Helzeny's birthday was coming up. So, for years she never did anything special on her big day, but that was about to change. The first thing on her bucket list was a birthday photoshoot.
Zydal worked part-time at her brother's photo studio. His name was Scully, 5 years older than her. He had opened the studio after dropping out of college. His gut had told him that school wasn't his path to success, and he took that risk. Now 3 years later, and his studio was among the celebrities' favorite. His rate was a little bit high, but one would always be happy after seeing the results.
Helzeny used Zydal as her connection to get a booking. Luckily, Scully only offered to photograph her for only 15 minutes. To Helzeny, that was more than enough. So, I did previously say that Zydal had a dry personality. Scully, on the other hand, was grumpy and moody, but very talented.
The day of the photoshoot arrived, and it was 30 minutes to the shoot. Zydal arranged the set perfectly the way Helzeny requested. All this time, Scully didn't help. He only dealt with his cameras.
"When she gets here, try to smile a little. I don't want you to scare my friend.", said Zydal, giving him a heads up.
"Is she here for the shoot or my smile?", Scully asked, flatly.
"I know, but don't treat her like she's lowly or something. She paid your rate, and only for 15 minutes. Let's just do a great job. These are special for her.".
The bell jingled when the door opened. Zydal knew it was her. Thankfully, the set was ready. As she went to the front door to fetch her, Scully set his camera on standby. He was annoyed that day for some reason. But with his daily mood swings, who knew?
Zydal and Helzeny came into the studio. To save time, Helzeny was already wearing the outfit for the shoot. It was a short emerald suit, tight, complementing her body lines. The white shirt wasn't buttoned to the top, revealing a gold necklace around her neck. Her hair was in a perfect ponytail and the makeup was top notch. She looked like a billion dollars and smelled like heaven. Her photoshoot theme was formal. She needed an office set, with a desk, computer and a table phone. And Zydal did all that to perfection.
"I hope I'm not late.", Helzeny chuckled nervously.
Scully turned around to finally meet his client. It was very sudden when he saw her that his whole body felt electrified.
A goddess!
That's what he inwardly thought. But despite that remarkable first impression, he still looked very reserved, as if an invisible Cupid's arrow hadn't just struck him. He remained as dry and 'grumpy' as before.
"Is that what you're going to wear, or you need to change?", he asked, like he was annoyed. All that was an act.
Zydal thought he was seriously giving her friend an attitude. It pissed her off.
"I'm ready for the shoot. I don't need to change.", Helzeny said as she approached the set.
Zydal went to stand behind Scully, jaws clenched angrily.
"Stop being a prick to my friend.", she whispered.
"Let me do my job, okay?",
The photoshoot began and Helzeny was rich in poses. Every click was blessed with her ethereal beauty. Scully was so mesmerized that sometimes he had to stop and breathe. Crazy part was; whenever he paused and turned away from her, Helzeny would get nervous thinking she's doing a bad job. I wish she knew that it wasn't the case. Scully scared her.
15 minutes on the dot, the shoot was done. Scully got up and went back to his desk without saying a word. Zydal, now embarrassed, went to Helzeny to try and say something positive.
"You were an absolute moon. The camera loved you.", she said, truthfully.
Helzeny sighed sadly, "I'm sure your brother thinks otherwise.",
"Nobody gives a fuck about his opinion. You were amazing. And to celebrate, I'm buying you dinner tomorrow night.".
"Let's reschedule that for another time. I want to be alone on my birthday.",
"What? Why?",
"I don't know. I'm just starting a new tradition. But we'll have dinner together the day after. I haven't seen you girls in months.",
"Yeah. Okay. Day after tomorrow then. Your photos will be ready as soon as possible.",
"Thank you, Zydal.",
She escorted Helzeny outside and when she came back, she had a mountain of things to say to her brother. She found Scully looking at the photos one by one. She stood in front of his computer wishing she was Thor, just so she could thunder him.
"I asked you for one thing, only to be kind to _",
"What's her name?", Scully asked, interrupting her.
"I told you her name a thousand times.",
"Remind me again.",
"Helzeny.",
"How old is she?",
"She'll be 23 at midnight tomorrow.",
Scully nodded and kept clicking the mouse, eyes locked on the computer screen.
"Did you even see how you treated her?", Zydal continued, "You have to apologize to her. I know you're grumpy, but she's not me. She has actual feelings _",
"I'll apologize", he interrupted her again, "Face to face."
Zydal did think he was purposely saying that to piss her off and she was getting infuriated more and more each second. "You're such a douche, Scully.",
"Just give me her number and I'll _",
"Go to hell!",
Zydal stormed out of the studio wishing she was older than him just so she'd beat his ass.
…
The pharmacy was quiet and chilly, but not as quiet and chilly as it was inside her head. Winslow stared blankly at the pregnancy test kits arranged beautifully on the shelf. She'd been sleeping with different guys for fun, no feelings attached for weeks. And now 4 days had passed, and she'd received no visit from her monthly bloody friend. For 2 full minutes, she didn't move a muscle.
She took out her phone and dialed the first number on the call log. The phone rang for a few seconds then the person answered.
"Has your period ever been late before?", Winslow immediately asked.
"Yeah.", Lessin replied over the phone, "It happens to every girl once in a while.",
"Right?",
"Yeah. You should only be worried if you've had unprotected sex.",
"Girl, I was just about to heave a sigh of relief.",
Lessin laughed, "Why? You think you're pregnant?",
"One of those days, right?",
"You'll never know until you have a test.",
"So, what do you say? Should I just grab a test kit and dash?",
"Absolutely.".
"Thanks. I love you. Bye.",
"Bye. I love you.",
Winslow hung up. She took a deep breath and grabbed the first box in front of her. When she turned around to leave, she instantly halted after meeting a familiar face. She quickly hid the test kit behind her back.
The look on Christopher Vanguard's face was tough to comprehend. He seemed puzzled, or maybe happy. Relieved? Reminiscing? All that, in one facial expression.
"I thought it was you. I-I hoped it was you.", he said, like he couldn't believe it.
"Can't hop on the memory train with you. Gotta go.",
"No, wait.", he blocked the way, "How've you been?",
"Seriously?",
Christopher now looked around them. It was a feminine section, and yes, Winslow was standing in front of the pregnancy section. His heart sank. He couldn't hide it.
"I see.", he told himself, "Anyway, it's good to see you.",
He stood aside, leaving a way for her to pass. And she did walk past him, right until _
"Winslow," he called her.
Winslow looked back at him, kind of impressed, "I see you know my name now.", she said wistfully.
"Can I have your number? Please?",
But Winslow lifted her hand, showing him the test kit, "See this? I might be carrying somebody else's baby right now. Still want my number?",
And Christopher didn't even hesitate to nod, "Yes, I do.",
Winslow huffed, "Give me your phone.",
She typed her number quickly on his phone and walked away. Christopher looked up and smiled, "I see what you did there. I'll fulfill my promise now.".
***