Anna's Third Set

They arrived at their destination at eight o'clock, to find Valya waiting on the platform for them as promised, as soon as she had checked the girls had all their belongings she got out her phone to make a call, asking how the person was, then saying that she had some friends with her that might like to say hello, and so Marta used a mobile phone for the very first time to speak to her mum.

Valya said they would drop off the luggage at the apartment first so the girls could freshen up, then she would show them the route by Metro to the Studio that was only three stops, then they could give Marta the two-kopeck tour of the complex.

Anna looked on as Marta stared wide-eyed out of the taxi window as they drove through the city, at which point Valya reminded her she had been just like that a month ago.

They were hardly through the door before Anna dragged Marta off to the bathroom where she found the girls on hands and knees, faces pressed to the floor, Marta had apparently thought a warm stone floor a tale too far, but now found it to be true, after showing off 'her' bathroom Anna continued the tour, with both bedrooms, then back to the open plan lounge and kitchen diner.

Meanwhile Valya had made some tea, and removed a bunch of grapes and a few small oranges from her bag, which she placed in a bowl on the table, waiting for the excited girls to come and sit down. When they joined her Valya said she had already met the ambitious curious joker of the family she now wanted to learn more about her big sister, Marta was at a loss for words for a moment, but slowly began to tell Valya of her school activities, folk dancing, and her ranking in the chess club, and how she and Anna were starting to learn English because they thought it would help with the modelling, which is where Anna joined in to say that Marta was her manager.

"From the first time I met your family the one thing that stands out, is the way you look out for each other, and support one another, it is wonderful you two are so close, I only had a brother, as children we fought all the time, didn't really become friends until we grew up"

Valya went on to tell them she had come here the previous day to bring clothes and things she would need for the week so she would not have to go back and forth to her own place, and she had stocked the kitchen with breakfast cereals, they could get lunch at the studio and eat out in the evening. Marta said they had money for that, but Valya told her the studio covered expenses for for the models and their 'managers'.

Anna wanted to be sure she had not got Valya into trouble with her boss, by dumping their problem on her yesterday, and if it was going to cause difficulties for her taking time off to look after them when she should be working.

Amused, Valya explained Ivan had been pleased by their efforts to avoid letting the studio down, and impressed a thirteen year old had found someone in the legal department had made such a poor job in wording a contract document, - that was going to be amended. Secondly they knew staff needed to spend more time with new models, that meant either the modelling coach, or make-up person, and as Anna seemed to need so little instruction the coach had been able to spend more time with girls who did need her guidance, so by helping the girls she was working.

They took the Metro to the studio, and Valya saw that Marta also carried a little notebook in her backpack, as she had taken down the names of the stations, at reception Anna and Valya clipped on their ID's, and Marta got a visitors pass, so they made their first stop at personnel, where they refused to make up a badge saying 'chaperone', after a call to Ivan, Marta left proudly displaying her badge 'Models Personal Manager'.

They went on a rapid tour of the complex, which of course had been described to Marta, but she was still in awe of the scale and investment that she could see around her, having just started to cover economics in class, they arrived at the geek department, where Anna introduced her sister to Dmitri, who of course kissed her hand saying how beauty ran in their family making Marta blush.

Her sisters autographed picture was on his wall just as she had been told, looking around she saw he had books and dictionary's in several languages, which reminded her to thank him for the books he had given to Anna, then asking if he could speak in English. On finding out he could Marta asked if she could try a sentence to she if it was right.

"My name is Marta, I'm thirteen years old, I like do folk dancer"

Dmitri praised her effort, giving tips on grammar, word endings and pronunciation asking her to try again

"My name is Marta, I'm thirteen years old, I like to do folk dancing"

He said that they must have studied hard to do so well since Anna's previous visit and to come and see him if they wanted to practice while they were here.

They quickly finished their rounds in order to reach the hairdressers section in the beauty department, and they insisted it would be unfair not to do both sisters, as Anna's hair had received so much recent attention, she was soon looking her best, then checking the style sheet they set a pony tail high on her head, then used heated tongs to make it fall in a mass of curly ringlets, saying one of them would meet her on set later. Anna watched as Marta enjoyed another first, pampering in a professional hair salon with a manicure and pedicure, making her feel like a film star.

