31 Chapter 28: Yes I do the posing!

(Kris's POV)

I was sitting on a chair at their dining table, sipping on my coffee, and watching Claire prepared something for us to eat. It's still early in the morning, she might have sensed that I got here without having anything for breakfast. I forgot that she lives with her brother Chad but I don't see him around.

"Uhm... Claire... Where's your brother?" I asked.

"He moved in with Demi but he visits here from time to time..." She said as she brought bacon and egg with her and joined me at the table.

"I see... Thanks..." I said as I took a bite of the bacon.

"So... Will you explain that to me now?" She asked as she referred to my suitcase.

"Uhm... You see... I wanted to ask your brother if I can stay here for a while..."

"You ran away from Luke?" She asked.

"Well... You can say that... I just want to be away from him and do some thinking for myself..."

"I don't want to meddle with things between you two... But I know my brother will not be happy if I won't let you stay..."

"Thank you... Don't worry, it's just for a few days..."

"You can use his room... I have classes in an hour so I have to get going... What about you?"

"I think I have to skip classes, for now, I don't want to see Luke..."

"You two are acting childish right now... If you have misunderstandings, you should talk it out... You're the one who taught me to take responsibility for my action but you're not doing it for yourself..."

"I know... I just need some time to think of it through..."

"Okay... If you say so... I'll go and prepare for my class... You can stay and do whatever you want just stay out of my room..."

"I understand... Thanks..."

She did change for the better. She's still a bit bossy but it felt like I'm talking to a different person now. I remembered how she ended up transferring to another university because of Luke but I can see that it made her a better person. Chad mentioned the same thing about her and I'm glad that everything is doing fine with her.

I checked my phone and I got several missed calls from Luke and Jenna. I felt bad that I'm doing this to Jenna but I know she understands.

I was in their living room checking on ads online for any job post. I don't have the cheque anymore so I have to find another way to help my family. Claire stepped out of her room in her uniform and ready to go.

"Kris, you can turn on the TV if you got bored... Or if you want to watch a movie you can check my brother's DVD collection over there..." She said pointing at the rack beside their television.

"Sure... Thanks..." I uttered and she smiled back.

"I got to go now..." She said but then her phone rang.

"Hello, brother... What's up?"

At first, I didn't mind their conversation but...

"What? Luke is looking for Kris..."

I heard my name and I looked at her and gestured to not tell him that I'm here.

"Oh... Uhm... Okay... I'll let you know if I found out something..." She said and dropped the call.

I let out a deep breath and thank her.

"This is so messed up... We'll talk later when I get back..." She said.

"Sure..." I uttered then she headed out to get to her classes.

So Luke contacted Chad. Since when did they start talking to each other. Luke doesn't like him. I guess there are things I can't really explain right now. I don't want to think about it, I want to focus on finding a new job.

I was watching a movie when I gazed out the window, the sun was setting down. I lost track of time. Any time now, Claire will be here. So I got up and decided to clean around the house. This is the only thing I can do right now for her in exchange for letting me stay here for a while. After I was done washing the dishes, Claire came home bringing some groceries with her.

"Oh... That's a lot..."

"Well, you'd be staying here for a while, I don't know how long but it's better to be prepared..." She said as she put the groceries on the table.

"I'm sorry for troubling you..."

"You should be... You made me lied to my brother..."

"I'm really sorry..."

"We can't do anything about that now... I'll prepare our dinner... Get yourself cleaned... You've been wearing that shirt since you got here..."

"Oh... Okay... Thanks..." I said as I smelled my shirt.

-----

After I took a bath, Claire was already done cooking our dinner. She asked me to join her at the table as she arranges the dishes.

"Thank you for the food..."

"Eat it while it's hot..."

I took a sip of the soup she maid and it was delicious. The fried pork chop was good as well. I didn't know she can cook. She had grown so much, from the girl who was obsessed over a boy to this lady who can live on her own. I wonder if she still thinking about it

"Uhm... Claire... I didn't get a chance to ask you this morning... How are things going on with you?..."

"Well... As you can see... I'm focusing on my studies... The finals are approaching soon... So I might stay in my room most of the time..."

