Fashion Fraud Collection Read online

  My lips curled into a grin. That was exactly what I needed, someone to tone down my crazy. I got the feeling we were on the verge of starting a beautiful partnership.

  CHAPTER 4

  I was completely at home in amongst all the fabric at the Material Gal Warehouse. I had lost count of how many times I had been there over the years. I never bought anything, but I felt every single type of fabric they had. With each touch, my brain exploded into a new design that I had to sketch the moment I got home.

  But today’s visit was the most important visit of them all. I steered Jane toward the cheaper fabrics, the ones on sale, and the ones so ugly nobody else wanted to buy them. I knew I could make them beautiful, they just needed the right design.

  “Pineapples? Who puts pineapples on fabric?” Jane asked, her face full of disgust.

  “They can be pretty,” I said defensively. Just because something was cheap didn’t mean it was also disgusting. There was no correlation between the two.

  “There will be no pineapples anywhere near our dress.”

  “Fine,” I conceded. Because I didn’t really want to have a huge fight in the middle of Material Gal. I didn’t want to be banned from one of my favorite places to be.

  “Now, this one, this is beautiful,” Jane said as she ran her hands over a silky fabric. It was a light purple color, almost blue in its shade. It really was beautiful.

  And also way out of my budget. “That’s nice, but I can’t afford it.”

  “We don’t need much, only a few yards.”

  If I was drinking something, I would have done a spit take. The material was forty bucks a yard. And we needed only a few? Apparently I was in the twilight zone where nothing made sense.

  “I can’t afford it,” I repeated. “My budget is about non-existent.”

  “Where do you get all your fabric from then?” She asked the question so curiously, like she really couldn’t work it out.

  “I buy big clothes from the thrift store and undo them. That’s how I get fabric.”

  “And you repurpose them? That takes skill, I thought you didn’t have any.” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult.

  I chose to look on the bright side, otherwise I might have clocked her one. “Yeah, well, sometimes you have to be really inventive in order to get what you want.” I didn’t like the way I had to admit how poor I was. I felt ashamed just having to say it. It wasn’t something I spoke about. To anyone. Ever.

  Jane cocked her head to one side as she studied me. My gaze fell to the ground, I didn’t like the way she looked at me. I wasn’t a charity case. “Well, if I’m sewing, I’m buying this fabric.”

  “But-”

  “No buts,” she interrupted me. “I’m not good at repurposing, I won’t be able to do it. I would rather buy the material I need.”

  “We should be going fifty-fifty.” Guilt was creeping in. I never expected her to pay for all the materials we needed. I liked things to be equal.

  “You’ve already contributed the design. Just because you didn’t have to pay for that, doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. If you don’t like it, you can wait outside until I’m done. Or, you can help me find everything we need.” She picked up the silky fabric and hitched the roll over her shoulder.

  I didn’t dare argue. I’d never seen Jane so assertive. Plus, did she just say my designs were valuable? Wow. Nobody had ever said that before. I was more accustomed to hearing ‘put that damn sketchbook down already’ or ‘stop daydreaming and do the dishes’.

  We found more material and then ribbons, plus something called rickrack which reminded me of the waves at the ocean. Or a long centipede. Jane paid for everything – which came to over a hundred dollars. My eyes bugged out of my head when I saw the cashier ring it all up. Jane handed over a credit card, completely unfazed by the total.

  Afterwards, Jane drove us to her house, insisting we decide on a design so she could get started. Apparently the deadline was going to be a close call so the sooner we began, the better.

  “Is this really your house?” The question escaped my lips the moment I thought it. I really needed to get better at thinking of things before I said them. Otherwise I was going to sound like an idiot for the rest of my life.

  Jane pulled her car into the driveway, waited for the automatic doors to pull up, and then slotted her car into the eight car garage. That’s right, I said eight cars. I could have fit three of my apartments into the garage alone.

