All Chapters of Model Perfect : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The chattering from my bedroom can only mean one thing, Rosa and Freddie are still enjoying each other’s company. It’s always the least likely people that will fall in love. For Freddie, he comes with a tragic backstory that Rosa is unaware of. Freddie, being twenty-five, has a few years on Rosa and in those short years before they met, Freddie was previously married. His wife, Maria, died in a plane crash. Maria was a bit like Amelia Earhart, or so Freddie has mentioned to me in our private conversations. The truth of it is, Freddie has closed himself off from getting close to anyone. He doesn’t need to tell me this for me to notice. I have witnessed him at work with his hands closed and his arms crossed. The scowl of his brow and the clenching of his jaw. Those to me were the mannerisms of a man keeping people away. When I asked him if he was okay after a photo session one day, he broke down and told me I was the first model at Model Perfect to ever ask or care about him. From then

The Winter Paris Collection competition is around the corner, and I am not prepared for it at all. It is hard to model these days, my energy levels are haywire. I can hardly focus in class, I fell asleep in math class the other day. The doctor says it could be my thyroid hormone levels becoming fuzzier and harder to predict. His words weren’t exactly that, but that was the overlaying message. It’s scary to be out of control. It’s a hurricane that I am not ready for. It’s been weeks, and I still haven’t decided to fully commit to surgery. It would mean goodbye Model Perfect, and I am not sure I am ready to say goodbye to them just yet. Arlo is concerned for me and has even put pressure on me to consider my health over my career. It’s a balancing act and I don’t like which way to go. I feel like a tightrope walker, at any moment I could fall in the net below if a decision is not made for me. My life is a balancing act, that I am too exhausted to recover from. I fall in all directions,

It’s Monday, after school and I find myself in the familiar company walls of Model Perfect. Freddie’s office lies at the end of the hallway. I knock on his door. “Freddie, do you have a moment? I would like the chat with you.” He signals for me to sit down and close the door behind me. “I wanted to talk with you about the Paris Winter Collection. Can I still be in it?” Freddie puts down the newspaper that he has been reading. An article about me is on the front page, I can’t imagine what there is to report on me unless someone found out about Arlo or my cancer. “Yes, of course you can still be in it. Is that why you came in here?” “Ummm well, how was your date with Rosa?” Freddie rolls his eyes. It’s amazing to me how different a person can be when they are asked to transform into a professional. Out of the office and away from Model Perfect, Freddie is this reserved person who knows how to laugh and smile. But here behind the walls of Big Brother, who watches his every move, h

The Winter Paris Collection Competition is back on, and Freddie is letting me compete. I re-read my contract, and it turns out I have six months left to go until it gets renewed. I am not sure I am looking for renewal at this time, or ever. Given their track record with me, I need to find a new career or new modeling agency that is willing to take me on. Rosa spent the night at my house, Freddie got her approved to model for the day. Rosa, Tanya, and I are all going to be sporting slutty Christmas dresses and Santa hats. It’s the time of the year when models get perks for modeling during the wondrous Christmas season. “Emma, Freddie told me what happened. Did you really try to quit being a model at Model Perfect? Listen it isn't up to me, but I think you should stay until graduation." "Don't worry. I will be staying for a little while longer. But the truth is I need to quit and get this surgery taken care of. Even Tanya Pennington knows about it now." Rosa chokes on her morning

Hunter Bates, the lead singer of Aftershock, has been taken into custody. He snuck into Emma Rhodes' house and began choking her. He is being charged with attempted murder. There are other models from Model Perfect coming forward with accusations against Hunter Bates. The police have opened up several investigations into the private life of Hunter Bates, who will soon be facing many years in person. I turn the television off. It's nice to hear the journalists tell the truth for once. For once my story has been turned around for a positive outcome. The part with Hunter Bates in it can end, and I can face the surgery with an open mind. The day Hunter attempted to kill me, his weight was around my neck. Since the moment he grabbed my tumor and started to squeeze, I have desperately wanted to get this tumor out. The pressure he placed against it, burns within my trachea. It's been harder to swallow since then and challenging to talk. I've been avoiding talking since the vibrations in