Tailor Made

Chapter Ten

The next morning Aria headed home in a happy daze. She decided to forgo her daily run, thinking instead of a long shower to feel less grimy from sleeping in her clothes. She was pretty tired from the lack of sleep, but that didn’t stop her from humming some senseless tune annoyingly loud. Nora peeked out from her covers with the same black look from yesterday, but Aria was too pleased to notice.

In fact, Nora managed to keep her dark look for most of the day. Ordinarily Aria would be in no position to know this, but somehow, despite having only two classes together, she passed Nora a lot that day. Always glaring hard. Her angry face was never directed at Aria specifically, but whenever Aria passed Nora, her face was turned in such a way that the scowl was unmistakable.

Aria was too cheerful to care though. She met up with Liam at lunch, only to find Nora sitting two tables over, despite the fact that they were both in a different dining hall to usual. Aria waved, but Nora just moved and in an effort to be facing away, she sat between an extremely affectionate couple, earning their ire.

Liam was wonderful, he introduced her to all his friends and made sure to make her feel part of every conversation.

Aria wasn’t looking forward to returning to the club. She would have to explain to Nora that she wasn’t welcome back. How would she even say that? ‘Sorry, but you scare people.’ Well, Nora was direct with her, so why not offer the same courtesy? That actually made sense. Maybe she should be more callous with Nora. Either Nora would respond well to it, or she wouldn’t and realise she can’t be like that to others. Either way, it would be a fun experiment for Aria.

The club met with Reid all together, but this time Reid sweetly suggested they should go to the theatre club and uphold their promise. “However,” she began.

“I’m going to stay here,” Nora cut across flatly.

“Why?” Aria asked. Only afterwards she realised this meant she wouldn’t have to have ‘the talk’.

“Because I have more important things to work on. The competition, remember?” Nora’s eyebrows rose at them all.

“I would be more than happy to help you progress with your entry,” Reid smiled. “Chris? Why don’t you stay too? They can’t possibly need five people to help sort out a few holes.”

“I did already promise to help on designing and making an outfit for them,” Chris replied dubiously.

“Oh Elise can do that,” Reid waved his concerns aside. Elise opened her mouth to argue, but Reid spoke across her. “Are you saying that you can’t match Chris’s skills?” she asked innocently.

Elise’s mouth formed a thin line but she didn’t argue.

The four of them left the studio to head to the theatre, but the moment they were out of earshot Elise spoke up. “Does anyone else see her as a dragon? Hoarding the precious gems in her lair while she casts out the iron and copper?”

“Did you just liken yourself to iron?” Mat asked.

“Iron’s a useful metal,” Elise defended herself.

“I’m just wounded she cast me out with the rest of you,” Jarod said dramatically, holding his hand to his forehead. “All my offers of adoration and gifts meant nothing to her, it seems!”

Elise looked at him with distaste. “Yeah, why were you sucking up to her anyway? She’s not a real teacher, it’s not like she can fix up your grades.”

“For your information I was hoping she would take me under her wing. Teach me the ropes of haute couture…” Jarod sniffed.

“”You can barely sew,” Elise reminded him.

“…take me to fashion shows with her…”

“Ah.”

“I think you’re fighting a losing battle,” Aria suggested. “Seems she only likes people with talent.”

Mat raised an eyebrow and Elise cried “Hey!”

Aria face palmed. “That’s not what I meant. I mean. Yes, she likes skill, but I think she also likes people willing to fall in line. You two are too headstrong to believe in her ideals. Well, Elise is too headstrong. Mat, you’re just too chill to care what she thinks.”

“Damn straight.”

Elise looked pensive. “I’m just more concerned that last time she basically threatened us when we said we were going, but this time she all but tossed us out. What’s with that?”

“Maybe she knows not to fight a losing battle,” Jarod suggested.

They arrived at the theatre club with far more time than the day before, and settled down to sew. Somehow Jarod managed to convince Elise to let him help, despite her comments of his inability to sew still fresh in all their minds. Aria sat back next to Liam, but this time mentally promised to get less distracted. Mat sat a few seats down.

