I peeked through the door. An enormous cutting table sat against the back wall, corkboards displayed fabric samples, and lining the tables in the middle of the room were a dozen different sewing machines.
This washeaven.
“Is sewing a big part of this internship?” I asked.
“Not a big part, no. Mainly you’d hand-sew to make small repairs or adjustments on shoots or behind the scenes at shows. The focus of this internship is more heavily weighted on designing clothes for larger-scale manufacturing versus couture, but you would still gain invaluable experience to reach your goals.”
My heart twisted. The internship would require me to work long hours. I doubted it would leave me much time to sew for myself.
I reluctantly left the sewing room behind, and we emerged into a small coworking space where two beta women my age were working on their laptops.
“Oh, good. I was hoping you’d be here. Lucy, this is Brooklyn and Ellie. Brooklyn was actually an intern in the design program a couple of years ago. Lucy is interviewing for the internship today.”
I gave the two women a wave as a man in a dark purple suit jogged into the room.
“Fran, sorry to interrupt, but Patrick is on the phone for you.”
“Ah, okay. Can you girls hang out with Lucy while I take this call? You can convince her to come work with us.”
“Sure. Come in, Lucy. We’ll spill all of Fran’s secrets,” Ellie said.
I grinned and sat down at the table. It would be nice to have coworkers my age to collaborate with.
Brooklyn stared intently at my face. “You look so familiar to me, but I’m not sure why.”
I cocked my head. “I don’t know. I rarely come to the city so…”
She snapped her fingers. “I got it! You sew for Mayor Felix, right?”
Oh shit.
My mouth gaped like an unattractive fish as Brooklyn continued.
“This is so embarrassing—for me, not you! I’m obviously obsessed. I took a screenshot of the selfie you posted on your birthday because your dress was really pretty and I was trying to figure out how you made it.”
I’d broken my rule to remain faceless on Felix’s account when I posted our birthday selfie. It was one thing to know intellectually that I had over half a million followers, but it was another to actually meet a stranger in the wild who followed me.
“Your work is incredible. And Blossom? I am obsessed. I can’t wait to see their outfits for Midsummer! I was even thinking about going to Starlight Grove for the festival.”
“Okay,” Ellie interjected. “Now you sound like a stalker who wants to wear Lucy’s skin like a suit.”
Brooklyn wrinkled her nose. “Well, that’s a disgusting image. I promise I don’t want to wear your skin. Mostly, I just wish I was as cool and talented as you.”
My stunned fish face continued. This woman worked in a huge fashion house in New York and she thought I wascool and talented?
“You’re considering taking the design internship here?” Ellie asked.
I shrugged, my cheeks pink. “I’m just interviewing today. I don’t know if I’ll even get the offer.”
“Of course you’ll get it,” Brooklyn said. “They’d be stupid not to snap you up.”
My face was seconds from going up in flames. “Do you like working here?”
“Yeah,” Brooklyn said. “The fashion world can be brutal. After my internship here, I got an entry-level position at another fashion house and hated it. My manager was awful. But Fran is a really solid boss, and I’ve definitely learned a lot.”
“The hours can be rough,” Ellie added. “Lots of weekends and stuff. But I think it’s worth the sacrifice if you’re working toward your goals.”
“Do you want to transition away from sewing to design?” Brooklyn asked.
