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Chapter Seven

Aurora's POV

"My pumpkin"

"Pumpkin"

"Pumpkin, stop ignoring me."

"Pumpkin"

"Pumpkinnnnn,"

The consistent ringing of my phone woke me up. I twitched my eyes open as I reluctantly picked up my phone to check who was calling. An annoying bitch was clearly written on it, and I knew it was my best friend. She is so annoying that I had no choice but to save her number according to her personality.

"What do you want, Camilla?" I said, my voice coming out low and a bit dry since I was still feeling drowsy. I was a little bit angry at her; I was clearly enjoying my sleep and not ready to be bothered.

"Don't tell me you are still in bed, Aurora," she asked, sounding a bit pissed.

"Yes, I still am. I have nothing I'm doing today, so I would just wake up around 10 a.m. and maybe go out for job hunting," I said. And she huffed an annoying sigh, leaving me to wonder why she was so annoyed. It was my sleep, not hers, so why was she taking it personally?

"If I came over to your side, I swear I would smack your head. How could you have forgotten you have an audition to be at today, or aren't you going to Glams Fashion House anymore?" She asked angrily, leaving me in surprise.

"Fuck," I cussed at myself, eagerly rubbing the sleep off my eyes. I stared at the small table clock beside me, and it was seven in the morning. I had only an hour to prepare since the auditions started at eight.

"Why did the stupid alarm not wake me up?" I lamented, searching around for the alarm. I saw it on the floor laying recklessly there; I must have hit it away angrily when it kept disturbing my sleep.

"Hmm, Camilla, I will talk to you later. I have just an hour to dress up."

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Before you hang up, I called to tell you that the programme is being shown on TV and the audition was part of the program meme. I'm rooting for you, baby, so please don't let me down, and always know, big sister, I love you," she said, earning a broad smile from me. I was about to scold her for calling herself my big sister; she was only a few months older than me, but she had hung up the call.

"Silly child," I muttered with a smile before getting up to do my daily routine. I had just one hour, so I needed to be snappy with whatever I was doing.

When I made my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day, I decided to put more effort into my appearance. I settled for a denim short skirt and a body hugged top to fit. I picked out my moisturising lip gloss, the best I had used so far, and applied it carefully. It was gifted to me by Camilla on my last birthday, and I treasured it and only applied it on special occasions. I also put on mascara, foundation, and powder and drew my eyebrow slightly. To finish the look, I put on my pearl earrings, which I had had for so long, and perfume.

After making a quick breakfast of pancakes and fruit juice, I headed out of the door, eager to get to the fashion house early. I had spent my whole night learning new walks and even going as far as making little searches on the company. I watched a few of their past auditions, focusing my attention more on the winners, how they had dressed and walked, and what had scored them the mark of winning. I had applied everything to my rehearsal last night, and strangely, I felt a bit confident.

When I got to the gate, I waited a few minutes for any cab to pass by, and luckily for me, one passed. I flubbed it down and entered, not minding the outrageous price the driver had called.

"I was getting close to the fashion house, and my nerves had started jittering. I tried hiding my emotions, but it wasn't working. I was feeling so nervous and unsure of my decision.

I had never auditioned for modelling before, nor was I a model. The only thing I had done was watch their videos and try practicing by myself, which most times I don't have time to do, but here I was about to audition for one of the biggest fashion houses. What if I am not selected? What if I get there and flop? What if I was not given a chance to audit? What if this only thing is just my little illusion and I never become a real model?

Soon I was battling with the what if's question, trying to find freedom out, fighting to find an answer to their curious mind. The car pulled to a halt, jolting me out of my thoughts. I looked outside to see the huge building and took a long breath.

"I had decided there was no going back now," I whispered to myself before stepping out of the car, but not without paying the driver.

Anxiety and nervousness filled my body as I made my way into the company. Taking in deep breaths for reassurance at intervals, I stopped at the receptionist's side and asked her where the auditioning was taking place. She told me, but not without asking me for my pass, which I couldn't provide since I don't have one. After long begging and her acceptance, I finally decided to show her the man from the other night's identification card. That was when her tensed and heated body came down. She apologised for keeping me waiting and told me where the audition was taking place.

As I made my way to the floor where the audition was taking place, I could not help but wonder what kind of power Nathan—I guess that is his name—had.

I rolled my way to the middle floor of the building. The elevator hummed quietly and shifted barely under my feet. I looked at myself in the mirrors of the elevator doors, taking a good look at myself.

The elevator pinged once I reached the fifteenth floor, and the door slid open soundlessly and effortlessly. I glided through the doors and took in a deep breath; my palms were already getting sweaty due to my nervousness.

The vibe of the office was just like how I envisioned it to be; different magazines and posters of their top models were placed on the wall, but one particular one caught my attention. She looked so beautiful and flawless; her posture was topnotch, and she looked so perfect without even trying. I smiled broadly at the poster, tracing my finger on it.

