A/N: Edited, slightly.
"And who, exactly, are you?" Christina asked, walking into the main room of the closet and finding a completely unfamiliar, but young, woman standing there, fidgeting with the edge of her jacket.
The young woman jumped a little. "Oh, hi! Um, is this the Closet?" she asked with an obvious Californian accent.
"Indeed it is," Christina answered, setting the dress she was carrying on a hook. "I'm Christina, I head the Closet. How might I help you, love?"
"Yay! I knew you were you!" the young woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around Christina.
The Scottish woman was very much taken aback by this sudden action and wore a bewildered look on her face. She gave the other woman an awkward pat on the back. "I'm sorry, dear, but do I know you?" Christina asked.
"Not yet, you don't! I'm Katalina Watkins, your new assistant."
Realization dawned on Christina as she shook hands with her new underling. "Right, right, right. I completely forgot you were starting today. I'm sorry, Katalina. Come, let me show you your new home."
Katalina followed Christina in awed silence. This place was amazing. She listened intently as her new boss explained about everything. Even if she wasn't going to be making any of these clothes, she had a feeling that this was going to be just as exciting. She could just imagine all the fun she was going to have.
"And upstairs-"
"Wait, there's another floor?" Katalina couldn't believe her ears. "I am so in heaven," she murmured, leaning against the banister.
Christina smiled. "Yes, there is indeed another floor. Now come on. Or do you not want to see it?"
Katalina tripped her way up the stairs behind a chuckling Christina. "This is really incredible, you know. I don't think I've seen so much designer stuff in one place. And I figured I'd be the last person to be in a place like this, even though I've always wanted to be a fashion designer since fourth grade," she babbled. She spotted a simple black dress and ran over to it. "Ohmygosh, this is so cute! Now if only I had a sparkly silver something, like a sash. It would look totally gorgeous with light blue ruffles, don't you think?"
An amused smile formed on Christina's face as she watched her assistant fussing with the dress. Things were going to get very interesting around here. This girl was young, fresh, and full of energy and life and vision. Those were just the kinds of things that would keep Christina from going absolutely mad in this place. She had to introduce her to Betty.
"Betty!"
The braces-clad assistant spat her food into a napkin before looking up. "Hi Christina! Who's this?" she asked, looking past the seamstress to the new girl behind her.
"This is my new assistant, Katalina," Christina said, pushing her towards Betty.
"You're not a model?" a puzzled Betty asked the petite woman as they shook hands. She looked completely qualified to be a model; she was a bit under medium height and was thin, but not anorexic looking.
Katalina laughed. "Stars above, no! I'm the least photogenic person in the world!"
Now it was Betty's turn to laugh. "If you say so," she said, sitting back down.
The new girl remained standing as her boss and friend sat. She shook her head and put a hand on her hip. "I get good vibes from you, Betty. Don't belittle yourself. It's not nice to yourself or the ones that care about you. A bad mood is just as infectious as a happy mood. And you'd be surprised how much your mood can change that of another person's." She paused for breath. "Now, where's the microwave in this joint?" she asked, looking around the lunchroom. Betty stared after Katalina as she bounced off in search of the appliance.
"She's a handful," Christina stated, "isn't she?"
"Is she sure she's come to work at the right place? Because I swear I could see her as a psychologist or something," Betty said.
"From her babblings over the past few hours, I've gathered that she started at UCLA, and then transferred to NYU, then to FIDM in San Francisco, then back here in New York to Parsons, where she graduated. And she's just barely turned 24," Christina elaborated.
Betty furrowed her brows as she thought. "So obviously she planned on something different, right?"
Christina shrugged. "She mentioned that she's wanted to be a fashion designer since fourth grade."
The two were stopped from discussing anything further as Katalina returned, with a little black storm cloud hovering over her head. "Can you believe the nerve of some people? Just because you've come to work at a fashion mag and you aren't wearing a designer label they think you're clueless. Mark my words, one of these days you're going to see my stuff in this mag and it'll blow them all away," she remarked huffily as she sat down. Her new friends gave her a sympathetic look.
"Trust me, I've been in your shoes, Katalina," Betty reassured her, laying a hand on the other woman's arm. "Don't let them belittle you. A bad mood is just as infectious as a happy mood." She grinned.