Summertime is a wonderful time of the year. The weather is nice, schools are out and girls are everywhere with next to no clothing. I grew up in the town Tulsa around the upper middle class neighborhood. It was a nice place and most of the people were quite spoiled to be frank, myself included. I was already enjoying my day off cruising down Main Street looking around. Main Street was where all the shops and stores existed. There was no actual mall nearby so you’d frequently see people walking down the sidewalk. Given the status of the neighborhood and area, it was considered quite safe in these parts and it wasn’t uncommon to see children walking down the street unsupervised as well.

There were so many girls walking down the street, it was beautiful to behold. You could see college girls, highschool girls, and those caught in between. The kind where they looked beautiful but it was difficult to place their exact age, especially driving down the road since you couldn’t stop to get a good look. It didn’t take too long before I found one towards the end of the long road, likely headed home. It was then I made my decision.

I drove a little bit past her and parked my car in the abandoned lot. The business used to be a small deli used to deliver take out foods. However, there was a small fire somewhere in the kitchen. The damage done was irreparable, but the owner never made the effort. Given the town’s love for gossip, it became a common rumor the fire was intentional for the sake of insurance money. The theory was never proven, but rumors typically hold more weight than an official investigation which determined the whole ordeal an accident.

I parked the car there and stepped out. I looked down to make sure my attire still looked professional. It was only polo and khakis, but on a day like today, that’d be considered professional. Being 5’8” I wasn’t extremely tall, but it was good enough. At 24 I was in my prime, but my face made me appear far younger, like someone in their teens. It was for this reason I had to grow a little facial hair.

I looked down the sidewalk and saw the girl I was looking for. The sidewalk was only on one side of the road, so it made things simpler. I’d seen her walking down this sidewalk almost every day around this same time. She was maybe 5’ with long black hair and a petite frame. I wasn’t sure why, but she was always alone when she took her walk. I hadn’t seen where she’d go or come from, but that part wasn’t so important to me. Her white skin was tanned from being in the sun so often. I walked towards her, pulling out my phone and making it appear as if I was texting or engrossed in its contents somehow. As I got closer I noticed she had soft brown eyes. Today she wore a light blue tee and some skin tight shorts. I always gauged her age to be mid teens, but I noticed now that she might have been a bit younger. That was okay, it didn’t deter me, and if anything, made things easier.

As I got closer I held my phone loosely in my hand. As we passed I continued looking at my phone, keeping track of her in my peripheral. I let go of my phone and made a clumsy attempt at grabbing it, causing it to crash into her leg. She jumped up in surprise letting out a small noise.

“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out quickly.

She paused for a moment and her brown eyes looked me up and down as if assessing me. However, she never met my eyes. “It’s okay,” she replied demurely.

I leaned down and picked up my phone, inspecting it for damage. Then I held out my hand. “I’m Jason,” I told her.

She blushed as she took my hand. “I’m Alyssa.”

“Really?” I asked, feigning surprise. “That’s a really pretty name.”

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“This phone is extremely important,” I said, dusting it off. “If it broke I’d be in so much trouble. I’d lose so much money.”

“Is it expensive?” She asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Well it is, but the contents are far more important,” I explained. “But it’s my work phone for modeling.”

“You’re a model?” She asked inquisitively. Her eyes glazed over me appreciatively.

“Not quite,” I chuckled. “I am more of a manager and represent models. I help them land jobs and make lots of money. Have you ever modeled?”

“No,” she giggled. “You have to be 18 to model.”

I shook my head. “People often think that, but it’s not true. I have many models under 18. How old are you?”

“I turned fifteen a couple of months ago. I go to Tulsa high school,” She replied proudly.

“Really?” I replied. “To model you only need to be 10 years old,” I claimed.

“Oh I didn’t know that,” she said.

“Most models today started when they were under 18,” I explained. “It’s honestly very simple. You make a demo shot of pictures and videos. Then they’re sent out and if a company likes what they see, they’ll contact the manager, like me, and then I’ll reach out to the model and get them a good deal.”

“That sounds really easy,” she said. “I thought it was harder.”

I smiled. “The hard part is looking good enough to model. Would you want to model?”

