On Saturday Anna had introduced some models who were amongst the more advanced English pupils to the 'models forum', running through many of her own early sessions, using those saved records to help the new girls. They were now doing individual, or group sessions each day after school, Anna the pioneer was now free to pursue other goals.

Getting home Wednesday afternoon, the girls quickly swapped backpacks, grabbed some fruit, and then disappeared out the door on their way to the studio for Anna's booking. Since the first occasion Marta had accompanied her sister to the studio, Valya had officially been both chaperone and make-up artist, but as the girls were so often in one part of the studio complex or another, it was now a mute point, although on the other hand many times they were not visits to shoot videos or picture sets. Marta was disappointed her detour via the IT dept was wasted, as Karl was in with Boris, but she did stop to speak with a few others there.

Returning to the salon, Anna's hair had now been set in several braided pig tails, stylised with coloured beads and clips, the worksheets the ladies followed had notes and pictures of hair and make-up, with sketches of how the designer expected the model to look in full costume.

They found Valya at studio five where the backdrop was painted to look like a building site, this was the last shoot using it, as it was to be replaced the next day. Marta looking around at the real tradesmen's tools on the set as props saw scratched or painted initials which she recognised as those of the men working in the set building shop.

As Valya did Anna's make-up, they talked about the future stock banking scheme, and how feedback from both the models and staff had so far had been positive, as they didn't feel the sort of rushed atmosphere that pervaded the weekend shoots this time of year, that were often in disarray due to travel problems. Giving Anna a final inspection, Valya turned her attention to Marta complimenting her on how subtle she had become in applying her own make-up, saying it took many girls her age time to learn that light touch.

The costume consisted of a short jacket with long sleeves designed to just cover Anna's gently budding chest, and trousers that stopped below the knee worn with white boots, and a cap. The outfit was two tone, blue fabric and white, seen from a distance, but on closer inspection the white panels were a sort of see-through net, there were no panties included with this outfit.

Marta joked that if Anna sat down she would have a grid pattern imprinted on her bum so they could play noughts and crosses, chess would be too hard as the pieces would fall over on a curved board. While waiting for John to arrive the three continued the jokes and banter, noting the time Anna slipped off to the toilet for her final preparations.

Since investigating her older sisters wetness, they had made a careful study of the close-ups of girls on their collection of disks, deciding that the Vaseline could be improved upon.

Mostly with girls a little older, the appearance was more a translucent pearlescent glaze rather than just a clear gloss, so they had experimented making additions to the Vaseline base, to produce the effect they wanted, but not so far as to look like the girls who so evidently showed a lack in personal hygiene.

Marta told Valya about the new improved formula, saying how Anna would swap out the tins, and could she look after the new style preparation, and bring it to future shoots as she had done with the ordinary Vaseline. Why am I not surprised thought Valya, these two girls are pushing new boundaries in every other direction, so now they have a new line in intimate make-up, instant arousal in a tin. Her musings were were interrupted as John arrived, eager to try out his new camera, but aware that the ladies present were unlikely share his enthusiasm for all the latest technical innovations of his new toy.

Soon John and Anna were engaging in their usual repartee, John saying if she turned up on a building site dressed like that the accident rate would shoot upwards with men falling off ladders. Anna moved about the set posing, enabling John to capture the unique quirks of this particular outfit, as the net panels gave tantalising glimpses of her lean taught body with each change of stance. Anna loved all the fancy costumes, this one showed the skill of the seamstresses at the studio, the way so many panels of different fabrics had been sewn together, along with all the trim and detailing. Odd to think if it were not for the see through aspect, it would be at home in any high end boutique in the city.

As shooting progressed Anna made use of the tools and other props, before she began to disrobe, first getting some 'down the top' shots, as the lapels on the jacket allowed it to gape enough to show her reddened nipples that had been rubbing against the lining, then releasing the fasteners. With the top open her barely budding chest was in turn displayed then hidden, playing peek-a-boo with the camera. Anna was rapidly becoming John's favourite model, not just because of the percentage he earned on her sales, but that she had a natural talent, and her enjoyment of modelling shone through in the resulting pictures. He had to limit himself, it would be so easy with this girl to create another over large set that he would have trouble pairing down.

When they took their break, John and Valya talked of the few banking scheme shoots they had each done so far, and the response they had heard of from other photographers, make-up artists, salon staff and models. Where before, term times had been fairly lazy with the exception of the hectic weekends, there was a general consensus that a few extra after-noons or evenings of work now, with the potential of a nice financial gain just a few years away was a very pleasant prospect.

