Cat could hardly sleep that night. Her dream of finally modeling was about to come true, even if it was just for her stupid school, she would get to show off the skills she had been practicing for years. The next day was even more excruciating, as she had to sit through classes from morning to lunch.

When she finally walked into the Auditorium, Mrs. Alexander had set up a whiteboard with the names of the girls and their assignments. Cat skipped the list of make-up artists, costume assistants, and stage crew, jumping straight to the list of models.

Slowly she scanned for her name. A wave of disappointment rolled over her when she discovered her name was not listed. She read through the list two more times slowly, but it just name wasn’t there. By the time she had finished, tears were streaming down her face. Fully defeated, she started reading through the other assignments to see where she would be working for the show.

“Cat, I need to speak with you.” Mrs. Alexander said from the other end of the stage.

“Ya-ya-yes Ms. Ale..” was all she managed through her tears. She slowly walked across the stage feeling shame and disappointment like she had never felt before.

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Alexander asked.

“Th-tha…” Cat pointed back toward the board.

“Oh, dear. I didn’t put your name there because I have a special assignment for you.” Mrs. Alexander said.

“Bu-ut I wanted to model.” Cat said, but then asked, “Special assignment?”

“Oh, you get to do more than that. I needed to get permission to add this to the show, but you will be performing Teisha’s role from the London Fashion Show.” Mrs. Alexander said with a beaming smile.

“Teisha’s role? Me? Really!?!” Cat exclaimed. “She’s amazing!”

“Well, you were very impressive in your audition. Do you understand what I am asking you to do?” Mrs. Alexander asked.

“She does runway model performance art. I’ve seen a ton of her shows on YouTube.” Cat said excitedly.

“Did you see this year’s London performance?” Mrs. Alexander asked slowly.

“No.” Cat said. “But I know I can do it. I know all her moves!”

“You have the moves, it’s basically what you demonstrated yesterday. It’s just..” Mrs. Alexander began but was interrupted by Stephanie. “Mrs. Alexander. I don’t want to do the stage management. Can I do make-up instead?”

Three more girls came and complained about their assignments and Mrs. Alexander was quickly pulled away. Cat didn’t care. She was getting to play Teisha’s role. She was ecstatic.

All of the girls went back to their seats and Mrs. Alexander laid out what was going to be happening for the next few hours. Three more adults whom Cat didn’t know were on the stage with Mrs. Alexander.

“Ladies, these are Mr. Stevens, Ms. Jacobson and Mrs. Jenner. For those of you in stage management, you will follow Mr. Stevens. Costumes will go with Ms. Jacobson and Make-up will follow Mrs. Jenner. Models will stay here for rehearsal.” Mrs. Alexander announced.

With that, there was controlled chaos, as the various girls went with their assigned adults, except for Cat and the other models.

On stage, there was a yellow line that went from the stage-left entry to the front of the stage where the line became a box, then the line continued back to the stage-right. There was also a second red line that made an arch from the front left of the stage to the right side, and crossed the path of the yellow line twice. That was Cat’s line.

Today’s rehearsal went considerably smoother than yesterday’s tryouts. Each girl would spend the first hour practicing their walk, one by one, in the order they were to appear on stage, they would walk from the left, do their turns and poses in the box, and then exit on the right.

Cat’s job was to walk at a pace similar to the model back and forth across the stage, emulating the same walking style and turns that the model was making. When it was explained to her, she thought that it would be easy. She knew the styles better than the girls who were doing the modeling, except for maybe Alisha. But each girl walked at a slightly different pace. Cat had to remember to slow down and speed up based on the girl she was emulating. Half the time she couldn’t even see the girl, so she needed to commit each one to memory.

After several severe mess-ups. Mrs. Alexander finally had Cat walk alongside each girl several times until she got their pacing down. Once she had memorized it, they went on to the show’s finale, when all of the girls were on stage at the same time.

Mrs. Alexander tried to explain what Teisha had done during the finale of the event. “She does a mashup of all of the other styles, but in two and three step incriments.”

