Traffic Lights {6}

Today, I had marked down on my calendar as the second time I have a photo-shoot. I got up and wore my short and shirt I was ready for a quick workout.

Suddenly the music was lowered from the music system. That’s weird...

Are you dating someone? She winked at me.

What! No???

Then can someone please explain to me who that handsome tall blue hair- gorgeous blue eyes young man standing outside with a bouquet of roses in his hands is?

Oh. My. God. I instantly stopped running. He did not!!! Aibileen quick let him come in! OR NO! Let me get dressed? Oh my god oh my goddddd!!!! Why is he here? I ran as fast as I could, I don’t know what to wear. Oh god help me. I picked out whatever was in front of me and went in and had a shower. I didn’t feel like doing anything with my hair, I let it loose. For the first time, in front of him.

Good morning gorgeous! You look beautiful.

Good morning to you too. I smiled; Aibileen was preparing breakfast for the three of us.

I brought you these flowers.

You didn’t have to…

But I wanted to. I hope you like them.

Come on dear, breakfast is ready. I’m Aibileen by the way. I got out my hairband and tied my hair up into a high messy bun, he analysed every move I made. Aibileen went the extra mile today, she put the effort and actually made a proper breakfast, funny, it’s been such a long time since I last had proper breakfast.

What would you like, sir? Pancakes, waffles, French toast, everything anything?

Ahahaha, thank you. Don’t worry, please have a seat, I can help myself. 

We sat down quietly; we ate our food in silence. Awkward. He complimented Aibileen’s food, which made her so happy, I smiled. Why is he here?

After breakfast we sat in the living room, I didn’t know what’s going on. But whatever it was, it was freaking me out.

Work starts in another 2-3 hours, what do you want to do?

I don’t know… Where do you want to go? Oh.. That explains it all. 

To the atelier? Or do you want to go to some other place?

No I’m free, I have nothing to do.

Perfect!

I told Aibileen that I was leaving with Vladimir; she gave me a quick talk about how I shouldn’t be going out with strangers and all but he already left, he was waiting for me downstairs in his car. I laughed; I wonder when will it be the perfect timing for me to tell her the real purpose behind all of this.   

I entered his car and we took off, this time he had driven to a different route to the atelier. And I thought, maybe it’s the perfect timing? maybe I should say it.

So... Yousef AlX, tell me something about you. He laughed, laughed so hard that I started to blush stupidly.

You did your job. Lovely! What else did you discover? He said it without the Russian accent. I knew it. I knew all along that he was an Arab. Yes you read it right, an Arab. I had done enough research and to an utter disbelief I discovered that he is after all a Saudi.

That your name is Yousef, Saudi. Your mom is a Russian that’s why your accent is so strong. That’s all. Why are you hiding this?

Hiding what?

Your identity…

How do you know all of this?

I have my ways, you found out about me. It is a small world after all.

Indeed. But no one at the atelier knows about this and they shouldn’t.

I couldn’t talk to him. I felt too ashamed for what I have done. Strange, how I had easily found out about him, I never expected him to react this way. What was even stranger was that after I had told him what I had found out about him, he held my hand. I felt so guilty and bad for what I have done; it felt like I had committed a crime. We arrived at the atelier and everyone was surprised that Vladimir picked me up. Maybe I should stop calling him Vladimir, let’s rename him to Yousef, shall we?

We stayed for only a bit, then we drove to the photo-shoot. It was cherry blossom season; the roads to the location were filled with the cherry blossom trees. They always manage to fascinate me, the colour is so vibrant and rich it gives prominence to the beauty of nature that we should nurture. We arrived at the place, it was like a classic movie, we were in Yousef’s classic car and he’s dressed up in a suit and I’m wearing a short dress. We parked beside an old house that had cherry blossom trees surrounding it. He walked up to the door and knocked on it. The village was quiet, with a few cars around 4 or 5. We were welcomed into the house.

The girl that was helping me get dressed had informed me that I was going to take pictures with Yousef. At first the questions were normal, until they got a little too personal, the girl had asked whether we were in a relationship and I laughed at first but then explained to her that we are just good friends, since my story of how we met would be way too awkward. 

