~* Model Behavior *~ “Well, normally I would, but I’m having second thoughts for two reasons. One, the fact the characters are based, physically, on real teenagers — except for Psychic Strike. The fact that your friend Maria was able to pose for her meant I had to make some character revisions, but the fans understood, for the most part, once they saw the posters.” “And the other problem?” “Aria Blade is transgendered. I’m worried about how the world at-large will accept that, but more importantly, I’m scared it might come back to hurt you.”

---

Monday began like any other day. I stepped out of the shower with still an hour and a half left before school, and after wrapping my hair in a towel and pulling on my bathrobe, I stepped out to return to my bedroom. Margie stood just inside, wearing a palpably innocent smile.

“’Morning Robin. How’s my favorite sister?”

“I’m your only sister,” I teased. “And I know that look. What are you up to?”

She mock-pouted, but giggled afterward. “I need a big favor. Well, I need two big favors. I’ve made some major progress on a possible new clothing line, but we’ve hit a hitch.”

“What kind of hitch?” I asked, even as I set about trying to decide what to wear for the day.

“Well, after what you told me about your Valentine’s Day, I know the style will go over well, but I’m a little concerned about how the clothes will look on a taller girl. I was hoping you might be willing to ask around school. I’ll pay them for their time, plus a modeling job will look great on any résumé.”

“Sure, I can ask Chelsea. You remember her right?”

“Chelsea… Is she the one that came over the other day? Or was that Katelyn?”

I giggled as I poked my head back around the corner of the closet. Margie had a puzzled expression on her face.

“Remember at my basketball games, that super-tall blonde who can touch the rim?”

“Oh!” Her face lit up with a broad smile. “Oh Robin, if you can talk her into stopping by she’d be perfect!”

“Totally. She’s my cheer co-captain so it’s no problem. Scheduling might be though. Do you have a whole lot you want her to try, or just a few things? Because if it’s just a few you could probably do it before cheer practice this afternoon, if you don’t mind driving me.”

“You still don’t have your license?”

I stepped out of my closet, holding up a top and skirt to compare in my full-length mirror as I shook my head. “Not yet. I’m going to take my test this week if I can find the time though. Between you, Kelly, Mom and Ash, I’ve been getting a lot better at not nearly sideswiping fire hydrants.”

Margie covered her mouth to fight her giggle. “Oh, it was only that one time, and you missed it by a whole five inches.”

She watched as I continued to discriminately stare at my current clothing options for another few seconds before stepping closer. “Can I make a suggestion?”

“Of course. I love this top, but it just doesn’t look right with this skirt.”

“It’s the color, sweetie. Taken with your hair color and complexion, I’d try something like this instead.” She reached into my closet, taking down a knee-length a-line skirt I’d forgotten I even owned. The pattern print, difficult to describe exactly, blended small navy ‘spots’ on a beige background to create a really neat effect. It was shorter than what I usually wore though, but then, if I’d be wearing a cheer uniform I needed to get used to ‘short’.

After dressing, I sat down at my vanity to work on my hair. Margie lingered close by, so I tilted my mirror back to catch her reflection. “Is everything okay?”

“Mostly okay,” she responded with a slow sigh. She stepped closer, taking my brush in hand and brushing out the back. I closed my eyes and leaned back, letting her work.

“What’s up? I was enjoying Spring Break and spending time with Ash and Mom so much we haven’t really had a chance to talk lately. Did you ever decide what to do about Aria Blade?”

“Well, that’s the thing,” she answered uneasily. “I got a phone call last night. The publisher is very interested in doing a full-length graphic novel of the entire Shadowcraft universe. They want to do a complete cover-to-cover retelling from Raven Wing’s beginnings through to the present.”

“Margie, that’s great! … Isn’t it?” I tilted my head back to stare at her. She had a reserved expression that I simply couldn’t read.

