REDESIGNED by Diane Hutchings |
It was hot and sunny outside. The sun beamed down, kissing our mocha colored skin. Beads of sweat danced across our foreheads. Most people would be irritated by the humidity, but I felt as cool as a cucumber. "Will you hurry up girl, you're walking too slow," I yelled back to Zora. She was shuffling along as if she was about to faint. "Why are you rushing me? It's hot out here Stacy," Zora replied. "It's only one day until the fashion show and I have so much to do!" I strode on. It seemed like forever before we finally reached my house. Whew! "I thought we were never going to make it," I muttered. I raced up to my room then shouted down to Zora, "Come on girl I wanna show you my dress." Zora yelled back, "Gosh we just got into the house!" I walked into my room, and my mouth dropped opened. "Oh no!" I gasped. By then Zora was right behind me. "What's the matter? Did you get robbed?" Fighting back tears, I stepped aside. "Look at this mess!" "Oh my goodness," said Zora. My one-year-old brown and white terrier had chewed up everything. There was chewed-up fabric, balled up papers, and slobber dripping off everything. Mostly importantly, my new dress was shredded along with the last of the fabric I had bought for the dress. I didn't have time to purchase new fabric, let alone make a new dress. I flopped on my bed, and started to cry. I worked so hard on this dress, and now it was ruined. "Spunky! Spunky!" I yelled. "What's all the screaming about?" said Mom. She peered into my room. "Oh honey!" she said, examining the mess. "You must have left your door open." She shook her head. "You wanted a Puppy. Unfortunately this is what happens. Puppies get into everything." I heard a thump, thump. We all paused, and listened … thump, thump, coming from the corner behind the door. Mom chuckled as she peered behind the closet door. There was Spunky chewing on my patent leather shoes. Mom looked at me and shrugged. I grinned; it was funny, after all. We all laughed. Spunky trotted out and jumped on my bed. He lay next to me and began licking the dry tears off my face. My mind wanted to be angry with him, but my heart melted and I had to pet him. Slowly I began to feel better but, the thought still remained about the dress. What was I going to do? Mom sat on the corner of my bed. She began twirling my dreadlocks between her fingers. "Baby, everything will be all right. You have so much talent and imagination to give up. I didn't raise a loser; my baby is a winner!" "Yeah, a winner!" Zora chimed. I thought about what they both had said. Then, all of a sudden, I knew what I needed to do. I jumped off of my bed and rushed to my closet. In the back hung three dresses I'd made when I'd first started sewing. "Girl, what are you gonna do with those ugly dresses?" said Zora with her face balled up. I looked at Zora and my mother. "Redesign, Redesign." I had a vision in mind. I began scrambling around my room grabbing scissors, beads, and thread. "This is our cue to leave," whispered Mom to Zora. I was so focused I didn't even hear them leave. I began with the first dress; it would be my base. I cut the sleeves off, and shortened the hem to knee length. I then plunged the neck line, and from there it was history. I didn't know I could move and sew that fast. I sewed in two pockets on the outside of the dress, and lined the inside with fabric from the other dresses. I sewed some fringe on the bottom and created a matching belt. When I finished the sleeveless, jersey knit tunic-dress, with highlights of burnt orange, gold and turquoise, I stared at it in awe. I felt on top of the world. I held the dress against my body. I couldn't wait to show my mom! I put the dress on and grabbed my patent leather shoes Spunky had chewed on. I pulled my dreadlocks back into a bun so you could see my chestnut brown eyes, and then sashayed down the steps to the living room. Mom was asleep on the couch. I hadn't realized how late it was. I quietly turned off the TV, and crept back upstairs. Maybe it would be a better surprise for Mom to see the dress at the fashion show. The fashion show began at 1:30. I arrived at 12:00. I hoped that my dress would win something, whether it was most creative, stylish, or fashionable. I walked back to the dressing room to do my hair, and makeup. When it was 1:15, I carefully unzipped my dress bag and took out my dress. I heard chuckles. I looked over. Some girls from my sewing class were eyeing my creation. They'd entered the contest too. One of them pointed at my dress and said, "Are you kidding? That dress is a hot mess." The other two girls laughed with her. "I wouldn't even have come. I would've stayed home," the other girl commented. My confidence dropped and I started to cry. When I turned to walk to the bathroom, I heard the organizer say, "Three minutes until show time." In the bathroom, I said a short prayer pulling my self together. I put on my dress, and walked to the line-up. I glanced over my shoulder to see how many girls were behind me. A few of the girls staggered out of line eyeballing my dress. The fashion show organizer called my name. Taking a deep breath, head up, I sauntered down the aisle. I twirled, stopped and posed just as I'd seen other models do. To my surprise, I heard cheering, and applause. Yes, I was back in the game! At the end of the show, we all had to line up at the front of the stage, so the judges could announce who'd won. I was shaking in my pumps. "The most stylish goes to Crystal!" I didn't hear my name. "Most fashionable goes to Rachael!" I still didn't hear my name." My shoulders slumped and I dropped my head. "Ladies, and Gentlemen we have added a new category," The announcer said. "The most creative overall dress goes to Stacy!" I stared stunned. "Oh my gosh, that's me! That's me!" I cried. I burst out in tears as the organizer came over and handed me a hundred dollar gift certificate to my favorite fabric store. "Thank you, thank you!" I said. As I walked off of the stage, I turned to the girls who were talking about me. "I'm glad I did come. I'm so glad I didn't stay home." Mom and Zora slipped back stage. They hugged me, and gave me such praise. I grinned, and said, "Redesigned, Redesigned!" |
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