“I’m not sure...” She said, looking away.

“Look at it this way. What is something you want to buy, more than anything?”

She hesitated a moment and pulled a phone out of her pocket. It was a cheap generic one. “I wanted to get an iPhone, but my parents won’t buy me one.”

“Well, what if you could buy your own things instead?”

“That’d be great,” she smiled. “I’d like that.”

“If you do a demo, you get paid $50 immediately. Once a company wants you, they usually pay a little over $1,000. Sometimes they even pay more. If we did a quick demo, you could buy your own iPhone in no time.”

“That sounds really good, but I don’t know if I should.” She hesitated.

“Do you not want the money or be famous?” I asked, sounding concerned.

“I do, but I’d have to ask my mom. I’m not sure if she’d be okay with it.”

I shook my head. “As long as you’re at least ten years old, you don’t need permission,” I made up.

“Oh,” she responded. I let think for a few minutes and then she said, “I still don’t know if my mom would want me to.”

I smiled. “We don’t have to tell her. It’s your life and your choice. You can tell her later when you’re rich and famous or not at all.”

“Hmm,” she muttered.

“You’re going for a walk now, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I always go to the park since it’s not too far. My mom lets me go there and play a bit.”

I paused for a moment as if thinking. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll take you somewhere nearby and we do demo shots real quick. I’ll pay you $100 instead of $50, because I think you’d be a great model. Then I’ll drop you off right here or at the park. No one will know and you don’t have to tell anyone at all. It’ll take less than 30 minutes.”

“I guess so,” she relented. “Your studio is near here?”

I chuckled. “We’re doing a demo, so we won’t use a studio. But come with me, I’m parked not far from here.”

Together we walked down the sidewalk and to my car. She was hesitant to get in at first but I told her she could stop at any time if she wanted to. I also mentioned she had her phone so she could call anyone if she needed to. She held her phone like a security blanket and got in. She was nervous at first but we talked a bit and she became much more comfortable as time passed. I found out she was an only child and had just turned 14. I told her that was the perfect age to start modeling which made her smile. As we talked she mentioned she enjoyed being outside, even if only to walk around. I told her we could do the demo shots outside then so she’d be more comfortable. This also seemed to make her smile.

I knew the town well and pulled down a side road that was sparsely populated with houses. I knew of a house that sat far back from the road and had suffered an unfortunate event. About three years ago Wilson’s house caught fire. The building was still standing but the damage made it uninhabitable. It had been abandoned ever since and the trees and brush had grown quite high. There was no reason for anyone to go up there and the driveway looped around to the back of the house.

As we pulled into the driveway, Alysaa asked, “Why are we here?”

“Well you enjoy nature and being outdoors, so I thought this would be the perfect theme for your photoshoot. This property is public property since the house owners never use it or do anything with it. Nobody comes here either. Plus surrounded by all the greenery I think you’ll look absolutely beautiful.”

She blushed slightly. “Okay. Thank you.”

I pulled the car around the carcass of a house and parked. Despite the scorch marks, the building stood tall. The car was also well hidden behind the house, though I probably could’ve parked in front and still not be seen.

We got out of the car and I grabbed some papers I’d made up before with a pen. “So before we begin, you have to sign these papers,” I explained and placed them on the hood of the car.

“What are they?” She asked, peering at them.

“It’s pretty simple. The first part simply states you’re going to do modeling demo shoots and will be paid for them.” I made a dramatic act of crossing off the $50 on the page and replacing it with $100. “It states if you do everything as I tell you, you get paid $100. If for any reason you don’t follow through, you don’t get paid. “This will help you get a phone, right?”

She nodded eagerly. “I think so.”

“The second part is my job.” I pulled out my wallet and counted five $20 bills and laid them on the hood of the car. “The second part states I showed you I do have the money and displayed it to you. It’s to protect you and make sure I am honest.” I grabbed a rock off the ground and placed it on the money. “The next part simply states the money will stay here until we’re done. If you did everything as I say, then you take the money. If not, I’ll take it back.”

She nodded, looking slightly concerned. “Have you ever taken back your money before?”

