By: Justine Yu
Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy

In the booming cosmopolitan city of Manhattan, the streets are crowded with busy people running in and out of large towering skyscrapers attending to their business. There are business men and women walking the streets oblivious of all that is going on around them simply because they are so absorbed by their hectic schedules full of meetings, appointments, and all their other affairs. All the people either have their heads hung low playing with their Blackberry’s or yapping away on their cell phones. That’s Manhattan during the day. By night, however, Manhattan takes a whole new atmosphere with bright lights shining everywhere. Left and right the hottest clubs and parties are bringing the life back into a city so drained by work when the sun is shining. All the fashionable ladies and gentlemen go out on the town and tonight was no exception.

Nicole and her best girlfriends stepped out into the town in their trendiest outfits for their usual Friday night Girl’s Night Out. Tonight was going to be especially extraordinary because it was on this particular evening that the girls were attending the highly anticipated Vogue fashion show. This event was so big, in fact, that Nicole had bought herself a completely new, not to mention extravagant, Paris original outfit that just screamed haute couture! Never before had Nicole looked so ravishing. Her cranberry coloured silk dress fit her perfectly while her impeccable curly brown locks flowed gently down the small of her back. She was perfection and tonight, she wasn’t afraid to flaunt it.

Once they had arrived at the fashion show, the girls were giddy with excitement laughing and quietly buzzing about all the celebrities that they would be able to rub elbows with. Anyone who was anyone was at tonight’s event. It would have been social suicide not to attend. The girls wanted to have all eyes set on them once they stepped foot in that show. After all, these girls did look fabulous!

Surprisingly, however, when they arrived at the fashion show, everyone seemed to be engrossed by someone or something in the distance. Curious as to see who or what was generating so much buzz, the girls pushed and shoved their way through the crowd to see for themselves. Nicole’s jaw dropped. There in front of her was another woman dressed in the exact same outfit as her. The woman had glassy violent-blue eyes with her hair artfully twisted in an elegant chignon. She wore sparkling diamonds that would capture the attention of just about anybody. The paparazzi were snapping photos of the glamorous woman nonstop as if they wanted to capture every single detail of her.

Enraged and inexplicably furious, Nicole screamed out loud, “WHAT IS SHE DOING WITH MY DRESS?!” All eyes turned on Nicole. Cameras from all angles began flashing away at her.

The strawberry-blonde woman slowly turned her mesmerizing gaze away from the flashing lights and in the direction of Nicole. She, too, was shocked at what she saw, but remained calm and composed as she replied with a soft, but nevertheless, fierce voice, “Excuse me, Miss. But what are you doing with my dress on?”

The two women stared at one another with a look of fury in their eyes. Everyone around them stepped back as if expecting some sort of catfight to break loose. But the two women simply glared at one another scrutinizing every part of each other’s image. It was the ultimate Manhattan Once-over.

Finally, Nicole decided to break the silence by coolly saying, “I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but I’ll have you know that this is a Paris original and what you have on right now is some cheap knockoff.” A sly grin slowly surfaced on her face as her left eyebrow rose.

“Paris original, my dear? I know a Paris original when I see one and what you have on, honey, definitely isn’t it.” snickered the strawberry-blonde woman.

This was, perhaps, the most intense moment everyone attending that show had ever experienced. Everyone was too afraid to make any sound and in fact, the paparazzi had even stopped snapping pictures. Truly a rare occasion.

Nicole was shocked at what that woman had just said to her. She wasn’t going to let anybody talk to her like that. Infuriated, Nicole latched on to a large clump of the blonde woman’s hair and began to tug at it with great force. The blonde woman was horrified by this attack and instinctively fought back by taking a swing at Nicole, but missing.

Everyone watching, suddenly broke out of the spell that had entranced them for the past ten minutes and began to panic. The paparazzi resumed their picture fest knowing this was something they could not miss out on. Nicole’s friends rushed towards her, ready to defend her. Bodyguards hurriedly ran to the two women attempting to break them apart. But the two were so outraged by what should have been a meaningless issue that the bodyguards could not stop their fight. Soon, other men began to attempt to tear the two women apart but only to find themselves brutally pushed away. It was utter madness!

After a violent struggle, the bodyguards and two other men were finally able to pry the two women off of one another. The once glamorous and exquisitely dressed women had now managed to look unruly with their hair all tangled and their beloved dresses torn and tattered. The two women, panting with both exhaustion and wrath, backed away from one another allowing themselves to calm down.

The media was all over Nicole asking her questions and taking her photograph. It was a madhouse! Nicole’s girlfriends, however, knew it was time to leave the event and call it a night. Much to her dismay, her girlfriends finally managed to convince Nicole to leave the scene and return to their home.

“Alright, alright! I’m going, I’m going!” Nicole cried irritably. She swept her now messy and tousled hair to the side and got ready to leave the show. However, just as she did so, she cried out one last remark to the equally infamous blonde woman who, just like Nicole, was being horded by the paparazzi. “Hey Bailey!” she shouted, “I told you I could get my fifteen minutes of fame!”


 

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