chapter 1

Sarah was beginning her last year of university as a fashion student and was excited to begin her final year--the year she could try out all of the ideas she had been drawing sketching all summer long.

Not everything Sarah created was for her classes though. Before college, she had always been an enterprising do-it-yourselfer and learned to make her own clothes back when she got a sewing machine for her fifteenth birthday. Although she could make some incredibly sophisticated runway-style fashions, she usually tended towards easier and more practical wardrobe choices for the pieces she created for herself.

Today, she was on the hunt for any fabrics or materials that might inspire her. She wanted to make a whole new outfit for her first day of the semester. While she was able to find a few bolts of cloth and a handful of pieces that could be decontructed for latter use, it was a a simple black cotton that Sarah found at an estate sale that caught her eye. She had no idea how old it was, but it was obviously hand woven and of really good quality. The fabric had a wonderful feel to it and the weight characteristics were just what she was looking for!

Happy with her purchase, she returned to the apartment that she had just moved back into the previous day, Sarah pulled out her trusty patterns and went to work turning the hand-woven into a simple yoke-waisted skirt. She hasn't even upacked yet, and just as she was about to pull out her trusty sewing machine, she remembered that this cloth was hand-woven. Instead, she followed her gut and constructed the skirt by hand for that extra sentimental factor.

As soon as she had added the fastener, Sarah grabbed a simple white shirt she had made earlier in the summer, and tried on her new outfit. The skirt looked amazing, and felt even better to wear. The fabric had just the right amount of flow, and she even got a good swirl or too in for good measure.

As Sarah looked at herself in the tall oval mirror, she saw a cute, freckle-faces girl with shiny brown hair, a 1,000 watt smile, and an adorable dark/preppy ensemble that she had made for herself. Although she wasn't runway model skinny, like many of the girls wou would be wearing many of her creations, Sarah had a fairly svelte figured that hadn't changed much at all since high school. Sarah smoothed out the sides of her shirt once more, then held her hips as she rotated her torso left and right to see how the outfit looked in motion. Satisfied with the complete ensemble, which had really excentuated Sarah's cinched waist, she decided to head to be bed.

Then realizing that she had still yet to unpack her bedroom, Sarah sighed I'm exhasperation, only to find that when she went back there, all of her boxes had been unpacked, her things stowed nicely and organized. Even the boxes themselves had been broken down, flat-packed and placed at the back of her closet.

Sarah scrunched her freckle-face in confusion as she looked at her room. She had planned a little on how she had wanted to decorate it, but the actual layout she had in front of her was even better than the solutions she had come up with. Maybe her parents had come in and unpacked her things for her while she was out shopping? She would have to thank them later. Relieved, Sarah took off her. See outfit, pressed not and set it out for tomorrow on her desk, where she also found all of her school things for the next bday had also been organized just how she liked them.

“How convenient,” Sarah thought to herself, “Today has been like just out of a fairy tail,” she mused as she turns off her bedside lamp and went to sleep.

Waking up the next morning, Sarah began preparing for the day and finally putting on her brand new outfit. Glancing again at her wonderfully set up room, she smiled at how homey it felt. If only the rest of her apartment had been done too---he really wanted to start the day off with a homecooked breakfast-- she wished to herself.

Looking at herself in the mirror again one last time before leaving her room, she noticed that the waistband of the skirt was fitting just a tiny bit loose. Heading back out into the kitchen, Sarah was astonished to see that her entire apartment had seemingly decorated itself while she wasn't looking. There was even everything she needed to make her breakfast, completele with a plate of bacon she never bought, a bowl of pre-mixed pancake batter sitting on the counter, and a hot pan ready to cook.

Dumbfounded, she looked around finding nobody, so she unconsciously hitched her skirt up a centimeter, and began preparing a traditional breakfast. Sarah was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth; breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all. Because she hadn't measured out the portions for her breakfast herself, it had made slightly more than she was aware. Not wanting any to go to waste, Sarah finished her breakfast before washing up. By the time she finished her large stack of pancakes and bacon, her skirt was fitting just as perfectly as it had last night (well, maybe a little tighter) and she realized that she had spent so long cooking, eating, and cleaning up after breakfast, that she was about to miss her bus!

Sarah grabbed her bag and ran outside to her bus stop. In the distance she could see a bus with her route pulling away; far out of reach where she could catch up. Just as dismay was settling in, she heard the telltale sound of another bus breaking and opening its doors right next to her! ‘The next bus must be early! I can't believe the luck I'm having today’ Sarah cried to herself in relief. Happily boarding the bus, Sarah began her commute to what would be the best first day of classes she had ever have.

Little did she know, however, was that luck had nothing to do with it.