“How did shopping go?” Erica’s mother asked at the dinner table.

“It was so crowded; it was impossible to shop.” Erika tucked into her steaming bowl of chili.

“I heard from the photographer.” her father looked at her mother. “It seems that Erika has got her first client. If she wants it.”

Erika looked in askance at her mom. “Can I mom?”

Her mother looked from her to her father “Do they know that she is…. “

“I hardly think it matters.” Her father finished.

“Couldn’t it be fraud, or false advertising?”

“Who would know?” He raised an eyebrow, “It’s not like she’ll be modeling lingerie, or bathing suits.”

“When?” Erika was so excited, she almost bounced in her seat.

“Bobbie is scheduling you for after school in a couple of days. It might interfere with rally.” He warned.

Erica’s face fell. “I’m already a liability to the squad. Can she do it another time?”

“I’ll check.”

“Um, what will she be modeling for, exactly?”

“I’m not exactly sure. I was told it was for a local company.”

“What should I wear?”

“Bobbie said that wardrobe, hair and makeup would be provided.”

Erika had to swallow a squeal. Her mother would not approve of such at the dinner table.

Erika didn’t taste her food; she was so excited to tell Tricia and Samantha. She was about to head upstairs when her mother brought her to a stop.

“I cooked, young lady, you clean.”

Erika groaned and stomped into the kitchen. At least it wasn’t spaghetti night. Spaghetti sauce usually, somehow ended up everywhere.

Erika rinsed the last pot and set it aside to dry. “Good?” she asked her mother.

“Yes, thank you. “

Erika raced very unladylike up to her bedroom and called her friends.

----

Her dad knocked on the door before entering, “I just got off the phone with Bobbie. Your shoot is scheduled for Saturday morning. I’ll drive you there.”

Erika jumped up and hugged her father, “Thank you, Daddy.”

“It sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”

Erika nodded.

“Okay, good night.”

Erika started to get ready for bed, but decided she should probably shave. Going 2 days without shaving was one thing. Any more than that would feel disgusting, and it had already been two.

Shaving one’s legs was time consuming, but Erika couldn’t figure out why so many girls complained about it. How could anyone not like the feeling of satin smooth legs? Especially slipping in to clean sheets right after.

Erika’s mind Was too excited to sleep. She was going to be a model. Eight months ago, she was Eric, the plague. Defiled, spit upon, unaccepted by his peers. A loner without purpose, destined to be a nobody. Six months ago, he had been kicked to summer camp to suffer at the hands of who knows, only to be saved by his best friend’s sister, who promised a safe summer, but he’d have to dress and take on the persona of a girl. How could Eric have known that not only did he feel safe, but that he enjoyed being a girl. Eric went to school as Erika and with the help of her friends was able to switch identities. It seems that she has passed so well that she was now starting a career as a model. It sounded too good to be true, it sounded like a strange story one would find on some story website.

Erika finally drifted off to sleep

Erika found herself in a large warehouse. Larger than the one that Bobbie had used for her first photo shoot. Three back drop areas had been set up one white, one a green screen, and the last a winter Wonderland with fake trees dotting its area.

“Erika, darling, you’ve made it” Sasha held his hands out in greeting. “You look fabulous.”

“Sasha,” Erika kissed both of his cheeks.

Erika found herself sitting in front of the brightly lit dressing mirror, her hair was full of voluminous curls, her makeup a work of art.

“We are ready for you Ms. Summers Bobbie smiled from the camera in front of the white backdrop. Wearing a bejeweled evening gown, Erika paraded over as smooth as if she was sliding on ice even though she was wearing five-inch stiletto heels. She turned with a whip of her hips and the train of the gown swirled into place around her ankles.

“Perfect.” Bobbie gushed.

Large fans came on and gentle breeze moved her hair as she moved and posed.

Smoke wafted in with the gentle breeze created by the fans. At first, she thought someone was barbecuing, but the smell wasn’t right. She continued moving and posing, she was a professional after all. The loud beeping of a delivery truck sounded just out of sight. This was a photo shoot; didn’t people know to keep those kinds of noises away? The smell became thicker, stronger. She suppressed a cough and hit another pose. The sound of the delivery truck relented. How far was it having to back up? This was becoming ridiculous.

“This is becoming unbearable; will someone please find out where that smoke is coming from? And turn off that blasted alarm!”

No one answered. The smell became stronger. She could no longer contain it. She began coughing,

“Someone please turn off that alarm and do something about this smoke!” she coughed more violently.

