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The J.A.M a.k.a. Numbuh I: LOL, true she did! But nah, she had paid for it when she reserved it. She is not that selfish.

Monday morning…

Rodrigo stood by the school entrance, looking at the doors and trying to conjure up the strength to go through them. He had been standing there for seven minutes in the cold, wondering if whether it'll be the last time he would ever be able to show his face at P.S. 118.

Ever since his disastrous dinner with Rhonda, Rodrigo chose to remain at home throughout the weekend, refusing to show his face in public. Having just broken the heart of his grade's most popular girl, the Latino kid not only felt bad, but feared for the worst.

Rodrigo sighed and gulped in fear. He was almost certain that Rhonda, whether out of habit or revenge, would get back at him by spreading false rumours about him or using her influence to rally disgruntled kids against him. Despite his distaste for gossip and rumours, he was never one to underestimate their power.

"Let's just get this over with." He said as he braced himself, gripped his hands, went up the stoop, opened the door and…

Rodrigo had his eyes closed and when he opened the doors...he opened his eyes and saw students walking by and doing...nothing?

Rodrigo looked around to see at the looks of the kids' faces walking by. He was expecting to attract some unwanted attention from his peers. But, all he found was nothing. Kids walked by him, but did not bother to even acknowledge him. No frowns, no disapproving faces, no mob coming at him to put him out of his misery. Nothing.

Thinking that perhaps they didn't notice him, Rodrigo summed up his courage and stepped into the school. But again, kids walked by or remained where they were and talked to one another.

After some moment of reflection and taking in the realization that for whatever the reason, his peers were not out for him, Rodrigo finally felt confident enough to walk further into the school and head to his locker.

He continued to walk, but remained on his guard and scanned every kid that walked past him. Nothing. Apart from the usual frowns, they didn't do anything else. Even as he approached his locker, got his things and walked towards the classroom, he remained untouched. For the first time, he felt relieved that people were ignoring him.

From his locker, he made his way to class. But as he did so, he began to wonder about a few things;

Did Rhonda not tell people about what happened last Friday night? He thought. It sure doesn't look like it. Why? She had every reason to. I know I shouldn't be question it, but I wonder what kept her from rallying the school against me?

However, his curiosity paled in comparison to another, more negative feeling that he was experiencing;

Why do I feel so bad about this? He thought to himself. It's been plaguing me the whole weekend. Couldn't stop thinking her – I mean about how things ended between us. I mean, I know what I said was hurtful, but I feel so bad about it. Why? I hardly know her. She's been practically a stranger to me. Yet, I feel as if she somehow means something to me…

It was indeed a strange feeling and he hadn't been able to come up with a solid answer. He had felt bad for others in the past in other situations, just not as strong as with Rhonda. He just figured he feels more terrible than usual because Rhonda poured her heart out to him and he just stomped all over it. That thought didn't make him feel any better and actually felt some pain in his chest and it made him shudder.

However, he soon shook away his confusing thoughts when he saw Arnold.

"Hey, Arnold." Rodrigo addressed him.

"Morning Rodrigo." Arnold greeted him with a small smile. "How did things go with Rhonda?
He asked.

"Oh." An intrigued Rodrigo said. "You didn't hear?" He asked him.

"Hear what?" Arnold asked.

"You didn't hear anything from anyone about what happened between me and Rhonda?" He asked.

"No, not really." He responded. "Was I supposed to?"

"Phew!" Rodrigo said, now feeling completely relieved. "I thought Rhonda was going to exact her revenge by singing like a canary."

"Revenge?" Arnold confusingly asked. "I take it things didn't go well last Friday?"

"No, it didn't." Rodrigo sadly explained. "It turns out Rhonda does have feelings for me. I tried to let her down as gently as I could, but she still got hurt and upset."

"Oh man. I'm sorry to hear that." Arnold sympathetically said. "But, you did the right thing." He assured him.

"I know, I just feel bad." Rodrigo admitted. "And to make matters worse, I wasn't really being considerate about her feelings."

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked.

"Well during dinner," Rodrigo explained. "Rhonda spent the whole time talking about herself and all the things that she likes and 'did' for others. I couldn't to get a word out, no matter what I did. Thinking that she was being like, well, like Rhonda, I soon got bored and my mind drifted off. I wasn't really listening to what she was trying to tell me. I never give her the chance. I just thought that whatever she talking about was boring, so I ignored her. Well, long story short, she called me out on it and is now angry at me for not giving her the chance to get to know her. She invited me to celebrate our assignment mark, so I could have at least have done that, you know."

