Vanessa hadn’t slept well the night before. She’d spoken to Rex for about twenty minutes on the phone after the incident with the Wild Dogs. She couldn’t help but worry that his life was in serious danger. On top of that, the worrying thoughts that maybe he wasn’t being honest with her about his relationships with other girls, concerned her even more. The most difficult thing to deal with was the phone call she got from Maggie a few minutes after speaking to Rex.
‘You need to check out this profile, Vanessa,’ Maggie had said. ‘Her name’s Carolisa. I believe her real name is Carol and Lisa may be her middle name. She has a public profile. You can view her photographs and her blog. You really need to check her out. Read her blog, “My secret Lover”.’
‘Why?’
‘Just read it ok?’
Vanessa logged into her computer and brought up FaceLink. She typed the name into the search engine and a profile came up.
‘I’ve got it.’
‘Look at her photograph album.’
Vanessa viewed the graphics and gasped when she saw the pictures of Rex, with the labels underneath. ‘Oh my God. Who is she? Rex has never mentioned her. Ah, must be just someone who likes him and got some photographs of him.’
‘That’s what I thought, but read that blog entry I mentioned.’
When Vanessa read the blog her body tensed up and a sickening feeling came over her. ‘No way... This can’t be. How did you find this?’
‘I was bored. I was just checking profiles of friends of friends to see if I knew them. I came across that one and she has all her stuff set to public.’
Vanessa still couldn’t believe what she had just read. She felt weak. All her strength seemed to sap from her. ‘No. This can’t be real. Someone’s pulling a fast one on us.’
‘Who would?’
‘You sure you just found this one by pure chance?’
‘Yes!’
‘Oh God, this is sick.’
‘Are you ok?’
‘No.’
‘Do you want me to come over?’
‘Nuh uh. I need to think through this. I need to get my head straight. I’ll... I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at school ok?’
‘Oh, right, you have that appointment with the modelling agency in the city.’
‘Yes.’
‘Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow.’
The next morning Vanessa felt like staying in bed to wallow in her misery, thinking about all the things she had heard and seen over the last few days. Chelsea and Rex kissing… Him possibly agreeing to see Nadia behind her back… now this Carolisa girl, a secret lover of Rex’s? One that he had never told her about?
Nevertheless, she knew that wallowing would do her no good. She could use the trip into town with her mother as a distraction. She hauled herself out and went to the bathroom. Even though she had little sleep, it hadn’t made her look any worse, so she showered and got to work on making herself look her best.
She hardly said anything to her mother on the way there.
‘Don’t be nervous, Hon,’ her mother said. ‘You’re going to create a great impression. You always do.’
On arrival at the Tanner’s Modelling Agency, Vanessa forced all her worries aside. Pondering on them now would only distract her from the task at hand. They took the elevator up to the main office and ten minutes later sat opposite Anne Summers.
Vanessa couldn’t help but marvel at how upmarket it all was. It contained comfortable, ergonomically designed office chairs, colourful plants, shelves of awards and plaques and photographs of models lined the wall. It was all so clean.
Anne had Vanessa’s new modelling profile in front of her and gazed at the various photographs of her she’d had professionally done just recently. ‘I love these! My God, you are dazzling in these. You’re dazzling in real life too, but it’s amazing how photogenic you are. Some beautiful women just don’t take great photographs, but you... wow!’
Vanessa beamed. She was used to being told how beautiful and photogenic she was but to hear it from a professional was something that little bit special.
‘You are going to be snapped up, young lady. You are going to be in huge demand. I’m just glad that we have the opportunity to sign a contract before anyone else does. As it happens, I already have three companies wanting to use you based on the few photographs we took of you last time you were in. I have one wanting you in a TV commercial advertising a new soft drink brand, another to be a hair model and another to model girl’s underwear for a catalogue.’
Vanessa didn’t like the sound of the last job. Even thought she considered herself an extrovert and liked to wear sexy clothing, she was no exhibitionist. ‘Ummmm. That’s great, Anne, but I’ll pass on the underwear modelling. That’s not my thing.’
Anne frowned. ‘Vanessa, you have to realise that if you get into this industry you may have to put aside some of your inhibitions.’
‘Sorry, but I won’t. And I won’t do anything that involves getting my clothes off in front of a camera crew, even if it's partial nudity.’
‘Really? You do realise that this would inhibit your chances of getting a contract anywhere. We and other companies like us only employ those who a flexible. I’m not saying that you’ll be asked to do anything distasteful or anything pornographic, my word no. We are a professional agency and you are still only seventeen years old, but when you are eighteen more may be required of you. There may be times where you may have to advertise something where you need to be partially clothed, or where you need to be nude with your body parts obscured for the camera. And with your curvaceous figure you may get more jobs like that than some of our more petite and skinnier models.’
Vanessa was not moved. ‘I’ll pass on those jobs.’
‘Are you sure? Being difficult and overly modest about such things may affect you getting this contract.’
‘Then I won’t get it,’ Vanessa said. ‘It doesn’t worry me at all.’
Anne sighed. ‘Are you sure you won’t budge on this issue.’
