Travis

"Wait, you're the one that brought me to the clinic?", Alexa asked as soon as they were done with the first half of their photo shoot.

"Yeah, I'm actually a transfer student from Pennsylvania", he explained. "My family moved here in the Philippines, then I found an opportunity with a modelling agency here."

"Wow, good for you. Uh, I'm sorry but I didn't happen to catch your name", Alexa said.

"Oh, right. I apologize for that", he replied with a chuckle. "I'm Travis"

"My name's-", Alexa was interrupted by a girl who came crashing inside the studio.

"Who do you think you are?", the girl said, raising an eyebrow. "This is my photo shoot!"

"I'm sorry, who are you?", Alexa asked genuinely.

"The nerve of this bitch", the girl scoffed.

"Hey, this is just a minor misunderstanding, okay? We could fix this", Travis dissuaded.

"What is going on in here?", Alexa's mother approached from the other side of the studio.

The director came as well, confused with all the commotion. Marzia immediately recognized the girl who was very upset at her daughter. She turned out to be the lady who was supposed to be in the photo shoot with Travis but the staff mistaken Alexa to be her.

"Who is this ugly being in front of me?", the girl asked acting disgusted.

"She is my daughter", Marzia monotonously replied, making everybody fall silent in amusement.

"She's yo-your daughter?", the girl repeated.

"Yes, this 'ugly being' is my one and only daughter", Alexa's mother said with more emphasis.

"I'm so-sorry, Mrs. Monteverde", the girl apologized.

"Well, regardless of the issue, I'm confident that Marzia's daughter fits this photo shoot perfectly", the director exclaimed, looking at the photos taken earlier.

Alexa blushed at the remark, but she also felt bad for the other girl. The girl whose name was Mia angrily walked out of the room. Alexa looked at everyone around her and they stared back at her for what seemed like an eternity. Then after a couple of seconds later, they all went back to their business.

"Beatrice, please finish this photo shoot", Marzia begged her daughter. "I am very happy that you're finally embracing this side of you"

"Mom, this was just an accident. A misunderstanding", Alexa disagreed.

"Well, it suits you", her mother said before completely leaving for another outfit change.

Travis just stood behind Alexa the whole time. When her mother left, Travis took the opportunity to talk to Alexa again. He called her 'Bea' because of he heard Marzia call her daughter 'Beatrice'. Alexa wasn't comfortable with this but she didn't complain either. They were about to engage in a much deeper conversation when the staff interrupted them for the second half of the shoot.

It was four thirty in the afternoon when they finished with the very draining but delightful photo shoot. Alexa wanted to wash the makeup off of her face because she had never worn so much makeup for that long before. When she was about to go to the restroom, her stomach grumbled. She remembered that she still didn't eat anything since lunch.

There was a buffet at the studio, but she was too shy to even look at the food. Alexa decided to fetch her mother instead so they could go home as quick as possible. But Marzia told her to come with her and her colleagues to an early celebration of their project's success.

Alexa was not a fan of social gatherings, but she didn't have a choice. She picked up her school bag and her uniform, thanked everybody who made her look like a real model and for letting her keep the casual dress she wore, then got in her mother's car. In the car, she tried to look for napkins she could use to wipe the makeup off but Marzia got in the car and told her to let it be.

It was a relief for Alexa when they stopped at a fancy restaurant which looked like their chosen venue for their 'early celebration'. The place smelled of expensive dishes and really sociable people. It made Alexa's heart beat slower but louder.

She saw all the other cars pull over at the parking space provided by the restaurant itself, and she was pleased to see a familiar face. Travis came along and apparently had his own car. She and her mother were the first ones to go inside of the restaurant, then everybody else followed.

Ten minutes after five in the afternoon, everybody was still cackling at each other's jokes and remarks on the long dining table. But all Alexa could think of was the long-lasting wait for the food. Her stomach was getting more and more upset.

Travis sat on her left and her mother on her right. Her mother was very busy chatting with her co-workers while Travis was on the phone. Alexa tried peeking into his cellphone, hoping to see their conversation on the screen but to no avail. Travis was already done with whatever he was doing on his phone and kept it on the pocket of his pants.

After fifteen more minutes, the food finally arrived. It seemed like a feast in front of Alexa's face, which made her stomach rumble even more. Travis laughed quietly, but Alexa heard. She just gave a grimace of disbelief and proceeded to get as much food as she desired.

"You're really hungry, aren't you?", Travis snickered.

"I was too shy to get food from the buffet at the studio", Alexa whispered and they both laughed.

After that, they all went silent, indulging in the luscious array of hunger satisfying cuisine. As they devoured the very last pieces of nourishment for the body, they decided to part ways and call it a day. By then, it was already six in the evening.

"So, see you at school?", Alexa asked Travis as they walked alongside each other towards the restaurant's exit.

"Yeah, talk to you later. Take care", he said and walked faster, as if in a hurry.

Alexa suddenly had the impression that Travis was really her mystery guardian. She secretly blushed at the thought and watched Travis drive away in his car. It was a wonderfully tragic day for Alexa. She got to forget about her best friend for several hours, and who knew that she would actually like modelling like her mother?

Or maybe it was only because Travis was there with her?