The two hour period passed without incident. Right until the end. Elise and Jarod emerged from out the back where they were working, and Jarod pointed out “Hey, what’s Mr White doing here?”

They all turned, and their principal was indeed standing at the back of the theatre. Maybe he was watching the progress of the Theatre club? But no, there was a scowl upon his normally serious face. That seems redundant, but there was a crease between his eyebrows. That was the only real way to differentiate between his moods: how far his eyebrows were apart.

He caught their eyes, and beckoned them forward. When the four of them gathered around him, “I want a word with all of you,” he said, in a frustratingly adult way that told them nothing of what they did wrong. Instead, they had to endure the painfully long walk back to his office in silence; torn between their curiosity, and their fear of being given a greater punishment for ‘back talk’.

In his office they found a sombre-looking Reid. That is to say, she intended to look sombre. She hit all the right cues such as a down-cast face, and soulful eyes, but there was a strange cast of smugness to her features. That seemed no different to normal though.

White sat down on his grand chair, but somehow despite the four having to look down at him, they felt very small indeed. They shifted like uneasy school children. Which is exactly what they were.

“Ms Reid tells me that you’ve been taking part in the Theatre club for the last two days,” White began.

“Which you’ve laid down in the handbook that we’re perfectly within our rights to do,” Mat said. “We’re helping them to prepare for an upcoming-”

“Be that as it may,” White cut in, “Ms Reid came to me feeling quite upset about the situation. She did not want to cause trouble for you all, but she was right to come to me about how disrespectful you all have been.”

“Disrespectful?” Elise said with quiet outrage burning in her voice. “We never-”

“Ms Reid graciously volunteered her time to assist your club,” White said sternly. “And by the sound of it yesterday you did not even warn her of your plans. She made the trip into our academy for nothing. Why, I’m surprised she didn’t come to talk to me yesterday about this issue.”

They all glanced at Reid who was nodding sadly. Aria felt a bolt of hatred. Nora’s voice called out in her mind, ‘Vengeance!’

“You have not shown her gratitude or respect that someone in her position deserves, and took with you the reputation of our school. As such, I must punish you all as I would punish anyone who disrespected my teachers,” White said. “Ms Reid, you may go. All of you, stay here so I can assign you your detention duties.”

“Detention? Now?” Elise exclaimed. Reid stopped momentarily and straightened her back to her normal proud height, as if she drew energy from Elise’s distress. “Isn’t it too late for that today?”

White shrugged. “It’s really the only free time you get in the day.”

His words ticked over in their minds.

“Really? A few hours after dinner is all the free time we get?” Jarod asked. “Well that puts this miserable place in perspective.”

White frowned. “Quite.”

The four of them were set to clean the art room with Ms Mercado watching over them while reading a book, occasionally glaring at them uncharacteristically when they talked. At least their dinner was brought to them, apparently dining with everyone else would have been ‘too much of a reward’ after what they’d done. The looks they shot one another during the three-hour clean up were clear: they would have vengeance on Reid.

When Aria finally arrived home after cleaning every imaginable speck of paint from the art room, she immediately flopped upon her bed. She was in a low mood, it was too late to see Liam and complain about how irritating Reid was, so she’d just have to wait until tomorrow.

“You’re finally home,” a voice said behind her. It wasn’t hard, Aria was face down on her bed. Everything was behind her.

“Murff?” Aria asked, barely raising her head.

Nora had been waiting in the darkness, sitting on her bed.

“Ughhh,” Aria complained, “Reid was mad at us for leaving, despite being so happy to get rid of us earlier today. Had detention. Sucked.”

“I know,” Nora said simply. “Reid said she would.”

“And you didn’t try to stop her?” Aria asked, finally sitting up.

“No.”

“Nora, are you mad at me?”

“Of course not,” Nora replied, but her words were fairly dripping with sarcasm.