“The thing is they want me to be a supervisor on the project, leading an entire team of artists. I modeled the characters after you girls. I’m the only one that really knows what the characters are supposed to look like. These characters are my babies. It could mean nationwide distribution, but…” She stopped short. “I never expected my little side-project to get this far. It started as a web comic then people started e-mailing my dummy contact account begging me to publish, so I did. Now it could go nationwide.”

“So what’s the problem? Margie this sounds like the chance you’ve been waiting for. You should take it.”

“Well, normally I would, but I’m having second thoughts for two reasons. One, the fact the characters are based, physically, on real teenagers — except for Psychic Strike. The fact that your friend Maria was able to pose for her meant I had to make some character revisions, but the fans understood, for the most part, once they saw the posters.”

“And the other problem?”

“Aria Blade is transgendered. I’m worried about how the world at-large will accept that, but more importantly, I’m scared it might come back to hurt you.”

I thought about that for a long moment and finally frowned. “I never thought about it like that. I mean, nobody’s asked me about it at school yet, other than wanting to know how I got the modeling job for those posters you mentioned. Really, though,” I began as I stood to wrap Margie in a hug, “Aria Blade is also a superhero with these amazing sonic abilities, plus she can fly. I can’t even sing.”

Margie giggled. “I suppose you’re right. Are you sure you’d be okay with this, though? If I take this offer, it’s going to mean more modeling work for you. I don’t want you getting stressed out.”

“I guess it depends on the work. What do you need?”

“Just more pictures. We can get it done in an afternoon with Regina’s help. The publisher wants to put their advertising department behind it so there’s going to be a lot of paperwork involved. I’ve already taken the liberty of calling up Max since you seemed to like working with him before.”

“Wait a minute, what do you mean you called Max? Max Greenburg?”

She smiled as she nodded. “Unless you want to be a model for a living, in which case I’ll try and find you a proper agent. Max is going to handle your contract negotiations, licensing your image for use in the Aria Blade posters and cardboard cut-outs. I still need to speak with Ally and the other girls about all this.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I stared dumbfounded for several seconds. “You’re really serious about this aren’t you? This is so cool, but I really don’t know about it. I mean, I’m really not that pretty.”

“Oh yes you are. I’ll grant that you don’t look like a magazine supermodel, but that’s exactly what I was going for in the first place. And besides, they airbrush those models anyway. You don’t have to say yes right now though. I’d be worried if you did. I just want you to think about it. Talk to Nikki and the girls about it. Ultimately you can do as much or as little as you want, and Max and I will make the rest of it work. If you don’t want to do this at all, then I’ll redesign the characters’ appearances and get the publisher to find new models.”

“But you just said these characters are your babies,” I started, but Margie quickly shook her head.

“They are, but they’re still fictional characters. You’re my baby sister. You and your friends’ well-being and wishes come first, always. I don’t mind changing the characters’ appearances enough to distance them from you all if that’s what you ultimately decide you want.”

“I’ll think it over. One of the things that originally drew me to the comic was how much Raven Wing looked like Nikki. But the more I read it, the more I fell in love with all the characters. In a way, I’m really honored to be immortalized like this.”

~oOo~

“You want me to do what now?” Chelsea sputtered. Not only our lunch table, but the next tables surrounding us had also grown deathly silent as every ear strained now to eavesdrop on our conversation. I had dropped the ‘m’ word like some sort of hydrogen bomb, apparently.

“My sister Margie owns a clothing store, Touch of Style. She’s trying to launch a new clothing line she’s designed and aimed at girls our age, but she needs a tall model to show that the clothes will look good on girls of all height ranges.”

“I don’t know,” Chelsea mumbled. I’d never seen her so uncomfortable. “I mean, basketball and cheer are one thing, but modeling? I’ve always hated my height. I feel like a beanpole. The thought of being photographed just because I’m tall doesn’t really feel right.”