Cat tried doing it, but it never came out correctly. “Try again. No… that’s not right. Maybe this is a mistake.” Mrs. Alexander said.

“I can do it, I know I can.” Cat insisted. “Maybe if I watch the original, I can see what you are talking about.”

“You didn’t see the show?” Mrs. Alexander asked.

“No, I tried, but it wasn’t available.” Cat said, showing Mrs. Alexander her cellphone. “It says ‘Content blocked.’”

Mrs. Alexander nodded. “Here, watch it on my phone.”

“Excuse me ladies.” Came a the deep voice of the school’s principal, Mr. Shephard. Everyone looked to the entrance of the auditorium where he had entered. “I just wanted to let you know that tonight’s Fashion Show will be broadcast on the school website. Your parents will be receiving a link to the event in their email.”

There was a sudden giddiness that they would get to perform for a wider audience than just their classmates.

“Can we forward the link?” Alisha asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Mr. Shephard said. “Who do you have in mind?”

“Just other family is all.” Alisha said. Everyone knew she wanted to send it to her uncle.

Cat was getting excited as Mrs. Alexander finally handed over her phone. She pressed play at the same song, “Hot in Herre” by Nelly began to play. Strobe lights started playing and Teisha walked out on stage. Cat’s jaw hit the floor. Teisha was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a gold necklace, and high heels. Nothing else. No wonder the content was blocked. Cat wondered what she would be wearing instead.

She watched the video from beginning to end and then replayed the finale four more times. Once she was certain that she understood how it was supposed to go, she handed the phone back.

Mrs. Alexander then brought all of the girls to the left side, just off-stage.

“Okay Cat, you’ll go on first. I’ll give you your cue.” Mrs. Alexander said. Then she shouted to someone in the stage crew, “Start.”

Suddenly, the music kicked in, and Mrs. Alexander tapped Cat on the shoulder to begin. Even in the dark room, occasionally lit by the strobe light, Cat had no trouble finding her line. She did just like the earlier practices. They ran through the entire show, and when it came to the finale, Cat got her steps perfectly.

“Great job, Cat!” I think we have this.

After rehearsal, they went into the cafeteria and were given pizza. None of the models ate anything, but the rest of the crew ate and they all sat around talking. “What do you think they are decorating for?” Cat asked, pointing out that some people were hanging up streamers and putting glitter boards up on the walls.

“There’s an after-party, of course.” Stephanie told her.

“You didn’t know?” Asked another senior named Tania.

“No she doesn’t know. She’s just a junior. This event isn’t even for her.” Alisha said.

“Oh right, you weren’t part of the planning committee. Well, after the show we are having a party.” Stephanie told her.

They had 10 minutes before they needed to get ready for the show. Cat stepped out to make a quick call on her cell.

“Hi Cathy, what’s up?” Said her mom.

“Hi, mom. I’m good. We’re going to be getting ready for the show in a few minutes.” Cat responded.

“I’m sorry that your dad and I can’t be there tonight.” Her mom told her. “You know his back has been acting up, and I really don’t like driving after dark.”

“I know, mom. It’s okay. I just wanted to let you know that after the show, the school is holding a party, so I’ll be a bit late.” Cat said.

“That’s okay, dear. Its Friday. Do you have homework this weekend?” She asked.

“Naw, they let us off because of the show. Did you get the link the school sent out?” Cat asked.

“Yea, I forwarded it to your grandma and your brother in college. I’m really proud of you, hon.” Her mom told her.

“Okay, mom. Gotta go.” Cat said before hanging up the phone. She then headed back to where the girls were already sitting down for their makeup and hair.

As she walked in, Mrs. Alexander took Cat aside and asked her, “Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, everyone you know will be watching this.”

Cat was shocked at the question. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted in my whole life.” She said. Cat thought she must be under a lot of pressure. She had heard that the event was being sponsored, and the proceeds were going to fund the drama department for an entire year. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Cat assured her.

