Destined by Desire

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2

It’s the day of the show, I transferred my “entry fee” a little bit later, I was always a girl of last minutes, believing things can turn around at the very last minute, I must’ve thought wrong, this is Mr. Oswald we speak of.

I peep out to look at the crowd and woah, it was crazy, it was a runway setting and the décor tailored to theme with creative installations, cool lightning and it was such a chic atmosphere.

My heart was thumping and I was so so nervous, I hope they all think I have potential cause I do think potential. My mobile rings and I get it out of my pocket to see that my step mum was calling and I immediately picked her call, she was one of the most supportive figures I had in my life

“Hi Lila” I breathe into my phone hoping she won’t sense the nervousness in my voice

“I’m guessing I called right on time right? The show hasn’t started?” She asks

“It hasn’t, I’m prepping” I say “the crowd is crazy”

“And in the midst of the crowd, don’t forget that everyone is a potential sponsor, you need that crowd for yourself Lodie” I can already feel her warmth from the way she talks to me over the phone “Let me know when your show is over, I know you’d be having good news for me. I wish you the best and I love you so much” she says

“I love you too Lila” I say and I smile and end the call

I love that I’m surrounded by such supportive people, that’s sincerely all I need right now

“Omg! The show is starting” Lorenzo nervously and dramatically uses his hands to fan himself

Lorenzo and I quietly listen to the welcoming and opening remarks made by yett the speaker. After that, there was a whole red carpet entrance for the attendees like celebrities, influencers, big fashion designers and sponsors

“It’ll be fine” I whispered frantically as he takes my hand and I take his, we both smile “I think I want to watch others for a bit” I tell him

“Same here girl but have we got time for that?” He says softly, checking out his nails

“Well, I’m my model and I don’t take time to get dressed up” I explain

“Your makeup?” He squints questionably

“God Lorenzo, that’s not really important, the designs are the whole point”

“But makeup boosts your looks girl” he laughs

“Please walk away” I laugh and chase him back stage

As he leaves I heavily sigh, I was so nervous and I go out the back, to where the crowd is seated, I spot an empty seat from far and I hurriedly walk there

“Hello everyone, I’m Vanessa and I’m a star” she starts and I laugh a little, I lowkey envied her confidence, it was alarming “Everything I design has a touch of stars, name them; Neutron star, proto star, red giant st……” I accidentally collide with something that makes me almost fall backwards and I hurriedly look up, it was a totally enormous man, he was suited up in all black with the dark shades on, I was gobsmacked as I didn’t even know what to say to this giant I just bumped into

“Are you hurt?” I hear a voice from beside the big man and I look at this young man, the first thing I noticed was his sharp jaw line, he was dressed in an impeccable tailored suit that screamed sophistication. His piercing gaze exuded confidence and his designer watch hinted wealth but a subtle kind of wealth. I could feel power radiating from his body as his steps were filled with some type of grace or was this feeling of power and grace just rooting from this big man in black, I was so frightened by him

“Yes yes I’m okay thanks” I hurriedly say trying to get away from them but my steps are shortened and stopped. Now that I think about it, they give off assassins

“Collins, be nice and apologize to the lady, you walked in on her” he pats the big dude on this back, his gaze still fixated on me

“I’m sorry ma’am” the big guy speaks, his deep voice made shivers run down my spine “it was my mistake”

“Oh no it’s fine, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was headed” I say awkwardly and then turn to the fine looking young man “Thank you so much” I say “I love your tailored piece by the way” I add

He looks at me in disbelief and touches his tie “How do you know it’s a tailored piece?” Curiosity and fascination engulfed his expressions

“Oh I’ve never seen it anywhere” I hurriedly reply, I was trying to get to the empty seat right at the corner

“And you’ve seen all the pieces of suits that exist?” He was so quizzical and I didn’t have time for this

“You can say that” I nod confidently “I have to go, it was nice meeting you” I zoom off

I have to perform in some minutes and now wasn’t the time to mingle with strangers. I finally get to the seat and take it, I look at the stage from my view, the crowd was no joke, I watch Veronica confidently smile as her models walk in to “Mamushi” by Megan thee stallion and Yuki Chiba. I couldn’t believe the lyrical expression and her models were definitely eating up the stage I can’t lie, I get even more nervous, these designs were so good

I feel my phone vibrate and I look at it to see a text from Clara telling me to come dress up. I nearly forgot I was to be a model for her, I hurriedly get up and run to the back stage

“I’m so sorry Clara, it skipped my mind” I try to calm down my fast breathing

“It’s fine, just get dressed, I’ll doll you up a little” she says as she hands over a dress to me, it was a purple women’s blazer mini dress and it was so cute, I love it on me also.

I get a little bit scared at the fact that each and everyone of us were great fashion designers and we all have so much potential.

“Are you okay?” Clara asks. I was still staring at my self in the mirror

“Oh yes I am fine, your design is pretty and you got my perfect size” I smile

“Thanks Elodia” she says as I get seated so she could doll me up

Walking on the stage for Clara’s presentation seemed so natural. As I walked in, the lights dim and music starts to set the mood, I was wearing her statement piece and so I had to be the first model to capture attention, I walk to the end of the stage and pose for photos to be taken before the other two models walked in and do the same thing.

“The first piece was inspired by my grandmother, that will be a long story and so I’ll save it for another day, it’s called th……” Clara’s voice wears off in my head as I focus on the lights flashing, the crowd was crazy and I was so tensed I could not even fix my eyes on them, I struggle to maintain composure and balance until it was over.

“You did sooo good Elodia” Clara hops in excitement, we were done with her presentation “I was so getting good reviews and it’s all thanks to you”

“It’s fine really, I’d do anything beyond my power to help you out” I smile. I was fighting the urge to ask her where she heard the reviews, I was already panicking, like what are they going to think about mine? It’s just Clara and I, I have zero models, this is so embarrassing but that’s the point right? It’s an individual and a developing business, this is scratch and everyone starts from scratch, I pace around with my thoughts.

“Okay Elodia, quit the thinking, let’s go prepare for your grand performance” Clara drags me to the back stage where we dress up

*

Once again, the lights go dim and the music sets the mode of the stage as I calmly walk in.