Chapter 1
Violet chapter 1
Pushing open the double doors and walking out into the quad felt so good. The late afternoon sun shone down, warming my skin, a cool breeze fanned my skin, and I took a deep breath filling my lungs with fresh air. That was it! That was my last final of my college education. Three long years of hard work and studying had passed and I felt a surge of satisfaction. And what a fantastic three years it has been! I walked over to a bench further in the quad and sat down, leaning back and relaxing against the cool wood. It has always been my favorite place to sit on campus. Flanked by a pseudo avenue lined with trees. It offers a spectacular view of the collection of old buildings that make up the main part of the campus. New additions had been added to the campus over the years but this was the original architecture. A great place to people watch, my guilty pleasure, and an even better spot to relax and think. But today I had no such peaceful dreaming on my bench as Lexi crashed through the double doors into the freedom of the quad with an audible sigh of relief. She instantly spotted me and bounced her way over. She threw her arms out wide.
“Freedom!” she giggled, “Oh that feels so good to say!” she plopped herself down on the bench next to me.
“I know,” I said, “no more finals, no more studying! Now THAT feels good!”
We both looked over as the sound of the double doors crashing open drew our attention. The sound echoed across an otherwise empty quad, revealing Amy and Mark joining us hand in hand.
“Thank the Lord that’s over!” Amy said loudly. We all felt the relief of the moment. The four of us had been cramming in some hardcore study sessions for what felt like years, but in reality had only been a few weeks, and I could safely say we were all glad it was over. Amy and I were both studying fashion design and Mark and Lexi were taking business and marketing.
"Amen to that !” Lexi chimed in.
“Now it's time to party!” said Mark, with a mischievous grin taking over his face, “who’s with me ladies?” Lexi rolled her eyes, knowing exactly how Mark handles liquor.
“Sure, I’m up for watching you get wasted again and making a fool of yourself!” she giggled.
“If you’re referring to my dancing skills, you know I’m the greatest,” he schmoozed with glee.
“I’m in,” I said, “I’ve got a new design ready to burst its way into the world.”
I had somehow managed to finish the latest piece in my collection, a dress, helped by an all-nighter, and I was itching to take it for a test run.
“What about you, honey?” he said to Amy. She smiled at him.
“Well someone has got to make sure you get home in one piece!” she said sarcastically, and planted a light kiss on his cheek. Those two are too cute.
“So what’s the plan, then? Murphy’s or Abstract?” asked Lexi, dragging her hand through her silky hair.
“Definitely Abstract, if Mark wants to show off his dancing skills!” I said.
“I sure do!” he said, and took Amy by the hand and swung her around. She giggled as he pulled her into his arms.
“Sounds like a plan,” said Lexi, “Let’s order take out.”
“Do you guys want to eat at ours?” I asked Amy and Mark. Lexi and I share an apartment close to the campus. It’s a little on the small side, but big enough to entertain our little friendship group well enough.
“Sure,” replied Amy, “How does 7 sound?”
“Perfect!” I said. We walked through the campus together summing up our respective finals, and went our separate ways once we had reached the edge of the campus. Lexi and I fell into a comfortable silence as we made the short walk home.
“How’s the collection going?” Lexi asked me, as she linked her arm through mine.
“It’s getting there, slowly,” I told her, “still a long way to go though. Now that finals are done I'll have much more time to work on it.”
Studying for finals had taken every spare moment I had and my designs had largely had to take a back seat. But thinking about it now, little bubbles of excitement fizzed inside me at the prospect of giving my first ever collection my full undivided attention now.
“When does the job start, officially?” I asked her. She had been offered a junior level job at a huge advertising agency in the center of town.
“After the summer break,” she continued.
“That’s great, you can relax over the summer then?” I said.
“Boy, do I need it!” she said. Studying is her least favorite thing ever. “I’m excited to be going home for a visit though. I miss my folks.”
“Ah, I’ll miss you,” I said, linking arms with her.
“Vi, I’ll only be gone a week.” she giggled, “and besides, you’ll be so busy with your collection, I bet you won’t even know I’m gone. And when I'm back, I say we hit the beach.”
“Deal” I said, giggling.
“Now, back to the important stuff,” she said, feigning seriousness, “What should I wear tonight?”
“I have just the thing,” I told her.
“Ooh, do tell,” she said.
“I may have a little something I’ve been working on that will make you look ravishing,” I said. I dug out my keys as we climbed the steps to the front door.
“Show me!” she said, eagerly.
“OK, but I may need to give it a few finishing touches, so you’re going to have to be patient,” I told her. She makes a face, she’s never patient! “You’re going to love it.”
I pushed open the front door, holding it open to allow Lexi inside too. We were lucky that our apartment was on the ground floor so thankfully no stairs. I went straight to my room to bring the dress out. I had been including a garment that I had designed for each of my friends in my collection. Each piece was designed to match their personalities and I had made a dress for Lexi. It was cute and fun and just a little bit sassy. Which was totally Lexi!
As I opened the door to my room, I looked around and surveyed the chaos. It mostly always looked like this, with giant rolls of fabric and off-cuts piled in every corner, and patterns and pins covering every surface. As I waded through to get to the closet I made a mental note to have a tidy up later, opening the closet and plucking out the dress. It was a beautiful cobalt blue color that I knew would complement Lexi’s dirty blonde hair, and was short and sexy with a silver beaded trim. The fabric was beautifully textured and stretchy and would cling to her slender frame expertly.
I ran my hand carefully along the hem to check for any snags or missing beads. It was perfect. I had made a matching choker made from silver thread which was almost finished. It wasn't too bold, but it sparkled, which is exactly what the look needed.
I cleared off the desk chair and sat down with the choker in hand to quickly finish it, finding what tools I needed in the desk drawer. It just needed the clasp to be secured and a few silver beads to tie it in with the dress. I threaded the beads on my needle and carefully stitched them in place, tied and snipped any loose threads.
There, it was done! The beads shimmered beautifully and I held the choker up to the dress. It was the perfect companion to the dress. Scooping them both up, I went to Lexi’s room next to mine, holding them behind my back, and knocked on the door. She answered almost immediately, a smile immediately across her lips.
“All finished,” I announced, “ready to see it?”
“Hell yeah!” she replied, and pulled me into her room.
I produced the dress and choker from behind my back and she gasped.
“Oh my goodness!” she squealed, jumping in place and clapping her hands together excitedly. She stroked her hand over the fabric of the dress.
“It’s incredible,” she said softly and wrapped her arms around my neck in one of the tightest hugs I've ever received. She finally released me and reached for the choker, running her fingers over the metallic thread.
“I love it,” she said, "Thank you so much, Violet.”
“My pleasure, I had loads of fun making this one!” I said truthfully. Making this for Lexi gave me so much joy. “Let me know how it fits. I’ve still got time to do alterations.”
But she was already heading to her bathroom to try it on. I left her to it and went to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator and it was only a moment later that Lexi came shooting out of her room wearing the dress, holding the choker in her hand. She looked completely breath-taking. Her short messy blond hair made the blue color of the dress even more vibrant, just as I thought it would.
“Can you help me get the choker on?” she asked, handing it to me. I scooped it out of her hand and fastened it around her slim neck.
“You look unbelievable!” I told her, grinning.
“I love it!” she cried, “It fits perfectly.” She twirled around, showing me the fit, and ran her hands down the sumptuous fabric. It hugged her slender curves perfectly.
“It’s definitely a knockout!” I said, “the choker is the icing on the cake.”
“What about you, Vi?” Lexi asked, “What are you wearing?”
I smiled. “I may have been working on something.”
