004

A week later, the second selection broadcast took place, and with a stomach ache, Jill made her way to the town hall. The closer she came, the more hesitant her steps became, she wanted to turn on her heel. 

This time there were far fewer girls, most of them had already been eliminated at the first casting, but the rush in the changing room was no less than last time. She spotted Mandy in a corner. Compared to the other girls, she had seemed relatively calm and reasonable, and relieved she steered towards them. 

"Hi," Mandy smiled at her, "Nice to see you, at least one familiar face." 

Jill nodded. "Yes, I feel the same. – Do you have any idea how things are going here today?” 

“Well, if I got that right, there are three rounds. One in normal clothes, one in evening wear, and one in a bikini.” 

“Bikini,” Jill repeated, disturbed, and the thought of being stared at by a number of onlookers so scantily clad made her stomach churn again. She didn't even dare to think about what she was allowed to listen to afterwards from her colleagues at the station. They were 100% sitting in front of the screen tonight, waiting for Jill to appear. 

Mandy smiled. "Yeah, I'm not too comfortable with it either, but being a model is my biggest dream, so I'm gritting my teeth," she explained quietly. 

Jill took a closer look and realized that Mandy really was very pretty. She had long blond hair, big blue eyes, a beautifully curved mouth. Her complexion was porcelain and, as far as Jill could see sitting down, she had a perfect figure. 

"You've got the looks to make it," Jill said sincerely, "I've got my fingers crossed. 

" Jill vaguely remembered that that was her number. 

"See you then," she sighed unhappily and stood up, feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughterhouse. 

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, too," Mandy waved at her, just as Jill was already being dragged to another corner and being handed some clothes. She changed nervously, some stylist quickly fiddled with her face and hair, and then she was back in the next room. 

Like last time, she got a little push again at some point and pushed past the curtain and onto the catwalk. She tried to keep her face nonchalant and staggered down the dais, then stopped in front. 

“Spin!” Harriet Grumb's voice, which she remembered only too well, croaked at her. She carefully turned around her own axis, stared hard into the blackness in front of her, tried to see something, but this time in vain. 

There was a low murmur, then she was sent back. 

In the cloakroom, she was immediately handed an evening dress and told to change. Reluctantly, she did as instructed, a stylist pinning her hair up and touching up her lipstick. Then she had to sit down and wait for her turn. 

The same procedure followed - curtain, walk, turn, stand, mumble, walk back. 

Relieved, she sat down on a chair in the locker room, she was glad that she had completed these two rounds without major disasters. If Mandy was right, it was now time for the bikini. Just as Jill was debating whether to do this to herself, one of the assistants tossed her two tiny scraps of fabric. 

"Come on, change!" 

She stared helplessly at the bikini, the thing so puny it probably revealed more than it covered, and her stomach knotted painfully. 

"What's the matter, don't fall asleep!" the assistant snapped at her and pulled down her evening dress. A little later she had on the bikini, slipped into a pair of high-heeled shoes, the sight of which alone was enough to trigger a feeling of dizziness, and then she stood tensely again in the next room by the curtain. 

When it was her turn, she took a few hesitant steps out, then stopped and tugged at her shirt coyly. 

"You can come closer, we don't bite!" came an amused voice out of the darkness, not Harriet's for a change, but apparently one of her fellow judges. 

She slowly stalked forward, stopped and stared at the floor in embarrassment. 

'Turn!' Harriet ordered again, clearly annoyed. 

She spun around, then wrapped her arms around herself protectively. 

'Fine, you can go.' Harriet didn't sound at all enthusiastic. 

Relieved, Jill turned and rushed toward the curtain as fast as she could in the high heels. 

"She's got a great figure," she heard one comment as she left, and the other added: "Yes, and she's really cute. 

" things and changed in a hurry. She wanted to leave now, but they all had to wait for the jury to deliberate and reach an agreement, so she had no choice but to wait. 

Eventually Mandy reappeared at her side. "So how did it go?" 

"I don't know," Jill said, shrugging, silently wishing she'd been so clumsy that she'd be thrown out in a big arc. She would rather direct the traffic at any intersection every day than be stared at like that again. 

"What about you?" she asked Mandy. 

“I think quite well, but let's be surprised. I hope we both get on.' 

'Yes,' Jill nodded with a crooked smile, sending a thousand prayers to heaven that it wouldn't be like that. 

Eventually all the girls were through, it took quite a while for the jury to make up their minds, after which they were all invited into the hall. They grouped on one side of the room, were then called up individually and had to step in front of the jury table, where they were informed of the decision. Because the spotlights were now aimed at this point in the hall, the glare was gone. The blackness of the room gave way to a semi-darkness, and for the first time Jill could see the people behind the judging table. 

In fact, it was Harriet Grumb, Mick Fairgate and Craig Peters sitting there. Jill slowly let her eyes wander over the three judges. 

Even from this distance, she could see that Harriet was quite dolled up and heavily made up. Her hair, dyed bright red, was piled up in an odd hairstyle and the black patches at the roots were clearly visible. Mick Fairgate looked average. He had dark blond, frizzy hair, was a bit fuller and seemed happy. Unlike him, Craig Peters, with his dark hair and three-day stubble, looked stunning, but his face was serious and relatively uninterested. 

Jill was so intent on watching the three of them that she didn't even hear her number being called. 

'132!' Harriet repeated shrilly, impatiently, and Jill hurried forward. 

'What the hell girl, what's the matter with you? So if you want to be a model, you have to put in a little more effort. What you've delivered here so far sucks,' Harriet grumbled, and Jill rubbed her hands together silently. That was very good, a few more minutes and she would be able to go home happy and relaxed. 

"You're ahead," she heard Harriet's voice at that moment, and Jill's eyes widened in shock. 

"What?" she asked incredulously. 

'Yes, I don't understand it either, you can thank these two gentlemen here,' Harriet brushed her off. 'Next, 137!' 

Without really seeing where she was going, Jill staggered back into the group, where some of the girls gave her a friendly hug, while others stared at her with envy. She didn't notice anything anymore, only thought in horror that the whole drama would probably only really start for her now.