells the boss to fire her, she'll definitely be fired in a snap! “Please! I’ll do a better job next time.”
She can't afford to lose this job! She has a family to support.
“Stop reasoning out, bitch.” She kicked her hand away as she looked down on Yanna. “I gave you the privilege to quit but it seems like you wanna hear me say the magic words.” She pointed down her finger at her as if it was a gun and pulled the trigger as she said, “You’re fired.” She lifted the pointing finger near her lips and blew the imaginary smoke away. The words she just spilled out of her mouth pulled the string of sadness on the helper. Her eyes started to well up in tears. Instead of feeling pity towards the woman, it made Krest happier. She finds comfort in other's misfortune.
When she was told to stand by in 10 seconds, she stood near the entrance, wearing a poker face. Hearing the upbeat music play, her long curly light brown hair flowed freely as she walked gracefully down the runway. She paused for a moment at the end of the runway for the judges to look closely at the clothes. She was clad in a white sports bra, topped with faded blue jumper jeans with a perfect rectangle ripped on the thigh part and a pair of black ankle boots.
The judges and audience were in awe. The clothes were so simple and common but the model made it pleasant to the eyes. Some of the designers, from aspiring to famous, took note of her name to get her to model their clothes.
As she turned around to return to the backstage, she smirked. It seems like the fashion designer’s clothes will sell well thanks to her.
If it wasn't because of her mother's plea, she wouldn't have done this anyway. This is too low for a high-profile model like her.
• • •
“What’s my next schedule?” Krest turned to Spectra while they were walking towards the dressing room.
Her best friend replied, “You have a photoshoot with Penshoppe at 10 a.m. Sharp.”
“That’s the last one, right?”
Spectra nodded. “It’s the last one before we shop!” said she, unable to hide her excitement.
Krest smirked. “I bet that’s the reason why you volunteered to be my manager for the day.”
“How’d you know?” She chuckled.
“Heh!” she said, rolling her eyes with smiles painted on her lips. If it's her best friend Spectra, she loves to spoil her in shopping. Afterall, she's the only friend she has that stays with her even though her attitude is like that.
• • •
Spectra was in awe as they enter the Gucci shop. “Finally!” She threw herself on Krest and wrapped her arms around her neck. “Is this real? This is not a dream, right?”
“Step away from me right now if you don’t want this reality to be a fantasy.”
She quickly distanced herself with her hands suspended on air.
Coming out of the fitting room, she asked Spectra, “How do I look?”
Spectra looked at the backless fitted black dress Krest wore. It fits perfectly on her slim figure as if it’s tailored just for her. She looked down at her heels. Even without those silver stiletto heels, she already rocked the dress. “Boys will surely crawl to ask for your number.”
Spectra smirked. She got another set of clothes and showed it to her. “How about this for tomorrow night?”
“Really, Krest? You love clubbing that much?”
“Why not? It’s fun!”
• • •
Because she spent too much time clubbing last night, whereas Spectra went home early, her alarm didn’t help in waking her up early. She prepared in a snap and went downstairs. There she saw her mom drawing designs of clothes.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?!”
Nikolei stopped what she’s doing and looked at her, with innocence on her eyes. “Am I supposed to?”
“What kind of a mom are you?” she spoke as she wore her shoes.
“A mom who doesn’t nag her kids to wake up early in the morning,” she casually said and went back to designing.
“Brother John!” she called for the driver. “Let’s go.” John has been their family driver ever since she was born.
While they were on their way to the school, Krest noticed that he was driving too safe and slow so she shouted at him, “Hurry up!”
“Ma’am, I’m driving at a normal speed level. If I speed up, we might be caught in an accident,” he said in a calm voice, trying to explain the situation.
“Damn it! Stop the car!” John pulled over and Krest got out. She knocked the window of the driver’s seat. “Get out.”
He did what she said but he didn’t expect her to drive the car. She sped up away from him.
“Young miss! Slow down!” he shouted but she can no longer hear him. He called her boss immediately. “That kid will be the death of me!”
“I’m guessing she drove on her own again?” asked Nikolei.
“Yes!”
She let out a chuckle. “Just let her be, John.”
“But madam she’s only fifteen. She doesn’t have a driver’s license, not even a license for a student.”
“Relax, John. She knows how to drive─ recklessly.”
The words of his boss made him even more tensed.
• • •
Drenched in sweat, Krest's cheeks reddened as she runs up the stairs to reach the fifth floor. That stupid elevator is loaded! Upon reaching the classroom, she leaned against the wall with her hands to support her knees from buckling as she catches her breath. She entered the room while pulling out a handkerchief from her school uniform and wiped her sweat, not minding everyone's gazes. Without putting her bag, she rushed near the teacher's table, where Zef is seated. She opened her palm before him as she asked for his book. "Gimme your Calculus book."
He looked at her momentarily. He noticed that she dyed her hair with light brown, complimenting her pale white skin tone. The ends were curled like big waves, making her hair more vibrant.
“Can you make it fast?” she impatiently asked.
He snapped back to reality. Without saying anything, he thrusted his hand in his bag, pulled out the book, and handed it to her.
She hurried back to her seat at the back left corner of the classroom, near the window. She checked the page of the assignment but there are no answers. She gritted her teeth as she glared at Zef. She badly wants to pull his hair back if only she was seating behind him. “Damn this book.” She stood up, planning to ask for his assignment but the teacher came in.
“Good afternoon, class!” Mrs. Heidi greeted them with so much enthusiasm but the students responded otherwise. It's still early in the morning yet they felt so sleepy for having her subject as their first class.
Ten minutes before the time, she stopped lecturing and assessed the students. The majority of them were sighing, fighting off the sleepiness while the others were already asleep.
“Okay!” She intentionally made her voice louder to wake them up. “What have you learned from our discussion?” She waited for students to volunteer but no one is raising a hand. Her eyes spotted Krest who proudly showed how sleepy she was. Her face is resting on her armchair, with her eyes closed. “Yes, Miss Voulden? Care to share?” She sounded like she’s challenging her to a game.
The class looked at Krest as they waited for her to answer. She stood up and straightened her blouse. “Boredom.” Expecting that kind of attitude from her, they diverted their attention back to the teacher. “I learned a lot of boredom.”
“Boredom?” Mrs. Heidi asked in disbelief. “I was lecturing here for almost an hour and you learned nothing but boredom?!” Her voice grew louder, almost close to shouting so she took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger. She felt the phone in the side pocket of her uniform vibrate. It was a reminder that class time is almost up. “Send your assignments in 10…9…8…7…”
The students felt pressured as they hurriedly opened their tablet built in their desk to submit their assignments in the e-learning system.
Mrs. Heidi spotted Krest doing nothing. “Seriously Krest? You're not doing your assignments and you’re not paying attention to class. You’re failing this subject!”
The student portrayed no facial expression. She’s just looking at the teacher, her face resting on her palm. All she’s hearing is blah blah blah.