Labelle Couture

Chapter 2

A loud bang from the ceiling rudely woke Label up. She looked at her alarm clock: 4:59am. Her alarm was set to go off right at 5am. She covered her face with her pillow and took full advantage of the next 60 seconds to rest her eyes and drift back into dreamland. Her alarm immediately went off and filled her ears with the horrid sound of a morning shift.

She silenced it with a slam of her fist and slowly got out of bed. Another loud thud from the ceiling.

What could her neighbours upstairs possibly be doing at 5 in the morning?

She walked into the bathroom and turned the light switch on. The light fixtures flickered for a few seconds and then stayed on. Half of them were dim and needed to be replaced. She turned both knobs in the shower. The pipes made a foul sound and eventually the water began to spray out. Great. Only cold water.

She dried herself off, brushed her teeth and took a long look at her reflection in the mirror.

It had been four years. Nothing has changed. Her luck hadn't changed, her career path hadn't changed, and as the lights flickered again, she took note that not even those had been changed. Four years of the same routine.

She was lost in thought until a knock on the bathroom door snapped her out of it.

She stepped out of the bathroom and was greeted by a half asleep Pashmina holding her own toiletries and towel in hand.

"Good morning." Pashmina said with a yawn.

"Awful morning." Label replied as she made her way back into her room.

She closed her door and started to pick out her work appropriate outfit for the day. She worked as a hostess at a high end restaurant that only paid low end wages. It didn't open up until 8 but since the bus was the only mode of transportation she could afford, she had to accommodate the bus hours. Her boss needed her in by 7 every morning that week to help out with the general setup.

Pashmina was getting ready for her opening shift at a local hardware store. She knew next to nothing about plywood or PVC pipes but it was seemingly the only place she could get a job. The pay wasn't bad and her schedule allowed her to work on her writing over the weekends. Writing and spending time at the local Club LOL that is.

Bunnie was still sound asleep since the ice cream parlor she worked at didn't open up until noon.

After four years, it seemed funny to Pashmina and Label that out of the three, Bunnie had been the one who ended up working in the field of her interest.

Label took a look at her emails while eating some buttered toast. There was a reply from the Academy of Fashion & Design. She'd already received numerous denials from them, but she was still determined to apply each year. She held her breath as she opened the email. She dropped her toast and jumped with excitement.

"Congratulations! You've been considered for our coveted Fashion design program!" read the email.

The consideration alone was a huge step in the right direction for her. She read through the whole email. In order to be accepted into the program, she would need to attend a short examination interview where she'd present her portfolio showcasing designs she'd worked on. The scheduled interview was today at 1:00pm. Her shift didn't end until 2:30pm and she knew her boss wouldn't stand for letting her leave early.

Just then she looked at the time on her phone: 6:13am. Her bus would arrive at 6:15am and the next one wouldn't arrive until 6:50am. She took her portfolio off her desk, swiftly ran out of the apartment, past the elevator with the 'OUT OF SERVICE' sign still stuck to it, and down the stairs.