Once back on set, Anna started toying with the straps and buckles holding up her trousers while asking John about her top. It was agreed she would keep on the open jacket for the effect it provided, and he said to keep the cap on as well, because it looked cute on her. Some shots were taken with the fitted trousers pulled down around her thighs, then realizing they wouldn't come off over the boots, she removed both then put the high heeled boots back on for the remainder of the set.

Anna sat on the fake fluffy grass pretending to add more bricks to the wall, as she rose to assume a new pose she looked down to see a little of the green fluff had adhered to the wet sheen of her labia, picking it off, she heard a flurry of clicks from John's camera, as she looked up John was pleased to capture the faint blush that suffused her face and chest, she then poked her tongue out at him. Marta sitting in the background thought the resultant laughter now seemed like an ongoing soundtrack to their new lives.

Although John hardly thought it possible Anna seemed to bring something new and fresh to each session, regaling him with stories of her guitar lessons, the drama club at school, and the latest mischief of her brothers. Her animation and excitement about all the things going on in her life transmitted itself into her work. Drawing to a close her signature shot was included, as she knelt down on all fours, wagging her rear end at him, like some crazy puppy, the set concluded with a blown kiss and a wave.

At the completion of the set Marta noted the time, wondering if in future they could fit in two sessions back to back if they could access two costumes, and hopefully use backdrops in two studios, after all it was her scheme, and Anna should get the most benefit. Voicing her tentative suggestion, both John and Valya agreed as nobody had placed a limit on the number of sets a girl could hold in reserve, so Anna and her manager rightfully deserved any additional gains from their initiative and hard work.

As the pictures from this set were not due to be aired until some unspecified future date Marta asked if John could burn them a disk of the images, as they liked to review all of Anna's work so she could make improvement's. John readily agreed, saying it might not be until the following week as editing sets for imminent release came first, and although he didn't mind them looking for any mistakes Anna had made, he wanted to weed his ones out before anyone could see them. They teased him that if he removed all the mistakes he had made there wouldn't be many pictures left.

John went off smiling, as Anna tried to sit still with Valya removing her make-up, somehow she always felt so bubbly and alive at the end of a shoot, her head floaty as if she had just had a glass of wine. Popping into the toilet to pee and clean up before getting dressed Anna was certain she was wetter now than when she had first started the set, taking a sniff confirmed her own body had reacted to the situation, posing and displaying herself in front of a man, she would talk this over with Marta later.

The girls helped Valya clear up, load her trolley, and return the costume, when they got to her office and store, she asked if the girls needed any top-ups for their make-up bags, and Marta came away with some more of the concealer she had been taught to use. Due to the time, in order to avoid the commuter crush, Valya called up a cab for the girls to get home, and Marta called to inform their mum they were about to leave the studio.

Back home they discovered that their father must have visited the studio while they were on set, as he showed them the computer that Karl had set up for him that afternoon. When they had eaten, he asked if either of the girls knew anything about setting individual ring tones for some of the people that might call him on his mobile phone. It was a silly question, all the girls at school who owned mobiles, that was mostly the models and some from more wealthy backgrounds, all knew how to do basic stuff like that.

It turned out Igor wanted to be forewarned if the property agent called, he had the idea of having one of his work colleagues answer pretending to be an assistant before handing the phone back to Igor stating -"If you look the part and feel the part, you can be the part", some smart girls I know told me that. The girls in question then came up with a better plan, which actually came into play the following day.

Just before lunchtime the alternate ring tone announced a call from the property agent.

Melenki, one of the three men who had done the night job for Igor had been well briefed.

"Hello Melenki speaking".

"No he's not here, he's in London on business for a few days, he may be back tomorrow, I'm one of his assistants looking after all the current projects in this region until he returns".

"No the address is unfamiliar, he didn't mention that one to me, you will need to speak to him yourself, unfortunately I'm not allowed to give out the number for the London office".

"OK, I'll tell him you called, goodbye".

The two men stood grinning, Igor had been standing close enough to hear both sides of the conversation, picking up on the disappointment and frustration of the caller, and he congratulated Melenki, joking he could get a job in TV drama if he got tired of working in the building trade.

During the school lunch break Marta was browsing through one of the well thumbed teen magazines, that had just been returned to her, when she had a sudden revelation, flicking back and forward she found what she was looking for, marking each place by folding the corner of the page. With a cynical eye she saw the publisher had deliberately included several articles, whether made up or real, that coincided with a large advertising campaign which purported to offer the answer to the very problem highlighted on the other pages.

Seeding was the seed of Marta's next big idea, Alina had reported back to her that trawling the members forum for set ideas had produced spotty random comments, but no really positive themes to show the direction for future output. If passive sampling of the members was not working, she would try active participation, having Dmitri's use his on line persona, or by getting Alina to pretend to be a member. By placing an idea on the forum they could stimulate a debate to gather feedback from the members, as to whether or not it was likely to be successful.