"Oh, I see." Arnold said, but then noticed Rodrigo sadly slouching.

"Are you alright?" He asked him. "You seem pretty bummed out about all of this."

"Yeah, I am." Rodrigo responded. "More so than usual. I don't know why though. I know what did to Rhonda was not cool and I understand why I feel bad about it, but I've been feeling really terrible about it. I was thinking about it all weekend and it's been eating me up inside."

"I see." Arnold said as he thought about it.

Hmm, interesting. He thought.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Arnold asked him.

"I'm not sure what I can do." Rodrigo said. "At least right now I can give her some space to cool down. But apart from that, should I do something?"

"Well, let me ask you this," Arnold then asked. "What do you personally want to gain from this?"

"Just that Rhonda doesn't make my situation at this school all the more worse than it already is." Rodrigo said. "As for breaking her heart, I don't think there is anything I can do about that. If anything, I think it would be best to just leave her be."

"I agree." Said Arnold.

"Except," Rodrigo continued, "I think I should at least apologize for the way I acted at dinner. I'm just not sure when I should do it."

"Well, as you said, give her some time to cool down." Arnold suggested. "Perhaps this coming weekend, you can go over to her house and apologize."

"Good idea. I think I'll do that." Said Rodrigo.

With that, the two pre-teens then made their way inside the classroom. Rodrigo entered and noticed that Rhonda was not inside. Taking a deep breath, he entered and quickly went over to his seat. Wanting to get his mind off the whole ordeal, he opened one of his textbooks and read it. However, he was compounded to occasionally view the door to see if Rhonda would appear. He wasn't sure why, but he was curious and worried how she was and how she would react to his presence. Rodrigo hoped she would be okay enough to not cause a scene.

After some waiting, Rhonda eventually appeared at the entrance, just as Rodrigo took a peek. He instantly got nervous on seeing her and it didn't help that Rhonda was not in a cheerful mood. She was dressed well and had her hair combed, but it was clear in her face that she was not happy. With a rather serious look, she quietly entered the classroom and made her way to her desk, which was some rows behind Rodrigo.

The Latino kid anxiously cringed as Rhonda approached him and once again, braced himself. However, Rhonda simply bypassed him and went over to sit down. Rodrigo opened his eyes when he realized that nothing happened. Relieved, but too scared to look back, he focused his attention back to his textbook and waited for class to start.

As suggested, Rodrigo stayed away from Rhonda throughout that week so as not to arouse her wrath. Rhonda too kept her distance and ignored him. Both made a conscious effort to keep a fair distance, even when their friends met up to play or hang around. On seeing that Rhonda was going to be there, Rodrigo opted to just simply make up an excuse to be unavailable. He didn't mind. Most of their friends were still angry at him anyways, so he knew they didn't want to be around him.

Friday...

When Friday finally arrived, Rodrigo judged that enough time had gone by for Rhonda to have cooled down, but not enough for his apology to be considered too late. And so, that day was going to be when he would go over to her house to apologize. He didn't want to delay this anymore anyways, as the guilt didn't let him rest for even a second. However, he didn't want to speak to her at school, for fear of causing a commotion and thus, embarrass her more. No. He wanted to do this in private.

Once school ended, he stayed behind for a bit to do some homework before making his way to her place. After a longer bus ride that took him past the neigbourhood, he finally made it to Rhonda's area. It was a more upscale neighbourhood, with more luxurious apartment buildings and stores. Wasting no time, he headed over to her place and knocked on the door.

"Oh boy, here we go." He nervously said to himself as he anxiously waited and began to rehearse what he was going to say to her.

Eventually, he could hear footsteps and soon enough, the door opened, revealing Rhonda.

"Hi, Rhonda." Rodrigo nervously said with a smile.

Rhonda was surprised to see him, out of all people, at her door. But her surprised look soon turned to a frown.

"You?!" She angrily said to him. "What are you doing here? I do not want to see you!"

"Just here me out, please." Rodrigo quickly said. "I came here to apologize." He said. "I feel really bad with the way we ended things last Friday and I just want to show you that I'm not a rude and inconsiderate person. Please."

Rhonda just silently glared at Rodrigo with her arms crossed. For a few seconds, there was an intense standoff, which only served to increase Rodrigo's worry that she will end up slamming the door right at his face.

