Winter Swan

"Left row. Right row. You all remember your turns, right? Now, when it is your turn, do your best walks."

Fishes.

Looking around the crowded rehearsal, the models looked like fish in an aquarium.

Fish trying to survive in this tiny world, trying to eat and not be eaten. Trying to protect their own spaces while constantly making attempts to extend their own territories.

The rehearsal started and Silje was walking just fine while the Chinese model Fei glared at her openly.

Silje was about to leave the stage when the Japanese model Yuki, who was coming out to the stage, tripped Silje while passing by her. Yuki was very sneaky. She made it look like it was part of her walk, and she immediately walked away toward the center of the runway.

Silje lost her balance. Unfortunately, she was wearing heels that were over 12 cm.

Crash!

Silje fell on the stage loudly and Yuki, who caused all this, laughed quietly.

"Hahaha!"

Silje's ankle throbbed and started to swell immediately. She slowly stood up and no one helped her or asked her if she was fine. All everyone did was frown at her for her mistake and they looked annoyed or hurried.

Silje just limped off the stage.

What bothered her the most wasn't the fact that her ankle was killing her, but Fei and Yuki who were laughing at her. They ignored her warning and attacked her in the open.

Yuki whispered, "Did you see her face? No expressions. No emotions. It's so annoying. And the way she walks… So stiff and rigid like she is better than everyone. Haha, did you see how she fell? I laughed so hard. Haha."

Yuki and Fei continued to snigger and laugh from backstage.

Silje wondered suddenly, 'What kind of face would Yuki make if she fell over herself?'

Her ankle was swelling up fast, but with clenched teeth, Silje finished the show. Afterward, she checked it and realized that she would have to be off for at least a week.

She needed the money, so this was not good.

Silje smiled bitterly.

After the show, Silje limped out and waited for Yuki at the backdoor. When she saw Yuki and Fei walk out together, she grabbed both of them and dragged them to a nearby alley.

"Gya! What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

Fei tried to get away while Yuki looked pale as she screamed. Glaring coldly at them both, Silje warned them quietly.

"Shut up. If you make another sound, you won't like what I'll do to you."

Both of them became very quiet and pale. They seemed confident when they were surrounded by other models, but by themselves, Fei and Yuki seemed to be scared.

Silje asked softly, "Why did you do that to me back there?"

"What are you talking about?"

Silje crossed her arms and asked again, "Why did you trip me and make me fall?"

Yuki seemed hesitant while Fei looked nervous.

"Well… It's…"

"So you didn't have a good reason for it? You just did it for fun?"

When Yuki looked at her defiantly, Silje moved quickly. She pushed Yuki hard onto the ground.

"Gya!"

Yuki screamed as she fell while Silje continued, "Same here. I didn't have a particular reason for pushing you just now, other than just wanting to see what kind of face you would have when you fall, Yuki."

Limping, Silje started to walk away as she added, "Now we are even. Do you agree?"

Yuki was sobbing while Fei seemed speechless. Without looking back, Silje walked away. Her ankle was throbbing badly, but she ignored it.

***

"What? You fell at the rehearsal?"

As expected, Greg was very amused when he heard what happened with Yuki and Fei. He laughed and continued, "Something similar happened to me once. It was backstage. We were only wearing our underwear and I had a huge fight with another model. The other guy attacked me for no good reason, and I fought back hard."

Greg narrowed his eyes remembering that day.

"I gave it to him good, and he ran away. I ended up with a black eye, but it was worth it. You need to show those people that you can't be bullied. You show them once, and they will never bother you again."

"I did it because I just wanted to see Yuki's face when she fell."

At her blank face, Greg grinned.

Greg the bartender sometimes pretended to be annoyed at Silje's now-frequent visits, but in truth, he enjoyed her company. She was slowly becoming a model colleague and he genuinely liked her.

For Silje, Greg was her only friend and a mentor. He could give her advice about modeling and unknowingly, she was becoming dependent on him.

Perhaps that was why she limped all the way to this cocktail bar right after the rehearsal that day.

"Well, I guess you keep me amused, Silje. Sometimes it gets really boring in this bar. Oh, I have to do some work now. I will be back in a few minutes."

Greg smiled and started to wash the cocktail glasses at the sink. He hummed as he washed them one by one carefully.

Silje watched him under the red and blue lights.

Greg worked very hard. He was always smiling and joking around, but his hands never stopped moving. He was constantly making drinks for the customers and greeting everyone cheerfully.

'He is not a lazy person, yet even someone like him still hasn't made it yet… This world isn't easy. Becoming a successful model in New York is going to be impossibly difficult.'

Suddenly, Silje heard something. At first, she thought Greg was whistling, but it wasn't that. The music wasn't on either, because when she turned around, the jukebox was off.

「I love rock n' roll so put another dime in the jukebox, baby….」

It was a song and for a moment, Silje thought that perhaps it was coming from another store. Then, she saw a man sitting nearby staring at her.

"…!"

She didn't know when this man walked into the bar. He was wearing a cowboy hat and studying her carefully. It was rather cold outside, but he was wearing only a fur vest and his arms were bare.

With the pair of western boots, he looked like a cowboy. The man had a large snake tattoo on his arm and was holding a black plastic bag.

He stopped singing and grinned at Silje. He took off his hat and greeted Silje, "Hello, pretty lady!"

Silje's eyes widened while the man walked behind the counter.

"The king has arrived! Everyone, bow to me!"

The man had a southern accent and Greg shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey! You are too loud. You're going to scare the customers!"

"What are you talking about? Everyone should be honored that I can sing for them."

The man grinned and took out a cigarette. He lit it and winked at Silje.

Greg shook his head in disgust.

"Stop it, you playboy. You just can't help it, can you? You need to flirt with every woman you see."

"It's my calling. There are many different types of people in this world. There are people like you, a monogamous gay, and people like me, a romantic who loves all the women in the world. Right?"

"I guess. You are the king of the condoms and I am the faithful gay. And the world keeps going round and round."

Greg and the man bantered for a while now. They seemed to know each other very well. Silje watched quietly, and when the cowboy noticed her, he winked again.

Annoyed, Silje said to him quietly, "Hey, I respect your taste in women but stop winking at me. You are making me feel nauseous."