Marta was so revved-up that her opponents that day in the chess club meet after school didn't stand a chance, on arriving home, she found Anna had gone round to Eve's house that afternoon, so her news would have to wait. She spent the time before supper with her brothers on school work and reading, until the arrival of their father caused a rush for the door to greet him.

When later the whole family was sat round the table eating, Igor dropped into the conversation, how an anxious man had called wanting to discuss house sales, but Melenki had handled the call as they had suggested, and tomorrow he was expecting a follow up call, where he would continue with phase two of their plan, the reluctant buyer who might get away, so he could squeeze for the lowest price. The few hours he had spent using his new toy had been well spent, crunching the numbers with both minimums and maximums for the various costs where there was room for uncertainty, he knew the top price it was viable to spend with a guarantee of a reasonable return.

Friday morning Igor was nervous, on the turn of a card he was about to launch the family on a scheme entailing a large financial commitment, by eleven o'clock the agent had not called, and Igor had to visit another job site. He told the site foreman, he would need to borrow Melenki for the rest of the day as he needed the guy's knowledge about the next site he was visiting. In the car on their way to lunch the phone rang, it was 'that' ring tone, Melenki answered, thinking on the fly he told the man he was on route to pick his boss up from the airport, and he could try again after three that afternoon.

During lunch Igor outlined the plan for taking the next call, explaining what he knew of the vendor, and how although he had spent some cash on phase one, causing Melenki to smile about the cash he and the others had received, the deal was only worth proceeding with if he could squeeze the purchase price.

At three thirty the phone rang, Melenki waited, "Hello, Oh you again, no I haven't had a chance to speak to him about it, there's just been one meeting after another since he got back, I haven't even got round to giving him this local phone back yet, I'll see if he's free."

"Sir there's some property agent been calling up about a place he showed you on Monday, he seems to think you might be interested."

"I just had some time to kill before the London flight, it wasn't a great prospect, bit of a wreck, toss up between major refurbishment, or knocking the place down, pass it over I'll speak to him, it would be rude for me to ignore the guy, besides next time he could have something worth looking at."

Hearing the exchange between the developer and his assistant gave him a sinking feeling, the vendor had taken the news badly about how dilapidated his property had become, but had made it plain he wanted it sold soon, before things could deteriorate any further.

"Hello sir, I hope your visit to London went well, I've recently spoken to the vendor, and I'm sure he would be willing to negotiate over the price"

"I'm always happy to negotiate, but the problem on that listing is I would either have to take men off of another project to patch up the roof until we can deal with the place, or knock it down, then there's the hassle for building permits on a plot I have no plans for yet."

"I'm sure the owner would be very accommodating as he is keen to sell, would you care to make an offer I could pass on, it could do no harm the man can only say yes or no."

Igor kept the smile out of his voice, as he gave the man the lowest figure he thought he could get away with, realising the sum could well be rejected, to add to the pressure he said after the next two weeks he would be travelling abroad a great deal and would be not be available to sign off any purchases in this region at that time.

When Igor rung off, Melenki sat there stunned at the 'take it or leave it' attitude that Igor had projected during the phone call, though on closer inspection it was clear the man was perspiring, reliving the tension Igor said he could do with a large vodka, but would settle for a strong coffee instead; now it was back to waiting.

Shortly after getting back from school the girls were off out again, having spoken with Eve on the Metro journey home, they were all going to meet at the park on their bikes, bringing along their respective siblings so they could enjoy the open space for an hour or so on such a nice afternoon. Returning Marta went upstairs to bathe, and change, as she had a date this evening, with her curfew extended to nine-thirty, while Anna helped in the kitchen, and the boys set the table. Karl turned up to whisk Marta off for a meal and an evening of site seeing around the city to view Kiev by night.

Though Marta had seen some parts of the city during previous evenings, on this tour she was nevertheless astonished by the harsh contrasts, as the vibrant and bustling areas catering to the wealthy, seemed often to be so close to the pervading squalor of the homeless and destitute people of which she had become so aware. She felt safe with Karl, nerd he may be, but he was tall with a nice build, she felt a little tingle, the thought of being wrapped-up in his arms later gave her a warm feeling, and brought a glow to her cheeks.

They had eaten in a smart Chinese restaurant, where they had chosen a meal served up in many small portions, the variety of dishes enabling people unfamiliar with the cuisine to sample the exotic eastern flavours. It had been fun as they tried to eat and to feed one another using their chopsticks, neither of them willing to give up, and use the standard cutlery also provided.

The oriental girl who was serving them had been so helpful and attentive, probably aware of how excited Marta was to be dinning out in such style, when she presented Karl with the bill, she also served up two complimentary drinks. She assured them they were not strong, just a regional digestive drink from where her family came from, the small glasses held a rich clear sweet liquid with some unknown white fruit floating in it, Marta had almost been tempted to ask for another.