"You have five minutes." She finally said as she stepped aside to let him in.

Relieved, he quickly made his way inside as Rhonda shut the door.

This was the first time Rodrigo had been in her home and to his surprise, while being upscale, was not as fancy as he thought. He had expected the house would have a more classical/noble look and be surrounded with the finest décor, expensive rug, big chandeliers and other luxurious items. Anything that show off her family's wealth and status. Instead, he was met up with a rather modern, yet somewhat humbled place. It still contained high luxurious items, but not as much as he thought. It was not at all the type of house he expected Rhonda would live at. But Rodrigo had no time to admire the décor.

Rhonda took him to her living room where she sat down and impatiently waited for him. Rodrigo took a deep breath before sitting down somewhat close to her and began.

"You were right." He said. "I was being rude and inconsiderate. I thought you were just telling me all those things you did just because you found them to be entertaining or you thought they would impress me. But now I see that it was deeper than that. I think you were trying to tell me about yourself, who you are as a person. But instead of actually listening to what you were saying, I completely ignored you and worse, just I took some of things you said at superficial level. Like for example, I thought you were being snobbish at some of those kids about their appearances, but now I see that you were only trying to help them. Instead of sitting by and waiting for them to get ridiculed for their clothes, you took it upon yourself to help them. At least that's how I see it. I'm really sorry about that. You were right; I blew a great opportunity to really get to know you. I judged you before I ever got to know you."

"I wish there was someway I can make it up to you," Rodrigo continued, "But after hurting you the way I did, I have no right to ask you to hang out or be friends. I know that would just make things worse for you. My only hope is that one day, perhaps later when you get over me, I could get another opportunity to better be acquainted with you, even though I know I don't really deserve it."

Rhonda said nothing throughout and just gave Rodrigo a frown with her arms and legs crossed.

"I also want to thank you." He continued. "For not telling anyone at school about what happened. I'm not going to ask you why you didn't tell the school about what I did to you, just thank you. It means a lot to me."

Again, Rhonda said nothing continued to glare at him.

"Anyways," He said as he got up from the couch. "That's all I wanted to say. Thanks for hearing me out. I'll uh, I'll see you around." He said as he then turned around to head out. But after only taking a few steps,

"I'm sorry too." Rhonda then suddenly spoke, prompting Rodrigo to instantly stop and turn back around.

Rhonda's anger had dissipated to give way for a more sympathetic look.

"After last week," She continued, "I had a lot of time to think about what happened. I was really angry at you for most of the week, but I realized that I too am part to blame. I just assumed that, with me being popular, anyone would jump at the chance at like 'liking' me. And you weren't an exception. So I just confessed my feelings without really thinking if you even like 'liked' me back. Needless to say, I realized I came a little too strong. It was a bit...well, selfish of me for putting you into such an awkward position so, I'm sorry."

Rodrigo said nothing to let Rhonda continue.

"Look, I'll be frank," Rhonda then nervously said, "I'm not used to people saying 'no' to me, especially after I confess my feelings to them. And I'm new to this whole like 'liking' people thing and I don't really know how to cope with it. It was just, a lot to take at one time."

Rodrigo was appreciative of Rhonda's sincerity and went back to sit beside her.

"That's understandable." He said. "This is all new to me too. I actually had to go and ask Arnold for some advice."

"Really?" Rhonda asked, surprised. "You went to Arnold for advice?

"Yeah, I did." Rodrigo said with a giggle. "He has experience with this, so I thought he could give me some pointers."

"That's Arnold for ya." Rhonda commented with a small smile.

"So," She nervously continued, "I guess it's safe to say that you don't feel the same way as I do?"

"No, I don't." Rodrigo responded as he shook his head, much to Rhonda's disappointment.

"If it's any consolation," He said, "I at least was being honest about it. I mean, the last thing you would have wanted was to be with a guy you didn't like 'like' you back."

"I guess." Rhonda responded, not finding Rodrigo's logic very comforting.

"Well, this is certainly not the way I wanted things to turn out." She said, pouting a bit. "I had always envisioned the first boy I liked and confessed my feelings to would naturally sweep me off of my feet and carry me away to a happily ever after ending."

Rodrigo didn't know what to say to that. However, he did have one thing to say.

"Well to be fair," He said to her, "It is a bit unfair for me to say that I don't like 'like' you because, I don't really know you. Whatever I do know about you, it's only based on what I saw and what people have said about you."

"Were they good things about me?" She asked.

