Scars

Part 9

Alexis' POV:

The next morning:

We arrived on location, in front of Big Ben, which was located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, the location where the next photo shoot was to take place.  I looked around in complete awe, as I marveled at the magnificent beauty of my surroundings.  The Palace was absolutely breathtaking.  And Big Ben stood tall and mighty, as it shown brightly and sparkled in the morning sun.  There was no doubt, that the beauty of London was plentiful.  And this was no exception.

But as I looked around, something else caught my eye.  Wow, I thought, as I was immediately in awe at the immense activity that was already taking place on site before the photo shoot even began.  It was, in all honesty, completely and utterly overwhelming.  

The sheer magnitude of the large number of people involved, in itself, was absolutely astonishing.  Everywhere I looked, activity was buzzing all around me.  Camera crews and photographers were busy setting up their equipment.  Models were everywhere, making any last minute adjustments .  Makeup artists, hair stylists, and wardrobe crews were also busy doing any last minute final touches.  And in addition, there was an entire administrative crew yelling out orders, instructing people where to go and what to do, as well as making any necessary last minute decisions or changes, and in short, making sure everything was exactly the way it should be. 

And honestly, it was intense.  It was serious business.  You could feel it in the air.  And just looking around at everything that was going on was... for lack of a better word, completely overwhelming.   And quite honestly, it was stressing me out.

"Ok people!", someone who was obviously in charge, yelled, as he gathered everyone together.  "Listen up!  Time is money!  And there's a lot riding on this!  So we need to get it right and get it right the first time! There is absolutely, and I mean absolutely, NO room for error!  So do your job, and do it right!  Let's not make this any harder then it has to be!  Any issues, let me or your supervisor know immediately so we can get them resolved as quickly as possible!  So let's get started!"

Immediately, everyone sprung into action and the bustling of activity quickly began.  

Nichole's face turned serious, as she quickly turned all business.  She grabbed her camera equipment and began setting up in front of Big Ben, as her first model was already there waiting for her.  And just like old times, I assisted Nikki in each and every way I could.  Doing exactly what she told me to do.   Paying careful attention to detail and making sure I got everything right.  

And in record time, we were all set up.  Just like clockwork.

"Good job, babe", she said, smiling at me.  "Just like old times."

I smiled back.  Because it was just like old times.  And we were still a great team. But I didn't savior the moment for long.  Because at the same time, this was now.  Not then.  And I needed to stay present and focus on the here and now.  And above all else, I needed to concentrate and make sure that I delivered, because the last thing I wanted to do was to disappoint her, in any way.  The expectations were extremely high.  And I knew I had to come through.  There was no way I was going to let her down.

With everything now being ready to go, Nikki got down to business and officially began the photo shoot, as she instructed the model, and me, as well, as to exactly what she wanted.  And we quickly both fell in line with her expectations, as adrenaline began to flow through my veins.  Because basically, her expectations, as well as the agency's, were extremely high.  And to fall short of those expectations, just wasn't an option.   At all.  And everyone knew it.  So that's exactly what we strove for - mere perfection.  Or as close to that as we could possibly get.