Aria groaned. “What is it now? Every time I stop paying attention for half a moment you’ve found something else to be angry at me for.”

Nora’s eyes were downcast until Aria’s last comment. She raised her eyes to meet Aria’s defiantly. “What the hell, Aria? You have a problem with my attitude now?”

Normally Aria would take this moment to backpedal, and backpedal hard. But it had been a long day, she was exhausted, and in no mood for Nora’s mood. “At this point in time, yeah. You’re always finding some reason to be pissed at me, like I can’t measure up to your insane standards. What is it this time, is it because I’m dating Liam?”

Nora growled in frustration. “I’m not angry because you started dating some guy, I’m angry because I told you I needed you, and you ditched me to be with him.”

“What, at the club the other night? I stayed with you for an hour. You seemed ok,” Aria argued.

“I wasn’t!” Nora cried. “You should know by now that what I ‘seem’ and what I am are two very different things! Of course I wouldn’t show these strangers that I was hurting. But I told you straight up that I was in a difficult place. Don’t you know how hard it is for me to be honest with you like that? And you threw it back in my face.”

Aria raised her hands to her head. “You seem to think I’m some sort of mind reader; that you can pretend to be ok in front of others, but somehow I’ll know the difference? Nora, I can’t tell the difference. You don’t let me in, you don’t tell me anything about what you’re feeling. How would I know any better than anyone else?”

“I’ve shared more about myself with you than with anyone else in a very long time,” Nora said darkly.

“That doesn’t mean you’ve given me much to work with! You are so closed off! You basically never tell me anything about yourself unless it’s actively tearing you up inside. You never ask anything about me either. You know why I left you to go be with Liam that night? Because he actually cares, he wants to know who I am. Someone I met a day ago already knows more about me than you do. And somehow I tricked myself into thinking you and I were close.”

“It’s been one day and I’m already sick of hearing about this guy! Why are you even with him? You’ve been pining over Chris since we got here, and the first time someone showed any interest in you, you jump right on board,” Nora snapped.

“He seems a nice guy! I like him, he’s funny,” Aria argued.

“Seems, Aria, seems! Don’t you remember what I told you? Everyone’s crazy, some people just take longer to show it. Dating is just being contractually obligated to someone, so why would you agree to be with someone you just met??”

“Because why not? I’m not doing anything else, and it’s a good way to get to know him. Who cares, it’s just fun! Not that you’d know.”

Nora flared.

“And why is it that every time I show interest in someone else you get up in arms about it?” Aria lashed out.

Nora’s eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I think that’s for you to work out.”

The next day the club decided they would finish their work for the theatre club from within their own studio. Most of the repairing was done anyway, only Elise was still working on things for them. It would make Reid happy to be able to natter away to them about fashion, and it would save them another three hours of cleaning somewhere else. Actually, Reid didn’t seem happy at all. She was talking to Nora, but there was a bit more slump to her posture than usual.

“Best not bother her today,” Elise muttered on her way past, “She misplaced some of her jewellery and was raving before that there was a thief.”

“Hoo boy,” Aria replied.

Everyone decided to get back to working on their competition entries, and Elise was busy so Chris approached Aria instead. He sauntered over with that lovely crooked smile playing upon his lips, and Aria couldn’t help but smile in return. How did he always manage to make her feel so warm?

“I was hoping you could help me with my entry, Aria,” he said, “I know you’re still new to all this, but I need some fresh eyes on my designs. I’m not sure what would look best on Nora.”

Aria twitched faintly at the mention of Nora and her smile fell briefly. She glanced over at Nora who was talking quietly with Reid. Aria pursed her lips. Reid was such a b***h, why would Nora deign to talk with her? Especially considering Nora’s main joy in life derived from making others, particularly teachers, miserable.

“Aria?”

Aria snapped her head back around, cricking her neck in the process. “Yes, sorry, let’s get to work,” she said, massaging her neck after the loud pop that made even Mat from two tables down look over.

