Darien's Secret by: Sailor SwiftHeart Rating: PG ~PART ONE~ 16 year old Darien was sitting in his new apartment, feeling very lonely. He had left the orphanage only a month ago, and he already missed some of the friends he had made there. A little before he had turned 16, Darien decided it was time that he got himself a job and save up some money so he could move into his own place. He felt he was too old to stay there any longer and it was obvious that nobody was interested in adopting him. Nobody ever was. Out of all the couples that had come to the orpahange to adopt a boy, not one even took an interest in little Darien. Poor sad little boy whose parents were killed in a car crash... literally torn out of his life. Nobody wanted him. Darien convinced himself that they probably didn't want him, because he had emotional problems from being put through such an ordeal. After a few years of thinking he was emtionally unstable, Darien pushed that thought aside and started concentrating on building a life for himself. He started by getting a job. He submitted his resume everywhere he could, even at some modelling agencies, since he was tall and fairly good looking. That's what some of his friends at the orphanage told him and suggested that he send his picture and profile to some of the modelling agencies there in the city. Even though Darien highly doubted that they'd ever call him, he took his friends' advice. Darien had very low self-esteem, and he felt even more depressed when the job he was offered was working as a janitor in a Movie Studio for $8.50/hr. It wasn't any fun, but Darien managed to save up enough to get himself an apartment and be able to survive. He was now working in a Post Office for $10.00/hr. Darien was just getting by. He had enough to pay rent, buy food and pay other bills and SOMETIMES a little extra, but not often. When he did have extra money, he had to save it in case of an emergency. Darien knew he needed more money. He wanted to buy furniture, clothes and a few extra things for himself. "It would be nice to order a pizza or eat out for a change." Darien thought. He was sick of his cooking, which wasn't all that great. He had been living on pasta, sandwhiches, soup and TV dinners. He wanted some real food. Darien didn't even have a TV. He actually considered himself lucky to have a telephone, though it didn't ring much. The only calls he got were from work, asking him to fill in for a sick employee or if they needed extra help. Darien knew that they always phoned him first, because he was always home and he always agreed to go in since he had nothing better to do. Today was Sunday, his day off. He was sitting in his bare apartment, bored as anyone could be. He had no friends and couldn't really go anywhere, because he couldn't afford anything. The only cheap things he could do was go for walk, sit in the park or go to the library. But he couldn't take books out, since he couldn't afford a library card. What a depressing life! Darien headed to the library. It was within walking distance and a good thing too, because Darien had no car and couldn't afford to take the bus, either. He hated walking to work in the winter, but luckily it was a warm spring day in April. Once at the library, he headed towards the Fantasy section-- his favorite. He loved reading about Princes and Princesses, Knights, Kings and Queens, superheroes and stuff like that. It helped him escape the real world and his problems. Darien picked out a book about a Moon Princess and how her love from Earth tried to save her kingdom from an evil witch. He made himself comfortable on the couch and got lost in his book. ****** Hours later, Darien was torn out of his book's dream world when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see a red-haired lady smiling at him, almost as if she was impressed. "Hi there!" she greeted him, "Oh my, you are perfect, young man, just perfect!" Darien was a little surprised. "Uh... thank-you." he said. "You'll do fine!" the woman went-on, her voice as sunny as her looks, "You're the best one yet!" Darien was totally confused. "I don't mean to be rude, Miss, but who are you and what do you want?" he inquired. The woman laughed and apologized. "I am so sorry!" she expressed, "I'm Erin Symon and I run a modelling agency for a line of men's clothing called Raz-Ma-Taz." she explained, "I'm looking for models and when I saw you, you looked perfect to model some of our clothing!" Darien almost fell over. If he became a model, he'd be making big bucks! "Are you serious?" he asked, wide-eyed. "Very!" exclaimed Erin with an enthusiastic smile, "Would you be interested in coming down for a practice shoot? Just so I can see how you fit?" Darien was so thrilled, that he could only nod his head. "Wonderful!" Erin cried, delighted. She pulled a pen and pad out of her purse and asked Darien for his name, phone number and address. "Would you be able to come down to the agency tomorrow around 7 pm?" she asked, handing him her card with the agency's address on it. "I'll be there!" said Darien, happily. Erin looked very pleased when she left. Darien was so excited. He had to get this job. Then he could quit the boring Post Office and make enough money to lead a happy life. **** Darein arrived at the modelling agency promptly at seven o'clock. He was dressed in his