Chapter 3.45
Siobhan
Whatever possessed me to make Crystal our leader for the group project must have been a demon straight from her. There had been nothing but bickering between her, Tulip, and Fashionista since the beginning.
"This is not a collection. No. We are not turning that in for approval." Tulip dug in her heels.
Whatever possessed me to make Crystal our leader for the group project must have been a demon straight from her. There had been nothing but bickering between her, Tulip, and Fashionista since the beginning.
"This is not a collection. No. We are not turning that in for approval." Tulip dug in her heels.
Hands on hips, Crystal laughed. "What do you mean that's not a collection? It's better than that tripe you came up with. Jean material is so blasé. Honestly, did you grow up on a farm?"
Waving at the design board, Tulip said, "That looks like you're trying out to be the lead costume designer in the Little Mermaid. It doesn't belong in a fashion class. Come on. Are you that simple?"
"Who's in charge?" Crystal gazed at her with ignorant confidence.
God, why did I make that horrible decision?
"So you're fucking in charge, honey," Fashionista stared without emotion at the board. "Doesn't mean you're good. This sucks. You put everything in except the mermaid shells on their boobs. So cliche."
"He's right," Tulip affirmed. "Can't you edit yourself?"
It did seem like Crystal had a thing for Simney Princesses. All of her designs looked as if they came straight from one of their movies or at least were inspired by them in some form.
Eyebrows knitting, Crystal spat, "This is what we're turning in and seeing how you don't have anything better, I suggest you shut the hell up."
"You're turning this in over my fucking body," Tulip sneered.
"Oh no, you did not just threaten me." Crystal's eyes flashed. "Because you don't know who you're dealing with."
Oh God. She didn't know...that was a fact. Crystal was relentless in getting what she wanted and at any cost. But I believed in my friend. If anyone could stand up against Crystal's onslaught's it was Tulip.
"Try me, bitch."
Fashionista broke in and pulled Tulip away. "This isn't getting us anywhere. Let's go. I've got a whole notebook full of ideas. We'll whip something out without this egomaniac. Come on."
Both of my friends clamored over to a free table.
"Are you coming, Shiv?" Tulip called out to me.
And just like that, we tossed Crystal out of our group. I wasn't sure how Professor Damon was going to accept this situation, but it looked as if we had no choice. I wasn't going to put my name on that costume collection. No matter how beautiful it was, it wasn't fashion. We'd get a C or worse.
"Coming," I said.
"Not so fast, Siobhan," Crystal said, with a cunning look. "You realize Professor Damon will not accept this situation. Not without my approval. And you, yourself nominated me to be the lead."
"Don't listen to her, Shiv. She's just trying to save her own skin," Tulip said. "Come on and help us. We only have a day to figure something out."
"I promise to use your designs," Crystal said, sidling up to me. "If you'll hear me out."
I had no idea why I was even giving her a second chance. Maybe because deep down I felt sorry for her. She had no real friends. No boyfriend. No one in her life who wanted to be near her. And she was a gifted artist and designer, but she would not listen to sound advice. If she promised to allow me to edit her, maybe I could help somehow.
Gingerly, I sat at our table and said, "Talk. You have one shot at convincing me."
"Okay...I'll admit it. The collection is a bit on the costume side."
"Not a bit. It IS costume."
"Whatever. Anyway, if you stay as my partner, I promise to not only use your two dresses that you put up before, but they will be the cornerstone of the collection. I'll base everything else off of them."
"Why should I believe you? You'd promised earlier you would use two of my designs and you didn't. At this point it's just meaningless words to me."
"Oh, God, Siobhan, do I have to write it out in blood? You're making this so hard on me."
Glaring, I said, "Fucking cry me a river, Crystal. I'm not the one who's begging. You're going to have to do better than that."
"Okay! All right..." she whipped up her hands in frustration.
"I'll listen to you...I-I'll do what you want. You can use the blue and yellow theme. I'll even go so far as to let you name it. Is that good enough for you? That's more than what you'll get with them. They're already arguing over there. Their aesthetic is way different from yours."
Staring her down, I warred with myself on what to do. Did I take the chance and believe her? Because if I made this decision, there was no time to go back and join my friends. She was right. Both of my friends' tastes were different from mine. In fact, my style aligned more with Crystal than them...but could I trust her?
"Promise me. I get to have a lot of say in this, and you're basing it off of my designs."
"Yes. I promise."
And that's how I made a deal with the devil. I only hoped I wouldn't get burned in the end.
******
I was more than ready to go camping with Theo that weekend. Crystal and I finally came to terms on what the collection would look like, and she promised to have it finished and ready by Monday. I needed the R and R with my man. His family owned a pretty cabin in Granite Falls. It would be us, the crisp smelling pines trees, and the fireflies.
Heaven.
Sitting on his lap, relishing the smoky campfire, I said, "Mmm...can't we stay here forever? Forget school. Forget projects. Forget annoying stepsisters. Just commune with nature and forget everything else exists."
Cradling me, he said, "I like the sound of that. If I could, I'd say we should run away and get married. Want to, babydoll?"
I giggled at him, stroking his beard. "You're always angling, aren't you, baby?"
"Why not? I know what I want. I wish you did."
Tracing my finger along his lips, I wondered why I wasn't ready to commit to this man. He was perfect. And his words pierced me, making me sad. "You know I love you, right? It's just that...I'm not ready."
"When will you be ready?"
Sighing, my mind raced forward to a time when I thought my life might be at a place where I'd want to settle down. "You need to get through law school...then...maybe..."
"Two years..." He poked a finger at my arm. "I'll hold you to that, you know."
Kissing him, my mouth took in his delicious warmth as if to promise myself to him. But instead of a light that should be a flame igniting my heart, I was overcome with fear. It didn't make sense. I could only reason that what had happened with Seth still haunted me.
I needed to push it out of my mind. Theo wouldn't hurt me like that. He was different. Steady.
As Theo strummed his guitar and the breezes washed over me, I tried to settle my mind into what our life would look like down the road. And if all went well, I could see us with a nice house, kids, wonderful career, everything anyone could ever want.
So why wasn't my heart settled?