20
KASSIDY
K
assidy moved through her room with speed. She was so excited, she didn't know what to do. She'd finally snagged an opportunity to do a major photo shoot, on location with Diggs. She smiled. She hadn't really gotten the gig. Not yet. But she was sure with a little persuasionâby showing up in clothes like the ones Carsen's mom had given her to wear, but designed by the fashion designer whose set it wasâshe could pull it off. If not, she'd at least make herself known as a model who wanted to work; that's what Ms. Rosschild had told her after receiving word that right now they were only taking male models.
Right now
being the operative words, Kassidy assured herself. They would eventually hire her, and when they did, she'd be ready. She was making herself available beforehand, and she knew it was touchy. Normally, showing up and trying to get hired went against the rules. But, fortunately for Kassidy, they hadn't given a definite no to female models. She grimaced, wondering if she was taking the right outfits. With two suitcases filled to capacity, she still didn't feel she had packed enough. It was a career hazard, she told herself. No model ever felt like she had a sufficient amount of clothes.
Yummy leaned against the doorway. She tossed a handful of chips into her mouth and chased them with orange soda. She watched Kassidy and loudly rattled the potato chip bag.
“What do you want, Yummy?” Kassidy stopped searching through the room for more things to pack. She put her hands on her hips and impatiently tapped her foot.
“A thank-you would be nice,” Yummy said, still chewing.
Kassidy rolled her eyes. What had Yummy done to deserve thanks, besides disappearing into her room from time to time and giving Kassidy's eyes a break from Yummy's disastrous looks and attitude? “For what?”
Yummy stuck her index finger into her mouth, scraping the roof. She clucked her tongue. “Potato chips were stuck,” she said, then took another sip of soda and sloshed it around. “You should thank me for not telling on you when you didn't come home. That's what.”
Kassidy blinked slowly to avoid giving Yummy an eye roll. She knew the only reason Yummy hadn't told was that she was probably out late herself, hanging out with Romero and doing only God knew what. “Thanks,” she said dryly. “Now leave.”
Yummy didn't move. “You know I saw Faith yesterday. That's your friend who was supposed to be out of town until today, right?”
Kassidy nodded. She didn't know what was up with Yummy, or why she always wanted to start trouble. They both knew Faith was out of town until today; they'd already had words about it. “Okay, just to entertain you, spill. What happened when you saw Faith?”
“It's not what happened when I saw her that should concern you. It's where ...” Yummy stood straight and a serious expression spread across her face. “Look, Kass, you don't have to believe me. But I'm telling you, that girl is not your friend. If anything, she wants to be you, and that's not good.”
“Whatever. You're just jealous that you don't have any friends.” She took an ugly shot at Yummy, knowing her stepsister was running on empty in the friends department.
Yummy grimaced. “Maybe so, but at least I know I don't have many friends. You, on the other hand, don't know an enemy when you see one. And that girl's your enemy ... you should've seen her yesterday, walking around dressing like you, hair cut like yours ... everything.”
Kassidy's phone rang, and Faith's name and picture appeared on the screen. “Every time you speak of her, she pops up. Early karma, maybe?” Kassidy asked, then accepted Faith's call. “What's good, Faith?”
“Hey! I'm back, and we're in full effect. Ready?” Faith asked from the other end, the wind blowing audibly into the phone.
Kassidy cringed. After hopefully landing the shoot with Diggs, she'd forgotten about meeting up with Faith. She looked at her watch. She could fit in a couple of hours before she had to leave. “Yes, I can't stay out long, though. When do you want to meet up?”
Faith laughed, then blew her horn. “Look out the window.”
“Don't trust her, Kass,” Yummy warned again, as Kassidy made her way out of the house.
There were two things that Kassidy immediately noticed when she saw Faith. One, Faith's hair was cut in almost the same style as Kassidy's. Two, Faith's car was a mess. An empty coffee mug sat in one of the cup holders, a brush and small makeup bag in the other. Papers and a mustard-colored folder with
Contract
written on it were lying on the passenger-seat floor, and clothes and shoes decorated the backseat. Kassidy drew her brows together, wondering how in the world Yummy knew about the haircut, and how her friend could function in such a mess. She'd read once that a person's surroundings mirrored their life. Could Faith's life really be this messy? Kassidy wondered, still thinking about what Yummy had told her and trying to decide if she should believe her stepsister. She shrugged. She and Yummy had seen Faith on Skype, so maybe Faith had had the cut then, and Kassidy just hadn't noticed it.
Faith's phone rang, and Kassidy looked over at it sitting on her lap. She was shocked. She and Faith were starting to have too much in common for comfort, and it disturbed her. Faith had not only bought a cell just like hers, but she'd also purchased the exact same protective case. Faith looked at the screen, shook her head, then set it facedown on her thigh. The ringtone kept playing, and Faith bopped her head to the song. Kassidy listened to it closely, unsure if she'd heard it before. But there was something about the vocals, one voice in particular, that intrigued her. Then the music stopped.
“My ringtone's hot, huh?” Faith asked, stopping at a red light.
Kassidy nodded. “Yeah. I wanna say it sounds familiar, but I'm not sure.”