The makeup artist barely applied any makeup. My hair was tied up in a bun. The whole idea of the theme was pure, vintage elegant beauty, back to the 60’s with a touch of modernism. They initially needed around 6-7 pages of pictures of the photo-shoot but they extended it to 10 pages.

The photo shooting took place in the garden outside. Me dressed up in a dress that was widely opened at the back, long sleeves and I had high heels on and Yousef wore a suit. Dusk was setting; we stood on the wooden bridge, with a small river that flowed underneath us, and a small waterfall that was behind us. We stood relatively close, there was no gap between us, and he slid a diamond ring in my ring finger. His hands on my bare back, my body already matching and touching his, my left hand over his right arm, he looked at me his eyes were an ocean of emotion they spoke out to me beautifully telling me a story of how much he enjoyed this. I smiled. The cameras wouldn’t stop clicking. This time I felt more confident then I had ever felt, I walked out showing the world who I am. Whenever he touched me, I felt a tingle rise up to my neck, my whole senses awaken and he surely enjoyed it. I loved every bit of it.

We were finally done and I had already gone to change. I walked down the stairs once I was done, but I overheard some talk between Yousef and the photographer.

You do realise that when a person really likes you they start to look at you differently. I blushed. Consider yourself lucky if you were her man. And if you weren’t then man up and become hers, I wouldn’t dare lose such a person.

I acted as if I didn’t hear anything, I continued walking to the end of the stairs then I just stood beside Yousef.

Ready?

Yes, are you?

Yes, lets go. He winked. He thanked everyone and I couldn’t stop blushing from all the compliments but they didn’t really matter, all that mattered was the fact that he was holding my hand all the time. I don’t know what I was replying or what they were saying, all I knew was that what our body language was saying was beautiful.

Why are my legs shaking... Is it because I’m in his car? Or is it because we’re on our own. We were literally flying, my hair loose, and the air brushing it softly. We stopped by the traffic light and he faced me, his light blue eyes against the sunrays are as cold as the ice and as warm as the ocean. I wanna leap across the gear box and be in his arms, I wanna let him know how I feel, I need to express my feelings but my lips are sealed. His lips parted. He ripped the world up with his killer smile. The world was playing my heartbeats out loud; a symphony that made my head spin. 

Traffic Lights {5}

I had spent the rest of my winter break with them at the atelier, the weeks have passed and semester 4 eventually started. One day when we were sitting in the atelier together, Momoko and Alfie were watching a movie. Mia, Vladimir and I sat together talking about different things whilst we were sipping our tea.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

An International designer just like you V… What about you Jawaher?

Umm…. That’s a tough question… I stared at them for a few seconds. They stayed quiet, it got quite awkward until Momoko came to us hopping like a small rabbit with a smile glued on her face, I thanked god she interrupted our conversation.

JAWAHER!!! You lucky star! You’ll be modelling for a local brand TODAY!!!

Today?!

YES NOW!!! They’re starting in an hour!

But I… I’m not ready….

Don’t worry I’ll take you there. His smile was so calm yet he hid the excitement within him. Momoko gave him all of the contact details and he got ready at once, I did the same and followed him to his car. He opened the door for me then walked to the driver’s seat. The engines roared to life ripping the silence apart with the sound.

We arrived in no time; I had thought maybe if we walked it would’ve been much better. We barely spoke, with the radio on the awkwardness died. I wasn’t sure of what I had to say or when to say it so I stayed quiet. We entered the building, a famous Japanese department store, they weren’t expecting me until an hour and they were so glad that I had come on time. I did not know the procedure, I did not know anything but Vladimir was there for me, he did not leave me… He shook the nervousness away, he was comforting me, and I was somehow getting attached to him. Blinded by his beauty.

It was a makeup and jewellery photo-shoot. I was dressed up in a simple white dress, no details, just a plain fabric covering my body tightly exaggerating the hard work and what I had accomplished in life. Diamonds glistening, my makeup simple with dramatic dark lips emphasizing on the size of it, it spoke out: luxury. They took enough pictures that could cover up a building. Vladimir watched me as I changed every time they changed the makeup on, it was as artless as it could be so that the diamonds would stand out.