“But that’s just it,” Jennifer offered from the other side, as she reached out to place her hand on Chelsea’s. Chelsea looked up at the Polynesian girl, getting a bright smile in return. “Chels, you’re very pretty. There are a lot of girls just like you who feel self-conscious about their height. If pictures of a pretty, tall cheerleader modeling clothes that look awesome on her turn up in a few catalogues, they might start to feel less self-conscious about their height too.”

Kathy Mason, our mousy photographer friend, raised her can of soda as if making a toast before she took a sip, adding, “Everybody has something they hate about themselves. I’ve been struggling with my weight since I was little. I managed to shed twenty pounds last summer, but only because I jog five miles every single morning on the treadmill. I’m still way too short. I’d kill for your height.”

Chelsea blushed, finally starting to smile. “Thanks Kathy. I needed that.” She glanced back at me. “And you said you’ve already done it right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, both for her clothing line, and for a couple of posters. I’m no model, either, but with a good photographer it’s a lot of fun. Trust me, Margie knows a good photographer. I told her to stop by Victoria’s house this afternoon before practice, so she could talk to you about it directly. I hope that’s okay?”

“That sounds great. I was going to be at Victoria’s early anyway so we could hammer out more of our choreography. There’s a regional cheer competition coming up the first week of April. If we can have our routine ready by then, we can try it out on the judges and see what we need to do to improve before Nationals.”

“Wow, already?” Jennifer asked. “Jeeze, where did the time go?”

Chelsea giggled. “I know, right? I should’ve been working on the routine over Spring Break, but we decided since this might be Maria’s last semester, to take her to Disney World instead. What did you guys do for Spring Break anyway?”

~oOo~

Most of the day seemed to be pushing me in one direction or another, never giving me a chance to stop and catch my breath, or think too much about what Margie had said that morning. I needed to talk to the girls about what Margie had learned, but every chance I received, I quickly found yanked away, either by a teacher’s lecture demanding undivided attention, someone asking me about the new clothing line, or how I spent Spring Break.

As I put away the books I didn’t need to take home with me that afternoon, Nicole stepped up behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. Immediately I recognized her embrace and leaned back into her with a relieved, relaxed sigh.

“So what is it?” she asked. I turned back to stare at her, she smiled and leaned forward to kiss me. “Don’t give me that look. Robin, you’ve been moping around all day. What’s wrong?”

“It’s not ‘wrong’ exactly. It’s just something big’s happening, and I’m a little scared.”

“Scared?” Allison offered as she and Jennifer approached.

“Come on, I’ll tell you about it over pizza — my treat?”

Jennifer and Allison looked at each other and grinned, the former adding, “You bought dinner last time we all went out together. This one’s on me. Just don’t fill up too much. You don’t want a heavy meal weighing you down when you’re doing a back handspring.”

~oOo~

I waited until after we arrived at the local pizza parlor before I began to explain everything that had happened that morning. I spared no detail, though I did considerably lower my voice when speaking of Margie’s concerns about Aria Blade being a transgendered fictional character, being based on me after all. Stacey’s older sister had just brought out our pizza when I finished. She smiled brightly.

“Robin, hey! I thought that was you. No cheer practice tonight?”

“We’re going over to Victoria’s after we leave here, actually. How have you been?”

“Great! This is my last week here. I finally made enough to get by the rest of the semester, and I qualified for financial aid next semester.” She glanced back at the counter, where a fresh pizza awaited its delivering. “Well, duty calls. Tell Victoria I said hello, will you? I haven’t seen her since she was a sophomore.”

As she walked away I picked up a slice of pizza and nibbled at it. “Max, Margie’s lawyer, is taking care of the paperwork. Margie says I can do as little or as much for the project as I want, and the bare minimum will basically be more pictures for the artists to work with.”

“Artists?” Nicole echoed, leaning forward. “So she won’t be drawing it herself?”

“That’s the thing. They want her to supervise a whole department. She’d keep the creative control like she wanted, but have the budget and support to distribute coast to coast.”