“Let’s see,” Chris murmured as he shuffled through designs. “Elise and I are having some trouble because while we agreed to enter in the field of Evening Wear, she prefers simple, while I like the look of something more elaborate. Look at this one,” he offered Aria the sketchbook.

Elise appeared to be a decent artist; she had drawn a slinky gown which, while it wouldn’t let Nora run around like a mad thing, it would do well to show of the small curves of her figure. She noted that it would be made of black velvet, and the wrap around the shoulders should sit asymmetrically. To add a little like to the design, Elise had sketched out a gold embroidered design. She could probably make that design beautifully, based on what she had done for one of Mat’s outfits Aria once saw.

“It’s beautiful,” Aria said, but she noticed Chris’s expression. “You’re not a fan?”

“We’re trying to grab attention, not meld into the darkness,” Chris frowned. “I’m honestly not a fan of black, but this sort of outfit wouldn’t look right with any other colour. I want Nora to be eye-catching for this event, but I’m not sure how to bring that quality out of her.”

“Hmm,” Aria wondered and flipped the page. Next was a dress that looked like a modern interpretation of clothing from somewhere between 1920’s and 1940’s. She didn’t honestly know enough about clothing back then to judge accurately. It had a narrow waist, and a large round neckline that swept up and out. The skirt would need to have a lot of fabric in it to make it so piled, but with a sheer layer over the top, it could look really quite good. Nora’s hair would have to be styled in that impossible manner where it seemed mid-wave, but it would pull the whole outfit together.

“This one seems nice, and she’s suggested it be pale blue,” Aria commented.

“I don’t want to draw on old styles, this competition is about being new and inventive!” Chris exclaimed. “The shape is lovely, but so done. I want to find my own style! Anyway… those are the ones Elise is pushing for, and this is mine.”

He handed her another sketchbook. Now this was an evening dress. Aria could see herself (older and taller) going to a fabulously fancy party wearing this. It was velvet like Elise’s first design, but the deep red of blood. It was off the shoulder, and the rippling skirt had a piece pulled up and sewn into the waist. The effect resulted in a split-skirt, which made it look so adult.

“That one is lovely!” Aria exclaimed.

Chris frowned. “I’m not sure it will suit Nora though. It would look good on someone more demure, I think. Besides, she tends to look a bit young for her age. I think this style would look out of place on her.”

“Maybe.”

“That’s all there is,” Chris admitted when Aria tried to turn the page. “I’ve been having the same problem that Nora’s been complaining about. With so much riding on this I haven’t been able to get ideas at all. I feel like I can’t make anything sufficiently new or exciting.”

“You’re starting to sound a little like Reid,” Aria said. “You want to be eye-catching, new? This is a competition for students, they’re not going to be that harsh on what you make.”

“Reid’s got the right idea. Have you seen some of her designs? Oh, no, you and the others were off with the Theatre club at the time. Look, what she says may sound silly, but because she put herself out there she was able to go far in this field. I can’t be slack now just because they don’t expect much. There’s always going to be someone who is just so naturally talented in these sort of things. That’s who I want to beat. I don’t want to be good because everyone else was average, I want to work to be something special,” Chris said firmly.

“Oh,” Aria replied with surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t meant to–”

Chris raised his hands. “It’s fine. Maybe I am crazy, but I’m crazy about this. It’s my last chance, so I want to do this right.”

“Well maybe you’re coming from the wrong direction. You’re thinking about what you want to make, rather than coming from what would work with Nora. I’m sure Elise said this to me just a few weeks ago… I think you’re right, dark colours are not the way to go because she’s already got dark skin, but I think a light colour would make her really pop,” Aria said. It felt weird, advising Chris. Just a brief time ago she knew nothing about sewing or fashion at all. Actually, she still didn’t, but Chris seemed like he needed someone to talk to.

Chris laughed quietly. “I wish you didn’t agree to be Nora’s model, I bet I would have a lot more inspiration in making something for you. I’m sure I’d figure out exactly how to make you pop.”

