Margaret Tries Modeling: I've Made A Terrible Mistake [Solo]

Margaret stared intensely at the poster stuck to the wall of a grocery store she frequented. She set the bag down and slowly peeled the poster off the wall to get a better look at it. ‘Come and be Fiore’s Next Top Model!’ It read in large attention grabbing letters. In the bottom there was a whole bunch of other details that were important but far too technical to be mentioned at all. All of this was set against a fancy and colourful background that was pleasing to the eyes.

“Eh, why not, maybe it’ll be like an adventure!” She mumbled, mostly to justify the decision that she was about to make.

Following the instructions on the poster, she submitted her name as a candidate for Fiore’s Next Top Model at their studio just quite a little distance from home. She went through some interviews, questions were asked, photos were taken, and papers were filed.

“Congratulations Ms Elle, you’ve officially applied for participation for Fiore’s Next Top Model!” A woman with a clipboard said. “We’ll be sure to contact you for any updates soon! Please keep in touch!”

She was ecstatic, she was actually going to do this! She just hoped that she wasn’t going to regret doing this soon.

Almost a week later she received a letter saying that she was to be a competitor along with five others, all of them female and very pretty. They were all asked to meet a day before the competition actually started and she got to meet the judges and the other participants.
When she meet the other competitors she got the distinct feeling that she was way out of her league in entering a modelling competition. She swore under her breathe when she realized that as far as she was concerned she was the one with the least idea of what to do.

“Well, fuck.” She summarized.

The competition to be Fiore’s Next top model had only just begun and yet Margaret felt that she was already losing.

The first week was hell for her. Well to be completely fair it was hell for everyone involved in the competition but it was extra hell for her with a side of suffering and nervous tears for the dip. The first week’s theme was Something Daring.

She managed to hide it from the other competitors but she knew nothing of fashion and had always opted to just put on anything that looked good to and comfortable to her. Luckily she had an entire week to dig around for magazines, scrounging for any fashion knowledge she could through intense research. It was not like adventuring through the ruins for an artefact.

“I was wrong, this wasn’t like an adventure.” She muttered balefully, flicking through even more magazines and staring intently at it as if by doing so she could discern the secrets engraved within the picture tome of fashion.

A day before the photo shoot she had managed to find an outfit that seemed to stand out to her.
The photoshoot she had mostly followed the instructions of the photographer with the annoying voice and posed sensually. The constant calls to correct her posture and ‘The camera loves you! It loves youuu!’ did grind her gears a bit.

Then finally the walk on the catwalk. There was a distinct chance that it was her that was going to get axed out of the competition. She did what every other female contestant did, she strut, carrying herself with as much confidence and personality as she could muster and turned.

Janet Johnjoevi, a competitor who was almost like her, a relative beginner, was the first to go.

She had seen him struggling like she was but she wasn’t stupid. You don’t help the competition.

She shared a look with the other competitors and she nearly lost composure right then and there.

Instead she met the challenging looks they were all giving each other with one of her own.

The second week came easier, thankfully. Now that Margaret knew what to do, what to do better, and what not to do, she fell into a routine. A day of intensive ‘research’, a couple days for looking for clothes. The theme was winter wear and she was overdue to buy a new one so she didn’t mind the theme that much.

After a day and a half of staring at fashion magazines and hoping to impart some of its sacred knowledge onto her she headed out to visit clothing stores for some winter wear and quickly found one to her liking, buying it without hesitation.

“Soo…” Margaret begun conversationally as she posed on a bench with fake real snow falling gently on her courtesy of another mage. “Do you do this for a living? Take pictures of models?”

“Darling.” The photographer said, rolling her Rs. “What’s with the sudden interest in my work? Planning to model full time after this?”

“No. I still have mage stuff to do after this, adventuring stuff.” Margaret quickly answered. “Being propped up and dressed like a doll isn’t the life for me.”

“Oh? You’re one of those rough and tough gals? Don’t worry, I hear you, you don’t want it easy. You’d rather rescue yourself instead of waiting for a prince charming to rescue you.”

“Actually it sometimes feels like I’m rescuing Prince Competent here.” She mumbled inaudibly, thinking about her long lost friend.

“What was that?” The photographer leaned her head in to hear better.

“Nothing~”

“Oh, I thought you said something…Move your arms a little bit to the side.”

“Like this?” Margaret moved her arms a little bit to the side.

“Little more, little more, lit-STOP! Back a bit! There! Perfect.” More pictures were taken.

The next walk down the catwalk was much easier on her. She wasn’t as nervous as she was before.

Larami Marila was eliminated this week.