Thank you so much for coming in today! We never expected someone like you to show up. Let’s hope our readers focus on the diamonds and not on the lady wearing it, because honestly your beauty is ravishing.

Thank you. I bit my lower lip, barely knowing what to say. Vladimir slid his arm behind my back, my heartbeat was rising, I looked up at him and smiled.

Could you come tomorrow for the clothes photo-shoot? Both of you?

Yes, of course. We’ll contact you if there were any problems.

Again thank you, and have a nice day.

Thank you. 

Traffic Lights {4}

This post goes to our extra special amazing blogger that we have been following for a very long time and are a huge fan off for so many years, zuzzypie




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It has been a week now, and things are progressing rapidly. I was working out when I received a message from Momoko-

“Good morning Jawaher,

I called several modelling agencies last night and one of them had kindly asked me to come over today at 2 to their office. They also asked me if they could interview you. I’ll be at the lobby at 12, we can grab some lunch on the way.”

I had a quick shower then got dressed. I stared at my watch, it was 11:38, I told Aibileen that I might be late and I might not be back until 9pm or so. I walked down to the lobby, Momoko was already there waiting for me. We exit the building and grabbed some drinks from Starbucks, heading towards the modelling agency. I had no idea what was about to happen. I have no idea what they’re expecting from me. We entered the building, it wasn’t so busy, and we took the elevator to the 6^th floor. Momoko held my hand.

Momoko! It’s been a long time!!

Lilly-Ann!!  They hugged each other. I just stood there waiting for Momoko to introduce me; they chatted for a bit then Momoko shifted to the side and moved her hand gesturing for me to come forward and did this weird hand movement... It somehow made me feel like a product being examined.  I was finally introduced.

Darling! We’ve been looking for someone just like you! Where have you been hiding in the past years?

Told you she’s a treasure, you can’t imagine how happy we are for finding her!

Well well... You’ve got an exquisite taste in clothing. Welcome abroad to our modelling agency. From now on you are part of the team.

We walked in her large office. It was so modern and edgy, with a touch of Japanese furniture. Although she was European, it clearly showed that Japan was a place she would call home. She explained everything to me, the rules and the timings. She said that if one of the brands needed a model they’ll either contact me or Momoko.

Don’t expect Christian Dior to call all of a sudden and want you to model for them. She laughed. It’s not that easy, that ladder’s steps are hard to reach. But trust me, a fine lady like you will reach the top in no time. She winked.

I blushed.

She gave me a small booklet.

Since you are 19 and still not 21, this booklet is like a permission form, you have to give it to your parents and let them sign for you and you need to bring it back here as soon as possible.

But I... Never mind. When does your office close?

Well I leave at 9 PM. But some of my colleagues stay here until 12AM.

Alright.

It’s a pleasure meeting such a wonderful lady like you Jawaher.

Thank you.

We walked out of the building.

So… What now?

To the Atelier!

We spent the rest of the day at the atelier. Vladimir wasn’t there. Alfie and Mia were working on a dress and Momoko was cutting the fabrics, getting it all ready to create a new outfit. I sat there inspecting the place, its cosy; it feels like a place I’d call home.

Where’s Vladimir?

Oh, V had to finish off some work. He said he’s going to come sometime soon, he should be here in no time.

Can I help?

They all stopped working and stared at each other then at me.

No darling, it’s alright.

I wore my coat, I was about to leave.

Where to?

Home...

So soon? He looked at his watch. It’s only 5:42. Come sit with me, let’s have tea.

I obeyed. I removed my coat and sat down on one of the sofas. He removed his coat and sat beside me. They all stopped working and joined us. Momoko got the tea and macaroons. They started discussing about their work and whether they’re progressing and if the pace that they’re working on was good. The talk went on, and I just awkwardly sat there staring at them. I looked down at my tea and wondered to myself whether I fit in this group of people or not, I looked around the place inhaling deeply.  I was awakened from my deep gaze by his concerned voice.

What’s wrong dear? I looked at him, blushing.

Nothing. I said it shyly, it sounded like a weird whisper.

