Chapter Four Through Runway Eyes
When Margaery picked her up in the morning, she was the queen of 20 questions. She was determined to ask each one and probably more. She started her barrage as soon as Sansa got into the car.
"So, was that the guy that crashed your snowflake?"
"Ate my snowflake you mean? Yes, his Jeep is humongous."
"So where did you go last evening?"
"We went for a run on the beach, if you must know."
"Where you strapped in? I hope so."
"Margaery, you sound like my father. Of course, I was strapped in. It's called a harness."
"Well I just needed to know. After all he's already been unsafe with you once!"
"No, he wasn't unsafe with me. He was unsafely parking his car. I just happen to be trying to get into the same spot."
"He looked gorgeous. Is he?"
"Yes Margaery, he actually is quite handsome."
"Good thing you got in an accident with a cutie!"
"So what did you two do at the beach?"
"We listened to a bunch of Bowie and danced around like head bangers!"
"What else? What else? Did you guys make out?"
"Aren't we a bit too old to be talking about my dates like preteens? We kissed, but no huge slobbering. If that's what you wanted to know!"
"Fuck, Sansa you're just always so good!"
"Damn, Margaery you're always so horny. So I'm probably not even going to let you look at him."
"Will you at least tell me his name?"
"His name is Jon."
"No last name? Or didn't he tell you?"
"I'm going to satisfy your curiosity, but I'll only say it once. His name is Jon Targaryen. Yes, that Targaryen. His father is the PM. The craziest part is that he is an attorney at Parliament and my father is his mentor. That's everything."
"What the fuck? You have to run that whole thing by me again. You're joking, right."
"Nope, I'm done. I swear. I was up until late last night sewing, so please let's get focused on today."
"All right. I still want to know more."
"When I know more, I'll clue you in. We are going out to a dance party tonight at a place called The Citadel. It's a music shop that sells vinyls, as in old records. Ok. Satisfied?"
"For the moment. I'll let it go. You're right. Focus on today."
"So what are you showing? Which pieces?"
"If I tell you it won't be a surprise."
"Margaery you're so predictable. It's not going to be a surprise. Whatever you show is going to be totally sexy and decked out in flowers one way or another. Am I correct?"
"Yup, more or less. You're right about the sexy, but you will be surprised to know that I'm going a little less on the flowers."
"How much less? From 50 flowers to 45?"
"I've been looking at your minimalist approach. I'm starting to understand things in a different way. Of course everything is still going to be sexy as shit!"
"Great. Let's just get in to the building and get everything ready."
The two unloaded Margaery's cramped Aston Martin, dragging in two garment bags apiece as well as other gear. Neither of them traveled light. Finally, in the sewing room/ready room they unpacked and resumed their banter. Margaery was still trying to pry information out of Sansa who wasn't giving much away. Especially when it came to Jon.
"So what about your pieces?"
"You're going to be pleasantly surprised I totally went out of my comfort zone. I did a Dana Scully suit."
"A Dana Scully suit. What do you mean?"
"You know the X-Files. Mulder and Scully. Dana Scully is the fabulous redhead FBI agent. I happened to catch a contrast of Dana Scully and the actual Gillian Anderson on Tumblr the other day, so I chased down some more images. I had a great idea, which actually I will admit, comes from Arya badgering me to do more tailoring."
"So you did it? A tailored suit?"
"Absolutely, just like something Scully would wear if she wanted to be super sexy while she was chasing aliens. It's very much in contrast to what she really wore on the show. It's a pencil skirt with a high slit, instead of a prim and proper government approved suit. I've got a sexy halter underneath."
"Sansa, I never expected that. Well, let's get in there and get those pieces pressed. I'm dying to see what you've done."
"I am too. I'm hoping this turned out like my vision. You know how sometimes you see something and you can't quite execute what you saw in your mind's eye. I'm a little worried, but what would Tim Gunn say?"
"Tim Gunn would say get out of your comfort zone and carry on."
"That's exactly what I'm hoping Professor Lannister will say!"
In the middle of the morning Sansa got a text from Jon that read,
"Tonight?"
As she started to text back, she realized it was probably inappropriate for him to be sitting at his desk or on the floor of Parliament with his phone in his hands texting away. He held himself to a very rigorous code. After all, he was the son of the Prime Minister, so there probably were a lot of eyes on him at all times. Specifically, because he worked for the opposition party, her father.
She texted back.
"Yes you tell me"
He immediately popped back.
"7 pm?"
Now, she was about to be in a hurry. They were about to get their models together and show their pieces.
"7pm it is going to show my pieces now"
"Good luck" he texted back.
"Pizza ok? Please text toppings"
Since the text didn't pop back up immediately, Sansa returned to the tasks at hand. She was luckier than many of the designers. Only she and Margaery and a couple of the men were tall enough to wear their own clothes. It was good to be sample size or just a little bigger. Poor Dany, she always had to hire a model. Dany was a diminutive 5 foot 3 inches tall. Though she was a powerhouse in her designs, she was too small to wear them. To achieve the flowing effect that she wanted, she hired a personal model who was tall and graceful. She wore all of her clothes in every show.