The heat rose to her face and she laughed, feeling sure that Chris was joking.

“Oi, Aria,” Mat called out suddenly. “We’re going to see your boyfriend and do a fitting for the outfit we promised them. Wanna come?”

Aria jumped back from Chris.

“Boyfriend?” Chris asked with confusion.

“It’s a new thing I’m trying out,” Aria said, scratching the back of her head.

“Oh, nice. I hope he makes you happy,” Chris said warmly.

“Yeah, that,” Aria replied thoughtfully.

The three of them emerged from the studio feeling like it might have been better to stay in the warmth. Elise carried a long blue robe, though Aria wasn’t quite sure how that outfit was part of the play she saw being rehearsed before.

“We’re actually allowed out this time?” Elise asked sceptically.

Mat shrugged, “She said it was fine, so long as we don’t dawdle.”

“Sure,” Aria replied darkly, “I bet she’s just looking for another chance to punish us. She acts all sweet, and the moment we least expect it, bam!”

Elise and Mat looked over in surprise. “Are you ok?” Elise asked.

“I’m pretty annoyed about that performance she put on for Mr White the other day. Acting so wounded that we were ditching her,” Aria growled. “She wanted us gone, yet punished us for doing so!”

The other two glanced at each other. “This is a historic moment,” Mat said, “I’ve never seen you angry. Don’t you live on a diet of sunshine and rainbows?”

Aria glowered. “Keep this up and you’ll be the second person I get angry at.”

“I’m not worried. Unlike the angst-filled teens who live in the zone of misery, you’re in unfamiliar territory. Your version of vengeance would be to put gum on my shoe,” Mat shrugged.

“That’s it!” Aria cried.

“…You’re actually going to put gum on my shoe?” Mat asked.

“No, vengeance! I need to show her that she shouldn’t mess with me. I need to get revenge on her somehow.”

“Ooh, that sounds exciting,” Elise beamed, “Count me in.”

“Aren’t you just opening yourself up to an endless cycle of revenge?” Mat asked before he opened the theatre door for the two of them.

“You have no concept of fun,” Aria grumbled.

Enunciated words reached their ears, it seemed the theatre club was already hard at work.

“I feel like every club works harder than we do,” Mat commented. “Maybe Jarod was right, our club is kind of for taking it easy.”

“I’ve only seen a few other clubs, I don’t have much frame of reference,” Elise replied. “Hmm, do you think this means we should seek to involve ourselves more with the other clubs?”

“After the R-fad?” Mat suggested.

Aria waved to hush them as they set off down the aisle. Liam was in his usual seat with a script on his lap and a thoroughly used notebook on top which he was busy making notes in. He nodded briefly at them before returning his attention. Not wanting to disrupt it, the three sat down and watched the scene unfurling in front of them.

There were two detective-looking fellows on stage, complete with pipe and deerstalker hat. They were circling a dead body and looking for clues. The detective with the wispy but likely real moustache exclaimed, “Look, Reggie! His hand is curled up as if he’s pointing! I think he’s trying to point out his killer!” He lumbered over the body to a painting of a woman pointing to her right. “By Jove, she’s pointing too. The plot thickens!” He gleefully followed the direction of the pointing finger.

The younger woman with the wonderfully fake moustache sighed, “Constable, if I didn’t know any better I’d say we were being sent on a wild goose chase.”

“That’s it!” Aria cried.

The stage froze.

“Excuuuuuse me,” the constable roared in response, “But who’s in charge of this crime scene?” He stared at Aria impressively until she turned beet red and sat down again.

Liam leaned over to her, “Not that I’m not delighted to hear your dulcet tones, but if you would keep your yelling to a minimum, that would be marvellous.” Liam jumped up and spoke to the team, “Now Aria has graciously displayed what it would be like to have a heckler in the crowd. Notice the way Braiden made it into a joke? That’s what you want to aim for. You don’t have to be that funny, but showing you’re not thrown off by surprises is the trait of a good actor.” He scratched down his hair. “We should pause there for a moment. Everyone grab a drink and we’ll reconvene in five.”

