Chapter 5: The Stolen Gown

Madeleine walked into her design class and sat down in her usual spot. It was the day that she was supposed to present her final design for the first major project.

She had spent weeks on the design and had put all of her soul and effort into it. The gown was made to bring the past back to the present. She loved vintage styles and wanted to bring it back.

"What'd you make? A power suit with shoulder pads?" Charlotte walked past her and sat down in her own seat behind Madeleine.

Madeleine was used to her banter and just scoffed and rolled her eyes. She had always been taught that if you had nothing nice to say then don't say it at all. So, she kept her mean comments to herself and settled for murdering the girl in her head.

"Alright, today we have presentations. Who wants to go first?" Her instructor looked around the room, searching for his first victim. "Charlotte! How about you go first?"

"Of course." Charlotte stood up and walked to the front with a big pink box in her hands. "Naturally, I wanted to bring the past into the present. There were so many flattering and classic silhouettes from back in the day. So, I made this."

She opened her box and pulled out a red dress. It had short sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. Its bodice was fitted, and the circle skirt puffed out around from the waist and draped beautifully. A thick satin ribbon tied around the waist and ended in a big, luscious bow at the side.

Madeleine stood up as soon as she saw it and pointed at Charlotte. "She stol-"

"Sit down, Mademoiselle Florence! It is not your turn. If you wish, you may go next. But right now, Charlotte has the floor." Her instructor scolded her, and she sat down with her mouth shut.

Tears threatened to fall as she heard him calmly tell Charlotte to proceed. Her heart felt like it was breaking. With Charlotte stealing her design... she had nothing to present. She couldn't present the same thing.

Her project burned in her hands as she heard the smugness in the other girl's voice as she presented the rest of her stolen project.

"In conclusion, why not capture the past and bring back some of the classic shapes of back then?" Charlotte smiled for everyone, and the classroom erupted in excited clapping.

"Good job, Charlotte. You may take your piece and sit down. Madeleine?" Her instructor called her up.

Madeleine began to flip through her design book for anything that she could use. She found the drawing of Christian and settled on it. She didn't have it made, but at least it was something.

Madeleine gathered her courage and stood up from her chair. She walked to the front of the classroom and cleared her throat, searching the crowd of bored faces.

"Um... well... I recently saw this man and he inspired me to make this coat. Um- I-" Madeleine wrung her sketchbook between her fingers. "I- I didn't have time to make it. I'm sorry, but I do know how I would have made it. Um-"

Her instructor shook his head and began to write notes down on what she assumed was her grade sheet. She wanted to cry, and she shifted her feet as her nerves took over. She could hear Charlotte quietly snickering at her failure.

"I wanted to make it from plum hued crushed velvet with black buttons. In the style of a peacoat trench coat. It could be unisex. So, anyone could wear it and look amazing. I wanted it to showcase the body and follow its curves. It could be paired with a nice pair of tan Chinos and a white button down or... maybe a dress? I think it would look lovely over a dress. Maybe a white or cream one, black even. Um..." Madeleine softly laughed for a second. "Sorry, I'm rambling. That's all I have. I'm sorry."

She hugged her sketchbook to her chest and sat down as the classroom slowly clapped. Whispers surrounded her and flooded in as she sat down in her seat. She felt like an idiot and a complete failure.

Charlotte leaned over her desk and whispered, "Way to bomb that project, Madeleine."

Madeleine sniffed as a tear betrayed her and fell down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and wished that Christian was there, but he wasn't. She knew he was gone.

Her heart ached as she thought about him. She clutched the ring around her neck and hoped that he was okay because she wasn't. She wasn't sure if he was after what had happened, and she was worried.

Class felt like a massive blur where she didn't really hear what was happening at all. The words jumbled together, and the projects stitched together into one massive piece. Nothing made sense and her thoughts circled over and over again, sucking her under their waves.

Way to bomb that project... way to bomb that project... way to bomb that project...

Charlotte's words repeated over and over and over like a sharp knife being jabbed into her gut repeatedly.

"And that concludes our class time for today. Remember, next project is due in three weeks! I want concepts and sample fabrics on my desk next week!" Her instructor's words didn't even register in her head.

She was like a zombie as she walked out of the classroom with her sketchbook and garment bag in hand. She dragged her feet on the ground as she walked back to her car.

Madeleine threw her project in the backseat and her sketchbook on the front seat. She gripped her steering wheel and hit her forehead on it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, girl! I'm so stupid! I failed it so hard." She groaned and sighed before she put her key into the ignition and turned the key to start her old car.

She made her way home with looping thoughts in her head. Traffic was awful and it took her longer than normal to reach the parking garage.

Her usual spot was taken, and she punched her steering wheel as more anger filled her. She found an empty spot that was nearby and parked. She left her dress in the back seat and went inside.

Madeleine unlocked her front door and slammed it shut behind herself. She went to her sewing supplies and ripped up her patterns for the red dress. She ran her hands along her desk and shoved all of the sewing supplies off in anger. She screamed out and fell to the ground against a wall and brought her knees to her chest. She gripped her bangs and broke down into sobs.

Her design had been stolen and it was all her fault. She had left her sketchbook on her desk as she had gone to the bathroom. She had let Charlotte have a moment to snap photos of it with her phone.

She had let this happen. It was all her fault. No one else's. She had no one to blame. She had to be more careful. She spent an hour scolding herself mentally before she sniffed and stood up to shower.

Madeleine walked into her bathroom and turned on the shower. She walked over to her sink and pressed her palms onto the cold marble sink. She peered at her face in the mirror and hardly recognized herself. Rings sat beneath her eyes and showed how much sleep she had been lacking. How many hours she had wasted on that red dress? She brought her fingertips to her eyes and noticed the blisters that sat there from hand-stitching the details onto it. The hours she spent making sure her bow was perfectly tied and held in place. How she had messed up the hem and seam ripped it all out, just to perfect it. Circle skirts took longer than regular skirts to hem. She hated them. Loved to wear them but hated to hem them.

Madeleine took her hair stick out of her bun and watched her brunette hair fall down her back. She took a deep breath and took her clothes off, placing them all into a pink hamper.

She walked over to her shower and got in, letting the warm water cascade over her hair and soak it. Madeleine felt her tears bubble up again and she let them fall down her face, camouflaging against the water from the showerhead.