"That's good... I mean..."

"Come on... Spill it out... I know you want to ask me something else..."

"Sorry... I know it's been a while but I want to ask how are you after what happened with Luke..."

"Geez... Kris... I'm so over it..."

"I see..." I said as I looked down on my plate. It seemed like she noticed it so she started talking.

"Fine... It was not easy at first but I learned to accept the fact that he's never going to be mine in the first place... Let me share something with you.."

"Oh..." I uttered as I listened to her.

"Remember the day of the open school fair... The time when I walked up to him to introduce myself... You were singing on the stage at that time... He told me something  back then that made me realized that I'm chasing after the wrong man..."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He told me straight to my face that he likes you and I will never have a chance with him..." She explained.

"He said that?"

"Yes... And it did hurt... A lot... I wanted to hate you but you did not do anything to deserve that... I chose to stay away to give way for the both of you... And that leads me to my question... Why did you run away?"

I felt like I have to explain to her what's going on in my mind.

"It's just... We live in two different worlds... He's up there and I'm just a nobody... I met his father last night and he doesn't like me..."

"Are you serious?" She blurted out.

"Yeah, his father made it clear last night..."

"What? Did you hear his father said it out loud?" She implored.

"Not really... But..."

"Oh... So why would you think that way?"

"But I didn't like the way he talked about my family... He thinks I depend too much on Luke... He even introduced Wendy as his daughter-in-law..." I said trying to make a point.

"Wait... Hold on... This Wendy... Is she the one from the Fine Arts Faculty?" She asked.

"Yes... You know her?" I was a bit curious about why she knows her.

"She was in the cheering team last year but she quitted when she had to take over one of their businesses..."

"What?!" I'm extremely surprised by what I'm hearing now.

"Yes... And I'm telling you, you're wrong about her..."

"Wrong about what?"

"She can't be Luke's fiancé... Yes... They may be childhood friends but she sees him more as a brother and nothing more than that..."

"Childhood friends?" She knows that too?

"Their parents are good friends..." She explained.

"How did you know so much about her?"

"Well... If you were once crazy about someone, you will do anything to find any information about him... And it happens that Wendy was still part of my squad that time so she told me everything she knows about Luke..."

"Oh, God... I didn't see that coming..." I uttered as I pressed on my temple.

"Wendy is a strong-willed person... If you think her father can just arrange a fixed marriage for her... You're wrong... Her father listens to her since she's the only daughter..." She explained sounding so sure about it.

"I don't know what to think now..." This revelation confused me more. Is this what Luke was trying to say this morning?

"I'm telling you this... I think you're being pranked or something..."

"I don't know... It's hard to believe that it's just a joke..."

"Have you heard Luke's explanation about it?" She asked. I can see on her face that she's getting upset.

"No..." I uttered in low voice.

"You came here, thinking it's the right thing to do, without listening to what he has to say?" She sounded like a sister reprimanding her brother.

"He kind of ticked me off this morning... I don't want to talk to him so I snuck out of the house..." I explain trying to reason out.

"You're such a baby..."

"What?... If you're in my situation knowing that your family got involved, you would feel the same..."

"No matter what the real problem is, you should've manned up and let the guy talk... Not running away like those you see in movies...".

"But..."

"No buts... I've heard enough, I'm telling my brother you're here so he can inform Luke..." She said as she took her phone out.

"No... No... Please... Don't..." I said trying to stop her.

"Look at what you're doing to yourself? This is not you... You're lucky that you have someone to be with you but you're letting him go because of something you're not even sure about..."

"I'll deal with it... I promise... But not now... I wanted to help my family first..."

She took a deep sigh and put down her cellphone on the table.

"Fine... But promise me you'll take time to listen to Luke, I don't want you to get stuck with me for a long time..."

"I promise..."

Somehow, our conversation lifted a weight in my chest. It's really good to have someone to talk to in times like this. I'm glad that Claire listened and shared her thoughts.

"Good... So what's your plan now?" She asked.

"I'm looking for a job that could help me save enough to help my family..."

She rolled her eyes then stood up and took something out of her bag.