Aria and the others stood up and joined Liam.

“What can I do for the coutur… have you considered calling it the Tailor’s club or something easier like that?” Liam asked.

“We came by to drop off the costume,” Elise announced, proffering the robe.

“And this job took three of you?” The three looked at each other, but Liam momentarily squeezed Aria’s hand. “Any excuse to see me, I see? Actually, off topic. Aria, did you want to hang out tonight? You were busy last night by the sound of it.”

Aria’s eyes narrowed. “And I’ll be busy tonight planning my revenge.”

Behind them Mat circled his finger around his right ear, the universal sign for She’s crazy man, get out of the way before you’re sucked in too.

Elise nudged her.

“Oh! I mean, you can help me if you like,” Aria suggested.

“Don’t encourage her,” Mat warned, but Liam agreed cheerily.

“Perfect. See you after dinner?”

Mat sighed.

Back at the studio Aria twiddled her fingers anxiously, unsure of how exactly to enact her plan. She was quite taken by the term ‘goose chase’, because then the vengeance would be mostly harmless. Just time-wasting. But how to go about it? Come to think of it, didn’t Elise say something extremely helpful before?

“Ms Reid?” she hedged, interrupting a fifteen-minute monologue about five years prior when she made a whole fashion show based on the theme of cats.

“Hmm?” Reid looked down. Her face was impassive, but Aria was learning to recognise the distaste in her eyes.

Don’t worry, Aria thought, I’ll give you something to distaste soon… wait no, that made no sense. Never mind! “I’ve been looking through the folder of your work, and the designs are incredible,” she said, and she was being honest. Although she didn’t like that the designs clearly prized form over function. “I was wondering, where do you get your ideas for such things?”

Reid looked cautiously pleased by the comment. “Well… like any artist I take inspiration from the world around me. Once there was a show where all the outfits needed be made in the style of nature. It was a lovely day being surrounded by the reds and yellows of fallen leaves, and every imaginable green. The models all looked like dryads or wood nymphs from a fairy tale.”

Aria sighed happily, imagining that scene. “Maybe that’s what we need to jump start our brains. The R-fad isn’t long away now. Maybe we should look into certain themes.” She slammed her fist into her palm, and hoped it looked as if she got an idea. “What if we spend tomorrow’s club session visiting the other clubs based on certain cultures, and talk to them about what they know? I bet the judges would like it if we put a cultural aspect to it.”

Reid tapped a manicured finger against her red lips. “That actually sounds like a good idea.”

Aria tried not to feel insulted by the use of the word ‘actually’.

“Alright,” Reid agreed. “I’ll talk to the other clubs and see if we can visit them tomorrow.”

“Oh, no need for you to ask the clubs,” Aria quickly insisted, “I have a friend in the French club and can arrange it all.”

“That’s so… helpful of you,” Reid replied, seeming taken aback.

Aria returned to her project of a pocketed calf-length skirt made from the brightest and softest linen she could find. Mat was on the machine next to hers, sewing together a few pieces of a new jacket. Amidst a few quiet swear words he said, “I knew your revenge wouldn’t be that bad. What’re you trying to do, nice her to death?”

“Don’t knock it, that’s a tried-and-true method,” Aria replied, “But no, this time I’m tweaking it a little. You had better meet me after dinner if you’ve nothing better to do.”

After dinner, Aria met up with Liam and Mat. She was eager to stay out as long as possible so not to have to awkwardly ignore Nora for too long. Luckily, they had a whole list of people to talk to. At dinner Aria had asked around and managed to find out where to locate the first person on her list.

Olivia was sitting alone in the library flipping listlessly through a book. Before they approached too close, Aria warned the others back with her hand. “Olivia can be pretty shy around guys, so it’s best you two wait back here. I shouldn’t be long.”