Now the light had faded, and the air was cool, Karl walked with his arm round her, in response she put her arm around his waist, slipping her hand into his back pocket as she had seen some older girls do with their boyfriends. Karl had a case of instant wood with her hand on his backside, his groan was accompanied by a giggle from Marta, he wondered if she knew what she did to him.

Many of the historic buildings were picked out in subtle coloured lighting to display their detail and grandeur, and he was able to tell her about a few of the more obvious buildings, like some of the museums that he knew well. They stopped to sit on the edge of a fountain in one of the squares, to play people watching, making up little stories of those people they saw about them.

Karl stopped mid sentence, aware that Marta's attention had been elsewhere, "What is it you look worried."

"Do you see that girl in the striped top over near where that ally leads off the square?"

"Yes I saw her begging a short time ago."

"Karl, I don't think you understand, she's only approached men on their own."

"You can't,.... No you don't mean, she cant be any older than you are!"

"I'm going over to speak with her."

Karl's objection was cut off by a stern look, "Watch, but stay back, if I can get her to go with me you can follow, but stay well back or she might run off.", she kissed him then walked off across the square.

"Hello"

"Look rich bitch, go away, I don't need you messing things up for me"

Marta was taken aback by the fierce outburst, but felt sure the girl was making a show of bravado, to cover the fear and panic she saw lurking just below the surface.

"My name's Marta, I don't think you want to be here doing this."

"You don't know shit, you don't know nothing about my life."

Marta could see the strain, the girl was at the end of her tether, tears waiting to well up.

"Five months ago my life changed, if it hadn't I would be where you are now, the only difference, is it would have been in some small no account run down town. I think I can help you, we could sit down and talk,... I could buy you a meal."

At last a flicker of interest, she did look a bit thin, how many meals had she missed?

"You think I haven't seen your pimp hiding over by the fountain?"

Marta shook her head, "That's Karl my boyfriend, probably annoyed I've come to speak with you, if he doesn't get me home by nine-thirty my dad promised to tear his arms and legs off."

At last Marta felt she may have connected, had the fear and anger receded, she tried again, "Look I don't know how much you expected those men to pay, but I will give you some money, and we can go down to that burger place over there, and I'll buy you a meal, whatever you want."

"Look I'm not trying to trick you, cash in your pocket for your time, that's better than you've done so far this evening," at which point Marta was interrupted, "OK, anything I want to eat and you'll buy it? And you'll spot me the rate for a bj?"

Karl was worried, Marta had been speaking to the girl for some time, he kept scanning the area, the last thing he needed was for the police to show up, thinking that both girls were working the street, Igor really would kill him. He had just decided to call her home number when he saw they were moving off, as per instructions he followed staying well back.

Seeing them enter the burger bar he screwed up his courage and rang Igor's mobile number hoping he was doing the right thing.

"Karl?, Is Marta OK? Is there some problem?"

"She's fine sir there is no problem, but she's just met someone.......

He went on to explain the strange turn of events, and how Marta was sitting in a burger joint talking with a young girl who had been trying to sell herself on the streets.

After Igor had confirmed Karl hadn't let his daughter out of his sight, he told Karl this was possibly the strangest call any father had received as to why his daughter might be late home from a date, and to call him back later if they needed his help, or a lift home.

Igor told Ella what had happened, at a loss as to why his sensible logical daughter would reach out to offer help to some random girl on the street, what did she think she could do, there were just too many. Following news and current events, a recent term used in the papers was how 'compassion fatigue' had set in due to the large numbers of homeless. Anna came and snuggled up against his side, he had been unaware she had overheard him telling Ella of the events in town, but looking at her father she could see that he had missed what was apparent to her and her mum.

"Daddy I don't think you understand, you said Karl told you Marta was talking to a young girl, I don't think he meant late teens or twenties, I think literally he meant a girl in our age group."

Igor was stunned, a girl barely more than a child forced by circumstances into prostitution, it was something to shocking to contemplate.

"I think Marta looking back on our old life could have seen her own fate in that girl."

Horrified Igor tried to speak but couldn't get the words past the lump in his throat. "Do you think Marta or me or mum could see the boys go hungry?"

The three held each other tightly, openly crying.

---

For those of you who are still with me - a comment or two might be helpful, did you like this new turn of events? Does anyone want any other hints/spoilers of what lies further along the trail? Not having my own 'on topic' blog, website, or e-mail address, I often visit the forum on this site to join the current subjects under debate.

In chapter 27 we learn more about Irisha and her mother, but what can our valiant sisters do to help?