‘Absolutely. No nudity. I have no desire to be on TV or magazines nude or in underwear. I have enough trouble with guys hitting on me as it is. I don’t want to give them more reason to.’
‘I do understand, I do.’ She sighed again. ‘Alright, we’ll adjust that clause on your contract. We don’t normally do that, but in your case we’ll make an acceptation. We really want you on board.’
She took some papers and made some crosses and wrote down some things on it. ‘This is the contract. You’ll see here that I’ve added in a no nudity clause. This will cover any situation where you may be requested to be nude or in underwear, however it doesn’t exclude swimsuit modelling. Are you ok with that?’
‘Great.’
He pushed the papers across the desk to Vanessa. ‘You’ll see several sections there, but the most important details are that this contract is for five years minimum. You agree not to negotiate with any other agency in that time. The contract will be up for renewal after that time. You will agree to any jobs we send your way, provided of course they meet the criteria of the contract. Note that anything like body piercings and tattoos cannot be done at any time during the period of the contract. Your current nose stud is fine, but...’
‘I just got a tattoo the other day.’
‘What?’ Anne stared. ‘Where?’
‘On my ankle. See?’ She rose her foot up to the desk so that Anne could see the butterfly she had tattooed on it.
‘Why didn’t you tell me you were going to get this?’
‘It never crossed my mind. I wanted one, so I got it.’
‘Are you intending on getting anymore?’
‘No. I just wanted one there. Thought it would be hot.’
Anne flinched. ‘Vanessa, I wish you hadn’t done that. We have a policy of no tattoos when it comes to our models.’
‘Sorry. But I’ve got it now and I’m not having it removed.’
‘Are you going to be this stubborn al
l the time?’
‘I won’t get anymore. I promise.’
Anne sighed again. ‘You’re making this very difficult, but alright, I’m determined I’m not going to let you get away. Now, I’ll let you and your mother look over the contract for a bit. If you want to take it away for a solicitor to look at then, that’s fine, but the sooner we get your signature the sooner we can send you out on jobs. I promise you, you will be in big demand. Girl, I think you have a huge career ahead of you.’
‘Wow...’ Vanessa said, not sure how to react to that. ‘You really think so?’
‘Oh yes. I really think so.’
Vanessa and her mother spent some time looking over the contract.
‘I’m glad you made a stand about the no nudity,’ her mother said. ‘It would have left you open to be taken advantage of.’
‘That’s one of the reasons I refused it. I know what guys are like, Mom. I can imagine lots of horny cameramen, producers and directors wanting me to get it off in front of them. I don’t want or need that attention.’
‘Good on you. You do realise that you are something special? Your beauty is quite profound and I’m not just saying that because I’m your mother. This is why Anne wants you so badly. It’s why she’s willing to be flexible for you.’
‘So I’m starting to realise. I’ve been finding that out over the last couple of years.’
Her mother touched her arm. ‘Don’t ever give up on your principles. Never. Don’t ever be forced into doing something you don’t want to do.’
‘I won’t, Mum.’
The two smiled at each other.
Half an hour later the contract was signed. Vanessa and her mother left Anne’s office and arrived at the foyer. Just as they entered, Vanessa saw another girl about her age disappear down the corridor. She blinked just to be sure it was who she thought it was. There was no doubt about it. It was Cheeky Cherry, the girl from the Internet.
‘What’s she doing...?’ Her voice trailed off and she turned to the reception desk. ‘Excuse me, who was that girl that just went down there?’
The receptionist glanced up. ‘Oh, that was Tina Rogers, one of our models.’
Vanessa reeled. ‘Tina? What her name’s not Cherry?’
‘No.’
‘Can I see her for a minute?’
‘Just follow her down there. I’m sure you can catch her.’
Vanessa didn’t even wait to acknowledge her mother. She hurried down the hallway, a horrible feeling coming over her. Was it really the same girl? Was it possible that she was only using a false name with her, for fear of her true identity being known on the Internet? Or was there something more sinister going on?
She found Tina in a kitchen area pouring herself a cup of coffee.
‘Hi... Tina?’
The girl turned. It was indeed the same girl from the Internet, however Tina’s face remained straight, showing no signs of recognition. ‘Hi. Can I help you?’
Vanessa didn’t quite know what to say. She blinked a couple of times. ‘Your name’s not Cherry?’
‘No.’ She laughed.
‘You don’t know me then?’
‘Never seen you before in my life.’
‘You don’t have a FaceLink profile by the name of Cheeky Cherry?’
‘I don’t have a FaceLink profile at all.’
The truth dawned on Vanessa. It was like turning on the TV and recognising the program that’s on. ‘I’m sorry. I guess I made a mistake. You’re not who I thought you were.’
‘No worries.’ Tina smiled and sat down at a nearby table, not giving Vanessa another glance.
Vanessa turned and slowly walked from the room, thoughts running a marathon through her mind again. ‘Nadia,’ she thought. ‘She said she met Cherry at the pools!’ She stopped in her tracks. No, it couldn’t be her pretending to be Cherry, because Nadia had been sitting in the room with her when Vanessa had been communicating with Cherry. But why would Nadia say she had met Cherry at the pools? Was it possible Nadia had some connection with the person pretending to be Cherry and was involved in the charade?
