"Too much time spent on decorations and not enough on food," I sighed, shaking my head at the pitiful buffet table.
The boutique, silent in the early hours of the morning, lacked its usual variety of black lace dresses and tall, platformed boots. Instead, the store was decorated with cotton cobwebs, sequined spiders, paper mâché ravens, and plenty of carved pumpkins. Tall, backed chairs surrounded the several square tables set for four, draped in bat-print tablecloths.
On a normal business day the shop, "Winter Raven," would feel cramped with more than 10 customers, but with the racks and mannequins moved into storage, the expected two dozen guests-frequent shoppers, old friends, models, and brand representatives-would have plenty of room to mingle.
"Who has a Halloween party in the afternoon, anyway?" I was starting to panic and doubt the choices I had made over the last month.
I had won my first fashion contest only a few days into September, getting lucky with not only a great model, but with all my competitors sick with food poisoning. Honestly, I still don't feel like I earned that win. When I left Strata I knew it wouldn't be easy; I had prepared myself for hardship, failure, sleepless nights, and years of 2nd and 3rd place. My first contest was just a trial-a tutorial, I told myself-and anything above last place was unattainable. My model would complete her walk, no one would laugh, and I would go home to prepare for the next contest.
Winning felt surreal. My hair was in low pigtails, and I hadn't bothered with makeup. Walking out onto the catwalk was a nightmare. Cameras flashed and suddenly I was home with an award and a stack of business cards.
"A win is a win," Grace told me confidently.
Dazed, me and my tiny Gothic-Lolita shop were thrust onto the pages of magazines, jumping from scraping-by niche shop to trendy, yet off-beat boutique.
It was great for my wallet-art school wasn't cheap!-but my short time working at a big name store never prepared me for hosting parties. That lack of experience might just undo what luck handed to me.
Only four hours until my debut Halloween party.