They continued talking and every now and then he would look at me, making sure I was fine. Aibileen called me, she was wondering if I was going to have dinner with her. I excused myself and wore my coat, this time I was going back home.

Jawaher. He purred my name with his Russian accent.

Yes? I stopped and faced him.

Do you want me to drop you off?

No thank you, I can walk back home.

But it’s late.

It’s alright; if I needed someone to drive me back home I would’ve called the driver. Don’t worry about me. I smiled, I continued walking.

I went back to the building, and as expected Aibileen was waiting for me. She looked at me concerned; there she was sitting on the stool behind the marble table. On her left there was a bowl of fruits, dinner was set as usual on the dinning table.

Jawaher darling. What’s going on?

Nothing. I lied. I walked closer, I dropped my handbag on the leather chair then walked towards her as I pulled out a stool from underneath the table and sat on top. I picked up an apple from the bowl. She looked at how calm I was, how my eyes hid something, she wanted to know more and she knew I wasn’t going to hide it, but I needed some time to tell her everything from A-Z.

So… How was your day?

Nothing new. Can you please explain what is going on? Who are your new friends Jawaher?

Oh.. Umm…

Whenever you feel like telling me what’s going on I’m always here for you, and you know that. But I don’t ever expect you to hide things behind my back, because I never hid anything behind yours.

Aibileen… I don’t know how to start or what to say.

You know I’m here for you. She slid her hands on top of mine, comforting me. She knew exactly what to do, how to let me open up to her. And I instantly let the strings loose, I told her everything but I did not tell her about the modelling. I had misrepresented what the whole concept behind my “new friends” was; instead I just told her that they were new friends I had met at Ai’s party. She wasn’t fully convinced; she let it pass this time.

Oh, and Aibileen before I go to sleep can you quickly sign these papers? I’m trying to apply for a job and I need a parent or guardian signature as permission since I’m not 21 yet.

She signed the papers; I kissed her head and picked my bag. I went back to my room and had a shower then wore my pyjamas. I had spent the whole night researching. Do you want to know why? Maybe it’s best if you find out for yourself what happens in the forthcoming days. 

We're very sorry for the delay, due to the stress and pressure with uni. work. We'll try to make it up for you.

Enjoy! xxx

Our never ending questions...Help!

Hello *wave*,   
Dont you think this blog is dull? Not attractive? Ever since we started blogging, we have been trying to improve the appearance of this blog but we can't think of anything!! We're really out of ideas so we thought why not ask our lovely readers if they could share their creativity with us so we can use it to make our blog prettier. If you have any ideas, please do share them, we would be super happy. 


Another thing we're wondering about... Till the last post you've read, how would you rank our stories from a scale of 1-10? And if you guys want us to include anything to them, please feel free to mention it!   


Thank you for your help.
Lots of love xo 

Traffic Lights {3}

I woke up the next morning with a severe headache from last night’s partying. I checked my phone to see if I had any new messages; 0 new messages. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I got up and freshened up with a quick shower and had breakfast with Aibileen.

I got dressed, and tied my hair up into a bun so that the tattooed stars behind my left ear would show. I applied some rouge allure velvet matte lipstick in L’exquise by Chanel, and then did my eyes in smokey black which made my green hazel eyes standout. My overall look was effortlessly chic, and then I made my way downstairs. I sat in the lobby waiting for that annoying message. I ordered a cup of chamomile tea and sat back and thought about it all, what does “Alfie” the British young man want from me? How does he know all of these things about me? How did he find me? Maybe we study at the same university and he lives somewhere next to the building I’m living in? Oh well. He will show up, he promised. I stared at the familiar faces that entered the building, I drank the last sip of my tea and placed the cup on the saucer then I placed it on the table. He has such a weird name. Alfie. Hah, it’s funny. Speaking of the devil, there he is! He walked in the building.

Ah there you are! Hello gorgeous. He said as he kissed my cheek. Thought I’d be late, it’s He said while checking his vintage watch 12PM on the dot. Alright darling, we better hurry up.

Why didn’t you text me?

Because I knew you’d wait for me in the lobby. Like you always wait for your friends when you’ll go to some place.

