Chapter 5 The Accidental Meetup

Miranda's POV

I got out of the elevator feeling as sleepy as hell. Saying I was tired would be an understatement. When I got into the room, Ashley was sitting on the bed, she was scrolling on her phone. I was surprised to see her in my room. I dropped my bag and proceeded to pull off my shoes. I grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom-no matter how tired I was, I would always have my bath before bed.

When I got out of the bathroom, there was a bottle of wine and two glasses on my reading table. There was also a box of pizza on the table. It was just like she knew I was very hungry. Well, didn't they say best friends were like soulmates? I guess she must have figured I wouldn't be able to eat, seeing as the photoshoot was supposed to be an intense one. I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead.

She poured the wine and opened the pizza box. We sat on the floor to enjoy our "feast". "Now, tell me all about your shoot. I want to know every single detail of how your day went." I had hardly put the pizza in my mouth when Ashley asked. I smiled and told her to relax, I would give her the gist as soon as we finished eating. Maybe I was feeling sleepy because I was hungry because as soon as I drank the wine, all traces of sleepiness left me.

Now that I was no longer feeling sleepy, I proceeded to tell her how my day went. She was so interested and I could see the joy in her eyes as I narrated the whole experience to her.

"When I got there, Sarah spotted me before I could even start looking for her," I started.

"Cool, that means you didn't even have to stress about figuring out where she was."

"Yes," I responded.

"Girl! I wore Eleanor Smith's dresses. It was so surreal. I couldn't believe it."

"You wore Eleanor Smith's dresses? Like dresses that were made by Eleanor Smith?"

"Yes, I did," I responded, waving my wine glass in the air.

Ashley blew air and waved her hands in front of her face like she was trying to calm herself down. "Now, someone better put some respect on my name because I'm about to become the best friend of a very famous model. Yes, I said it. Write that down."

I started laughing when she said that. "Get a hold of yourself, Ashley! How? Where? When? I am just lucky to have been picked to work on this for the magazine. This is the first time I'm working for such a prestigious magazine, even though I've worked with both local and international brands. How then am I a famous model? I don't like to blow things out of proportion please," I said as I got up to get a bottle of water from the kitchenette.

"You just don't know it yet. You are very beautiful. Wait till the magazine is published and you'll see how those other prestigious magazines would be jostling to get you on their covers."

"We'll see about that," I replied.

"Of course, we'll see and I'll be here to remind you that I told you so."

We laughed about it and went on to talk about my test and other things. I was worried about Ashley because she never seemed to be interested in having a relationship. Whenever I brought it up, she would carefully wiggle her way out of the conversation and she never wanted to open up about it. I was determined to find out why, but for now, I would just let it rest before picking up the conversation again.

I put the remaining pizza in the fridge and rinsed the wine glasses while Ashley returned them to the drawers. We retired for the night after I told Ashley goodnight, and she left for her room.

#

When I woke up, I realized it was noon. It was a blessing that I didn't have any morning classes. I had only a class to attend and it was at 2 p.m. After that, I was supposed to pick up some clothes for Sharon and Aaron from the Salvation Army store in town. I quickly brushed my teeth and had my bath. I dressed up and left for school. There was no sign of Ashley, so I assumed she must have gone to school as well.

Once I was done with class for the day, I headed into town to get the clothes. I would be going home during the weekend and I wanted to gift them some clothes. They were already outgrowing some of their old ones. It can be amazing to witness the growth spurt of teenagers sometimes.

When I got to the store, I picked out the clothes I wanted and took them to the checkout counter so I could pay for them. The guy who attended to me was so warm and friendly. He carefully put the clothes for me in a bag and even included a thank you note and some chocolates. I thanked him and left the store.

Just as I was about to cross over to the other side so I could wait at the bus stop for the next bus, I heard someone calling out to me. "Hey, Miss." "Miss!!!" I turned around to find the guy who had attended to me earlier running towards me. I stopped and wondered if perhaps I had forgotten something.

"Sorry to bother you," he said when he got to me. He was panting.

"No worries, it's fine. Is there a problem?" I asked. "No, none at all. I was just wondering if I could get your phone number. I'd like to keep in touch."

I thought about it for a while and looked at him for a bit to assess him, just to be sure. He looked decent enough, and he was so good-looking. I wouldn't want to pass up on whatever this could turn out to be, so I asked for his phone and punched in my phone number. He saved it and waved goodbye after thanking me profusely. He was gone before I remembered none of us had asked for each other's names. Darn it!