  “This is home,” she said, almost sighing the words. “Help me carry this stuff up to my room.”

  I grabbed a bag and followed her into the house. Scrap that, it’s wasn’t a house. It was a mansion. The double story monster was huge. Like, ginormous huge. I’d seen smaller schools.

  I trailed after Jane closely, because I could have gotten lost in that place. Seriously, no joke. We climbed the grand, sweeping staircase – which had a chandelier the size of a dinner table – and then walked down a long corridor. There were doors everywhere. It was like walking through the Monsters Inc factory. Except nicer. Much nicer.

  “This is my room,” Jane declared as she opened one of the doors. She didn’t waste time before going through, so neither did I.

  Everything in the room was white. The bed, the walls, the desk, the lounge suite, the sound system. I almost needed sunglasses just to be able to see it all.

  And, of course, it was massive. She had a queen sized bed pushed up against one wall, a lounge and television on the other side of the room. In between was a desk and bureaus. Two more doors led somewhere, I guessed perhaps a bathroom and closet. Man, I bet her closet was huge. And beige.

  “Make yourself at home. Do you want a snack or anything?” Jane looked at me expectantly.

  “No, thanks, I’m good.”

  She sat on the lounge and waited for me to do the same. “So, where’s your book? We need to pick something to do this fabric justice.”

  I pulled my sketchbook out of my bag, hoping I didn’t get any of her white ruined by some stray dirt or grime. She probably wouldn’t invite me back again if I marred her perfect room.

  As we flicked through together, I couldn’t switch my mouth off. “It must be awesome living in a place like this.”

  She shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “What do you mean? It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s also empty. You didn’t see my parents welcoming me home, did you?” Sadness ran over her face and my heart actually lurched for her. I had no idea what Jane’s life was like, I shouldn’t have just assumed. I hated it when people did that to me.

  “Do they work a lot?” I asked, thinking about my own mother who was barely home because of her job.

  “Work, functions, keeping up appearances. They basically find excuses not to be here, I think. Now, how about this design?” She changed the subject abruptly, clearly not wanting to talk about it anymore.

  I could respect boundaries. “I like that design. Do you think it would go well with the fabric?” The design she picked out was a long dress with a split that went halfway up the leg. It had a few embellishments to fancy it up, but the shape was supposed to be the main feature. I had tried to make sure it would flatter nearly any shape and hug curves rather than flatten them.

  “I could cut it on the bias so it moves well around the hips and chest,” Jane explained. It sounded like we were getting somewhere. I liked it.

  “Great, let’s go with this one then.” I tore the page from the sketchbook and handed it to her. “Do your best, partner.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Jane offered to drive me home after I told her I had to leave to take care of my brothers and sister. I said I would take the bus but she only laughed about it. Apparently public transport was laughable.

  Hey, if she wanted to be my personal chauffeur, I wasn’t going to argue. She could be my butler too if she was really desperate. I could think of a million errands she could help m
e out with.

  When we arrived at my apartment block, I didn’t invite Jane up. After seeing the luxurious mansion she lived in, she would think my shoebox was a hole. I didn’t feel ashamed of my place very often, but I would have been if Jane saw the apartment.

  So I made up an excuse about my mom sleeping and thanked her in the car instead. Back to reality, I walked the stairs and used the time to plan what I was going to make for dinner. If felt like a macaroni and cheese kind of night. It was quick, cheap, and comforting.

  I didn’t get to sketch any new designs that night as I looked after my siblings. It took ages to get them fed, bathed, and put to bed. By that time, I was exhausted. I went to bed straight after they did.

  In the three days that passed, I only saw Jane in the hallway at school. I wanted to give her some space to make sure she wasn’t feeling pressured to make the dress in a hurry. I wanted her to take her time, do a great job like she did on the cushion. My entire future was at stake, I could summon up some patience.

  On Friday she found me in the hallway just before lunch. She was waving her cell phone around in front of my face. “Have a look at what I’ve done,” she said happily.