Marta was so happy she was sure she floated from the salon into the canteen for lunch, where she saw a number of girls in their age group, with their mums or chaperones, she was certain she recognised a few of them from the photo sets, only in the pictures she had seen a lot more of them! Valya was telling her about how the food here was chosen to be healthy, but fit all the nutritional needs of active growing teenagers, not just the tiny salads cat-walk models tried to exist on.

They were to be in studio two that afternoon, the wardrobe department had not asked for a fitting as it had only been a short time since her last visit. Anna wanted to know who would be shooting the set, finding out it was John she asked about the studio's practice of trying models with different photographers, and was told that everyone had thought she and John had got on so well together, they didn't think they would find a better match.

This pleased Anna and she told Valya she was happy with that.

In the studio a light blue backdrop had giant flowering magnolia branches painted across it, with a thick green furry 'grass' floor on which sat some huge stuffed lady-bugs, and the props department had made several large blooms that matched the painted ones.

Marta walked all around the room looking at the set, the lighting, the camera and computer equipment, making notes before returning to the make-up area, where Valya was loading the table with all her supplies. Two ladies turned up from the salon, apparently it had been decided to add nail lacquer with this outfit, so Anna sat bare foot as one lady applied clear lacquer to finger and toe nails, while the other wove coloured streamers into her tresses, then added several flower shaped clips in her hair.

When Valya got her turn, she used a little more eye shadow and a bolder lip gloss than she had on the prior sets, then another lady came to apply a few discrete decorations with tiny glossy stickers on the side of her face and on one arm. When she left, Anna slipped out of her summer dress to stand there naked, saying she would take a bathroom break now before getting dressed, and returned smiling with her 'wet look' pussy.

First on was a tiny tie sided thong, then a short, shiny, satin dress which was mostly see through, that Valya called a 'pussy pelmet', the striped top was not dyed but made of many coloured satin strips, the front and back panels held together with zig-zag lacing on both sides, and thin spaghetti straps. Fortunately the designer had included a zip down the back or it would have taken ages to adjust, there were short coloured leggings to match the satin top, then she was handed a pair of silver high heel shoes with thin silver straps.

Anna thought they were the prettiest shoes ever, like magic fairytale slippers, they always wore sensible shoes, or cheap trainers from the market, Valya burst her bubble as she told her to take very careful steps, or she would end up with a sprained ankle like her mum.

"Hi Anna, who's this attractive young lady you've brought with you, another new model?"

Marta blushed at John's compliment, unsure if it was genuine or not, as Anna introduced them, saying Marta was her Manager and her favourite sister, earning a poke in the ribs in reply, John then wanted to know if Anna was ready for another gruelling afternoon, slaving away under the hot studio lights.

As John walked over to the set, and Anna gingerly followed, Marta said she could see why her sister was happy working with him, and Valya told her they had laughed so much last time she thought she might have to repair Anna's make-up. Marta surveying the table said she had never seen such a variety of products, and in so many subtle shades too.

Valya sensed the girl lacked confidence with new people, possibly over-sensitive about the minor pock marks she bore from an early childhood illness that Ella had told her about.

"Marta I know you two are close, Anna talked of you a lot, so she must have told you of the little chats we had" Marta nodded, "well I would like you to feel you could ask me about anything that is bothering you as well" Easing into the subject but without talking about the pock marks she continued, "I don't mean to embarrass you but it's quite common to have problems with acne with the changes happening in your body, if you like I could show you a few tricks of the trade"

Meanwhile across the room John was telling Anna not to fall off, and making remarks about what the weather might be like that high up, but despite the teasing, the shoes did make her legs look amazingly long, and when she turned the view was all shapely from ankle to cute bubble butt, bare, aside from the narrow string of her thong.

Anna put to use many of the things she had studied, the flipped skirt, the artfully displayed camel-toe, the coy glance, and then the art of showing as much skin as possible, without showing anything naughty. She had got to the point with the zip half open, and shots of a few nipple slips when John called a drinks break. Anna was having so much fun up to that point she pouted at him and asked him to zip her up.