"Here..." She said as she handed over a flyer for a modeling post.

"A guy from the school gave it to me... It's actually for my brother but I think you can try that one first while looking for a real job... I heard they will pay you a good amount..."

I thanked her and I read the flyer. So they're looking for someone to model for a clothing line. I never tried anything like this but I guess there's nothing to lose if I try it.

-----

I went to the place that was mentioned in the flyer, the next day. I went inside the building and went up to the seventh floor. As the door opened there were few people in the hallway already. There were a lot of pretty ladies and handsome men. Most of them were holding a file and I didn't know if I should get one as well so I approached one of the ladies to ask.

"Hi, is this the line for the go-see?"

"Yes... You're going to audition as well?" She asked.

"Yeah... Uhm... What is that file you're holding?"

"This? This is a portfolio... You can hand them over to the panel to check your photos... You don't have one?" She asked.

"No... Actually, this my first time trying out for a go-see..."

"An inexperienced guy like you should go home now... You won't make it..." A guy arrogantly said as he walked by us and head inside the room. I guess that's where the audition will be held.

"Don't listen to him..." She said.

"Who is that guy?"

"That's Jayson... He was picked by management as the main model... He's been modeling for years now..."

"He might be good then..."

"Huh? He's so cocky and vain... I wonder why he got picked..." She said knitting her brows.

"I see... Thank you... Good luck..." I don't know why she had a bad impression of him. I don't know that guy. The way he asked me to leave was a bit harsh but I was not offended at all. I guess I just need to watch out for him.

She just nodded and then someone came out of the room.

"Auditionees... Mr. Lorenzo will be here at any moment now... Be ready... We'll be calling you one by one..."

Right after that, the girls took out their powder and did some retouches on their make up while the guys fixed their hair up. Everyone was looking great, the girls were all pretty and sexy and the guys were all well-groomed and fit. All of the sudden, the atmosphere change like everyone is trying to top one another. I didn't know that it would be intense like this. Then I thought about what that guy, Jayson, had told me. Maybe he's right. I can't compete with these people. I pulled out the flyer in my pocket and I thought, this is not for me. I took a few steps backward until I stepped on someone's foot.

"Ouch..." The man uttered.

I got startled and immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, Sir..."

There was this man in a suit, he looked like he's in his early thirties because of the trimmed beard and mustache.

I excused myself and was about to leave when he stopped me.

"Wait..." He said then looked at me from head to toe.

"Are you going to audition?" He asked as he pointed at the flyer that I'm holding.

"Uhm..." I uttered.

"I guess that's a 'Yes'... Get ready, you'll go first..." He said, then he turned around and entered the room.

"Hey... Go ahead... You don't want Mr. Lorenzo to wait, do you?" A guy said as he called my attention.

Wait... That's him? Geez! This is not good. He probably asked me to go first to be rejected first. I walked over to the door and took a deep breath before I enter.

"Here goes nothing..." I uttered as I stepped inside.

I looked at the panel and there were five of them. Mr. Lorenzo was in the middle and beside him was that Jayson guy who smirked as I stood in front of them.

"Please introduce yourself..." Mr. Lorenzo said.

"Uhm... Hi... My name is Kristofer Blanco, twenty-one years old, and a junior student studying business management..." I said nervously.

"Do you have experience in modeling?" The panel on the far right asked.

"No, Sir... I came here without any knowledge about it. I'm just trying my luck and if I'm fortunate enough, this could help me and my family..."

Then I heard Jayson laughed.

"That's so cliche dude..."

"Shut up... You don't make the calls here..." Mr. Lorenzo told him then he stopped giggling.

He zipped his mouth and laid back on the chair.

"Our photographer will be taking pictures of you... Just do any pose that you're comfortable with... Okay?" Mr. Lorenzo said.

"Okay..." I uttered.

The photographer came closer and took pictures of me one after another. There were close-up and full-body shots. To be honest, I didn't know what I'm doing. I just followed what the photographer asked me to do. I was told to take off my top. At first, I was hesitant but I thought it's a must in this field of work. Good thing I trained my body and I'm confident about how my body looked like right now.