best pair of khai pants, a black shirt and a navy blue blazer. He wore a pair of black dress boots on his feet, which he had spent almost a whole hour polishing. Then he styled his jet black hair and shaved three times, just to be sure there was so visible stubble anywhere. He was definitely a handsome sight! On his way to the agency, Darien actually received a few dreamy looks from girls. He would've talked to some of them, but he was too shy. For the first time in a very long time, Darien felt his self-esteem soar. Darien approached the front desk. "Uh, hi," he said to the secretary, "My name is Darien. I'm here to see Erin Symon." The secretary typed something on her computer and nodded. She handed Darien some papers on a clipboard and a pen. "Yes of course," she said, "I'll just have you fill out these forms and then Erin will come and get you and the other boys a little later." Darien sat down and started filling out the forms. Many other boys came in and were told to do the same thing. Many of them, Darien thought, much better looking than him and probably had a better chance at getting the modelling job. It made Darien depressed again. Was he just wasting his time? Darien decided he'd try anyway. It wouldn't be the first time he'd feel humiliated, if Erin told him he just wasn't cut out for modelling. But then Darien remembered what she had said to him in the library: "You're the best one yet!" "Hmph!" thought Darien, bitterly, "She probably said that to everyone here." Once all the boys had filled out the forms and handed them back to the secretary, she disappeared into the back, then came out with Erin a few moments later. Erin did a head count and then smiled. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, triumphantly, "You're all here! Now if you'll all just follow me, I have a few things I want you boys to do in order to help me decide who will become our next models for Raz-Ma-Taz!" The group of ten young men followed Erin into the back and into a room with a photo shoot set-up and full racks with amazing and stylish men's clothing on them. Erin pointed to one side of the room, where there was a rack full of dress pants, sweater vests and dress shirts. "I want you to find your sizes in the pants and dress shirts and go to the change room and put them on," she ordered the eager boys, pointing in the direction of the change room, "Then I want you to come out here so I can see how the clothing fits you. After that, we'll take a few pictures of each of you." The boys went to work straight away. Darien found his sizes and followed a few other guys into the change room. They all started tearing off their old clothes, anxious to try on this new, classy line of cothing and impress Erin. Darien noticed that a lot of the guys had very muscular bodies with broad shoulders and firm chests. It looked like they worked out a lot. Darien felt even worse than before. He didn't feel very manly around these other guys. He felt too tall and lanky. Maybe even clumsy looking. He was worried the clothes would just hang on him like sheets or curtains. But to his surprise, they actually fit quite nicely and comfortably. Some of the other guys complained that their shirts were too tight, or their pants were too short. Then there were some others who said the pants were too long and the shirts too loose. Darien and one other guy were the only ones who actually fit the clothes properly. But everyone left the change room to show Erin, despite how things fitted. All the boys stood in a row, side by side, while Erin paced back and forth, checking each boy out thoroughly. "Are you sure that's the right size?" she asked a few of them. They nodded. "Maybe you sized them wrong?" one of the boys suggested. Erin shook her head. "Never happens." she declared, "Only in the stores we sell them at do they sometimes get marked wrong." She continued to check them out. She beamed at Darien and the young man next to him. She was impressed at how well the clothes fit them. "Well, now we'll get you all brightened up with make-up," she said, leading them to a row of tables and mirrors and instructing them to sit down. Two men and a woman came into the room. "This is Marcus, our hairstylist, and Joanne and Keith, our make-up professionals," Erin introduced them, "They're going to make your faces and hair look perfect and natural for the photos." The boys got a total make over. Darien had never seen himself look better. The hairstylist even complemented Darien on how well he was taking care of his hair. "It's a wonderful color, too." Marcus told him. Darien was flattered, for he had always wanted blonde hair and blue eyes like his old friend Jonathan at the orphanage, who had been adopted after only a month of residence at the orphanage. This stylist, Marcus, had to know. Especially after seeing so many different colours and hair styles. Darien brightened a little and his confidence soared. Next came the face make-up. Joanne reached Darien before Keith and went right to work, adding powder and liquid foundation and light blush. "You have the most beautiful midnight blue eyes, young man!" she complimented him, "They're so defined!" Again, Darien was flattered. He had only thought of his eyes as "dark blue", but now he could say "midnight blue" which sounded so much better. Darien was more confident than