Click. Flash. Click. Flash.

The repetitive process seemed endless.

The photographer went to her side and tilted her chin up just a quarter of an inch – but it made all the difference. The lighting was perfect. It hit her jaw bone at such an angle that she looked almost angelic. She was beautiful, no doubt, that's why she sat upon that stool with such form and posture that made her look like she'd been doing this for years.

Click. Flash. Click. Flash.

"That's a wrap!" He patted her head and helped her off the stool. "We'll have your face on the cover of that magazine by next week." She smiled up at him, but he was unconvinced by the way the smile never met her eyes.

Lately she'd been questioning whether she did the right thing by choosing modeling and homeschooling over her friends and public schooling. It wasn't entirely her fault. Her mother practically forced her into choosing it. She'd chosen it for her two months ago – right after school had started. She had so many photo shoots and agents calling to hire her that she missed a whole week just to meet them all. None of them were worth it though, according to her mom.

The principal had called her mom and talked to her about her absence and just like that, she'd pulled her out of school. Out of her social life and into her career life. At first her friends weren't happy about her dropping school and ditching them. But soon they'd learned to forgive her and be happy for her. Then eventually, they just forgot about her altogether.

She was only sixteen, but she'd been a little pageant queen since the day she learned to strut her stuff – and that was sooner than most. It was her mom who got her into it all – seeing as her dad left when she was in her mom's womb.

Her mom obsessed over the glamor, the fashion, and the attention. She never paused to look back to see if her daughter was enjoying the ride as well, but why should she? Her daughter had grown up learning to love it all. That's the very reason she was going on the cover of the most popular teen magazine in the whole country.

"Amy, your mom's waiting for you out front," Tyler, one of the youngest professional photographers she'd ever met, told her. He was fresh out of high school and already working for The Queen Teen magazine. Isn't that a mouthful? For the past month, since she'd been working on the photo shoots, they had become pretty close. He acted like a big brother and she respected him for looking out for her.

"Okay, I just have to change," She dashed behind the dressing room curtain and pulled off the ruffled skirt that was black with layers of different colored tooling underneath. Tyler dipped behind the curtain, as he often did, and helped her unlace the converse boots that reached just below her knee. She didn't mind that he saw her in her underwear, because real models had to strip down to nothing and not have a care about who saw them. She was determined to be like a real model. Or maybe it was her mother who wanted that.

After he'd gotten her shoes off, she turned her back to him so he could get the tiara off her head. Her hair was bleached a few days ago so that her natural blonde hair was now bright and fresh. It was in ringlets that were framing her face, her eyes. They were crystal blue and her best feature by far. Although, some would argue that she had the best lips – they were full and naturally colored.

She managed to peel off the black tank that had been splattered with various bright colors. She looked like a punk princess – The Teen Queen magazine was trying to create a new look and she was the victim that had to advertise it. She didn't though; she was a model after all.

"There you are." He patted her shoulder and left her to redress. She slipped on a pair of grey sweats, a white camisole, and big comfy tennis shoes that she could just slip into. She ripped open the curtain and walked over to Tyler, who was putting away his equipment and gave him a one armed hug and let him kiss her cheek.

"I'll stop by and visit you when I'm around here," he promised, smiling down at her. She was average height for a model, but he was tall.

"Bye." She smiled before heading out the back door to look for her mom's car. She stepped out into the cool, damp air and the wind whipped across her arms and brushing against her skin giving her goose bumps. She looked up to see dark, heavy clouds looming just above. She ran to her mom's car and hopped in before the rain could wash away her makeup to reveal her real self. The makeup did a good job of hiding who she really was and what she really looked like.

But it couldn't stay that way forever.