Faux Pas Girls 1: Game On, Master (Monique)

Chapter 10: No cheating

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"What are you thinking?" ani Zia sa akin habang nakatitig ako sa mannequin ko.

"I'm thinking. . . you should get back to your own work," natatawang sagot ko sa kanya.

We were in class. Draping na dapat ang subject under Professor Quent Lombado, but we're still doing Miss delos Santos' seatwork for Product Development. Surprisingly, walang boredom na bitbit si Miss delos Santos for the day. She was pleasantly surprised when all four of us showed up on time for her class. We were pleasantly surprised when she motioned for several men to carry four big boxes inside the lecture room.

Ang seatwork (thanks to whoever suggested) ay mag-upcycle ng old jeans. Tatlo kami nina Zia at Amber na tumaas ang kilay dahil mukhang excited ang professor sa activity. We were allowed to choose how many number of old jeans we wanted, with the restriction that we'd only decorate with buttons. She bought some old but gold (seriously, 'cause a lot of them were gold) buttons—also used.

Pagkatapos naming mamili ng old jeans, lumipat na kami sa sewing room. We were told that we would also take Prof. Lombado's time in draping so we could finish our product. It was intriguing dahil ang alam namin ay hindi magkasundo ang dalawang professors, but no one dared to ask. We quickly sketched our designs and started cutting. Kumain lang kami sandali ng tanghalian at bumalik din uli sa ginagawa namin.

"I'm almost finish with mine so I'm bored," sabi ni Zia na nasa tabi ko pa rin.

Sandali akong sumulyap sa mannequin niya. True. She's almost finished. She's making a tube crop top using the belt and thigh part of a low-waist navy jeans. Kanina pa walang masyadong energy ang gaga kaya hindi masyadong nag-e-effort. Add the fact na walang Chanel sa used jeans at mas interested siyang bulatlatin na ang mga tasks sa task jar ko. Napigilan lang ni Rel. Raw hem ang waist ng crop top niya. She grabbed gold buttons for embellishment, pero hindi pa niya itinatahi. The buttons would be handsewn. I'd probably wear her creation at a bar.

"I'm not yet done with mine," sagot ko naman at inilapat ang ginagawa kong cup support sa mannequin ko. I need a perfect fit so the swimsuit I'm making would look fabulous.

"Let me open some tasks from your jar," ungot ni Zi.

Nangiti ako. I marked the cup for cutting and laid it at my table.

I found a nautical designed high-waist blue pants for my project. Malambot ang denim niyon kaya walang problema kahit gawing bikini. I'm already done with the bikini bottom. I used the waist part as is. I cut it really, really high on the thigh area and lined it with treated denim for a smooth finish. Ang para sa strapless na bikini top, galing sa leg part ng jeans. At dahil ako ang pinakamatagal na nag-design at nagbusisi ng tela para sa design ko, antique na lang ang natirang butones para sa akin. I grabbed it anyway.

All I needed now is to ace the fit of the support for the bikini top before sewing everything into place.

"Let's open some after class," ani ko. "Nangungulit ka na lang, Zi. Are you that bored?"

"Yeah," sagot niya. "I really did an easy one for this seatwork."

"Maybe, but it's still tasteful. I'd wear it on a night out," sabi kong sumulyap uli sa mannequin niya.

"Yeah. It would be good with a short-shorts, a skirt, a jeans. . ." She sighed. "Pero mas okay kung may ibang puwedeng i-design kaysa sa buttons. Seriously. Miss delos Santos outdid herself today. Sana, minax na niya. She should've treated her hair. Or inayos niya 'yong kilay niya. The girl's a disaster in makeup department."

I laughed softly and reached out for my pins. It's true, though. Miss delos Santos make makeups look like crayons. Kaunting trigger pa at ime-make-over na namin siya. "I need to sew, poks. Go trouble Rel or Amber." Naupo na 'ko sa sewing machine pagkatapos.