Try to Find Out More About Adriana

“Well, maybe some things are worth trying for,” you say with a light tone. “You know, I’ll put in the effort for music and chemistry, and maybe the odd exception…” You pause for a second, looking at her meaningfully. “But what do you try for?”

“What do I try for?” she asks. She doesn’t sound hesitant because she’s detached—that would have been bad—but rather a little unsure, as if this isn’t something that she’s given a ton of thought before.

“Sure. Where do you find yourself spending a lot of time, losing track of time, that kind of thing?”

“Not parties, I can tell you that much. The guys there are so boring. Maybe…” She pauses to think for a moment. “The law school basement, that counts. I’ve spent an ungodly amount of time there these past few weeks. It’s where the fashion show planning and rehearsals take place,” she clarifies.

“So you model for the fashion show? I should have guessed,” you say.

“I do, but it’s the organisational things that really suck up my time,” she says. “Imagine all the guys and girls there, thinking that they’re hot stuff just because they’re invited up onto the catwalk… it really is herding cats. I make the announcement at the beginning of every session—‘You’re not a diva, so stop acting like it’—and they laugh and look at the others around them, thinking that it’s addressed to everyone but them.”

“Sounds like a self-centred bunch,” you say, and the penetrating analysis causes Adriana to tilt her head to the side, a flat expression crossing her lips.

“You think.”

“You ever consider that you might be one of them too? I mean…”

“The difference between me and the rest of them is that I hold no delusions about my self-importance. I know I’m egotistical. I don’t shy away from it, because I earn the attention—I’ve done actual modelling work, thank you very much,” she says.

“That’s a paradoxical degree of self-awareness,” you say, and for the first time during your conversation (or maybe even the night?), she laughs.

“Sorry that was too confusing for your little head,” she teases lightly.

“We can’t all be big-brained like you,” you say, just as the alarm goes off for the final time tonight.

“And that’s time for the final round,” Alexei says, clapping his hands together. “Now, if you would all kindly remove your name-tags, you’ll see that there’s a small box underneath your name—I would like you all to write-in the person who you would most like to stay in contact with after tonight, and drop off your answer in this box up here. Remember, you’ll only get put in contact with the other person if they put down your name too!”

You peel off your name-tag and spy Vishal, who’s already making his way down to the front, apparently having instantly decided who he wants to stick with. Adriana, for her part, stares at the slip of paper for a half-second before scribbling down something and heading down.

You, on the other hand, have a tough decision to make. There was the Zeta girl Avril, the curvaceous Amy, and finally, the honest-to-god model Adriana… A couple more seconds pass, and it seems like just about everyone else has submitted their name tag.

“What’s the hold up,” Vishal asks, with the good-natured grin on his face.

“Just making sure I’m making the right decision here,” you say, and you finally settle on a name. You write it down, and make your way to the box at the front, dropping it off with a flourish.

Adriana +15