The place was filled with the chattering and bustling bodies of the new models that were also there for the audition.

At this point, I wished my mother was alive. I knew how happy she would have been to know that her child was about to audition for one of the biggest fashion houses in all of America. I could still remember how she strongly stood by my dream of being a model when all other people were against it.

Even when I felt like I wasn't fit for the position, my mother would encourage me and shine a light on a thousand reasons why I was fit for it. Tears dropped from my eyes as I remembered those times. I quickly wiped away my tears and made my way to where other models were. "I'm doing it for my mom, dad, and myself. I need to prove to myself that I could do better than just rehearsing in my room, and that is exactly what I would do.

As if waiting for me, my name was called out immediately.

"Aurora Williams, number 56," a slender lady in her twenties called. I was surprised since I was just coming and didn't even have a number tag with me.

"Aurora Williams," she called again, eye-searching for who it was amidst the crowd. I raised my hand up, signifying I was present, and she asked me to follow her in.

Three people were seated as judges and a few reporters. two men, and surprisingly, the girl I saw on the poster outside, the one whose posture caught my attention as the first glimpse. She was putting her pink top on, and she looked so beautiful with her natural makeup that I couldn't get enough of her because of the dim light in the room.

"Is she just going to stand there without announcing herself? We don't have the whole day here," her sassy voice echoed around the room. And I dropped my head down in embarrassment.

"Be calm, Hazel. I'm sure she was about to introduce herself; you don't have to sound rude." A man speaks; he looks like he was in his forties; his voice sounded so pleasing and calm, relieving me from feeling nervous a little bit.

"What is your name?" the last judge said calmly.

"Aurora, sir, Aurora Williams," I said in a very tiny voice.

"Such a lame name," the girl said rudely, making me feel a bit embarrassed.

I felt lumps in my throat due to nervousness.

"Show us what you can do, Aurora Williams," the last judge said. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. After a few seconds, I open it and walk to the extreme end, before showing them what I was born for. I ignore their looks at me and walk just like I did last night, bringing it to perfection this time around. I struck a few poses and also added a few of the last winners poses before ending it. A loud applause erupted in the room, waxing me a little from the nervousness that was about building up my body.

"That was amazing, Miss Aurora; it's so amazing; your walking steps are so perfect and flawless; you carried yourself with a kind of charisma that screamed perfection; this is the best I have seen today, so with that, I'm giving you a." He raised his card up, and it was a five. I couldn't believe it. He gave me a full mark. Tears dropped down my face as I stared at his score; it all looked like a dream.

"Miss Aurora! The other male judge called, and I looked at him, waiting anxiously for his judgement.

"Firstly, I must praise you for a job well done. What you did right now was amazing but not perfect," he said, and my heart sank. His last statement made my heart churn in pain. Would I lose the audition? I questioned myself inwardly.

"But," he continued.

"With a little brush, I'm sure you would be more than perfect, so I would be giving you a..." He carried his card up, and it was a four-point five. I smiled out the tears that formed my eyes; this was just so amazing. I wasn't expecting such amazing scores, but here I am receiving the best scores I could think of. The happiness I was feeling seized as fear crept gently into my heart as I met with the female judge's gaze, or was her name Hazel? Yes, Hazel, she was glaring hard at me as if irritated by my presence.

"I don't know why they all kept compliment your wreck parade, what you did right now was nonsense, arrant rubbish, it has nothing to write home about, how could your walking step not be filled with energy, do you think you are here to play, you just walk like a lost puppy and you want to be a model, if this was how the other models walk do you think it will have yield them something good, it better you stop hoping to be a model and settle for something less, maybe be a waiter at a cafe or do some other jobs that fit you," she spat out rudely, I felt my heart shattered into different pieces, my heart palpitated in pains as she went on and on about how made I was, tears slowly rushed down my face, I felt so sad receiving such insult from her.

"It would be better if you stop with your crocodile tears; it is irritating. I would advise you to pick up a better occupation, or better yet, you can be a cleaner here. I think the position is vacant."

"She raised up her card, and just as I expected, it was one. I wasn't sure why she detested me so much since this was the first time I saw her. With that, I was excused, but I couldn't fail to see the apologetic faces of the other judges and reporters. Remembering that the audition was live brought more tears to my face. Maybe I shouldn't have dreamt of

becoming a model.

After a few hours, the audition was over, and the ones selected were called out. The name list went on and on, accepting my fate that I wouldn't be accepted. I picked up my things and was about to leave when I heard someone call my name.

"Miss Aurora Williams!" The person called. I gazed up at the person, and it was the lady from earlier, the one who had been calling the names of the selected candidates.

"Me! I asked, amazed that my name had been called. She nodded, smiling brightly at me. A broad smile spread around my lips as the realisation of why I had been called got drawn to me: "Yes, I made it escape my mouth without noticing I hurriedly followed the girl back, not minding the heavy glances of people at me.

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