On arrival home, she convinced her mother to allow her to spend a little time on the Internet before returning to school. She looked up Cheeky Cherry’s profile and searched through everything, determined to get a clue as to who this person really was, but not a lot of information was included. Cherry had loaded very few applications into her profile to give her a clue about what her favourite things were. If Vanessa had some information about that she might be able to put two and two together. That’s if any of the information was accurate about the person pretending to be Cherry.
The best she could determine was that Cherry was someone she knew, possibly someone from school. For them to have got a picture of Rex with Chelsea, it seemed like the obvious thing. It made her wonder just how old the picture of Rex and Chelsea might be. Perhaps Rex had never been with her recently at all?
She scowled and sent Cherry a message.
I know you’re not who you say you are, you lying sack. Who are you really? I met the real Cherry today and she has a different name. I’m going to find out who you are. Where did you get that photograph of Rex and Chelsea? I bet it’s from ages ago!
She shut down the computer, grabbed her things and headed off for school.
Vanessa fumed as she entered the school grounds. She wanted to speak to Nadia. Find out what her game was. She also wanted to talk to Rex, tell him about Cherry and hopefully find out just how old that photograph of him and Chelsea was. It was lunch time and she went in search of her friends. She found a group of them out on the field, hanging out, but there was no sign of Rex or Nadia.
‘Vanessa, how did the contract signing go?’ Maggie greeted her.
‘It went great. I got the contract.’
Everyone congratulated her. Chelsea was there too so Vanessa moved over to talk to her. ‘Chelsea...’
‘Yeah?’
‘I need to talk to you.’
‘Sure.’
‘I’ve got to know something. Did you meet up with Rex last week? In New Plymouth?’
Chelsea’s eyes widened. ‘New Plymouth? No.’
‘So you didn’t see him.’
‘I... yes.’
Vanessa’s world stood still momentarily. The horrible thoughts all came flooding back. The photograph was for real. It wasn’t taken in New Plymouth, but it was still a recent event and one Rex had not told her about.
Chelsea gazed at her. ‘Didn’t he tell you?’
‘No.’
‘I was really down. He helped.’
Vanessa tried to pretend it didn’t bother her. It wouldn’t have if Rex had told her about it. ‘I guess he cheered you up a bit.’ She forced a smile.
‘Yes.’
‘That’s the main thing.’
She tried to tell herself it was harmless. Perhaps Rex had wanted to keep it confidential, for Chelsea’s sake. Nevertheless, it still bothered her that he hadn’t even just mentioned that he had gone to see her. ‘Where is Rex, anyway?’
‘He went off somewhere with Nadia.’
Vanessa once again had to hide her true feelings. She wondered what dirty trick Nadia had up her sleeve to steal Rex away this time.
The bell rang to end the lunch break and she hoped that Rex would be there when she got to class, but he wasn’t. People trickled into the room, but still no Rex and Nadia.
Tucker walked over to her desk and held out a text book. ‘I found this computer text book sitting on the bench over there.’ He pointed to the side of the classroom. It’s Rex’s. Can you pass it on?’
‘Ok.’
She reached out for the text book, but it slipped from Tucker’s hand and fell down onto the floor.
‘Oops.’ Tucker bent down to pick it up and a sheet of paper and a photograph fell out of it. He grabbed them and the book and placed them back on her desk. With that he moved back to his desk.
Vanessa couldn’t help but stare at the
photograph before her eyes. It was of Carolisa, the girl from the Internet.
‘Oh my God,’ she muttered. The sheet of paper with something typed on it lay before her. She couldn’t help but notice the first line.
“Dear Carol, I am finding it very hard to keep our relationship a secret from Vanessa.”
That was all she could bear to read. She threw the sheet of paper on the desk and rose to her feet. She felt her world tear apart, just like her mother had warned her it would. The weight of it crushed down upon her, seeming to squeeze the life out of her heart. She could feel the tears welling up inside her.
‘Vanessa, are you ok?’ Holly stepped up beside her and rested her hand on her shoulder.
‘No,’ Vanessa shuddered. ‘I… I have to go.’
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I just have to go.’ She grabbed her bag and made for the exit, not looking back. She’d taken only a few steps from the classroom when Jaspy came running up to her.
‘Hi, Vanessa. Glad I caught you. I...’
‘Stop!’ Vanessa commanded. She grabbed her by the shirt and delivered her a piercing glare. She had had enough of everything, including the love sick fourteen-year-old. She spoke with venom in her voice. ‘Leave Rex alone. He’s mine, ok? And he doesn’t want you hanging around him. He doesn’t care about you and I’m getting sick of you bugging me and my friends just so you can try to get into his pants. If I see you hanging around him or any of my friends again, you’re dead. Ok?’
Jaspy shuddered and her face paled. ‘Ok! Ok, I’m sorry. I...’
‘I mean it Jaspy! I’m not playing around with you. Back off!’
‘Ok! I will, I promise!’
Vanessa set her eyes on the main gates and stormed away.
CHAPTER 20:
Rex Stands his Ground