Mask of A Legend by Stephen Andrew Salamon

she was too obsessed with proving it to others, not herself. “I can’t go in there, Jenny, I just can’t,” Legend pleaded. She turned around and walked opposite from the hotel. Legend walked faster and Jenny tried to keep up with her rhythm.
    Jenny finally walked in front of Legend. “Listen to me, Legend, it’s only going to be today and tomorrow that this model search is going to last for. You can do it!”
    “No I can’t, I’m too embarrassed by the way I look,” Legend cried out, noticing a taxi that stopped right next to her. The taxi door opened suddenly and Legend’s mouth dropped to the ground. Her nerves showed through her shaky hands, sweat formed through her oily pores, and anxiety raised faster than her heartbeat, seeing a figure stepping out from the cab. Like a dying rainbow, a lump in the throat, it was the silver spoon: Dina.
    “Well, well, what are you doing here?” Dina asked, snotty as always, while two of her friends exited the taxi as well. Legend became speechless: she knew if she told the real reason why she was here, then Dina would surely make fun of her. But, if she didn’t say anything, then Dina would still call her names. “Hey, ugly, astronomy geek, I asked you a question!”
    “She’s going to the model search,” a woman replied from behind Jenny. They all turned around to see where the voice came from and, lo and behold, it was Angelica. She went in front of Legend to face Dina and asked, “What are you doing here?”
    “Who is this ugly, black−?”
    Angelica covered Dina’s mouth and warned, “Don’t even go there, miss prissy.” Dine pushed her hand away from her face. “By the way, I’m Angelica Winters, pleased to meet you.” Dina pushed her out of her way and walked up to Legend.
    “So, you think that you’re going to get discovered by a modeling agent? Well, I have one thing to say to you, Legend, make sure when you walk on the catwalk, that you don’t show your face,” Dina rudely commented. Her friends immediately laughed.
    “Yeah, well don’t show yours either,” said Jenny. Dina and her friends walked away.
    “Why don’t you lose some weight?” Dina questioned. Her skinny, severely thin legs then entered the hotel with her stuck-up friends.
    Legend turned away from the hotel and commenced crying. At the same time, rain fell, poetically mixing in with the drops. She walked farther away from the hotel, and Jenny followed. But Angelica put her left hand in front of Jenny and said, “Let me handle this!” Jenny stopped as Angelica walked behind Legend, as if she knew the pain Legend felt, understood because her so-called ugliness resembled Legend’s. “I know what you’re feeling right now,” Angelica explained. Legend stopped walking and turned around to face her. “Don’t let those girls push you around. I promise you that you’ll have the time of your life in this hotel. I promise that you’ll get discovered by agents.”
    “You can’t be serious, you can’t keep a promise like that. . . . I’m just scared to go in there,” cried Legend. Jenny walked up to them slowly while the rain fell harder, pounding its way in through this precious moment. Eavesdropping.
    “Legend, listen, I have to go now. I’m sorry, but I promised my mother I would just drop you off,” Jenny said. She felt bad for leaving Legend in the position she’s in. “So, are you going to stay or not?” An angel with a bit of extra weight, Jenny prayed in her thoughts that Legend wouldn’t back down.
    Angelica looked at Legend and gave a big smile toward her, it was a smile that reflected off of Legend. Angelica turned around to face Jenny and said, “She’s going to stay!” Jenny gave Legend a hug and then jumped in the taxi which Dina exited from. Legend watched the taxi drive off while drying her tears with her wrist. Angelica grabbed onto Legend’s right hand and they both lingered into the hotel. Once they entered, Angelica guided Legend to a table