"Umm...in a way, yeah." He reluctantly said with a nervous smile. "But what I'm saying is that I never took the time to actually sit down and speak to you face to face. Like that sewed flower you made for our assignment. That was really impressive. I apologize for saying this but, I never knew you had such sewing skills."

"That really impressed you?" Rhonda asked. "That was but child's play. I can make things beautiful and fashionable from just about anything."

"Really?" Rodrigo asked, intrigued. "Like what?"

"Well," Rhonda explained, "There was this one time back in the fourth grade when I made a dress for myself from a shower curtain. And there was also the time I made insect suits for both Arnold and Gerald for an assignment with Nadine, also in the fourth grade."

"No way!" An impressed Rodrigo exclaimed. "See? This is what I'm talking about! That is amazing!"

"Thank you." Rhonda bashfully said as she adjusted her hair, but she was soon intrigued about why Rodrigo was constantly bringing up her sewing skills.

"Are you into sewing?" She asked him.

"Um, yes and no." He responded. "I could not sew anything to save my life, let alone make the things you made. But I was always curious about it. I used to watch my grandparents sew clothes from scratch. I was always fascinated at how they did it. To them, it was just second nature, but to me, it looked like it took a lot of skills and experience. That and plus I always appreciate the work that goes behind any work of art."

"You consider sewing to be a work of art?" She asked.

"Definitely." He responded.

Hmm, interesting. She thought.

"You've never tried?" Rhonda asked.

"Well, there was one time I sewed a button back on, but that was after a few trials and errors." Rodrigo responded. "Plus, I'm not really good in combining different colours and textures and stuff. To be fair, I was very young when my grandmother tried to teach me, but I soon left my home country and moved to the U.S. and my parents don't really know how to sew."

Rhonda smiled.

This is it! She thought. This is my opening! It's now or never.

"Well, I suppose I could to teach you a few things here and there." She offered with a smile.

Rodrigo looked at her with a surprised look.

"You...would do that?" He asked, to which Rhonda nodded, but Rodrigo was skeptical.

"What about...you know." He hinted.

"I'll admit, unrequited love is a painful thing." Rhonda sighed. "But I am a proud Lloyd and we don't let the hardships of life get the best of us. We march forward, regardless of what obstacles comes at our way." She defiantly said. "Besides, I am quite curious to see whether I have what it takes to pass on my skills and knowledge to the next generation. You can be my first test student. You don't mind, do you?"

"That's very kind and mature of you Rhonda." Rodrigo said, ever looking more impressed with her. "And no, I don't mind at all. I would like at the chance to learn."

"Perfect!" She said. "You can come by tomorrow after lunch for your first lesson."

"Tomorrow?" He said, thinking that it was short notice, but he didn't want to let her down again. "Um, sure. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just a white sewing wool thread and a needle." She said. "That'll be your first lesson; find out what a wool thread is and bring it."

"Sure." He said.

The next day...

Rodrigo arrived back at Rhonda's place and knocked on the door. As he waited, he wondered for a bit at how he had managed to miraculously, at least for the moment, get back on Rhonda's good side.

Hm, Rhonda seems to be taking this pretty well, given the circumstances. He thought. She appearsa lot more mature than I originally thought. I never would have expected her to offer to teach me how to sew after what happened. That takes a lot of maturity and fortitude. I gotta admit, I am a bit im-

"Afternoon, Rodrigo." Rhonda greeted him as she opened the door and greeted him. Unlike yesterday, she looked more genuinely pleased to see him.

"Afternoon, Rhonda." Rodrigo said back. "I brought the things you asked me to bring." As he showed her what he had.

"Let's see." She said as she took a look. "That is good. You brought the correct materials. So far so good." She said with a smile.

"Thank you." Rodrigo said as he went inside and Rhonda closed the door from behind.

The two pre-teens headed upstairs until they came to Rhonda's room. Thinking this was where they were going to start their lesson, Rodrigo stopped.

"Oh, not there." Rhonda said as she pointed to the next room. "We'll be doing our first lesson in my sewing room."

"Oh, ok." Rodrigo said and went over to the next room where he went inside, followed by Rhonda.

The room was bigger than his own room and it had various designed dresses, designer clothes, costumes, and other fashionable designs and projects. Some were hung on a mannequin, while others were hung with coat hangers. There was also a sewing machine on a table, a few chairs and a stool. There was even a small table that had stacks of magazines.

Rodrigo walked in and looked around at the various pieces and was quite in awe.

