Stories from New York #3 (13 page)

A makeup person had followed Quincy and was hovering around her with a little brush, adding some final touches.

“We couldn’t believe it. And you look gorgeous!” Ivy said.

“Quincy, this is Miko and Tally, the other half of
4 Girls
,” I said.

“Hi,” Miko said a little shyly.

“I’m not supposed to talk too much because I do that a lot, but I just
love
you, and I’ve seen every
single
thing you’ve done. I mean, not that you’ve
ever
done, but on TV and in the movies done,” Tally said in one breath, shaking Quincy’s hand energetically.

“That’s so sweet!” Quincy said. “Okay, I’ve got to go before Garamond comes after me. Just wanted to thank you guys again. Did you hear Helvetica called me professional and a pleasure to work with? And did you see?” she called over her shoulder. “Got my steampunk!”

“I can’t believe I just met Quincy Vanderstan,” Miko said. “And what a dress!”

“What exactly
is
steampunk?” I asked.

“It’s like, imagine what things would look like in the 1800s if the future had come faster. Picture Victorian styles mixed with sort of high technology incorporated into the design. Only the technology has to look like it was made in Victorian times, too.”

“Oh,” I said. I still wasn’t sure I really got it, but now I knew it looked supercool.

The tallest, thinnest man I’d ever seen was showing Quincy where to stand on the set as another woman fussed with her hair.

“Wow, that’s Raavi, the photographer,” Miko said. “He’s not even thirty yet, and he’s done so many cover shoots. I’m a huge fan of his work.”

“You should tell him that after the shoot,” Ivy
said. “Garamond might be able to introduce you. He totally loves you.”

“He will? He does?” Miko asked excitedly. Ivy nodded. Dakota folded her arms and stared straight ahead. Apparently Miko was the competition now.

“Hey, we’re missing our story here,” said Ivy. “One of us should record an intro before they start shooting. We’re actually here as this is happening. Let’s share that with our readers.”

“Oh, right, I’m sorry,” Miko said, fumbling with her little camera. “Who wants to do the intro? Tally?”

“Yes!” Tally said instantly.

“Better hurry, guys,” I said. Raavi had walked over to his camera, and Quincy was standing expectantly on the set, waiting for his instructions.

“Maybe stand here, so we can get them setting up the shot in the background,” Miko said, pointing the camera at Tally. “Let’s give it a try. Ready?”

“Ready,” Tally said. And before my eyes, Tally morphed from a giddy girl into a put-together, seasoned reporter.

“
4 Girls
is thrilled to be reporting to our readers from inside the famous photo studio at
City Nation
magazine, where legendary, iconic photographer Raavi is about to begin shooting the December cover. We told you we’d let you know who the mystery celebrity is, and now we can!
4 Girls
is thrilled
to introduce you to one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood…Quincy Vanderstan!”

Tally is so great at this,
I thought.
She just gets better and better on camera.

“When you see
City Nation
, you probably have no idea about the incredible amount of work that goes into a single photograph. Behind this shoot are teams of professionals: photographers, lighting specialists, editors, makeup artists, and stylists. They all work together long before the shoot starts to determine exactly what the photos should look and feel like, what clothes will be worn, what story will be told.”

Wow. How did Tally suddenly know all this stuff?

“In the age of digital photography, Raavi will be able to have instant feedback on his photos at the computer. If he doesn’t like the way something looks, he can change it immediately. No more waiting for prints to come back and scouring them with a magnifying glass!

“Quincy will be here anywhere from two to five hours or more, depending on how things go. All of these jobs, from the photographer to the design director to Quincy herself seem so glamorous! But this is where all the exhausting work comes in. And if they do it right,
City Nation
’s readers will never know about the incredible effort it took!”

Tally took a breath and stepped forward.

“How was that?” she whispered.

Ivy and I stared at her, amazed. “That was fabulous,” I said. “But…how did you know all that stuff?”

“What do you think she was doing all this time trapped with me and Whit in the interns’ office?” Miko said with a grin. “She’s been grilling poor Whit and anybody else she could grab. You’ve never heard anyone ask so many questions in under an hour. And Whit really knows his stuff! We got a lot of great information—enough to use even if we didn’t end up getting to be at the photo shoot. But here we are!”

