Chapter 43: Believe Me, It Will Be Perfect
When Scarlett got dressed and came out, Stella smiled with satisfaction, but the photographer seemed scarcely impressed.
“Not good?” Stella was puzzled.
Andrew walked around Scarlett and mimicked photographing her from every angle. “She’s not fit for a static shot,” he concluded, “this girl should be moving!”
Stella got his point immediately, and her eyes lit up. “You mean you’re gonna take a short video of her?”
“A video clip will be a lot more impressive than a photo.” Andy cleaned his camera lens as he glanced at Scarlett.
Though Scarlett had been in some movies and sitcoms, she had just played some bit of roles and didn’t know how to act at all. But actually, no one seemed to care about what she was thinking. When Stella nailed down a video shooting, everyone moved to prepare for it. The only one standing there like a fool was the heroine.
“So…what should I do?” Scarlett walked to Andrew and asked. She thought she’d better take the initiative to discuss some details with the photographer.
“That depends on what you can do.” He sounded a bit arrogant, but Scarlett was just quite used to these haughty, fussy artists.
So, she smiled and said, “I think it just depends on what you need me to show.”
A smile lit up at his face. “Do you smoke?”
Scarlett nodded.
“Can you drive?” Andy continued.
“Basically the level of a professional racer.” After a long silence, Andy turned around and left.
“Is he just looking down on me?” Scarlett was a bit annoyed and asked the makeup artist next to her.
The girl smiled and comforted her, “I don’t think so. He’s just got a new idea and thinking about how to realize it. Don’t worry. You know how artists can be!”
Scarlett shrugged. She had no choice but to wait for the genius photographer to come up with a brilliant idea and to start the shoot as soon as possible.
Moments later, Scarlett sat in a white sports car wearing a black strapless dress. It was already winter, Scarlett felt a bit cold even though the car had central heating. Looking at the shivering passengers outside, Scarlett hoped she would not need to get out of the car for today’s shoot.
Andrew sat in the passenger seat and raised his chin. “Show me your skills.”
Scarlett twisted the car key to the right, stepped on the clutch, engaged the gear, and rushed out in a second. Professional racers could only execute the perfect flow of finishing a set of movements within seconds.
“Can you drift?” Andy knew that Scarlett was angry with him and wanted to tease her.
Scarlett didn’t respond to him but immediately stamped the accelerator pedal to the end and rushed to the curve. She made a half-turn of the steering wheel with one hand and slammed on the brake right in time! A perfect forerunner drift!
A feeling of nausea struck Andrew because of the sharp turns. He knew Scarlett just played a trick on him, but he didn’t show any discontent. Instead, he burst into an unprecedented, big smile and said to Scarlett, “I will make you extremely attractive!”
He got out of the car before Scarlett could ask for any details. A gust of wind rushed in when Andrew opened the door. “Damn it, it is so cold!” Scarlett shrank back into her seat from the cold.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
According to Andrew, the only thing Scarlett needed to do was to concentrate on the car, and the rest of the work would be left to him!
Although Andrew seemed satisfied with the plan he had in mind, Stella was a bit worried.
“Do you think it’s okay not to tell her your ideas and what you want from her?”
Andrew looked at the white sports car on the track and said, “You didn’t see the look on her face when she drove. It is exactly what we want. Believe me, it will be perfect!”
Of course, Stella never doubted her old friend. She just couldn’t believe that a little girl in her early twenties could give Andrew what he needed under his lens. But, she decided, she would just believe in him unconditionally like she always did.
Scarlett changed into one dress after another. From vests and shorts to skirts and long dresses, Scarlett put on dozens of different articles of clothing to please Andrew. But Andrew didn’t seem to be impressed by any of them. When Scarlett came out from the changing room wearing the eighth outfit of the day and Andrew still looked disappointed, she walked directly to him.
She suggested, “I know you want visual contrast– a contrast between a tender and sweet-looking girl and a sport as fierce and fast-paced as racing. I have this very delicate pink dress that goes super well with a pair of white ballet shoes. I think that outfit would match perfectly with your idea!”
Andy was a little surprised. He did not expect this girl to be so clever and perceptive. He felt a bit guilty for having looked down on her at the beginning.
“Do you have any photos in that dress that I can see?” Even though the model was smart, he needed to make sure her choice was right. Scarlett took out her phone and opened her photo gallery.
“There it is!” She handed her phone to Andrew. Scarlett knew from Andrew’s satisfied smile that her proposal had pleased him greatly.
“So, you take the dress with you tomorrow, and we will postpone the shoot in the car until tomorrow. Let’s do some outdoor scenes today. Go change into that white dress, the third one.” Andrew eventually nailed down his shoot plan, and Scarlett just needed to follow his commands.
***
The next day Scarlett came to Stella’s studio in her nude pink dress and the white ballet slippers.
A professional pose instructor came over to guide Scarlett’s posture, but he found himself redundant since the model just knew exactly how to take advantage of the car to create the best shot. Of course, Scarlett had no problem being photographed alongside a car– after all, sports cars were her best friends. She could always control the car more accurately than her temper.