Mistake || Bangchan

2

Renée
_____________

December 12
2 years ago

I still remember how excited I was to travel, and explore the new horizon that was Spain. An apprenticeship under Dior, that was my dream for so long. One that I labored hard and sacrificed so much for. And now, that dream was finally about to become a reality.

I looked up at the building, which stood tall as a sparkly wonder before my eyes. I could barely wait, and stepped into the building with wide eyes like it was my first day of school again.

The scenery was a beautifully busy sight of people rushing up and about. With fabrics and portfolios and racks of signature clothing– holy smokes, was that a limited edition 2007 winter piece?

I had yet to find out because an enormous woman stood before me before I could decipher, easily towering over me, looking down at me from her sharp electric blue eye makeup that stood in clear parallel with her stark white skin.

"Renée Marika?" Her uncanny accent pronounced my name wrong in every syllable than I ever thought it was humanely possible, with a confident look from her snake eyes at my name tag.

"Yes?"

She stopped one of the racks passing by and expertly pulled out a costume and put it in front of me. "Room 32. Be quick."

Surprisingly, I was able to navigate the room easily. I got in the said room to find a room full of women. Fellow qualifiers of the Dior appretenship. They were all semi dressed and if not, they were fully dressed in blacksuits and seemed to be waiting.

I looked down at the hanger given to me to find that I had the same suit. I shifted to the closet to dress up, even though most of the people here were comfortable dressing in the open. Showing their bodies made out of pure discipline.

Most looked like white leaf eating women, not to mean it in a derogatory way. I was just expecting a more body inclusive line, as stated were the terms of the internship. But now that I was here, I worried if I blended in. No one quite looked like me, the closest was a navy woman with a confident look and carried herself with grace. She too was much different from everyone, even from me, but she looked confident about herself that it was as though she saw herself as just the same as anyone else in the room.

Being worried about not fitting in a diverse, body inclusive campaign was something I did not expect at all. But still, I looked at the dark skinned woman the entire time for a sense of surety... all until the invigilators appeared.

They lined us up in our identical body suits and called up on us, settling us up on the scale. Ropes, tapes and measurement tools of all sorts skimmed over thin bodies. And in one of the panels stood the navy woman, she opened and released easily, like she knew what she was doing. Like she'd done it a hundred times before.

They complimented her on her looks which helped in some way. I knew now that I could use my differences to my aid. I relaxed my shoulders. And stepped forward once my name was called. I approached with confidence faker than the nikes I recieved from my uncle in the fall.

"Renée?" Snake eyes pronounced Re-knee.

"Yes?"

"60kg? You're slightly over weight."

"Over?" I cracked but I maintained my voice. "I weigh what the requirement asked. And according to my bmi, I'm slightly underweight. But my fat mostly come around my chest and glutes I figured."

She laughed as she went on to measurement my chest. "The requirement is a guide, not the blueprint. And you can use BMI if you like, but just know the BMI test was originally set to test the body of an average white male in the ancient 1970's."