Faith laughed. “Just like you, Kassidy, to think you've heard something that hasn't been released yet. It hasn't even been leaked on the Internet ...”
Kassidy quickly spun her head and gave Faith the side eye. What was that supposed to mean,
just like
her? she wondered. “So how was New York? You loved it, right? I mean, I know you've been beforeâany model worth her salt has. But you stayed a minute, so your shoots had to be fantastic, right?” she asked, changing the subject. If Faith had an issue with her, she wouldn't be taking her to meet industry people, Kassidy told herself.
Faith pressed the accelerator and merged into traffic. “New York was good. In addition to the agent you connected me with, I bagged a lot of numbers and met a lot of people. You know, industry people and
dudes
.” She turned and winked. “And I got the hush-hush on a go-see. I hooked up with someone on the inside of the agency who all but promised me a shot. Who knows, around this time next month, I may not just be your biggest competitor, I may move up in the industry and take your spot,” Faith said, laughing. “Yes, things are looking up.”
Kassidy counted to ten, trying to keep her tongue in check before she spoke. That was Faith's second dig at her, and she felt it deep inside, so there was no mistaking it. She trusted her gut instinct. And what her intuition hadn't forewarned her about, Faith's pokes did. It was one thing to accuse her of knowing a song that hadn't yet been released, but showing her competitiveness was another. Kassidy didn't fight for the spotlight, and she'd never been one not to share it. She looked at Faith and shook her head. Here she'd hooked Faith up with a top New York agent, and Faith had the nerve to be competitive. “Really?” Kassidy asked with a knowing smile.
Faith smashed the brakes, and the car jerked to a stop. They were on the 405 freeway, otherwise known as a parking lot during rush hour. Banging on the horn, Faith's frustration with traffic showed on her face as the wind whipped her hair. The sun's rays warmed Kassidy's skin and she looked up, glad that they were in a convertible. The highway might be jammed, but she didn't care. The view was wonderful, and all the different kinds of music and languages could be heard from nearby cars and their passengers. She took a moment to take it all in. Faith had frustrated her to the point that any other distraction was welcome.
“Yes!” Faith said as the lane next to them opened up. She tugged on the steering wheel, forcing the car into the open space, then eased up on the accelerator as the convertible crawled behind the cars in front of them. “Geesh!” she complained when the traffic stopped. “This is one thing I hate about Cali. Traffic.”
Kassidy just shook her head.
“Faith! Faith? Is that you?” a female's voice called out from the car next to Kassidy.
Kassidy and Faith turned to the right. Kassidy's eyes bulged at the sight of blue hair. The receptionist slash salesgirl sat in a convertible MINI next to them. Kassidy looked left and saw Faith's face had frozen and taken on an ashen appearance.
Blue-haired girl waved. “Didn't think I'd see you again before you leave for New York. Tomorrow, right?” The girl nodded, answering her own question. “Anyway, good thing I did. We got Diggs all taken care of, but you forgot to sign one of the contract pages last week ...” she explained, then stopped when her eyes connected with Kassidy's. “Oh ...”
“Oh, what?” Kassidy asked, locking eyes with the receptionist. She wanted to inquire about Diggs, ask Faith how long she'd known him and when they'd started working for the same company, but she didn't. The blue-haired receptionist had given her all she needed. She'd confirmed that, like Yummy had warned, Faith had been in California last week, not in New York like she'd pretended to be.
Blue-haired girl smiled. “Nothing. I just wouldn't have expected you two ...” She trailed off again.
Kassidy turned to face Faith and saw she was shaking her head
no
at the receptionist. She spun back to the girl, not wanting to miss a thing.
“You're a better sport at this than me. I'll say that,” blue-haired receptionist girl said to Kassidy, then her face began to fade from view.
Faith pressed the accelerator as traffic began to move, zipping the car down the freeway. “Guess she must've mixed up when I was going to and coming from New York,” she said, her face expressionless.
Kassidy stopped the glare she felt heating her eyes and replaced it with a bright, cheery look. She knew what Faith was doing because Kassidy had done it all the time herself. Faith was playing a part, getting into character and summoning the right expression, just as if she were in front of the lens. But Kassidy had had more practice; she'd been in the modeling profession longer and could fine-tune her acting abilities as if she were on the big screen. That's what had given her a leg up in the industry; not just her looks. Kassidy knew how to transform herself into anything the photographers desired. If they wanted her to cry, she could. If they wanted her to be angry, she'd be vexed. And if they told her to act as if she were the happiest, most clueless person on the earth, she would act like she was acting now. Unaware, with a big cheesy grin on her face.
“Guess so! Congrats on the contract. You didn't tell me about it,” she said cheerily.
Faith shrugged. She wore a look of relief. “Oh, that was a while ago,” she lied.
“Okay,” Kassidy said, then scrolled through her phone, pretending to check her messages. “Sorry, but I have to get home to pack for an on-location. My mom just sent me a text.”
Faith's eyes lit. “Really? You didn't tell me about it. Where?”
Kassidy decided Diggs had been rightâshe did talk too much, and there was no way she was going to tell Faith anything. Yummy had also been correct: Kassidy couldn't trust Faith. Now she just had to figure out how to catch her.