ever. Once Erin was satisfied with their hair and make-up, she was ready for the photographer. The boys were told to fill out little name cards that would be inserted into the camera to label thier pictures. Then Erin would judge them and pick out the best ones. "Now please, guys, when Vince takes your pictures, please try to act natural," Erin said to them, pleadingly, "Don't pose on purpose, if you know what I mean. Just move like normal." Darien knew what she meant. He had read all about it at the library , plus he had seen it on TV a few times when he lived at the orphanage. A lot of the boys looked really nervous and gave the camera phony smiles and stiff-looking poses. Erin just shook her head in disappointment. When it was Darien's turn, he felt a surge of heat run through him. It made him nervous... being in front of a camera, all the other boys watching him. "Come-on, Darien, this is your chance, don't blow it!" he thought to himself. He ignored his emabarrassment and stepped in front of the white sheet and in front of the camera. Instead of looking straight at the camera, he looked up, down and side to side. Then he started moving, pretending to walk, sing, dance and run. The camera clicked dozens of times and then Darien was done. Erin looked genuinely impressed. She smiled at him. When everyone was done, they all got changed back into their old clothes and met up with Erin at the front desk once again. "You all did great," she told them, sincerely, then said in a more serious voice, "But unfortunately, not all of you will become models. Not all of you can. I'll be calling the ones I choose on Monday, next week. So if you don't hear from me on Monday by seven pm, it means you did not qualify." Everyone said goodbye and then left, each boy with his fingers crossed. Darien was the most hopeful of all. If anyone needed this, it was him. * * * Erin Symon and her assistant, Rachel were taking a look at the pictures Vince had taken of the ten applicants a few days ago. So far, they had narrowed the field down to three boys. One of the boys was Darien. The other two boys were Scott and Niles. "I don't know if I like the blonde hair and green eyes combo on this boy," Rachel commented about Niles pictures, "It doesn't really go with what he's wearing." "That's true, but he has the perfect face and shape to model our Spring and Summer Collection," Erin pointed out, "He looks bright and summary. Plus, the clothes fit him better than they do, Scott." Rachel nodded. "This Darien is perfect, though, for everything!" she exclaimed, with a smile, "He could model ANYTHING!" "I know!" Erin agreed, "And he's a natural. Look at how casual he looks in these pictures. And that's exactly the kind of model we need. Someone who makes the clothing appear like it will look fabulous on any man." Erin declared. "Definitely," said Rachel, "And he has that boyish charm in his face, yet a balanced amount of maturity. He looks like an everyday, regular guy. He'll do wonders for our sales." she noted. They chatted more about the three boys, then finally decided that Darien and Niles were the best ones. Three more days, and they'd be given a call. *** The Monday that Erin said she'd call, Darien called in sick to work. He didn't want to miss the call, in case he was chosen. By the time evening rolled around, Darien had given up hope. "Why would they want me, anyway?" he said, sadly, "I'm not that good looking. I should've known better! I'll be a Post Office worker for the rest of my life!" Darien started thinking about how horrible his life was and had been and how much he hated it and himself. He was in one of his "depression moods". They came often, especially when he had been at the orphanage and more especially on adoption days. Even at 16 years of age, Darien could easily break down and cry. The sound of the phone ringing tore Darien out of his depression mood. He dragged himself across the room to pick up the phone, thinking that it was probably the Post Office wanting him to return to work the following day. "Hello?" Darien answered, with no emotion. "Hi, is this Darien?" asked the voice on the other end. Darien recognized it immediately as Erin's voice. He wanted to scream! He'd made it! "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Well, this is Erin Symon from the modelling agency, Darien," she told him, "And I guess you know this means you're hired for modelling!" Darien screamed into the phone and Erin laughed. "Thank you so much!" he shouted, happily, "When do I start?" "You're not wasting any time, are you?" Erin laughed. Darien laughed as well. "Do you have another job at the moment?" asked Erin. "Yea, but it's boring as hell." Darien replied. Erin laughed again. "You can start next Monday," she informed Darien, "I'm sure you have to give your other employer a week's notice anyway." She paused for a moment, then added, "You can come down around one o'clock in the afteroon next Monday, " she decided, "I have a whole bunch of paperwork and stuff for you to sign. Then we'll go through some benifits and your wages. Sound good?" she inquired. "Sure, that works for me!" said Darien, "See you then!" "I'll be waiting!" Erin expressed, then they hung up. Darien gave another shout of joy. "I'm gonna be a model!" *** Part Two coming soon! Email your comments to: SwiftHeart@v-wave.com