Fashionista

Chapter 30

The day seemed to be getting worse by the hour.

I trudged home, sulking as I wiped my now filthy hands on my black denim trousers. Why did I have the unfortunate luck of getting bathed with muddy water? The stupid driver didn't even break in speed, just continued past like I was an insignificant ant. It was more unfortunate that a customer had accidentally spilled some tomato sauce on me earlier at work, now I either had to continuously wash the trousers or abandon it entirely.

Scratch that.

Nothing would make me throw away one of mom's remaining favourite outfits.

"Sorry." A middle-aged woman said, giving me a pitiful look as she walked past. I nodded and tried to ignore the way she twisted her nose. I groaned trying to speedily walk down the street, at least to avoid the questioning and sympathetic stares being thrown my way.

I ignored them and walked on, pausing at the front of the building to answer the continuously vibrating device.

"Hello, Dad." I answered, without bothering to check the caller ID as I trudged up the steps to my flat.

"Hello Amelia, this is Mrs. Martins." The voice replied simply.

I halted mid-step, and glanced at the phone screen and sure enough, it was Mrs. Martins. The last time I had heard from her is when I got accepted into Fashionista school. Why would my boss be calling me now?

I tried to play cool, "Mrs. Martins, how are you doing? I hope you're fine."

A chuckle. "Yes Amelia, I'm quite fine and I hope the same can be said of you. I trust you know why I'm calling."

No. No, I don't know why you're calling me.

I racked my brain until a light bulb clicked and I facepalmed. Of course it's the impromptu assignment from Sewing and Fashion.

"Is it for the assignment?", I asked carefully, taking the words one at a time.

"Yes. For the assignment, I want to add something extra to be work you'll be submitting. I'll be sending you the details by email."

I didn't know if to smile or stomp my feet in frustration. My elderly neighbour waving me seemed to make the choice for me as I smiled, waving back before fishing out my keys.

"Oh, okay Ma. I'll be expecting the email but will I still submit it in a week?"

"No, of course not. You'll have an extra week to complete it, and your performance will be added to your overall grade score at the end of the year."

I frowned. Grade score, was that the fancy name for end of session results? I would have to ask Vanessa.

"Okay ma. I'll be waiting for the email." And I'll be waiting for Dad's call.

Yup, it was a sad day.

********

"Why did I agree to do extra work?"

"Because you didn't have a choice." Daisy tsked, weaving a thread through the 3inch needle she held. "We're all stuck doing ours, it's just unfortunate that your boss decided to give you extra assignment."

"Why didn't you complain to Vanessa about it? Surely she must have been able to do something?", Leo inquired.

"I don't know. Doesn't seem right to complain about it, but I really wish I didn't have to do this. At least not this week." I complained, hand stitching the circular designs I wanted for my project.

Silence filled the air as my friends didn't know how to comfort me through the screen.

I saw how Daisy looked all around my room, and I saw the unspoken question in her eyes when she sighted the used tissues. 'Why is your room a mess?'

I huffed and shifted my eyes from her piercing stare, "Oh well. The projects are coming together nicely, it's a miracle I haven't made a major mistake."

"That's good. Don't worry I know you'll be able to deliver both on time." Leo tried to encourage me. "Besides think of it positively, she wants to see how far you can go now. The man I was working for before coming to school wouldn't do that for me." Leo grimaced, like talking about this man had a bitter aftertaste.

"Yes, I hope so. Well I'll see you guys later, I need to go check the laundry." I finished, clicking the end call button before moving to the bathroom.

The only cloth I put in the laundry wasn't even cleaned totally. The dark brown stains were still present on the jeans, made worse by the tomato sauce. Why did I wear this to work two days ago? Why?

Feeling the tears coming,  I quickly rinsed my face in the sink and dialled Dad's number again.

"Hello." Dad's groggy voice replaced the dial tone.

"Hey Dad, how are you?"

The long silence that followed that question assured me that I asked a thoughtless question if how I felt was similar to his.

"I miss her." He finally answered.

"Me too, Dad. I've been trying to get the stains off her trousers but with no success."

If Dad heard what I said, he didn't show it. "I've been cleaning her up since I got here, and I replaced the flowers."

"She's good as new now, right?", I asked.

"Yes, good as... new. I wish you were here to see how she is now." I heard a sniffle. "Young, strong, vibrant, just like you." I kept quiet because I didn't think he was talking to me anymore, even if I wished I was there right now. I would give anything to be near my mom right now, I would be there now if not for the lock down.

Things were nearly set for 8-12th of June, I would buy the plane tickets and be back in Canada to spend five days with both my mom and dad with 10th being the most important. But not this year, it seemed.

"I wish she was here to see how far I've gone, how near I am to achieving our dreams.", I whispered allowing the tears to freely fall now, as I clutched the jeans tighter.

For a while, all we both did was cry silently occasionally saying what she would have done or said if she was still here. To talk. To laugh. To give us the eye roll.

I cried, until I felt dizzy and when my words started slurring Dad noticed.

"Dear, are you feeling dizzy? You should rest.", He adviced, trying to bring calm and authority back into his voice.

"I'm fine, Dad." I assured, wiping my snotty nose as I got up from the bathroom floor. "I just have two projects to finish and I worked all day." More like, cried all day.

"You should take a break then, while I finish up here. I can't even see you anymore." Somehow, we had switched to video call and it had gotten so dark outside. How did time fly?

I turned on the bathroom light, "Better now?" I managed to smile.

"Better." My dad returned the smile. "But still, you should go rest now. Goodnight pumpkin."

"Good night Dad."

*****

This was quite a sad chapter. The anniversary of her mom's death.
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