School Reunion Year 1 Read Free Page B

of shot the male figure becomes a sinister manifestation of authority, an anonymous agent of justice. Yes, all right, give it a try. Must go now, they’ve called first class.’
    Phew, that was a relief, albeit only temporary, as at least he didn’t cancel the shoot; the day’s fee was in the bag. However, in order to be in the running for any future such lucrative commissions, Craig had to make this plan work. So picking up the shooting script he began to read, scribbling amendments in the margin as he did so.
    â€˜What do you mean; you’ve no previous experience? Why exactly are you here, then?’ Half an hour had passed and Craig was once more annoyed by yet another glitch. ‘Allow me to get this straight; you’ve never done any modelling of any sort before, let alone this type of modelling?’
    â€˜Correct.’ Sophie was nervous but unrepentant and determined to stand her ground. She’d not been at the shoot for any time at all and already there were problems. ‘I’ve never done anything like this before; the agency knew that when they booked me. Said it was “good to have new faces”.’ Despite her nerves she smiled at the contradiction; it wouldn’t be her face that was the focal point in most of the pictures. ‘That posh bloke there reckoned I’d “bring a freshness to proceedings”, whatever that means.’
    â€˜Unfortunately,’ Craig said wearily, ‘I wasn’t aware of any of this.’
    â€˜Perhaps I’d better go?’ Sophie suggested reluctantly.
    â€˜What?’ Craig was aghast at the idea. ‘Oh no, you’re not getting cold feet on me at the eleventh hour, no way. This job is far too important. He sat back, rested his chin on his palm and made a thorough professional assessment of Sophie, who’d arrived flustered but on time, barely ten minutes before.
    Her brief biography, appended to the story script, put Sophie in her early 40s - although to be fair she’d easily pass for at least five years younger than that. The narrative called for a scene between an older woman and a younger man.
    Sophie, who remained standing, returned his gaze levelly and eventually broke the contemplative silence between them. ‘So, run the scenario by me again,’ she said.
    At least she was making an effort, thought Craig, who was now so consummately versed in the storyline he could deliver a précis from memory. ‘Well, our heroine has been caught out cheating by her husband,’ he outlined for the attractive model. ‘She swears it won’t happen again but he’s adamant the strumpet should be punished. So great is his anger he doesn’t trust himself to chastise her, but instead insists she visit a professional disciplinarian.’
    â€˜Why doesn’t she just tell him to piss off?’ As criticisms go, Sophie’s was crisp and to the point.
    â€˜He’s rich and she’s not so, and the price of a nice middleclass lifestyle is…’
    â€˜Getting her bottom smacked,’ Sophie finished the sentence for him with no sign of embarrassment.
    â€˜Quite so,’ confirmed Craig, ‘and a good deal more besides. Look, Sophie, this isn’t high art. Start questioning the underlying assumptions these little vignettes are based on and the whole edifice soon falls apart.’
    â€˜Don’t the readers mind?’
    â€˜Obviously not,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘ Hera , you’ll probably be surprised to learn, is at the top end of the market, but even there the words are really just intended to set the context for the images, which I can assure you are top quality.’
    â€˜I rather guessed the word “strumpet” came from you and not the script,’ replied Sophie. ‘And as for the standard of photography, well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?’ she added, grinning cheekily.
    â€˜Thank you,’ he retorted,