((Stupid title, I know. Here's Tobe!
))
Hello, everyone. Maybe even a welcome back if you’ve read my father’s story. My name is Tobias. My last name is Windsor, though if I wanted it could be Lusana. Well, I’m sure you’ve heard something about me before, right? Anyway…first, off the bat, I’ll tell you one of the things I inherited from Dad that’s not physical; I get distracted easily. I’m like a goldfish with ADD.
Let’s get to the point, shall we? At the end of Dad’s story he told you all what we’re doing now. But it wasn’t just ‘poof’ and suddenly we graduated and got into our businesses. Mine was especially tough and I got buffeted around quite a bit.
Well, growing up was really the easiest thing I’ve ever done. Smile for the camera on your birthday, eat some cake and ice cream, all that stuff. School was a bit harder for me than anyone else in my family though. Especially compared to my uncle Myles! That genius…I may have a big vocabulary, but his is at least twice as large, lucky duck.
Anyway, * chuckle* where was I? Oh yeah, growing up. What is there to talk about except all my cousin-siblings being born?
‘What’s a cousin-sibling?’ you may ask. Well, seeing as those rascals are the kids of my father and my uncle that technically makes them both, right?
So yeah, they were born, they grew up just like me, they got better grades in school, you get the picture, right? Good.
Well, onto my story then…
It started off just a few days after I turned fifteen. I was clothes shopping with my grandpa, who we live with for now, and trying on a bunch of clothes we were thinking of getting. I had just walked out in a pair of jeans and a striped shirt when a man came up behind me and tried to introduce himself.
I held up a finger for ‘wait a minute’ and changed back into my street clothes. As I was stepping back into the curtained room I saw my grandpa Zwei talking to the man and kind of raising an eyebrow at him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, walking up once I had changed.
The man extended a hand, a card slipped between two of his fingers. “The name’s Grant Palomer. I’m an agent with SimCityModels Inc.” Taking the card I could see he was either telling the truth or the paper was lying too. “You’ve got something there boy.” He grinned at me in a way that made my blood run cold.
I pulled away and hide behind my grandpa. “I told you, we’re not interested,” he spoke up as I shrunk back, glaring at the man.
“I’m just letting you know. There could be a future for you in this business, kid.” With that he turned and strode out the door.
“I don’t like him, Grandpa.”
He muffled my even then long hair and smiled weakly back. “Neither do I, Tobe.” We picked up a few shirts and paid, rushing home just in case anyone else from that company decided to try to rope me in.
Now, I’m not unaware or in denial of my looks. I’ll be the first to tell you I got the best genes possible from my parents. But I just don’t like to call attention to it. I inherited Dad’s build, meaning he’s not the only hourglass figure male in the family. I don’t hide it the same way he did though. My method is to pick normal fitting clothes and then go up a size. Usually works too. But you won't be seeing any pictures of that from me. Those clothes stay in my dresser, only taken out when I sleep.
So, let’s jump to, maybe I think it was a week later, the next time I was solicited by those goons. This time it was a woman, named Miranda Coons, who looked barely older than mom was when she had me. She handed me a card also, only this one had an address on it.
Looking at the street name and number I shook my head to make sure I had read it correctly. Yep, right across town they were going to be building a modeling hall.
‘It’s worth looking at, right?’ I thought to myself as I pocketed the card and nodded my head as she said ‘Thanks for your time’.
So when school let out the next day I ran down to the construction site, or what was one. I was disappointed to find the building already complete and ready to be used. How I didn’t notice it before was pretty obvious.
Goldfish with ADD.
“Hey there, maximum potential!” called a semi-familiar voice. I looked up and groaned inwardly. There was Grant Palomer, rushing towards me with that creepy grin on his face. “Change your mind did you?”
“No.” I refused to look him in the face and instead tried to walk off back home.
“That’s not very nice. Won’t you at least give it a shot?” Miranda was standing behind me…
‘Tag-teaming’s not fair,’ was my first thought. “I have to get home. I have schoolwork to do.”
“Come back tomorrow,” the woman told me with a clap on the shoulder. The dynamic duo walked into the hall, to oversee the inside I guess, and I took off running home. Any minute away from that place was a happy minute.
Mom asked why I was so out of breath when I got back and I told her everything I hadn’t like when Grant first cornered me in the store and all that jazz. She smiled and shook her head. “You shouldn’t be afraid of it or whatever it is you’re feeling.”
I looked up at her and quirked an eyebrow. “Tobe. Listen to me. You can use this to your advantage,” she told me. I rolled my eyes. I already knew my looks could be used for personal gain, not that I had ever used them for it. “But if you really don’t like these people I’ll come with you and we’ll find someone who will take good care of you.
“If you’d like to give this a shot that is.”
Sitting there, I thought about it. Wasn’t this what all those hours in front of the mirror were for? Along with all the money wasted in photobooths? Didn’t I, subconsciously, want to use my looks for something selfish? I decided I did, and agreed to go along with her crazy scheme.
((pictures are annoyingly small. I think it's my in-game camera options. I'll change them back to large later.))