  I grabbed her wrist so I could stop her and actually look at what she was trying to show me. She had photos on her phone of the dress.

  And it looked amazing. Even only half constructed, I could already see the design coming to life. It was just like my drawing. “Jane, this is amazing. You’ve done all this already? Seriously?”

  She nodded excitedly. “Once I started, I kind of couldn’t stop. It was sort of fun.”

  “Well, keep going, girl. Do you need help or anything?”

  “Nope. Another few days and I should have the collar right, that’s the tricky part. I’ll keep you updated.”

  I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. My dress was coming alive. We were going to win that competition, I could practically feel the trophy in my hands. I should start on my acceptance speech, it was never too early to be prepared.

  Jane hurried away just as quickly as she had appeared. I shouldered my bag and headed for the cafeteria. My stomach was rumbling to be fed and I wasn’t going to deny it. Not when I was in such a good mood. Bring on the deep fried goodness.

  I filled my tray and found my friends at our usual table. We were popular enough that nobody else dared to take it. We had a standing reservation and it never failed. I was the last one to arrive as I sat down.

  “Truly, where were you yesterday?” Hayley asked. She made it sound like I had been missing for years.

  “Sorry, I had to take my snotty sister to the doc. She was actually dripping. It was totally gross,” I replied, disgusted even with the memory of it. I hated it when one of my family members got sick. It usually meant everyone would catch whatever they had and I’d end up looking after a bunch of sick kids.

  And they were the worst patients on the planet. Seriously. I hated it.

  “Well, I tell you, you missed a great sale at Kramer’s,” Hayley continued. She wasn’t exactly rich, but she wasn’t exactly poor either. I normally only tagged along on their shopping trips to be part of the group. I never bought anything.

  “Oh, sorry, that sounds like fun. Stupid sister.”

  “Your mom totally needs a babysitter,” Sarah joined in. “Doesn’t she realize you need a social life?”

  That would have been great, if we were actually able to afford it. “Yeah, that’s what I keep telling her. She doesn’t listen. You know what she’s like.” I had to keep up appearances.

  “Totally. My mom is the same, she never listens to a word I say,” Sarah replied. Her mother was a lawyer in a fancy uptown firm. She probably didn’t have time to listen to her.

  I caught a glimpse of Jane at the cashier with a tray of food. She looked around for somewhere to sit. I stood, waving her over. “Jane, over here.”

  “What are you doing?” Hayley asked, like it was the craziest thing she had ever seen.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m calling her over to sit with us,” I replied. I really didn’t see how my actions could have been misinterpreted.

  Jane looked over her shoulder, probably to make sure she was the only Jane around that I could be talking to. She was so oblivious sometimes. She pointed at herself, I nodded so she would finally get her butt over here.

  Jane made her way over, the entire time my friends mumbled how ridiculous it was. I didn’t see anything wrong with it, it was a public table.

  “Hey Jane, sit with us,” I said when she finally reached our table. She looked around nervously.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. I rolled my eyes.

  “I wouldn’t have wasted vital energy getting you over here if I didn’t mean it. Park your butt and eat.”

  My friends’ way of dealing with a new person at our table was to ignore her totally. Sometimes I really questioned why I liked them so much.

  “So who’s going to the Arrow sale?” Hayley started. “I hear they have some amazing coats for winter on special.”

  “Arrow always has the nicest coats,” Kinsey replied. Not one of them said a word to Jane.

  “Their headbands are to die for,” Sarah added.

  “Do you shop at Arrow much, Jane?” I asked, pointedly including her in the conversation. Arrow was too expensive for me, but I could dream.

  Jane looked like a startled bunny rabbit. She took a moment to answer. “I, uh, sometimes. I think they have nice… shirts there.” She was trying, it was kind of cute. Unless Arrow had beige shirts, she probably didn’t buy from there. She most likely had a personal shopper do all her shopping for her.

