It was a day like any other for Sienna: wake up, go to work, be bombarded with emails. She was an assistant photographer at Foxy Pictures, a photo agency she’d had her eye on for some time now. During her college days she discovered the agency through a lecture about local companies. There was something about the composition that attracted her to it. Cityscapes, mountain ranges, smoking hot models, Foxy did it all. She was supposed to set up the location today for a summer shoot, but a recent lack of sleep and nourishment was catching up to her. She was already late, realizing she had bags under her eyes in the bus window’s reflection. There were several emails sent that morning all from the same person: the actual photographer and her mentor, Maria Bell. The subject on all of them read along the lines of “where are you?” Sienna sluggishly typed that she was on her way, but at the rate things were going she didn’t think he’d have this job for much longer due to her recent performance. She’d been plagued with insomnia and no matter what she took nothing could knock her out. That combined with her diet of only oranges made her feel miserable. She tried other food, but oranges were the only thing she could stomach that wouldn’t make her throw up.

The bus came to a halt and she saw the park from across the street. She rushed past the driver and to the intersection, carefully navigating the incoming traffic. There were no regular people in the park at the time. They were all busy working and the few around were joggers. Sienna followed the path to the pavilion where all the equipment had been set up. Maria was there too, looking at the scenery through the camera. Upon hearing approaching footsteps, she spun around, displeasure written all over her face.

“Where have you been?” she asked, noticing the dark circles hanging just below Sienna’s hazel eyes. “God, you look awful.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well. I’m up all night doing anything but sleeping.” Sienna rubbed some crust out between her eyes.

Maria frowned, “We’re set up here, luckily it didn’t take too long. The boss is supposed to drop by, make sure you’re on top of it. I don’t know if I can vouch for you if he catches you slacking. And please, make sure you take care of yourself.”

She slowly nodded, walking over to where the lighting had been set up. They were photographing a female model relaxing in the park. Some of the pictures were supposed to include her on a towel sunbathing or kicking up water from the stream with her feet. Sienna always imagined what it’d be like to be a model. She’d get to try on all kinds of clothes and accessories, the kind she knew she couldn't afford. There were also the poses. She’d practiced some in her mirror, mainly references clients had submitted. Though, she never felt she pulled off the look.

The shoot was short and sweet. The model had been very agreeable, something Sienna wished every model could be just like her. There had been some in the past so full of themselves Sienna didn’t know how they could walk straight with such inflated heads. They took a break for lunch, which she had naturally forgotten. Luckily, Maria had come prepared with mini sandwiches. She took a bite into the turkey sandwich, getting mayo on her lips before taking a long sip from her water. She never cared what people thought of her, a trait Sienna quite admired. However, that also meant she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind.

“There were some people in the background for that last one.” she complained, starting another sandwich, “Don’t these people have jobs?”

Sienna bit into her own sandwich. It tasted absolutely bland, like she was eating the pinnacle of plainess. The only thing with even a hint of taste was the tomato hidden under the bread. She tried not to make a dissatisfied face, after all this was a charity meal, but eating something without taste was hard to swallow. Maria seemed to catch her expression and decided to further press her.

“Not a fan?”

Sienna debated whether to answer truthfully or blame it on her ‘illness.’ It’d been two weeks since it happened, but she hadn’t gotten better. “I’m just not very hungry. Maybe if I could have the other tomatoes…”

“Hmm, are you on some new diet or something?”

“Something like that.”

She smiled, “Well that’s good for me then, I’m not a fan of tomatoes. Even when I request them without any, the deli still puts them on there.”

Sienna watched as one by one the tomatoes slipped out of the sandwiches and onto a plate in front of her. She dug into the pile, slowly sucking the juice out of them and letting the flavor roll on her tongue. It was delectable. As their break continued, she felt the sun start to break in through the sides of the shelter. Sienna put her sunglasses on, turning away from the brightest areas. This whole thing was a pain. The last thing she needed was blinding light mixed with tiredness.

Maria’s phone alarm rang, signaling the end of lunch and the continuation of their work. While they were only shooting one model for the client, another one had requested photos for the park’s website. Their boss figured it’d be two birds with one stone. At least now Sienna could actually get to take pictures, the part of the job she actually liked. Being an assistant wasn’t inherently bad, but it was mostly the grunt work with setting up the equipment, getting locations, and sometimes meeting with clients. But she knew that’s how it would be when she applied. One day, she’d be the star photographer of Foxy, snapping breathtaking photos of celebrities and landscapes.

“Come on, let's go.” Maria said, cleaning up and grabbing her camera.

But for now Sienna’s dreams would have to wait. She threw her plate away and was met with a bottle of sunscreen in her face. “You look pale, make sure you don’t get fried.”

She smiled, taking the bottle and applying to her body. Following Maria’s instructions might be a challenge for her. After all, she was a vampire.