As Aria approached, she realised she hadn’t actually spoken to Olivia since they were lining up to volunteer for the Carnival of Colour two weeks ago. They generally sat at different desks in French class. So maybe it would seem odd of Aria to suddenly approach her?

“Uh, hey Olivia,” Aria exclaimed, “I mean, bonjour. You know, cause we both study French.”

Even from the distance, Aria heard Mat smack his face. Olivia looked blankly up at her.

“Speaking of French class, I hear you’re also in the French club?” Aria asked desperately. “That must be a lot of fun. Actually, I was hoping you could do me a favour…”

Olivia’s face flattened. “Oh, now I could do you a favour? After you’ve ignored me for weeks?”

“Ignored you?” Aria asked, feeling a bit confused.

“I send you memes but you never reply,” Olivia explained crossly.

“Oh, uh, I mean, I look at them,” Aria replied, “It’s just, they’re not really my thing.”

“They’re everyone’s thing! They’re so relatable, that’s the point.”

Aria glanced back at Liam and Mat.

Olivia looked at them too. “Have you been sharing memes with other people? Those people? Are they your meme friends?”

“They’re my normal friends?” Aria replied, feeling like she didn’t quite have her footing in this conversation.

Olivia seemed to calm down a bit. “Hmm. Tell you what, we can do a little trade. I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Your friend, the short one, introduce me to him,” she nodded in Mat’s direction.

“Huh? Um, sure,” Aria replied. “Hey, Mat! Come meet Olivia,” she called out, much to the other library goers’ displeasure.

Mat and Liam strolled over, and Aria did the whole “Mat, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is Mathias,” thing.

Mat wore his normal neutral expression as he always did around new people, but it seemed to have quite an effect on Olivia. She tried to bite her lip coyly at him, but bit her top lip instead of her bottom. The effect was something akin to a blushing piranha.

After an uncomfortably long stare at Mat, Olivia reluctantly turned back to Aria. “What favour were you after?”

Aria handed over a small piece of paper. “All the details are on here. If you could just play along with what I wrote, that would be great.”

Olivia perused in for a moment before nodding and waving them away. Aria noticed her gaze lingered for a time on Mat as they retreated. “What was that all about?” she asked.

“You forget that I am a sexy beast,” Mat yawned.

“Are you?”

“Don’t spare my feelings or anything.”

“Never mind that,” Liam said, “What’s next on the list? Are we nearly done?”

“Not even close,” Aria grinned.

The next day Aria sent word to the other club members to meet on one of the ovals. She also headed out of class a little early, feigning sickness, to plant a note in their studio. The trap was set, now all she needed was to find a warm patch of sun to relax in for the next two hours.

She wandered down to the oval with her half-finished skirt slung over one arm, and a small box of thread, needles, and scissors in the other. She raised a hand in greeting when she arrived, sending the skirt into her face, pins and all. Aria spluttered for a moment as she pulled the skirt off her, and tried to greet the group in a less accident-prone manner. They had all gathered, somehow even Nora had turned up despite quite convincingly seeming not to listen when Aria told her about it the previous night.

“What’d you call us here for, Aria?” Chris asked.

“Is it about visiting the clubs?” Elise asked, “I’m sure I heard you talking to Reid about something like this yesterday.”

Aria cleared her throat. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I gathered you all here.”

“Yes, that’s what they asked,” Mat smirked.

“It’s simple, really. Last night a few of us made rounds to the language clubs, and I gave each of them a message to tell Reid when she arrives. Each of them will say we just left, and to send her to the other end of campus for a different club. Should keep her busy til the end of the club session,” Aria grinned.

“Not that I want to ‘mum’ you a bit seeing as you clearly worked hard on your adorable form of revenge,” Elise hesitated, “But considering it’s this close to the R-fad, don’t you think we should be screwing around a bit less during club time?”

Aria deflated. “I didn’t… I mean, I just thought that Reid was such a distraction, always talking about herself and her projects,” she twiddled her fingers. “I thought we deserved a break. I think if we relax and just brainstorm together it might go better.”

