Magic flowed uninterrupted under Marianne's thread and needle, she seemed to be under a spell, binding the fabrics together with absolute precision. Her tongue would slip out sporadically and her forehead would sweat profusely.
You could see the effort in her movements that never faltered for a moment, but she stopped unexpectedly to take a sip of her coffee. He looked at the bottom of the cup and saw that it was almost empty.
"Shit," she whispered, abandoning her work to fetch some more.
Katherine watched her from the other end of the cloth table. She gibbered with sighs of resentment as she watched her partner struggle so hard.
"I don't understand what's wrong with her..." muttered Katherine to Beth, another classmate, as she ran her hand through her shaggy blonde hair. "They're not going to rush her even more for her work, no matter how perfect it looks on her."
"You know how Marianne is, she likes to push herself and is very passionate," Beth replied as she intertwined fabrics to match.
Katherine folded her arms and pursed her lips. Her mind was not focused on her work but on everything Marianne did. She saw her as a pretentious and arrogant woman; always sure of her good taste.
Deep down, Katherine feared Marianne; her heart was filled with envy. She wanted to be like her, creative, perfect, with good taste in fashion, inexhaustible energy, fervent in the face of passion, and a handsome husband who supported her in everything, but instead, Katherine only had a lazy husband who spent the money she earns on gambling and watching television, and a son who appears and disappears like smoke with a useless father who does not curb his behavior.
Katherine was frustrated with her life. Occasionally a rage would ascend into her mind and she would have evil thoughts. She gritted her teeth. She would dig her nails into her arms. Every gesture, every tiny movement elaborated by Marianne's work made her shudder with anger.
Why does everything come so easily to her? thought Katherine, referring to Marianne. Her perfect brown hair. Her candid girlish smile pleases everyone. Her beautiful clothes. Her flair for good taste. Her never-ending mania to have everything perfect. Everything is simple when Marianne does it, but when I do it, nothing goes right. What does she have that I don't?
That day, deep in these twisted thoughts, Katherine let her rage get the better of her. She walked over to where Marianne was working and purposely spilled her coffee on the dress her partner was working on.
"Oh no, my dress!" Marianne exclaimed with wild eyes. "I was just about to finish it!"
Katherine backed up two steps as she gaped. "I'm so sorry," she uttered, with a strange taste in her mouth. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She regretted it and wanted to help Marianne, but she was paralyzed by the shame of her intention.
Beth from the other side watched everything happen. She was stunned by what she had just seen. She kept her eyes fixed on Katherine's and noticed that they were becoming watery. Katherine left the workshop in great sorrow and hid in the bathroom.
"But what did I just do!" she whispered to herself, as she clenched her hands tightly. She took out the compact mirror from her makeup case, looked at her bluish eyes, and began to ponder, after a few minutes, she began to break into a silent cry.
"Katherine?" Beth's voice interrupted her, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I just need a moment alone!"
Beth noticed the tear in Katherine's voice.
"Don't grieve like that about what happened. Marianne's not mad, she knows it was an accident. A little coffee won't stop her."
"But it's just that I...!" Katherine was left in suspense, almost confessing that she wanted to intentionally ruin Marianne's dress.
"Come on out, let's talk, we're all having a bad day," Beth insisted.
Katherine didn't want to, but she had to anyway. She got up from the floor, wiped her tears, and opened the door for her friend. "It's going to be okay, relax," Beth assured her with a smile on her face, Katherine tried to smile at her companion's words, but she couldn't help but feel that tightness in her chest.
They both stood before Marianne, Katherine fixed her pupils downward in embarrassment.
"Sorry for ruining your dress, Marianne," Katherine expressed in a low tone. Marianne said nothing for almost a minute, just watching her companion with pity. She knew what she was going through; her husband, her son who knows what he does alone. Several times she tried to approach her, but Katherine's bad attitude would push her away.
"Don't worry, Katherine, I can make another one in time," asserted Marianne placing her hand on her companion's shoulder.
"If you want I can help you! I want to make amends for my mistake," Katherine proposed and Marianne smiled at that idea.
From that point on, they both began working on a new dress as Katherine learned more steadily her companion's good taste in fashion. She realized that Marianne was a nice person and not an arrogant pretentious one as she had previously visualized her.
Katherine learned much from Marianne's good taste in fashion; she now secretly thought of her as her mentor. Together they managed to finish the dress on time and Marianne decided to share credit with her partner for helping her. Since then, Katherine now opted for a more positive attitude and became an excellent partner, thanks to her new best friend.
THE END