A loud smashing of glass jarred Erika awake. Her room was full of smoke but what looked like a flashlight tried to penetrate through it.

“I’ve got her.” A muffled voice called. “Erika! I’m with the fire department, I’m here to get you out!”

Erika’s mind was in a fog and trying to run a million miles per hour. The smoke she was breathing in was making anything but breathing a priority. Fire?

“Mom! Dad!” she called out and caused another coughing fit.

“They are safe outside.” The fire fighter scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards her window which had been shattered. The difference in air quality was a blessing as well as a curse. Even though it was fresh air, it was freezing cold out and all she had on were her pajamas.

Although muffled by her bedroom door, Erika could hear the roar, crackling and popping of an enormous fire.

“Are you able to climb down this ladder?” the fireman asked.

Erika looked out of her window to the very tall ladder reaching up from the ground below. Another firefighter was half way down the ladder and looking up, watching her and his team member.

Erika had another coughing spell, but nodded. She after all was a monkey when it came to climbing through rope ladders, bridges and obstacles.

The firefighter helped her on to the ladder and she quickly repelled down, one wrung at a time as the other firefighter regressed as she went.

She cursed the fact that she didn’t have time to put on her slippers or shoes. Even socks would have been a help against the ice-cold ladder.

Erika gulped in more fresh air and coughed out smoke that seemed to linger in her lungs. How did smokers do this to their lungs on purpose?

The ground was just as cold as the ladder. Erika bounced from one foot to the other trying to keep her feet from too much pain.

Erika looked up at the house which was lit by the lights of emergency vehicles and street lights. Dark smoke billowed from her house skyward. Light and shadow flickered about through the windows as flames continued to eat up her home.

She was numb. She knew this feeling, or a feeling like it, it was the numbness of the flagpole incident, the pushed into a fountain in a mall numb. The I can’t allow myself to feel, or I’ll go insane numb.

“I’m going to carry you out to the front, Darling. You aren’t wearing any shoes.” The firefighter beside her informed before he effortlessly scooped her up into his strong arms and strode with purpose around the side of the house.

A cacophony of chaos crashed down upon her as they rounded to the front of the house. Fire trucks, ambulances, police cars and many people in uniform running around. She frantically searched for her mom and dad.

With a second scan of the helter-skelter, and squinting through the bright lights, she found her parents by the ambulance.

“Erika!” her mother called out, “Oh thank God you’re alright!”

The firefighter set her down on the iced over blacktop not far from her parents.

“Momma, Daddy.” She called.

“We couldn’t get to you.” Her mother began to sob. “We tried yelling to wake you, but you didn’t respond. I…. I…. I thought I had lost you.” Her mother wrapped her up in her arms hugging her.

“I’m okay momma.” Erika tried to disengage from her mother’s death grip.

Finally, her mother let her go. Erika looked from her to her father. Both of their faces were black with soot and streaked from tears.

Her father removed an oxygen mask and pulled her into a hug as well. “I couldn’t reach you. Our bedroom was blocked off by the fire. Oh, sweet heart. I am so glad to see you.”

“Sit up here.” A paramedic instructed. “I’ve got a blanket for your legs and I’ll need to take your vitals.

“What happened?” Erika asked.

“We aren’t sure.” Her father shrugged, tears still glistened in his eyes. “The smoke detector woke us up. By the time I reached our bedroom door the fire had cut us off from you.”

“What started the fire?” she scanned both of her parents.

Her father shook his head as her mother clung to his arm.

“I’ll need you to put this on and breathe for a few minutes the paramedic handed Erika an oxygen mask.

Erika looked over to see large sprays of water dousing flames that had erupted through the roof of the house.

“My stuff.” Erika’s heart hurt. “My computer, my clothes, my medication.”

“Everything can be replaced.” Her father sighed.

“Our photo albums, our genealogy,” her mother paused then started sobbing. “My grandmother’s china.”

Suddenly her computer and clothing didn’t seem like a lost. Her mother’s family keepsakes, passed down through the generations were currently in what used to be one of her few safe havens.

Her father took a deep breath and let out a long sigh that bordered on a heart wrenching sob. “We are all alive. Nothing else is important.”

“But daddy, your grandfather’s war medals, his letters.” Erika’s chest felt like it was going to burst.

“Oh, no.” Erika’s mother wailed. “You grandparent’s letters.”

Her father pulled her mother in to a very tight embrace. “It doesn’t matter.” He stated. “It doesn’t matter.” He repeated as if to reinforce it to himself.

Erika tore off her mask and joined her father’s embrace.