Fashion Week 101: Revelations
Whew! That was easy. Milan is so eager to experience new things that she was practically begging to be included. But, I still have to be very careful. She is a sweet girl, a little naïve perhaps, but with a very fast learning curve.
I also feel guilty deceiving her. Actually, I feel guilty deceiving both my roommates, but that can’t be helped. And Milan will know the truth soon enough anyway. As for Napster, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
“I have to give it to you, Imadge. You really know how to choose them.” Beatrice’s piercing blue eyes is matched with the steel in her voice. Officially, she just passed her 50th birthday, but Imadge had always suspected that Beatrice is older than that.
Beatrice seemed to have come from nowhere, showing herself to Imadge just as she entered Rockefeller Center.
Rockefeller Plaza
“Milan Westin and Orville Wozniak. The girl is a catch, as for Napster, he’s a wild card,” Beatrice continued as she played with a #2 pencil with its iconic yellow color. It was Beatrice’s trademark. Wherever she goes, she carries them with her. “So, Milan will have access to the tents this September?”
“Yes, but why the roundabout way? You could have easily given it to her?”
“Bright as you are Imadge, subtlety is not your forte. To be accepted, Milan has to come from left field. She has to be one of them first.”
“But, you just put me in there.”
“As a make-up artist assistant, invisible to say the least. Milan is going to be a star. She has to be accepted by everyone as someone who started from the bottom and made it big. That she’s a Silicon Valley royalty is a windfall. As for her being a Texas blonde, now, that’s a bonus.”
Why is Beatrice making such a big fuss about Milan’s family coming from Texas? I hope this is not about politics.
“And you will have someone spot her at the tents, so that she can be a model? Is that the plan?”
“No darling!” Beatrice said with the usual fussiness when someone in fashion said darling. “Milan will be discovered in London.”
“By one of your operatives?”
“Nope, a real model scout named Errol. He is visiting London next week. I have his itinerary. We will just make sure that Milan and him will cross paths.”
I nodded, expecting to be given a dossier. “Ah, Imadge, I keep on forgetting that you are barely 18 yourself. So, young. No, even you will not know how it will happen. I have your schedule. We will make sure that all four of you will see each other.
“Four?”
“Oh, you did not know? You will be going to London to visit Dr. & Mr. James Wozniak, the beloved parents of your roommate Napster. And, this time, you will make sure that Milan asks permission from her parents so that she can go.”
Without saying goodbye, Beatrice stood up and left the room, leaving no trace of her presence, including her perfume. She even picked up all six of the #2 yellow pencils that she meticulously arranged on the table.
[IMADGE MEKKER]