  The conversation moved onto another store as I gave Jane an apologetic look. Perhaps it was a mistake on my part to invite her over. She clearly wasn’t comfortable around my friends.

  Although… Jane didn’t seem that comfortable around people in general. She preferred books or calculators or something.

  She suddenly stood up, taking her tray with her. “I just remembered I have something… somewhere to go. I’ll see you later. Thank you for having me.” She scurried off faster than a mouse from a sinking ship.

  “Thank goodness she’s gone,” Kinsey sighed. “She was weird.”

  “Totally weird,” Sarah replied.

  I couldn’t listen to them. “She’s not weird, she’s just not like us. Not everyone in the world has to be like us to be cool.”

  Hayley looked momentarily stunned. “You’re friends with her? What are you thinking, Truly? She’s not one of us. She had no right being at our table.”

  It seemed like a turning point in my life in that split second. I was at serious risk of all my friends turning against me if I continued to defend Jane. But I didn’t want them to be mean to her either.

  I was torn.

  My popularity was at stake here. I used to think nothing else mattered except that. I still kind of did. I couldn’t lose my friends.

  As much I was ashamed to admit it, I remained quiet. I let them think I agreed with them. It made me feel like scum inside but I did it anyway. I ate the rest of my lunch in silence.

  CHAPTER 6

  I was still feeling pretty awful about the cafeteria situation when the final bell rang for the day. If anyone noticed my unusually quiet mood, nobody mentioned it. I was pretty good at hiding how I really felt about things. This was no different.

  I left the classroom and headed for my locker. I needed to be quick or I would miss the bus. If I missed it, I would have to wait another hour and then I wouldn’t be able to get dinner made on time.

  After changing my books, I closed my locker in record time. Just as I was about to charge off, Jane appeared at my side. If she was feeling ookey about lunch, she didn’t show it. In fact, she was smiling.

  “What’s up?” I asked, walking toward the buses waiting outside.

  “I’ve been thinking about the dress all day and have a few ideas how we can make it even better,” she said quic
kly, like the words couldn’t escape her mouth fast enough. Excited Jane was new.

  “That’s great, can we talk about them tomorrow?”

  “I want to show you what I mean. Can you come around now?”

  “I have to get home, sorry. Maybe tomorrow,” I replied, the warning voice in my head telling me to get on the bus – now.

  “But I really want to show you,” she persisted. Man, I had never seen her so determined about something. Her timing sucked.

  “And I said I can’t, I’m sorry. I really have to go.” Of course, I could have explained why I couldn’t go to her house and be a normal teenager all afternoon. But that would have gained sympathy and I didn’t need it. I didn’t need anyone looking at me like I was a sad little puppy.

  The bus driver turned the engine on, my time for dawdling was up. I gave Jane one more apologetic look before running to get on the bus. I was the last one on, the doors closed behind me.

  I took a seat and watched Jane walk away. Surely she would understand that I couldn’t come over to her house at the drop of a hat? Even if I didn’t have so many brothers and a sister to look after, there was a thing called homework that would keep me occupied for most of the night too.

  I felt bad for the entire bus ride home. Our neighbor, Mrs. Reed, was waiting with the kids. She left as soon as I arrived.

  The kids looked at me expectantly. “Well, go play,” I said. Billy and Ethan picked up some toys and went into the living room. That left me with Lily, who was almost two years old. I picked her up. “Are you hungry?”

  “Muppis,” she replied. That was her way of saying she wanted something to eat. I think she was going for muffin or something, but she always said the word about a hundred times every afternoon until I fed her.

  I placed a bowl of her favorite oatmeal in front of her and gave her the spoon. “Yum, yum, Lily. Eat up.” While she was busy with that, I decided it was a good time to get some sketching in.

  Pulling out my book, it was so good just opening it again. It felt like it had been ages since I’d had a moment to sketch a new design. It wasn’t lack of inspiration, just a lack of time. Like always.