He was freaking me out, the more time I spend with this guy the more I wanted to know how he knows these things about me. It’s starting to piss me off.

We walked for 19 minutes non-stop; we reached an old building that had an underground stairs that takes you to a bar. We walked in the bar, then through a 'Do not enter room'; he swiped a card and we got in. I was amazed, I gasped at the mind blowing place. It was like a ballroom with a bar yet it’s a tailor workshop, very fascinating and the person that designed this must be intelligent and without a doubt creative. A huge chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, a bar on the right wing of the room, sewing machines scattered all over the room, sofas here and there, shelves filled with threads from all shades and all colours, a grand piano in the middle, a corner at the back with a huge plasma TV and all kinds of video games, another wall filled with book shelves and an old vintage jukebox beside the bar. This was only the beginning, I know there is more to this magical room that I need to discover.

Hello there! I’m Momoko. I gasped, she interrupted my thoughts. She giggled and hugged me tightly. She looks very young, 12 maybe. Her hair colour was fascinating; bright hot pink, she’s very petite; perhaps 154 centimetres, Japanese, her makeup really made her eyes bigger, her whole look made her look like a Barbie doll.  You must be Jawaher; Alfie couldn’t stop talking about you! Gosh you’re strikingly gorgeous... Hello baby. She turned around to Alfie and pecked his lips. Oh please sit down, and remove your coat. They’ll be here any minute. I did what I was told to do and sat down on one of the armchairs. My phone started ringing, it was Aibileen.

I’m sorry I have to take this. I put on my coat and left the room. The bar was half full, I was about to answer the phone when I accidently bumped someone, the papers went flying from his hand to all over the floor. I’m so sorry!!! I picked the papers from the floor and handed them to him.

It’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t see you.

Uhh... No I- And my phone rang again. I’m sorry. I said, I smiled and answered the phone call.

The whole time while Aibileen was talking I couldn’t stop thinking of him; the guy I just bumped into. He had the most breathtaking, remarkable, inconceivable, oh god... I can’t find the right words to describe him or his eyes. The beating of my heart is still unsteady, my palms are sweating, why am I so nervous?

Aibileen I have to go now, I’m really busy. Have dinner without me tonight. Love you, bye!!! And I hung up. I need to go back and look for him. Before I entered the room I knocked on the door, not to be rude.

Don’t be so formal doll; just come in whenever you want to. He took off my coat and placed it on a coat hanger that was beside the door. Someone was playing the piano beautifully; Moonlight Sonata.

My my my... What a divine young lady. Well done Alfie! You got us a diamond. A lady in her mid-twenties walked out of the bar and eyed me. Her hair in the deepest shade of purple, dark red lips, she wore a very elegant black modern Victorian dress, it wasn’t puffy, and the effort put into the dress was handmade for sure. I’m Mia, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too.

The playing stopped and a tall figure came towards us. It was him. I couldn’t stop blushing.  He was dressed in a grey suit, his hair colour in powder blue, his eyes a mixture of midnight blue; azure and grey. I felt like it magically changed colours!

He reached out for my hand, and gently held it between his long cold fingers and kissed it. I think my cheeks were the same shade as my hair. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat.

I’m Vladimir. A Russian... Wow. Nice to meet you. He isn’t a pure Russian, his Arabian heritage were clear, but maybe I’m mistaken, which I probably think I’m not because there’s something in him, something deep down in me told me he’s khaleeji.  

Nice to meet you too.

So let’s get started. Momoko come take her measurements. Mia once Momoko’s done take her to the wardrobe; pick an outfit then let her try it on and Alfie get the camera ready.

Wait, what’s going on. Why am I here?

Vladimir I think what she’s wearing is fine, let us explain to her why she’s here then we’ll ask whether she wants to stay with us or not.

Mia!!!! I finally found the one and you’re wondering whether she wants to stay or not. If she didn’t want to then she wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

Enough! The whole room was quiet; Mia and Alfie had stopped arguing. Please have a seat; this isn’t the best way to introduce ourselves. Mia make some tea, Momoko get the desserts. I sat down on one of the sofas, Alfie and Vladimir sat on the arm chairs. Mia and Momoko sat beside me on the sofa.