From time to time, I can see Mr. Lorenzo looking at me meticulously. It was awkward but I focused myself on posing for the camera. After a while, the panel looked at their screen for the pictures and I put back my shirt on.

"You do have a good register on photos... Your profile is gorgeous..." One of the panels said.

"I agree... For someone who doesn't have any modeling experience... You did a great job..." The other panel commented.

"Huh!... Beginner's luck..." Jayson uttered as he crossed his arms around his chest.

"Luck may be on your side this time... Please be on the set tomorrow... I'll look forward to work with you..." Mr. Lorenzo said and he sounded so pleased.

"You mean?"

"Yes, you're in..." He verified.

"Yes! Thank you... Thank you so much..." I was so happy. I didn't expect it.

I reached out my hand to each panel and shook their hand but Jayson didn't take it. He looked pissed somehow.

"My staff will give you the details for tomorrow's shoot..." Mr. Lorenzo said as he took my hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Lorenzo... I promise... I won't let you down..."

Before I got out of the room the staff gave me the details of the shoot like Mr. Lorenzo said. They also gave me copies of the pictures they took. I'm happy that I got in. I can use the money that I will get from this project to help my mom.

When I got out of the building, I heard my phone rang. I checked my phone and it's my mom.

"Hello, mom... I was about to call you... Why did you call?"

"I got news for you... You'll be surprised..." My mom said. I can hear her excitement over the phone.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We got a letter from the bank and they're saying that the debt has been cleared..." She said happily.

"What do you mean?"

"Uhm... I'll let your brother explain it to you..." She said. I heard her calling my brother. After a short while, I heard his voice.

"Hello, Kris..."

"Hey, Lance... Could you explain to me what mom meant by the debt have been cleared? What's going on?"

"Believe it or not... It's true... We don't have a debt to pay anymore... I don't know how it happened but I guess Luke has something to do it..."

"Luke?"

"Yeah... He's the first person that came into my mind when I read that letter... So please say my thanks... Our thanks to him..."

"Oh... Okay..." I uttered. I felt bad somehow.

"He had done so many things for us... I know it's too much but what he did is something we will be forever grateful for... He is such an amazing guy... I hope you're taking good care of him..."

"I am... I am..." I lied.

"That's good... Mom wants to send him a 'thank you' gift... I'll call you when we sent it already... Okay?"

"Okay... I'll wait for it..."

We said our goodbyes and I put my phone back in my pocket.

They seem so happy and suddenly I felt so guilty. Lance is right. Luke is an amazing guy. But what did I do to him? I left him all alone. I'm so stupid to think that it was the right thing to do. I should've listened to him.

Good things had been happening, I got the job and now my family is at ease and it's all because of Luke. He still cares about me even with what I did. I know I shouldn't be relying on him with our family problem but he did it anyway. Now that I don't need to think about my family anymore, I thought I could just use the money that I will earn to buy something for him. It's time to pay him back for everything he did for us... for me.

What Claire told me yesterday about Wendy could be true and I did think about it the whole night. The one who can explain it further is Luke and I know he's more worried now. I decided to see him maybe tomorrow night. I want to surprise him and apologize for what I did. Somehow... I miss him... I miss him so much.

I got home at Claire's apartment. She wasn't home yet. I took my phone out and I got several messages from Jenna and Luke. They're still looking for me. I felt bad for Jenna. I can imagine how mad she is once I met her in person. I wanted to call her to let her know I'm okay but I thought maybe I'll do that once I met Luke tomorrow.

On my way here to the apartment, I walked past a jewelry shop. I noticed a bracelet that was on display. I went inside to inquire about it and the lady told me that I can have my initials engrave in it. A black titanium chain bracelet will look great in Luke's arm.

I was excited to tell Claire that I got the job and I wanted to thank her for it. I rummaged through their fridge and I thought I could cook something for her with all the ingredients available.

I was preparing all the ingredients I need when I heard the front door opened. I washed my hands and walked to the door to greet her.

"Claire... I thought you won't be here until-" I stopped with what I'm saying when I saw Chad by the doorway.

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