At the table Valya had demonstrated how to minimise the little spots with ease, the trap was baited, but it had to be Marta that asked. "Do you think I would be able to do anything about these ugly marks Valya?"

Snap. "Those tiny marks there, not as hard as the acne, but if they bother you"

She knew the girl saw the marks as bigger than they were, she demonstrated, then had Marta practice a few times, applying and removing the make-up.

When John and Anna came over she was carrying the shoes, she looked at her sister, then at Valya who gave a gave her a wink and a slight shake of the head not wanting to raise the subject just now. As they sat with their drinks, Anna told John the story of their mum's accident, and how between them Marta and Valya had saved the day, making them all laugh with her version of the various phone calls real and imagined in mimicked voices.

After the break Anna ran back to the set before replacing her silver shoes, and lowering the zip half open, to resume where they had left off, she tried various poses with the top bunched around her waist, having seen shots where clothing half off, often made better shots than naked ones. She discarded the top when she felt they had enough shots, then made sure to give John some profiles of her little breast buds, she then hitched up the skirt's waistband to make a greater show of her thong. John was pleased with how little direction Anna required, he just made encouraging or appreciative comments.

Marta was in shock, the changes Valya had made, dealing with the recent zit outbreak had been great news, but the way she had dismissed the hated scars that had marked her since early childhood, showing her how simply she could make them almost vanish, she could not find the words for how she felt, but she knew she didn't want to cry and ruin her new and happy smiling face.

Anna had now started on the bows holding the thong, giving the camera the almost but not quite pussy shot, then the other bow, side on to the camera she gripped the fabric between her thighs letting it hang down front and back. She now added some new poses, laying down, but resting on her elbows to raise her chest from the floor, this made her tiny breast buds hang down and look larger than they were, then a pout with a finger to her lips, she went on to try out different expressions she had practised before the mirror at home.

Right through to the end of the set she kept the skirt and leggings, she moved on to the more revealing poses, unaware the earlier deliberate camel-toe shots she had produced had caused her wet look to smudge and spread out across her tight nether lips.

John, unaware of the girls artifice, was aware of how aroused she appeared to be, and made sure he had plenty of close ups. The set seemed to go on for ages and at the same time be too short, as Anna went for her signature pose then moved on to finally blow a kiss to her audience and wave goodbye. Asking John if that would be enough shots, Anna then took off her shoes, and rushed for the toilet bursting for a pee.

Such was the relief she was still unaware of how she had appeared, then she got to use that lovely soft paper, which of course then removed 'that look'.

In the meantime John left in a hurry to review the shoot, when Anna came out, Marta went in, the moment the door was closed Anna started asking about the make-up session she had witnessed from across the room, and Valya explained her thoughts about how self-conscious, she believed Marta to be about the marks on her face, and had offered a little help in order to boost her self image and confidence. This earned Valya a hug and kiss.

Hearing the door, Anna changed the subject asking if Valya had heard anything about the second set she had done, the 'circus set' had been out just over a week now, she was told they needed to speak with the admin department, and the studio manager to find out what was planned for this week, so they would enquire then. Marta helped with Anna's hair by removing the clips and streamers then brushing it out into a wavy pony-tail, while Valya got busy removing her make-up.

After tidying-up they went to put the trolley away in the office and storage room, then Valya started sorting through her shelves. She found a box full of zip-up cosmetic bags saying she had meant to give Anna one before, picking two out, she proceed to load each one explaining she was choosing different products to suit each girl, and topped off each bag with a small booklet on skin care, then handing them one each.

Both girls thanked her, Marta being especially grateful as she had seen her bag filled with all of the items she had been shown how to use that afternoon, they each placed their new bags in their respective backpacks, before heading off to the admin office.

The guy they spoke to was unable to tell them anything about 'Natasha' set two, Anna couldn't decide if he was being deliberately mean to her or if he really didn't know, Valya told her she thought he was just too lazy to bother, so they went to see if Dmitri was in.