Suddenly there was a shriek “Yiiiiiii!”

Mrs. Alexander and Cat went back to see what was the commotion.

Alisha was jumping up and down holding up her phone. “We’re gonna be of Fashion TV!” She screamed.

“What?” Asked Mrs. Alexander.

“I forwarded the link to my uncle Renault. He made some calls and now they have embedded out link into the Fashion TV webpage. Look, there’s even a banner!”

“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Mrs. Alexander. All the girls were suddenly giddy. They were about to be famous!

Mrs. Alexander smacked her hands together to get everyone’s attention. Clap! Clap! Clap!

“Okay, ladies. Back to it. Cat, go with Analise. She will take care of your hair and makeup.” Mrs. Alexander said. “Costumes, go get everyone prepped.”

Analise was in the same grade as Cat. They weren’t exactly friends but were at least friendly. Cat followed her out of the main staging area where there was a make-up table set up. One of the seniors, Beth, followed them in and handed Cat a garment bag with her name on it. “Here. Put your cloths in the bag, when make-up is done with you, I will give you the rest of your outfit.”

Cat looked around. There was not a lot of privacy here. “Is there a changing room?” Cat asked.

“No, everyone just needs to get ready. Don’t worry, no boys allowed back here anyway.” Beth said.

Cat quickly stripped down to her bra and panties, feeling a bit embarrassed by being the only one in their underwear.

“I’ll need the rest before you go up.” Beth said.

Cat folded her shirt and jeans up neatly and placed them inside the garment bag. She noticed that the bag actually had the name and logo for Renault Caisse Fashion on it. This was really happening! She was so excited.

“Now?” She asked.

Beth nodded.

Reluctantly, Cat unhooked her bra and let it fall off of her shoulders. She slipped her panties off and placed them in the bag. “You’ll get these back after the show.” Beth told her and walked out of the make-up area.

“This is so exciting!” Analise exclaimed.

“I know! I always wanted to model.” Cat said softly, feeling a bit skittish at being naked in front of her classmate.

“Did you know Mrs. Jenner is a professional make-up artist?” Analise said. “She works the New York Fashion circuit and makes up real life models!”

Cat took a seat. That was awesome… She was about to have an actual make up artist work on her! Well, her understudy would do the work, but surely Mrs. Jenner would be the one to finalize the effects.

There was a printout of Teisha from the day of the London show. It gave Cat just a bit of comfort seeing another naked woman in the room with her. It was just a picture, but there was comfort just the same.

Analise was really amazing, Cat had no idea how talented she was with hair and make-up. After about 30 minutes, Mrs. Jenner came in to check on them. She looked at the photo of Teisha and then looked Cat up and down. She gave a loud *Sniff but finally gave an approving nod to Analise. “A bit more body glitter, it won’t work in the dark with such a small amount. Otherwise, you did well.”

Analise smiled in satisfaction, and then applied two more coats of body glitter.

Turning to Cat Mrs. Jenner said, “Stand, girl.”

Cat stood for a full inspection.

“I don’t know what *THIS* is supposed to be.” Mrs. Jenner said, drawing an imaginary circle in the air in front of Cat’s pubic hair.

“I… just never…” Cat sputtered. She hadn’t really thought about it before.

“It must go.” Mrs. Jenner said, ignoring Cat’s stammering. “Come with me.”

Mrs. Jenner pulled Cat by the arm out to where the other girls were getting ready. “Up. Up.” She said, motioning toward a hard metal table. Cat climbed up and on her direction laid back.

“Hot wax!” Mrs. Jenner yelled to someone Cat didn’t see. She had always imagined hot wax as a relaxing experience, like hot tea with honey or a steam bath.

“Ouch!” Yelled Cat. Mrs. Jenner had just spread a generous portion of some green sticky wax that must have been 200 degrees! “It burns.”

“Hold still.” Mrs. Jenner warned her. “This is be a sharp pull.”