I laughed. “I have helped over 100 girls become models. Only once did I take the money back. That’s only because she wouldn’t listen and kept arguing. So I stopped and decided I didn’t want to work with her.”

“Oh,” Alyssa said sourly.

I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, you’re a good girl, I can tell. I know you’re going to get this.”

She smiled again.

“The next part is that you may choose to do more demos in the future, which helps your chance for getting a good part. But you may not be paid for future demos. I looked up at her from the paper. I can’t afford to keep paying you a hundred dollars every time,” I joked.

She smiled. “Is it good to do more demo thingies?”

I nodded. “Definitely. Different companies look for different things. Sometimes it takes only one photo to catch their eye. Others like to see more work to make sure they’re getting the best models. Those are the companies that pay the most.”

“Oh, okay!” She replied excitedly. “I can do more later maybe.”

“Lastly and most importantly is this section.” I pointed towards the bottom. “Until a major company hires you, you cannot tell anyone about modeling or the demo.”

“Really? Why?” She sounded concerned.

“To protect your privacy,” I said sincerely. “You don’t want it getting out that you did modeling before the world is ready. Do you know Taylor Swift?”

She nodded.

“Taylor Swift was a model first before a musician. She had to do the same thing,” I lied.

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. “Many, many singers, songwriters, actors, and singers were models first. That’s why there’s so many pictures of them. In many ways you’ll be just like them when you’re famous and everyone loves you. But you can not tell anyone. It also protects you because I can’t tell anyone either.”

“What if someone asks me?”

I pretended to think about it. “It’s unlikely anyone is going to ask. But if one does, tell them you were with another guy in highschool. Anything we do, you tell them it was with another guy in highschool, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“It’s very important, because if someone finds out, it is considered a breach of contract. That means you may have to pay back all the money you earn and more. In serious cases you could even go to jail. But you’re a smart girl, you won’t tell, right?”

She shook her head vigorously. “No, I won’t tell anyone.”

I winked. “I knew I picked a good girl.” She smiled at this. I picked up the pen and handed it to her, indicating where she should sign. I watched her write down ‘Alyssa Clayton.’ I picked the pen up after and signed it illegibly.

“Alright, let’s get started. You ready to make some money?” She nodded vigorously. I stuffed the paper into my glove department and opened the trunk. I grabbed a blanket and a stand for my phone. “There’s a good spot over here, I think.” I led the way back a little further from the car and into a small hilltop. I placed the blanket on the ground and set up the stand for my phone. It was a cheap but reliable stand. More importantly it helped make everything look official.

“Let’s start with you standing,” I said. “Go ahead and take off your sandals and step on the blanket.”

She stood at the center smiling while I walked around taking pictures from various angles. Her hair fell down to the middle of her back. Aside from soft brown eyes, she had a small, but cute, nose and thin lips. Despite barely reaching five feet, she seemed to have long legs, if only because the rest of her body was short combined with her petite frame. Once behind her I instructed her to bend over and touch her toes. I took several pictures of her ass that way. It wasn’t a huge ass or anything, but given her short shorts, it stood out pretty well. I could already feel my mouth salivating, but had to approach this just right.

I walked around in front of her. “Alright, put your hands in the air,” I instructed. I put the phone on the stand and pressed record. I walked over and positioned her arms slightly above her head. I grabbed the hem of her shirt and in one quick motion slipped it up over her head.

She immediately covered her chest with only a bra on. “What are you doing?” She gasped.

“You’re a model. Part of modeling is acting surprised, so I had to surprise you. I’M sorry but it looks better for the demo,” I explained, admiring her chest. She had larger breasts than I thought. They had to be some decent size B cups if not C. “But I promise, no more surprises.”

“Oh, okay,” she responded, unsure.

“I am sorry, but I have to get the best demo for you so you can make lots of money. Every model goes through it, you’re not the only one, I promise.”

Just like ripping a bandaid off, she was more relaxed.

“Now I need you to lower your arms to your side for me. Then you’ll need to take your shorts off too.”

She gave me a long curious look. “This is normal?”

I nodded. “Of course, you’re a model. You’ll be taking all sorts of pictures and videos. But the company’s won’t see certain ones unless they have your position. However, they pay a lot more, closer to five thousand dollars.”