Stars of the day - a modelling show

Chapter 17

Barry comes smilingly home to the apartment from his date with Hope. He immediately lets the smile fade when he sees the worried faces of the four other members of Rosie's team. "What happened?" he asks and puts down his jacket on a chair. Alana is about to ask him to pick it up again so it does not get crumpled but Flora stops her. "She came home from the date with tears streaming down her face and she has been locked up in her room ever since. For a while we head crying but then it silenced," Flora explains sorrowfully. Barry nods. Message understood. He carefully tries to open the door but it is stuck. He smiles. She used to do that back home as well. "There's a chair in front of the door. That's why it won't open," he says. Then he comes upon better thoughts. "It is possible to watch what happened right before she came back?" he asks. The others had not thought of that. Eric finds the remote for the flat screen. They go back and forth on the tape until they come across Sebastian and Rosie at the end of the hall. Eric turns up the volume. They all watch in bare silence as Rosie's and Sebastian's fight gets more and more critical until they finally break up. Eric is about to turn off the screen when Rosie leaves, but Barry asks for it to go on. He watches intensely as Sebastian stands with crossed arms looking after Rosie. Apparently, when she is out of sight, he sighs and his emotionless facade cracks showing how truly heartbroken he really is. Barry is surprised to see that Sebastian actually really would be able to care for another person than himself. "Rosie can't see this," he declares knowing that she would be even more devastated if she knew that the breakup affected Sebastian as well. The others agree by nodding. "At least now we know he has a heart," Eric says turning off the screen. Barry nods. He wishes that he could break open the door to Rosie's chambers but knows that is probably wouldn't be too smart. "I'll wait for her tonight. She'll come out when everyone else has gone to bed. She usually does," Barry says. The others smile compassionately and heads for their rooms after dinner. Flora has cooked together some pasta and chicken.

As predicted, Rosie leaves her room when she thinks everyone else has gone to bed. She is not severely surprised to meet Barry in the kitchen. He has prepared a bowl of the chicken-pasta-course for her. She eats without a word, just a vague smile. There is silence for a while before Barry gets the courage to break it. "First guy who ever broke up with you," he comments with a smile. Rosie cannot help but smile as well. "Now, I understand why," she smiles. Barry can see that her eyes are not as swollen anymore as they were when she first came out from her room. "He'll come around," Barry says kindly. Rosie smiles. "No, I doubt it. He seemed pretty certain that we were over for good," Rosie says. Her voice is more firm now and there is no longer tears in her eyes. "Are you okay?" Barry asks a little unsure because of her miraculous recovery from the heartache. "No guy is worth crying for," Rosie says pleased with herself. Barry sees a real smile on her face. It warms his heart. "I'm happy if you're happy," he smiles. Rosie smiles back. Then she straightens up. "So... I never heard of how your date with Hope went?" she smiles cheeky. Barry cannot help but smile. They sit up until midnight talking. Barry explains how his date went and then he listens as Rosie explains what happened up until the breakup. She is calm all the way talking. Barry admires her for her courage. She has always been strong.

Rosie wakes up feeling fresh and well-rested. She puts on her dressing gown and heads for the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Flora seems to be the only one up yet. "Hey Flora," Rosie smiles and pours a cup of coffee. Flora has already made some. "Hey Rosie. I see you talked to Barry yesterday. Otherwise you probably wouldn't be smiling so much," Flora says. Rosie realizes that the others must have put two and two together - or they saw it. "Guess you wanted to know what happened so you watched it?" Rosie asks. She tries not to sound salty. Flora gets surprised by how fast Rosie figures that out. "Well, admittedly we were curious and worried so we found the two of you on the flat screen. It was painful to watch," Flora says. She takes a sip of her coffee. "It was painful to endure," Rosie comments into her coffee mug. Flora smiles awkwardly. Then Rosie's phone blips. 'Hey stranger, don't be a stranger. Meet me before the showdown on the ice rink, Bree'. "Who is it?" Flora asks, kind of hoping it is Sebastian. Secretly, she shipped the couple. "It's Bree. She wants to meet on the ice rink before everything goes down," Rosie answers and finishes her coffee. "Tell Alana I'll be back in time to change," Rosie yells from the walk-in closet. To her surprise she finds a sky blue leotard meant for ice skating. She jumps into it. It fits perfectly. She grabs a pair of sneakers and heads out the door. "Good luck!" Flora yells after her.

Brianna has already found skates for the both of them. "Hey stranger," Brianna says when she sees Rosie. Brianna seems to respect her. "So now we've got one thing in common," she says. Rosie looks confused. "We both want to be called something other than our real name," Brianna smiles. Rosie smiles back and puts on her skates. Brianna steadies Rosie till they get out on the ice. Rosie glides around with a weird feeling in her stomach. "So I couldn't help but notice that something went down yesterday which caused the dates to end. Do you care to let a friend in on the details or am I supposed to be guessing them?" Brianna laughs. Rosie smiles but does not answers at first. Brianna starts guessing. "So, I suppose the kissing had something to do with it at least," she tries. Rosie smiles. "There's a lot to the story," she says. "Well darling, we ain't got all day so start talking," Brianna answers. Rosie cannot help but smile. "Well, for starters. Sebastian and I were secretly dating before all this about the task of the event," Rosie starts. Brianna listens interestedly. "But since it was a secret no one knew and therefore the organizers did not take account of it. Therefore we were paired up with strangers like everybody else. We had to pretend that we hated each other while we loved each other. But when pretense becomes reality it confuses things. I didn't hate Sebastian but I couldn't see the side of him that I had fallen in love with anymore. Guess he felt the same... The kiss with Stefan seemed real because I had lost count of what was pretense and what wasn't. It confused me. That's why I ran. When Sebastian caught up with me, we started fighting and it got more and more intense until he called things off. We were over. I think I was partly to be blamed for that as well. My friend Barry Lightstone and Sebastian Smythe are perfect doppelgängers. I think sometimes I confused the later with the first. Their different personalities is what gives them away. That's mostly all," Rosie says. Brianna is surprised that so much has been going on considering the little time they all have been here. "Well, you have known the guy for a couple days only so I don't blame you," she says. Rosie smiles. "The worst part is that we are still partners," Rosie says with a heavy heart. How would that not turn out? "Wow girl! You have to take a breather. This guy isn't just going to mess with your head and then just get away with it, no. Look, you have to figure out who you want to be as a star before trying to collaborate with anyone else. Words are spreading that you're not a real model but that just makes you more interesting, not the opposite. You can contribute with something most of us can't - a genuine heart," Brianna says. Both women have stopped and are now facing each other. "That's not a strength but a weakness. I don't have what it takes to make it," Rosie objects in a low voice. "No no no, girl! We others might be able to handle all the turmoil around us with cold faces but people hate us for it. The audience can relate to you, making you a very dangerous opponent," Brianna says. "I just want to fit in," Rosie says unhappy. "And you will. You do. I mean, not everyone can stand up to anyone around here. We just put up with each other but you say stop. I admire that. Don't lose yourself trying to achieve your goals," Brianna says. Rosie has understood the message. Brianna was becoming a really good friend. Both women head back to their apartments to change into something fitting for the cutting of some of their opponents.