Haley's Star

Alex finally broke though her thoughts when he asked her how she was enjoying living in the city. She put on her best smile and said, "it's great!" Her brother knew better though, "I am sure it is but how are you really doing?" She never kept anything from her brother and even though he did not often have answers or advice she could speak freely to him. "I do like it here, I am just antsy. I need to meet people and go places and do things. I only know four people here. Ben is leaving so that makes three. Jason and Molly are married and Katie is wrapped up with you and her work. Also the apartment is great, I will always be appreciative that Molly is letting me use it. It's just far from everything. I am ready to be in the center of everything, be a part of the social scene." Alex was hiding his amusement, "you have been here for what, three weeks? You need to give it some time." "I know, I feel like I am that actor expecting to jump into the starring role on Broadway because I am fabulous and everyone should know that." Of course she could not sing or dance but she was good at her job and did plan on excelling there. "Sis, you are fabulous." And practically reading her mind he asked, "how is your job?" Allie did manage a genuine smile this time, "it is exciting being there from the opening. There have been a few kinks to work out, otherwise it is going well." "Maybe you can hook up with some coworkers there and go out with them?" "I am still getting to know the staff and figuring out who I could do that with. Working weekend nights does not help. Still this is the city that never sleeps so I am hopeful." They wrapped up their meal talking about their childhood, where they were at the moment and life in general. They had a little more time to spend together so they decided to wander around the mall. They noticed a crowd of people and decided to investigate. There was a model search going on. They saw an elevated judges table with a cat walk running perpendicular it. There was a crowd of people in front of the stage, neither one of the siblings had a whole lot of interest in what was going but it would at least make for some great people watching. They managed to find a bench that was just behind and to the side of the judges so they could catch a glimpse of each contestant as well as the reaction of the judges. "I did not think mall model searches still existed," Alex commented. Allie shrugged, "maybe the pool of beautiful people is diminishing." "I doubt that," Alex said with a look of skepticism. They sat watching for a while rating each girl on a scale of one to ten. Most were five or sixes in their opinion with a few at the top of the scale. Alex leaned over, "you could beat out most of these girls. You're tall enough, and pretty cute, for a sister that is." Allie stood up and walked up and down in front of Alex pretending to be on a runway. She exaggerated each step lifting her feet higher then was natural. At the end of her run she put her hands on her hips shifting her weight from side to side while pursing her lips together. When she looked to the side to see Alex's reaction he was looking past her. She turned to see one of the judges standing up smiling at her with a crooked grin softly clapping his hands. She gave him a second look noting not so much as amusement to his dark eyes but more of a curiosity. He was tall and lean, well dressed in a dark casual manner. He had a wide swath of dark medium length hair with each side shaved off. Allie wondered if he was a model himself. She gave the man a slight nod and a curtsy. He responded with his own nod. He bent down to pick up some papers that had fallen to the floor without taking his eyes off her. Once the papers were back in their proper place he turned his focus back on the contest. Allie quickly turned and sat next to her brother. She grinned, "what do you think, he's pretty cute." Alex pretended to assess the situation, "well he is not really my type. I do think you should make a few more passes. Make him smile again." Allie watched cute guy for a few more minutes. She watched his reaction as each girl stepped up to be judged and scrutinized. She was trying to figure out his expression. He did not seem bored or uninterested, he also did not seem too excited either. Perhaps it was a look of frustration or disappointment. Her brother was right though, he did need to smile more. She got up and strolled close by his table and did a few twirls until she caught his attention. When she knew he was focused on her she changed her stance. She put her right hand by her forehead and left hand behind her and did an Egyptian walk. After strutting a few steps she flipped around with both her hands above her head. She squinted her eyes slightly while moving her head side to side. After finally getting a smile from her cute judge she Egyptian strutted back to the bench. Alex had a big grin on his face, "you sure caught his attention, he keeps peeking over at you." "Well, I am enjoying humoring him, and you too," she poked at her brother. "You should talk to him." Allie shrugged her shoulders, "maybe." She really wanted to but did not want to come across as overzealous. She was beyond ready to meet people, even if nothing came of it she had to jump in and start somewhere. She studied him a little more watching his reaction as each girl came up to the table. He seemed to be able to do a quick assessment before making a note. After that he seemed a little disinterested, looking around, leaning back and not making any comment to the other judges. She wondered if he always was judging the way people looked and what he possibly thought of her. She knew she made him smile and he seemed ready for another distraction. She got up and slowly stepped over into his sights again. She kept her shoulders slightly angled with her hands at her sides. She took each step with her toes pointed out in front of her. After a few steps she put her hands over her head and did a few ballerina spins. Only she was never a ballerina. On the last turn her heel slid out and she wobbled almost falling. She did not care though, she righted herself as she laughed and took a grand curtsy bow. She just hoped he did notice, she was not able to catch a good view of him as she spun around. She wanting to make him laugh again, not just look foolish for the rest of the crowd hanging around. When she did finally catch his eye he was in fact laughing but in a nice way. He gave her a small round of applause before holding one finger up at her indicating for her to wait. She watched him scribble a note, when he held it up it read 'meet me in 15'. Allie gave him another curtsy and a smile and managed her best model walk back to the bench. She grabbed her brothers hand and pulled him up, "come on, I need to freshen up, he wants to meet me in fifteen minutes."