“A wha- YIKES!” Cat screamed.

“Here, this gel will cool it down and keep it from turning bright red.” Mrs. Jenner said. She had slipped a pair of latex gloves on and began rubbing a cooling gel on Cat’s cat. It worked very quickly, as the burning from the wax was suddenly gone. Nobody had ever touched her there before. Suddenly, Cat felt something moving inside her vagina. Not really moving, but flowing. She was getting wet. She felt a wave of pleasure roll through her which caused her back to arch a little.

“Easy, girl. You’re not my type. Get up.” Mrs. Jenner told her. Cat was still trembling as she stood. “It will do.” Mrs. Jenner said, finalizing her inspection of Cat’s nude body.

“Thank…” Cat started, but Mrs. Jenner had walked away, cutting off Cat’s offer of appreciation.

“We’re ready.” Analise said. The other girls were still getting ready. Cat was relieved that she wasn’t the only naked person here, even though most of them were already starting to get their dresses pulled on. “Here, I think you go on first.”

“Thank you!” Cat said. She was so excited she spontaneously wrapped her arms around Analise giving her a massive hug. Analise pushed away causing Cat to remember that she was still naked. Cat flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, I just…” and then she hugged her again. This time Analise didn’t pull away, though she didn’t hug back either.

“Places!” Came Mrs. Alexander’s booming voice. “We’re about to go on.”

Cat jumped. She hadn’t even gotten dressed yet. She quickly ran to the front of the line, looking frantically for Beth. “Mrs. Alexander, I need my outfit.”

Mrs. Alexander stopped in front of Cat. “You look perfect.” She said. “Beth, costume.”

In a moment, Beth was standing at Mrs. Alexander’s side looking furious at Cat. “There you are. Here.” She held out the bag. Mrs. Alexander reached in and pulled out a pair of red 3” heels, a gold chain and a wide-brimmed hat.

She placed the chain around Cat’s neck. It was long and fell between her breasts with a medallion that hung down to her navel. She then adjusted the hat. “Quickly, the shoes.” She instructed.

Confused, Cat slipped into the shoes.

Mrs. Alexander looked her up and down. “Perfect. Are you nervous?”

“Mrs. Alexander, where is my dress?” Cat asked. By now the rest of the girls were fully clothed and only Cat was standing there butt naked.

She appeared not to have heard the question as she had already moved on to inspect the rest of the models.

One of the stage manager girls, whose voice Cat didn’t recognize yelled into the staging area, “Five minutes.”

“Okay girls, line up!” Mrs. Alexander said.

“Mrs. Alexander? Where is my dress?” Cat repeated.

“This is what Teisha wore, remember?” Mrs. Alexander told her calmly. “I showed you the video.”

“Yea, but… I’m a high schooler!” Cat protested.

“So are half the models you’ve ever heard of.” Mrs. Alexander assured her.

“Won’t I get expelled if I walk out there like… THIS?” Cat insisted.

“It’s fine. I checked with the super-intendent. There are no rules against this.” Mrs. Alexander told her.

“bu-bu-but… My parents! They’re gonna see this!” Cat protested.

“It’s okay. Remember? They even signed the permission slip.” Mrs. Alexander said cooly.

Some of the other girls started chiming in, “Come on Cat! You can do it.” Or “Cat, we’re about to be famous! You look amazing!”

Cat was dumbfounded. This was her dream. This was everything she wanted and more. She was about to be broadcast all over the world. How could she not do this???

Slowly, Mrs. Alexander and Beth somehow managed to guide her to the edge of the entrance. The stage lights were down, but the strobe lights had already started. She could see around the curtain that the auditorium was completely full. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

“I… I…” Cat looked around frantically. She needed to find a way out of this. All of her classmates were just on the other side of the curtain.

Suddenly, the music kicked in, and Mrs. Alexander tapped her on the shoulder to begin. Hesitantly, Cat took a step and was suddenly walking onto the stage… it had begun.