Turn Left and Look Up - Indie Ink Challenge

Avery hated the cold.  He hated being broke worse.  That he didn't have to worry about rent, food, or even clothes had nothing to do with it.   Avery did not like owning empty pockets.  When his agent called with a photo shoot involving ski wear, he jumped on it.  The gig paid eight grand and he got a free weekend in Vail.  He grabbed his ready bag, left a note for Marta Sugar Mama and headed to Miami International for the last flight to Denver.  

Avery never considered that women found him attractive and men envied him until he had dropped out of high school ten years ago and hitch hiked from Buffalo to the Big Apple.  He had no plan or idea of what he was going to do.  All he knew was whatever it was wasn't going to be done in Buffalo.  That first night he was hit on by two different gay blades and one older woman at a bar near Times Square.  He went home with the woman.  Three weeks later he was still massaging her feet and her libido, only he was doing it in Palm Beach.  He had finally left the hated cold behind him.



Now years later he was sitting on a plane flying right back into the cold he detested.  So far his modeling career had been mostly beach wear, summer wear, and glossy foldouts for condos, beach resorts and the like.  This was going to be his first trip back to anywhere that froze even part of the year. It was maybe his last chance to make the A-list in the modeling business.  His perfect physique and rugged look might only last another five years.  Avery sat in his business class seat and absently stirred his Tom Collins.  Hell, it was only for a few days and then back to his kept man status in Miami.

Kept man status?  Avery pondered his relationship with Marta Sugar Mama.  He decided that like his modeling career, his relationship with her would fade away once age began to take its toll.  Avery decided tomorrow was not worth worrying about.  He tossed back the Tom Collins and reached up for the button to call for another.

~*~

Avery sat in the helicopter looking down at rigid peaks covered in snow.  They had not told him he was to be dropped in the middle of the frozen outback to snap some Kodak moments of him wearing rugged outer wear.  At least he only had one more three hour session.  Today were the sunset shots.  Good.  Get his cash and head back to Miami.

“Okay Avery, like yesterday, we’ve marked off the safe areas.  Walk away from the camera.  When you hear me yell, stop, turn left and look up. Remember don’t step off the line we laid down…..Got it?” 

“Got it………Let’s do this.”  Avery began to slowly walk the ribbon laid out in front of him.  He heard the photographer yell.  He stopped, turned to his left and looked up just as tons of snow swallowed him up and swept him down the mountain.  Battered, broken and buried hard in the packed snow several thousand feet down the slope, Avery’s last thought before he closed his eyes that final time, “Hey, this is some great outer wear.  I’m not even cold.............and I hate the Cold.”
____________________________________

For the Indie Ink Writing Challenge this week, crosshavenharpist challenged me with "Take the first random person in a magazine ad you see after reading this prompt. Write about their life: who they are, what they like and don't like, their profession, hobbies and passions. If you formulate a short story from this, all the better. Final version should be no more than 600 words." and I challenged Bewildered Bug with "The day after a real momentous event - Tragic or happy - you pick."

__________________________________ 

~ 560 Words - Lotta prompts to hit in under 600 words.  Not sure if I was completely successful.
~Funny thing about the image prompt.  The first two magazines I looked in had no human images in the ads. - just things.  The third mag was the charm - Image used here was from their site - Aether Apparel