“It was nice of you to watch out for us,” Chris said. “You’re the glue that holds us together Aria, without you we might go bananas.”

Mat shrugged. “I’m set on my design. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve already started making mine.”

“Lucky,” Elise muttered. “Chris and I can’t agree to save our lives! Nora, what do you reckon you look good in?”

Nora shrugged, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

The others shared a significant glance.

Jarod was the only one to not pick up on the mood. “I don’t know about you all, but an afternoon chilling on the grass is exactly why I signed up for this club.”

“So you joined a sewing club?” Mat asked, “Your thought process makes no sense.”

“That never bothered you before,” Jarod replied innocently.

Mat and Jarod seemed content to watch the clouds roll by and chat lazily, but Chris and Elise were more wound up. Aria sat down with them and began to whipstitch the band and the pleated skirt together as she listened to them. Out of the corner of her eye Nora had brought out a sketch book, but she only tapped at an empty page with her pencil.

“Let’s just start with a colour,” Elise pleaded.

“Well you didn’t like any of my ideas. I wanted a rich colour which would draw all eyes to her. Your ideas were all washed out colours like pale blue,” Chris replied.

“Have you two made any decisions yet?” Aria asked tentatively.

“Yeah, we’re close to deciding not to work together,” Elise said flatly.

“Apparently after years of working together we suddenly can’t agree on anything. I didn’t think our sense of style was that different,” Chris complained.

“It wasn’t until Reid came in. You keep trying to make these designs that practically punch you in the eyes!” Elise raged. “Aria, look at this one!” She snatched Chris’s sketchbook and handed over a design of a long sheath dress that hugged the woman’s body, but the most startling feature was the giant puffed collar that stretched up and out, almost as high as her head and made her body half again as wide.

“Yikes.”

“That bad?” Chris asked.

“It reminds me of a game Alton used to play. The pauldrons, ah, shoulder pads were about that big,” Aria explained. “There were definitely jokes about it.”

Chris frowned and looked at his design. “Maybe it is a bit much… But I appreciate what Reid is trying to impart, ok?”

Elise opened her mouth while looking a mite fierce, so Aria broke in.

“Back to colour,” she said, “What about white? I think it would look dazzling on Nora.”

The two paused for a moment. Aria was also acutely aware that Nora’s tapping had stopped.

“Yeah?” Chris asked, looking across at Elise.

“Yeah,” Elise confirmed.

“Great,” Aria breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s one tiny aspect sorted out.”

They stopped and looked out over the oval for a bit. There were a few small birds playing among the twigs of a nearby tree, and trilling cheerfully.

“Maybe there’s something to Reid’s suggestions,” Elise conceded, “What about making a dress that looks like feathers? Or flowers? I liked her comment about being inspired by certain themes, such as nature.”

“I like the sound of feathers. White feathers. The swan princess,” Chris agreed.

Nora’s jaw clenched.

Aria wanted to pick her brain of these reactions, but Nora took her duties in ‘silent treatment’ quite seriously. Actually. Swan princesses. Didn’t Nora say something about a recital soon?

The sun dipped quite far before the group decided they had made Reid suffer enough, and made plans to head back to the studio.

Aria was giddy to return, she could just imagine Reid’s enraged face about being sent running all over the school for them. It was quite the plan, if she did say so herself. Although… It wouldn’t be hard for Reid to put the pieces together and figure out who orchestrated the event. Still, Aria felt that at this point she’d be able to take on Reid.

Mat opened the door of the studio first, but stopped and stared wide-eyed. At his expression, the rest scrambled forward to peek in the door. It wasn’t Chris and Ruby again was it? No, Chris was there with them this time.

The club had left the studio fairly neat, but in the time they had gone to relax outside, it looked like five or so toddlers had been left unsupervised in the room with an awful lot of red paint at their disposal.

A voice drawled from behind them.

“Oh no, what a terrible shame.”