“Okay, everybody. Quiet on set, please!” Raavi shouted.

Quincy walked to the center of the room. Two guys instantly moved forward holding things that looked like shields, which reflected the light to make Quincy look brighter. Miko pointed the camera and began to film.

“A little more,” Raavi said. The guys moved closer as Raavi held a little computerized machine out.

“He’s measuring the light,” Dakota explained.

“Okay, gorgeous, you ready?” Raavi asked.

Quincy gave him a brilliant smile. “Absolutely,” she replied.

Raavi positioned his camera in front of something that looked like a massive satellite dish.

“Go ahead and look down,” Raavi called, and began shooting pictures. “Chin up slightly, eyes over my shoulder, please. More lively, livelier, gorgeous. Yes, that’s perfect!”

As we watched in silence, Raavi barked out a series of commands that Quincy seemed to follow effortlessly. He had her sit, stand, whirl around, and jump in the air. Someone produced a tiny, fluffy dog on a leash that they wanted her to hold, which I didn’t realize was real until it sneezed. Then they took the dog away, gave her a set of jacks and a rubber ball, and had her lie on her stomach and play. By the time Raavi was done, I was totally exhausted, and I hadn’t done anything but watch!

When Raavi went to peer at the images displayed on the computer, surrounded by three identical-looking helpers, someone dashed onto the set and handed Quincy a bottle of water and touched up her hair and makeup.

“Okay, we’ve got it!” Raavi called. “Next dress, please.”

Next dress? They did all this with more than one outfit? But of course they did. This was a major photo spread for a top-notch magazine.

Tally and Miko were already set up again.

“So what you can get an idea of here is that for one photograph, that took about an hour of work just to
get Quincy styled, adjust the lights, and get a good picture. Keep in mind that of the hundreds of shots they’ll be going for, you might see only half in the magazine. These people work hard!” Tally declared.

Quincy had been ushered into the changing area.

“We’re getting some really good stuff here,” Ivy said, shaking her head. “It’s all happening so fast. Tal, what do you think about maybe trying to get a quick interview with someone. Maybe one of Raavi’s assistants? Just a few questions about—”

“Got it!” Tally said. She rushed off toward a short, red-haired girl in black jeans and a black and purple shirt who didn’t look much older than Quincy. Ivy and I inched forward a little to listen.

“Hi, I’m Tally Janeway from
4 Girls
magazine,” Tally said.

The girl’s face lit up. “Oh, the one Helvetica was talking about,” she said.

Helvetica had done us a huge favor giving us a public shout-out like that. Now everybody was treating us like we were the real deal.

“That’s right! Can you tell us about yourself—your name and job title and what that means in real life?”

The girl looked over at Raavi, who was deep in a heated discussion with Garamond. They were both pointing at either the computer or the guy running the computer.

“Sure, I think I have a few minutes,” she said, looking into the camera Miko had trained on her. “My name is Kristen. I’m one of Raavi’s junior assistants. He’s got, like, seven assistants total.”

“And what does a junior assistant do?” Tally asked.

The girl laughed. “Well, it’d be easier to tell you what I
don’t
do. Basically the answer is anything Raavi needs. I might be getting coffee or running down to the sample room to pull a dress in a different color. Sometimes I do the light readings or run interference with editorial if there’s a problem. If we’re going to an outside shoot, I check the site in advance to make sure everything is working right and is going to mesh with Raavi’s equipment. Sometimes he even has me be the stand-in if the model gets tired. I literally never know what I’ll be doing next.”

“But do you like it? Is it fun?” Tally pressed.

“Oh, it’s amazing!” Kristen said. “It doesn’t pay much, but Raavi is superfamous. I’m lucky to have the chance to watch him work at all. I’m learning so, so much. The hours can be really long and hard, especially if we’re doing a shoot somewhere outside where it’s hot or cold. We went to this elephant rescue place last year, and I almost had sunstroke. But I wouldn’t trade this job for the world. One day, I’ll be running a shoot like this!”

“Oh, you will, I’m sure of it!” Tally said. “And then we’ll be able to look back and say we interviewed you for
4 Girls
before you were famous!”

“Okay, let’s go people. Time is money!” Raavi called, clapping his hands together.