“This is so cool!” Jennifer squealed. “Count me in! I mean, I know the old Volcaness is going to be featured for most of her role, but with the new one modeled after me, I’m happy to help. Besides,” she paused, tearing into her pizza, “I need to get my foot in the door.”

Allison turned to her. “You want to model professionally?”

“Well no, not exactly. But I want to get into fashion design. I never realized how much fun it could be before I started making those neat Heedless Despair dolls. I posted a few pictures online, and the response was huge. I’m not going to sell them of course,” she added, “But it made me realize I might have a talent for this sort of thing.”

“I bet Margie would love to help out with that, or Jane even,” I advised. “But does that mean you’re giving up on studying marine biology?”

Jennifer giggled. “That’s just something I thought about because I love the water, but if I can be a jetsetter like,” she paused, emphasizing in a mock haughty tone, “THE Melissa Jane Evans,” she giggled, “flying home to Hawaii whenever I feel like it, that’s just as good. But I’m not shutting any doors. I’m just saying, if I can get a foot in the door that’s what I’ll do. I’m still going to college after high school.”

~oOo~

Margie’s car sat parked in front of Victoria’s house when we arrived for practice. Nicole and I exchanged a brief goodbye kiss and a hug before she pulled away to give Allison a ride home, meanwhile Jennifer and I headed up the front path. Victoria’s mother Liz opened the door as we stepped closer, motioning for us to come inside.

“Hi girls; Coach Greer called ahead and said she would be stopping by shortly. Make yourselves at home as always.”

“Thanks Liz,” we answered in unison, giggling at the odd stare we got in return as she shook her head slowly. We followed her into the kitchen where Margie, Victoria, and Chelsea sat chatting away. Margie smiled up at us as we entered, and Chelsea leapt to her feet, racing over to hug me.

“Robin! Your sister is awesome! Thank you SO much for talking me into saying yes!”

“Um, you’re welcome?”

Margie laughed. “You forgot to tell her I’d pay her. You also forgot I was supposed to pick you up,” she added with a broad grin.

I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it slipped my mind with everything else going on.”

“I’m not really interested in modeling after this, but it’s going to look so good on a college application,” Chelsea added as she returned to her seat.

Margie smiled as she stood. “I have a very specific photographer in mind for the shoot. It won’t take long at all once everything’s set up. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to do this or not so I decided not to call her in yet. How’s tomorrow for you?”

“Tomorrow we have gymnastics right after school, but Wednesday’s free.”

“Ooh, I don’t know about Wednesday. I’m presenting some storyboards to a publishing company-” she suddenly paused. “And I shouldn’t have said that. Okay, do me a favor and pretend you didn’t hear that?”

Victoria and Chelsea looked at each other then nodded. “Sure.”

“Thanks. Okay, how about Thursday?”

“Thursday we’ll be holding another practice here,” Chelsea offered, “But we can double-up if you want? Come here early to do the shoot in Victoria’s back yard, and then I can change for practice. You said you only had a couple of outfits you wanted me to wear anyway, right?”

Margie nodded, a contemplative smile on her lips. She turned to Liz. “Would that be okay with you?”

“Of course. If I’m not mistaken I’ll need to sign a waiver for legal purposes. At least, that was the case when the photographer for Victoria’s senior pictures wanted to use the backdrop for another senior’s,” she added with a cheerful smile. “Just let me know what I can do to help.”

“Great,” Margie responded cheerfully. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements. Incidentally, stop by the store some time. I’ll let my sales girls know to give you a discount in return for your help, and for looking out for Robin,” she added with a wink. I could feel my cheeks burn as she turned to step out.

Victoria giggled.

“Robin, you’re blushing.” She added quickly. “I embarrass my brother all the time. I guess it’s a universal sibling thing.” She paused, glancing down at a clipboard in front of her.

“So anyway, we need to talk dance.”