And Margaret Elle had new winter wear for next winter.

Swimwear.

The theme was swimwear.

The theme. Was. Swimwear.

Margaret muffled an annoyed scream into a nearby pillow until she was out of breath. Then she removed the pillow, took a deep breath, and proceeded to muffle a scream again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Finally with a groan she threw herself into flicking through more magazines and hoping for the best to happen.

Margaret had a massive problem with bikinis. She considered them to be basically underwear that is worn in public.

With no other choice and after locking herself in her room in her room for a couple days she swallowed her shame and charged out into the stores and bought a bikini and did her best not to blush or collapse into a flustered mess while paying for it.

The next day she wore it on the photo shoot and her usual photographer did her best to accommodate for Margaret’s shyness.

“Sweetie you know we can’t move on if you keep looking away?” She finally said.

“…”

“Here, I’ll makes this easier for you, look over here, I promise I’m no holding a camera.”

Margaret slowly turned towards her.

There was the sound of a camera taking a photo and a sharp flustered squeal from the violet haired beauty. Off to the side her photographer was looking very proud of herself.

“See now that wasn’t so bad was it?”

“N-no…” Margaret reluctantly admitted.

“Now do you think we can take more photos or do you need a minute to yourself?”

“L-let’s get this over with, the sooner I can get out of this and into some actual clothes the better.”

Margaret’s walk down the catwalk was slightly affected, causing her to be a bit rigid while walking. But it wasn’t her that was eliminated that week.

Elizabeth Allyse bid farewell to the competition after slipping on her bare feet.

Margaret was really starting to feel that she should find whoever was in charge of picking out the themes for each week and give them a stern talking to.

By ‘stern talking to’ she of course meant venting out her frustrations while using her Shock spell repeatedly on that person’s private area.

She was getting annoyed with the themes. First there was a the swim wear theme from last week and it had almost caused her to be taken out of the running. It was only due to sheer stroke of luck that she wasn’t and that someone else had slipped up, literally. Now she was looking at the note that contained the week’s theme.

Maid Outfits.

“If I’m going to be wearing embarrassing outfits for the competition I’m going to at least win it.” She said, gritting her teeth and marching out of her home and into a store to buy. “Margaret Elle is not quitter! Especially since it’s just about clothes!”

The next morning she stormed into the photo studio, stone faced and dressed like a maid.

“Not, another word.” Margaret had gone beyond the point of being shy and reached the point of just wanting to get the entire affair over with.

“Sweetie I wasn’t going to say anything~” Her usual photographer sang playfully. “Although you do look absolutely gorgeous in that get up!”

“Please skip the niceties and take the darn photos.”

“Oh wow, you’re really not in the mood to-“ A bolt of lightning narrowly missed her and struck the wall behind her.

“Take. The. Dang. Photos.” Margaret enunciated.

With nary another word Margaret’s photo shoot went by in silence.

On the runway all the other contestants and judges were unnerved by the utterly murderous look that Margaret was sporting. When it came her turn she turned the look off and performed wonderfully but the moment that she returned to her spot she went back to glaring at everyone at the same time.

Diane Salvatore was sent away and consequently disqualified for crying in fear for her life.

‘It’s almost done.’ Margaret thought repeatedly like a mantra as she shopped for the attire that was this final week’s theme.

A wedding dress.

She wasn’t even bothered anymore, so glad was she that Fiore’s Next Top Model was finally going to end. She breezed through all her preparations, doing her ‘research’, grooming herself to match the outfit, which was something she didn’t even realize she was doing until after she had finished, and adding more accessories to it until she was comfortable with the results.

Margaret Elle didn’t need to win, she just wanted to get this over with.

“So this is it!” Her photographer said. “Our lost shoot together, you excited for it?”

“I just want to go back to adventuring.” Margaret answered honestly as her photographer move her limbs to put her into a pose.

“Ahahaha! I know, I know!” She said as she took a step back, admired her handiwork, and stepped back in to move Margaret around some more. “Well, that should do it, just smile like always and I’ll handle the rest. You’ll be back to adventuring before you even know it!” She moved back and retrieved her camera.

The photo shoot, while it finished quickly, was the only good thing that Margaret would remember about this whole experience.

Finally it was time for the finale.

She and the last other contestant, a petite and pure looking Marie Vess, walked down the catwalk together. While Marie moved with serene grace Margaret looked like she was practically gliding across the catwalk.

Which she was, she was using her magic to float a bit above the ground to make it look like she was gracefully walking.

In the end she won, taking her winnings home and finally being able to rest with the thoughts of adventuring once more filling her head.