On the Come Up by Travis Hunter

Author:Travis Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2011-09-29T04:00:00+00:00

12

JASMINE

The photo shoot was done and I was now sitting at a table running my fingers across a crisp linen tablecloth. We were at The Palm, an upscale restaurant in the heart of Buckhead. Soft music played in the background as some of Atlanta’s wealthiest people sat around their tables laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world. I recognized a few faces from television. A popular morning-show personality was sitting with his family two tables over from where we were sitting. I saw Jermaine Jackson; at least I think that was Jermaine. Maybe it was Marlon or Tito—I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was one of those Jackson brothers. I picked up my menu and scanned the selection. I had no idea what these dishes were, so I figured I’d focus on the main meat ingredient. Steak, lobster, and fish—I wanted some seafood, so I decided that I would order the Shrimp Bruno. It sounded big and I was hungry. I looked at the prices that were in small print to the right of the en-trées and my eyes almost popped out of my head. Were these people crazy? Seventy-five dollars for a steak? Sixty-eight dollars for a chicken-something? Yeah, they weren’t wrapped too tight upstairs. No wonder some rich people ended up broke and jumping out of windows. They were crazy to begin with.

“So how did you like your first shoot?” Barry asked as he told the waiter his order.

“It was a’ight, I guess,” I said. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about sitting in a chair while people snapped pictures of me.

“You’re a natural,” he said. “Lola thinks you have what it takes to make it big. Runways as well as print. Her opinion matters to a lot of shot-callers in the business. She’s really good friends with Tyra Banks. Who knows, she may be able to get you on her show.”

“I don’t wanna be on that show,” I said.

“What? Are you serious?”

“Am I getting paid for this?” I asked after I told the waiter what I wanted.

“Excellent choice,” said the young white waiter, who had too much mousse in his hair. “You are very pretty, by the way.”

“Did you pay him to say that?” I asked Barry. I was from the Bluff and knew a hustle when I saw one. I’ve been going places since I was a little girl, and not once did I hear a waiter call me pretty.

Barry laughed.

The waiter gave me a smile before walking away.

“You’re funny, you know that?” Barry said. “You are hilarious.”

“And you’re pouring it on a little thick. And I asked you if I was getting paid for this.”

“Of course you are. I’m not that type of guy, Jasmine,” he said as he stopped laughing.

He appeared to be offended, but I didn’t care. All of a sudden I wasn’t feeling so sure about this modeling thing. I wanted to go home. I wasn’t comfortable in this setting. Everyone around me seemed stuffy and full of crap.

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