Tea?

Yes please.

Jawaher. The way he pronounced my name made me unsteady. I blushed and looked at him. Am I right?

Yes. May I ask how you got all of this information- about me?

Alfie will explain once I’m done. We’re looking for a model and we haven’t found the perfect model until Alfie had found you. We’re a group of designers; there will be a fashion show for the SS collection which we’re working on. We need to design 3 outfits or dresses or anything, it’s some sort of competition.

And you want me to model for all 3?

Yes. Will you be able to model for us?

They’re all depending on me. And I’m not sure if modelling is what I need right now.

I’ll think about it...

We need to know tomorrow whether you want to be our model or not. So we can start working on the outfits. Mia take her to the wardrobe.

I got up and followed her, I walked in the wardrobe. Oh... My... God...

Welcome to the wardrobe.

It’s like a never ending dream, everything was neatly put in place; by seasons with the accessories, shoes, handbags even the simplest accessory such as an umbrella was included. My heart ached for more. I looked at the labels, but it didn’t have any. Could it be? No way... I had meters of racks and shelves yet to discover and drawers!

Wow....

This is our dreams. Our dreams that have been bottled up and locked away for so long, that no one ever saw or heard of. And now we are letting you our first customer and model to have a glimpse of our dreams.

I hugged her tightly.

Thank you...

She got out a black dress: v neck, open at the back, it had an x that came down from the neck to the lower breasts.

Try it on and keep your heels on.

But... I’m not sure if it’ll fit.

Trust me it will. Here’s the changing room. She showed me the way. The changing room itself was a dream, it had a chandelier in the middle, jazz music on and paintings and the list would go on and on.

I removed my dress, my stockings and my shoes and slowly got in the dress, I sat on the chair and wore my shoes again. I stared at my reflection, I have never ever felt more proud of what I’ve become in my life, and this moment just brought joy and tears. I felt like a model.

How is it? Mia called from outside. I was too shy to let her come in and look at my bare back.

I... I don’t know..  

Can I come in?

I unlocked the door and opened it. She gasped, her eyes widened. She walked in and looked around, inspecting me and my body from head to toe.

I’m speechless!!! Can I call them to come in and take a look?

Only Momoko... Or if you want me to try some other dress so the boys can come and see?

She smiled then nodded. I hope I wasn’t rude. I’m still new to this. She walked out and called Momoko and they both walked in.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiii!!!! She bounced. You look spectacular! I blushed. Please please please please be our model.. She pleaded, holding my hands and for a second my heart couldn’t resist saying no to such an adorable person.

Sure. Without knowing, I accidently blurted the word. I couldn’t take it back, Momoko didn’t give me time to even think about it, and she hugged me tightly.

Careful Momoko! Don’t ruin the dress.

You are the best!

She ran out and announced to the boys that I was officially their model. Mia followed Momoko, I unzipped the dress. Someone lightly knocked on the door.

Just a second.

Jawaher... Can I come in?

I quickly wore my dress and adjusted my hair; I opened the door then hung the dress on the hanger.

Where should I hang it?

It’s ok, I’ll take it. They’re all going out for dinner; would you like to join them?

Ummm.... I checked the time on my watch No, I need to go back.

Would you like me to take you back?

No it’s ok; I can call the driver if I want to but I’ll go back walking instead. I smiled. It feels so awkward to be in a room with him only. He hung the dress and then grabbed my hand and smiled, we walked together. Why do I feel so comfortable around him? I just met him...

So when do you want me to come back again?

Will you be able to come tomorrow?

I’m not sure. Alfie knows where my building is and my number and everything else, why don’t you send me a message or come over? 

Sure.

Thank you for everything. I wore my coat and walked out.

Jawaher. He called me before I crossed the road. Wait, I forgot to give you this. He gave me a card. This card gives you access to the atelier.

Thank you. He kissed my cheeks and watched me until I disappeared.  

That night... I couldn’t stop thinking about the day I spent at the atelier; I couldn’t stop thinking about how I easily stitched a smile on their faces when I agreed on becoming their model. But does becoming a model for their brand mean I have to become a model for other companies as well? Oh well... Good night!!!
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