Quincy came out from the changing area, completely transformed. She was wearing a red plaid gown with an elaborate black corset stitched over it. The back of the corset was hand-stitched in a design that looked like it was an X-ray of her spine. The corset was clasped together with tiny keys. The front of her skirt was tied up to reveal knee-high lace-up boots that looked like regular boots from the front, but from the back were held together by a skeleton of metal tabs and wires. She looked like something straight out of a sci-fi novel.

“Gorgeous!” Raavi said. “Someone get the dog again, please? Okay, let’s go!”

And they started all over again, Raavi calling out his instructions and Quincy complying, like an Olympic-level game of Simon Says. And when that one was done, Quincy changed into a third dress, and they were back to square one.

It was almost four o’clock when Raavi announced that they were done.

“Can you believe that took more than four hours?” Ivy whispered to me.

“Yes and no,” I said. “It was like forever, but I feel like we just got here!”

“Wait!” Quincy called. “There’s one more thing we need to do.”

Raavi frowned and walked over to her. They spoke for several moments, then Raavi nodded.

“
4 Girls
, front and center, please,” he called.

What
?

Ivy was already walking toward Ravi, Miko close behind fiddling with the camera.

“Quincy would like a shot with you all,” he said.

My mouth dropped open. Me?
Us?
In a Raavi picture with a movie star?

But there was no time to protest or worry about what I looked like or do anything but be as instantly obedient as Quincy had been. The four of us joined Quincy on the set. Though there was a blast of icy air coming from the vent overhead, I was amazed at how hot and disorienting it was under the lights. How had Quincy posed for four hours?

“Okay, Quincy here, then you here, uh, Miko, is it? And curly blond hair here, and big eyes, you stand on the other side.”

Apparently I was big eyes. I stood next to Quincy, and Miko, Tally, and Ivy were on her other side. My eyes were getting used to the lights, and I could see a little better now. Miko had kept the camera on
and was actually filming the whole thing from our perspective. I saw Ivy’s mother walking toward us.

“Ready?” Raavi asked.

“Wait. You should hold this,” Mrs. Scanlon said, stepping up onto the little platform and holding something out in her hand.

“Oh, your magazine!” Quincy exclaimed, taking it. She held it, cover facing out, and smiled.

“We’re ready, Raavi,” she called.

I was NOT ready. I was so nervous I thought I was going to throw up. Quincy was a pro, Tally loved this stuff, Miko was amazing at keeping cool, and Ivy had such a glow of happiness about her there was no way she was going to take a bad photo. But me, I was a ball of nerves.

“Let me see lively! Let me see
4 Girls
at work! Let me see each of you, as you really are, right here!” Raavi called out.

I had time to think what a funny direction that was to give someone, to suddenly start acting like herself. I started to smile a little, and I heard Tally make a classic Tally squeal, and I felt Quincy squeeze my arm.

Then it was over.

“Got it!” Raavi announced. “Okay, that’s a wrap! Thanks, everyone!”

And suddenly everyone was putting things away,
lights were being switched off, and people were filing out the door. Garamond whooshed by, pushing the rack of Violetta dresses, and Constantia whisked Quincy away, but not before she grabbed Mrs. Scanlon by the arm and said something that made Ivy’s mom nod and smile.

“Oh, there she goes,” Tally said. Constantia had ushered Quincy to the door, where a serious-looking woman was waiting. “We didn’t get to say good-bye.”

“Hey, the picture was a nice surprise, huh?” Mrs. Scanlon asked.

“I can’t believe you had a copy of
4 Girls
to hand Quincy,” I said to Mrs. Scanlon. “That was so great of you. The picture is going to be priceless!”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been carrying it around with me everywhere to show people,” she said. “What a day, huh? Unfortunately, we’ve run so late I’m afraid you’ve missed the chance to go through the storyboarding process. They’ll be finishing up very soon, and I still have to be here for a while.”

“It’s okay. I think we’ve got more than enough material,” Ivy said.

“Good, I’m glad you’re not disappointed,” Mrs. Scanlon told us. “We’ll still have tomorrow morning for you to watch them post all the photographs then go through the process of picking which ones to use. And we’ll have the afternoon for
sightseeing. And…I have one more thing to tell you.”