Sansa went back over each piece, checking each hem and seam. Meanwhile, Margaery was more concerned with her brown wavy hair. Of course, what is she doing? Braiding flowers into it! Still, she has been true to her promise. She was using less flowers in her garment, but now she's braiding every possible flower into her hair. She's going to look like a flower arrangement at a funeral. I'm just gonna let Margaery do what Margaery does. Somehow I know, she'll pull it off. I have to admit Margaery has created a stunning spring green neoprene bathing suit. A one shoulder maillot with flower appliqué and matching neoprene and voile skirt cover up which could easily take her from an afternoon at the beach to sunset drinks on any patio in Dorne.
Finally, Sansa heard an engine roar from her phone. She had assigned that particular text sound to Jon. So fitting. I wonder if he's given me a special text sound. Probably a screeching car crash.Sansa didn't have much time left. She quickly read the text.
"Please excuse very busy myself
"Toppings no specific order: extra cheese pepperoni black olives bacon chicken NO pineapple
Sansa texted back.
"Never pineapple 7pm will be fantastic"
"Riding home with Margaery See you"
Sansa put her phone away and got back to the business at hand. This was crucial. Runway Day #1 for seniors. There were no eliminations, but the top four students did get the chance to show at Westeros Fashion Week. Who knows where that could go? Sansa had a tendency to keep to herself during these moments. She went very inside her own head to keep her focus. She did her own make up. No help like some of the people whose designs weren't strong enough. There were always students who hired cosmetology experts, as if that would make up for their lack of expertise in design. Never worked though. Professor Lannister had an excellent eye.
When she was finished dressing herself in her tailored suit, she felt confident. Crafted from amazing grey fabric with a fine midnight blue pinstripe, a pencil slim skirt, and matching jacket. Beneath it all, her most important piece, a day to evening beautifully draped silk halter, again in that same midnight blue. Sansa walked over to Dany, who was just primping and fluffing Missandei, her model. She looked absolutely perfect, wearing pale yellow silk jodhpurs beneath a sheer matching silk top with a crisscross bodice wrapped in silk rope and flowing down just skimming her hips.
"Hey Dany, do you think you could take a picture for me? Do you have a moment? I'd really love to send it to my mom and Arya. Especially Arya, since she's the one who suggested going a little more tailored.
"Of course not, Sansa I think you're on target. Your outfit is brilliant. It's quite a change for you."
"Arya has been needling me for the longest time to do something a lot more angular. She calls me the Northern version of Amy Lee, you know the chick from Evanescence."
"Sansa, you do wear pink Doc's!"
"Amy Lee's Doc's are usually black. Can you? Here's my phone."
"Sure. Let's go….. Mini photo shoot here! Strike a pose! Come on, vogue it!"
"That's fantastic Dany, thanks so much."
"I saw my cousin pick you up yesterday."
"Jon is your cousin? Oh, of course. It's not like Targaryen is a common name."
"How did you meet him? He always working or working out."
"You know, I've been so busy because of him, I haven't had a chance to even sit down and talk to you. I'm sorry. It's all too crazy. I was on my way to Cersei's and he and I got into a parking war. Now, my snowflake is a mess!"
"Oh the gods, is your dad about to kill you?"
"No, Jon totally smoothed it over with him and he's getting my car fixed."
"That's Jon for you. He's a very take control of the situation type of guy. Very focused. So, what do you think of him?"
"He's been nothing but a gentleman to me. A little too focused on work and edgy."
"Nothing a good woman couldn't fix! We've been waiting a long time for him to get a girlfriend."
"Hey, look we're going to have to talk later. I think it's time for us to go down to the auditorium."
"You don't realize how lucky you are being tall. I'd like to be the one out there strutting the runway showing my designs. I know exactly where I'd like to put the emphasis."
When they got to the auditorium, Professor Lannister had the mandatory button bag. Everyone pulled out a button determining their showing order. Sansa got her favorite number, seven. Counting herself, there were seven people in her family. She noticed that Professor Lannister was giving her a quizzical look. She realized she had done nothing to her hair. How very un-Dana Scully! She quickly twisted it into a bun and tucked it in on itself. Thank the gods for Margaery, who came over to Sansa.
"I can't let you walk with your hair looking like that!" she smirked, pulling a pin out of her own hair and redoing Sansa's. "Now remember when you take the jacket off, pull the pin and shake out that gorgeous red hair. Don't forget to shake your butt too. You have you head up your ass over this guy!"
The panel consisted of faculty members and most importantly, Cersei Lannister herself. Sansa was so relieved she had pulled an early number. Even though she loved designing, after a while the runway and watching some of the very sad outfits, tended to just make her zone out. Today was worse. Jon, Jon, Jon. Once she walked, she had other things on her mind. Jon kissed me. He said he wanted to go on kissing me. I wouldn't have minded at all. This is a new development. I've been so focused for 3 1/2 years I can't even remember the last time I went out on a date. Is going out running with a guy a date? I'm having him over for dinner. That's a real date. I'm even cooking. Can't get more real than that. Then, we're going out tonight. That's a real date. What am I supposed to wear to a dance party? LOL. Red shoes! Oh, those eyes. Every grey in nature. He actually does have a cute butt. I was staring when I was running behind him, which wasn't for very long. I'm sure he thought I had a great butt. I wonder what Dany meant by her comment, when she said the whole family has been waiting for him to finally date someone. He does seem to be a bit of a workaholic. Maybe that's just because he doesn't have anyone in his life to share things with. Am I going to fit into his life? Do I want to fit into his life? It would be nice. I wonder if people say the same thing about me. Oh, poor Sansa. If only she had a guy in her life, she wouldn't spend every moment at her sewing machine.
