I slammed on the brakes abruptly, swerving slightly, as I saw the road narrowing in front of me. “Watch it! Tina said. “I’m trying to redo my makeup be-fore we get there.”

I rolled my eyes at her as I forced myself to bite my tongue. She had the easy part, sitting in the pas-senger seat. I on the other was trying to maneuver a long winding road which led to our destination, the Mar-so Mansion.

Tina had been picked by Margo Marso as a poss-ible candidate for her next creation, the new Marso Doll. Marso’s only daughter had been her sole inspiration for her doll making over the past several years. However, Marso had put an ad out to all interested models to send in their photos for possible consideration. Two were asked to show up by invitation only for a photo session over the weekend.

Tina was lucky enough to be chosen after send-ing in her studio photos which must have cost her a for-tune. She was an aspiring model, but had not met any real success yet. She hoped that this would be her big break.

As I looked at her again applying eye shadow and mascara, I thought about how much she had changed over the years. We had been childhood friends in elementary school, back when we used to have more in common with each other. But as the years went on, we grew apart. I went to UC Davis now, and she was still in junior college.

We kept in touch with one another though. She did favors for me sometimes and I did them for her re-turn. This time I was doing one for her. She asked me to come with her because she was nervous about her big session with Margo Marso. And she remembered me as being good at keeping her head straight during difficult times. So she asked Marso if I could come along as a friend and Marso agreed.

I wasn’t looking forward to it though. I had zero interest in becoming a model. But at least I remembered to bring my biology book with me. That way I could get some studying done while Tina was busy. The weekend wouldn’t be a total loss for me if I spent my time wisely.
As I looked at the road ahead, I could see a sharp turn coming up rapidly. I readied my foot to break again. But just then I was jumped by the sound of a horn blar-ing behind me. I looked over my left shoulder and could see a black car flying past me at a dizzying pace. I swerved in order to avoid hitting it as we approached the corner. As I did, I noticed Tina shaking around wildly as she was trying to apply lipstick to her mouth.

“Lin! What are doing?” She shouted as I strug-gled to regain control of the car. I quickly hit the brake sharply, causing Tina to jerk her arm across her face. When I finally regained control, I looked ahead and watched as the black car soared out of sight. Then I glanced at Tina who now had a red lipstick line running across her face. She glared at me as I tightened my lips.

“Sorry.” I offered. “There was a maniac driver just now I.” I added. Tina huffed as she wiped the red sticky mess away from her check. Then she began the process of applying her makeup all over again.

I continued slowly up the winding road the rest of the way making sure not to jerk the car again. After all I was there to support Tina, and I didn’t want to be the cause of her failing to fulfill her dreams. I wasn’t sure what her competition would look like, but Tina was pret-ty, blond, and had ocean green eyes. With her expen-sive makeup and a bright smile I was sure that she would stand a good chance against anyone else vying for the title of the Marso Doll.

As we rounded another corner I could see the Marso Mansion just ahead. I was in awe of the size of it. It was two stories high and looked like the house of a millionaire. A well kept lawn led up to the house, and the entire estate was surrounded by a wooded forest. It was a secluded place for sure, but was also very fanciful and inviting.
As I pulled up to the house I scowled slightly as I realized that the car that had almost run us off the road was already parked there. A tall striking brunette in a black cardigan and designer jeans was leaning against it. She was eyeing back at our car as we pulled up. Ob-viously she was a model too. I glanced at Tina who was staring back at her apprehensively. I could tell what Tina was thinking. The other model was prettier than her. As I parked our car I decided to give Tina a few words of encouragement.

“You’ll be alright. You look really good. Beauti-ful.” I said patting her leg gently.

Tina glanced at me and smiled. “Thanks.” She said warmly as her nervous demeanor seemed to slip down a couple of notches. I couldn’t help but remember how Tina and I used play dress up as girls. She always had to be the fancy one. I on the on the other hand was always content with whatever clothes were left over. It almost felt like old times again as I sat there with her silently in the car for a few more moments. Then we exited the vehicle and headed towards the steps that led up to the mansion.

I glanced at the other model as Tina approached her. I could see her looking Tina over carefully. She was ob-viously sizing up her competition. Then she finally smiled as if she was satisfied that Tina did not pose a threat to her.