Dmitri was in, and willing to help, saying he was 'Natasha's' number one fan because it said so on the wall, drawing up extra chairs for his guests, he first showed them a graph showing sales on set one, which had a long hump that trailed off then a second smaller bump that started on the release date of set two. He told them that most of their sales graphs had that sort of shape, then he opened the screen for set two, saying this looked higher and longer than the first one, joking that there must be a few other fans out there. He was also able to tell them there were ninety-eight images in set two.

The studio booking manager was out but his assistant told them that Anna was booked into studio one on Wednesday morning, because of delays in set building, and the people in costume design were still arguing among themselves over which outfit to use for the set, so could they go there next.

On their way there Valya told them the guys in the department were great fun to work with, but temperamental and true to stereotype mostly gay. Had the girls not been forewarned it could have been a shock, but they were treated as visiting royalty, shown drawings of how the set would look, and asked to look at the beautifully hand coloured sketches of the two outfits in question.

Uncharacteristically Marta stepped in saying how although she thought both of the costumes were fabulous the black fur one would best suit Anna, as the little pointy cats ears on the head band would go well with her thick brown hair arranged like the drawing but the white fur hood with the large bunny ears would suit a girl with shorter hair.

Anna looked on with pride as the adults they were dealing with took her sister's ideas and comments to heart, then went on to discuss other upcoming designs, which led to Marta comparing them to concepts used in earlier sets that she was able to name and talk about knowledgeably having spent the past four weeks studying the web site. When at last Valya said they had to go, there were agreements all round that Marta must come back and visit them again soon.

When they arrived at the apartment, Valya said they should have a quick bath then she would take them out to supper, saying they could find shower caps to keep their hair dry in the bathroom cupboard. A short time later she found the girls enjoying a bath together. "I love this bath" Marta told her, "No-one gets the tap end" Valya then asked if they were OK with her using the shower while they had their bath, which was fine with them.

She dropped her robe grabbed some body-wash and a shower-cap, then stepped into the shower, the two girls looked at one another, they had both seen it, she had no pussy hair!

Later dried, primped, and smartly dressed, they took the Metro again on a different route, this time when they emerged Valya directed them until Anna recognised where they were.

"Oh Marta you're going to love this place, but first come over here, I was standing right here with mum when you told us you're 'private news', then later when we were eating we got a call from the studio that they wanted me to shoot a second set the next afternoon"

Anna was startled when the maitre d' welcomed them back, then enquired if she and their beautiful new companion were perhaps sisters, he escorted them to a window table where they could see up and down the river Dnieper, then he held their chairs for each of them.

Though Marta had heard all the details of this restaurant from both Anna and her mum it was still a wonder to see it for herself, and she was glad she had been forewarned about using the right cutlery, and about etiquette, her next surprise being the menu was in both Russian and English.

A waiter arrived placing mineral water on the table then asked if they would like to order any drinks while they looked at the menu, after they had all decided what they wanted to eat, as if by magic he reappeared to take their order.

Marta was saying how useful the menu would be in helping them learn English just as the waiter came back with their starters. When he came to clear the table for the main course, he spoke to Marta, "Excuse me Miss but I could not help overhear you were studying English" he then placed an envelope on the table, "Copies of our menu, one is Russian and English, one Russian and Ukrainian, and the other is Ukrainian and English, I hope that helps with your studies Miss.

She thanked the waiter who then went off for their main course. During the rest of the meal they discussed the options of what attractions they could visit tomorrow, Valya checking the time, suggested calling their parents now, thinking they could do a little night time sightseeing as they did not have to get up early in the morning.

Their mum's foot was still swollen and painful but she was resting it, Nana Olga had been fussing over her and the boys, and had virtually taken over the cooking, then questions about if they had been behaving themselves, then their mum talked with Valya.

When the bill arrived Marta said that she understood the studio paid all their expenses when they were there, but could she pay the tip as the waiter had been so helpful, then she asked advise on how you worked out how much to tip, then left a few extra hryvnias. They strolled about, Valya showing them all the brightly lit buildings and other views of the twinkling lights reflected along the river before they returned via yet another station, where each girl got their own little folding map of the Metro system.

To be continued in chapter 6