Accepted! ~ Story Time

Hello everybody!! It is time for another story time :3 I'm honestly having so much fun writing this, although my work is so time consuming lately, that I'm so slow to continue this. I think you can guess it from the title, but I'm pushing the "date" between Coco and Venezia, mostly because I have no clue of what sort of background/props I can use, and I cannot order or buy anything right now, so... I don't know what to do xD

Also, yay for me! I learned to do invisible stitches on stretchy fabric while sewing these pajamas, so +1 for learning something new! I love when that thing happens. And the tank top pattern was too easy to make, I did few corrections and it was done!

Okay, without further ado, have a photo, and the story starts after the cut.

Chapter 5: Accepted

Everything was a blur. But it was comfortable, soft and somewhere she found familiar but couldn’t quite put her finger on why. It was like sluggishly awakening, as if she had spent too much time lost in her thoughts, only to come back to reality in the slowest and mindless way. As if something dragged her back to reality.

She was in a park, in the early morning. She was sitting on a bench, covered by the shade provided by a group of trees, and at the distance she could see an old couple sitting at the edge of the fountain. They were adorable, talking to each other after spending a lifetime together. How she wished she could find another woman to share her life with, as they did. She sighed, feeling the soft smell of flowers that came from the trees.

Suddenly, some dogs started barking far away. She tried to see the source, but couldn’t find anyone across the trees and the runners going through the park. She raised her head, looking at the sky through her shades: it was clear, sunny, and with the perfect weather. And once again, Venezia found herself wishing something: to be able to record that moment and live it again over and over, because it was quiet, normal and simply too perfect. She let that sink in, closing her eyes, and holding tight to her purse.

And then, she heard some voices. She opened her eyes, and saw two dark-skinned young women excitedly talking to each other. They occasionally grabbed her hands, laughing and deciding on something. One of them looked at Venezia’s direction, and then the other, but they turned away as soon as their gazes crossed. Where they making fun of her? It was sad, finding her perfect moment ruined in such a way, but she would not stay there only to be bullied once again. She stood up, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder.

But when she turned up to the right, she saw a makeup store across the street, in front of the park. It was her photo in there: a huge ad of her wearing cat-eyeliner and a stunning glittery gold shade, biting her own lips. The dark, deep and matte red made them even fuller and velvety, but she looked gorgeous anyways. Her mouth curled up on a smile, but her heart stopped when she saw the brand she was promoting. Was that real? Somehow she knew she had done that photoshoot, but could not quite remember when… or how it had gone.

Venezia felt her cellphone vibrating from her purse, and it anchored back to reality. She forgot the ad and opened the bag, searching for the source of the noise. Strangely enough, the vibration was lauder each second that passed, while she was still unable to find the phone. It was overwhelming. Her left hand dived across a variety of things crushed inside the purse, unable to find it. However, everything felt… soft? Light blinded her, and everything faded until she opened her eyes. And this time, it was real.

Instinctively, her right hand moved to cover her eyes. That had been… a very nice and very real dream. She heard the neighbor’s dogs barking from outside her apartment -exactly the same as on her dream-, and crushed her good old Toto against her chest: that stuffed animal had been with her since she was a child, but somehow, he still was soft and fluffy, even if he was half crushed between her breasts, and in desperate need of a laundry service. Venezia smiled at him, but the insistent vibration of her phone reminded her of what she had to do.

She moved as fast as that dizzy early-morning state would allow her, and grabbed the phone. The screen light made her shrink her eyes while she attempted to read it. Why was the thing so shiny? She put her thoughts away and focused on the incoming call. It said “Nadia”, along with a professional photo of her manager. She took the call without any further delay.

“Don’t tell me, I already know it: you were sleeping.” said the voice at the other side, in a mix of frustration but anxiety, and somehow not impressed. Did something happen? After all, she sounded… enthusiastic. “Venezia, are you there?”

The young model yawned, scrubbing her eyes with her left hand, after releasing Toto for a moment. “Yeah… I’m here. What happened?” It was Monday, but she didn’t have anything to do, except going to the gym, which was sad: she hoped and wished to be swarmed in work as other, more recognized, models. Would Coco overslept in the mornings? Probably not. She turned her back to the mattress, bending her knees and refusing to get up from bed.

“Of course something happened!!” Nadia almost screamed, making Venezia to close her eyes tighly and get the phone away from her ear. “You won’t believe it, but… I just ended up a call with Reneé Favre’s assistant, from MOMO. And they…”

“Rejected me? That is no surprise”. Venezia interrupted her manager, filling the sentence while the other woman took a breath. It was the expected thing to happen, anyways, but she had hoped for another outcome… maybe, she was not allowed to hope, or to achieve her goals. She was too new for them, too young, probably too dark and curvy, and…

“THEY ACCEPTED YOU!” Another scream, but this time, she didn’t pull the phone away from her ear. She simply froze in her place, disbelief on her face while her hand started to shake. Her eyes were now wide open, and her mouth slowly opened, as if not deciding whether to smile or talk.

“What?”.

“They said yes! They will send me a contract draft this afternoon, and we will have a meeting on Wednesday to formally sign it, or present our modifications”. Nadia kept talking about the preparations, but Venezia couldn’t think. Was she still dreaming? That soft smell of flower was still on the air, probably because of the half-open window, or the laundry fragrance from the sheets. The dogs’ barking had ceased, but that peacefulness… that feeling of perfection filled her senses.

She tried to keep her mind focused on Nadia’s words, as she planned her day and week. Her mind filled with questions, although she knew some of them would be answered soon.

The first step was getting up and going to meet her manager at the agency as soon as possible. She assured her she would be there in an hour, and then hang the call. But she couldn’t move. Was that real? Had she finally been accepted? A moment passed by in complete utter silence, until it was her time to scream a loud ‘yes’. She grabbed one of the cushions and threw it to the air, and then she jumped on top of the mattress. She landed on her feet, then on both of them, and kept doing so and throwing cushions with her, until and she fell on her hips. But with each jump and each second of joy, excitement clouding her mind, she felt more like a child whose dream has just become reality.

When she finally sat, she grabbed Toto and pressed him to her face, hugging him tightly and rolled around the bed, while her occasionally muffled yeses were nothing more than a muted sound. But her heart was jumping and she could not remind herself of a moment in her life so filled with happiness.

However, when she stood up, her smile faded away: she had planned the date with Coco for Wednesday. She would have to move it to another day… or cancel it. That did not make her happy at all.

In case you where wondering, this is the photo reference I used to describe Venezia's makeup on her dream. And the Toto amigurumi was made by my mom, I think two years ago. Who would have thought it was just what Venezia needed? And yes: she sleeps with a stuffed animal. Anyways, I hope you like these stories, and don't find them boring. Have an awesome day, everyone! :D