"Whoa." He said.

"Well, let's get to work, shall we?" She said as she closed the door, went over to the closet door and opened it to find something.

Rodrigo went over to one of the few empty chairs and sat down.

"Got it." She said as it turned around with her own wool thread and needle. She then went over to another empty chair, brought it closer to Rodrigo and sat down.

"First thing's first," She began. "Let me see how you hold a needle."

Rodrigo looked confused at the rather trivial instruction, but did as he was told and held his sewing needle high enough for Rhonda to see.

"No no no no no." She said. "You are holding it all wrong. You don't hold the needle with your whole hand. You hold it with just two fingers. Like this." As she demonstrated to him using her thumb and index fingers.

"Oh, ok." He said as he adjusted and held it the same way.

"Good." She said. "Holding it this way gives you the flexibility to maneuver your needle in many directions when you are sewing. You remove any obstacles that gets in your way."

"Got it." Said Rodrigo.

"Now," Rhonda continued. "Take the wool thread and see if you can put it through the needle head."

Rodrigo hesitated.

"Yeah about that," He said, "That's one of the areas where I struggle."

"It's okay, show me." Rhonda assured him.

Gaining some confidence, Rodrigo grabbed the wool thread and attempted to slide it through the head, but it wouldn't go through. He attempted a few more times, but each time failed. He would either miss it all together or only parts of it would go through. Rhonda just patiently sat on her chair and waited for him to finish. And waited, and waited…

"Let me help." She finally said as she got up, went over to him, put two of her fingers in her mouth and using a bit of her saliva, twisted the end of the thread to tighten it together.

"Now try." She instructed him.

Rodrigo obliged and in one attempt, successfully got it through the head.

"Finally!" He exclaimed. "Thanks, Rhonda."

"Not a problem." She casually said. "Now let's move on, shall we?"

Rhonda then proceeded to teach Rodrigo the basics of sewing. But almost immediately, she realized she bit more than she could chew. Rodrigo struggled to get the needle through the cloth without either dropping it or without stabbing his fingers with it. Several times Rhonda had to get the First Aid kit to get a bandage for Rodrigo's wounded fingers. She detested this and wondered how she managed to keep her cool and not faint at the sight of blood. However, Rodrigo persevered and eventually, managed to successfully insert the needle through the cloth without hurting himself.

Rhonda then proceeded to next teach him to sew a few shapes. Again, Rodrigo initially struggled on a sewing a basic shape like a square or a triangle, on more than one occasion. This one Rhonda had trouble controlling her temper. She couldn't understand how hard it was for him to sew one lousy side of a shape! But remembering why she was helping him, she refrained from snapping at him and resolved to just wait. Rodrigo for his part refused to give up and pushed on, eventually managing to successfully sew a small triangle, much to Rhonda's delight and relief.

It took some time, but eventually Rhonda's patience and perseverance bore fruit and Rodrigo managed to gain quick mastery on some of the techniques she showed him. Actually, she soon became quite impressed on how quickly he was picking things up. By the end of their lesson,

"Okay that about wraps it up." Rhonda said as she concluded today's lesson. "Kudos to you. You pick things up pretty fast."

"Thanks, Rhonda." Rodrigo happily thanked her. "I appreciate you being patient with me at the beginning."

"It was my pleasure." She said. "I take it then my teaching style got through to you?" She asked.

"Oh, it did." Rodrigo responded. "I learned a lot from you today. You were patient and gave me specific instructions on what to do. Not to mention that you also explained why things had to be a done in a certain way. That was very helpful."

"Well, what can I say?" She proudly said, "I guess that's another talent I can add to my list of achievements."

"For sure." Rodrigo said as he got off the chair can began to pack. "Well, I better get home. I have homework to finish and chores to do."

Oh no, he's leaving! Rhonda thought. He can't leave now, just when we are starting to get better acquainted.

"Already?" Rhonda said and tried to think of something. "But uh…. Why don't you...stay for some tea? Yeah, that's it. I got some home made cookie biscuits to go with it."

"No thank you." Rodrigo said. "I'm sure you have things to do and I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"Overstay? Oh don't be ridiculous!" She said. "You are more then welcome to stay for as long as you wish."

"That's very nice of you Rhonda." Rodrigo said. "But I really gotta get home. Some other time perhaps?"

As usual, Rhonda did not want to take no for an answer. She desperately wanted to insist and get Rodrigo to stay, but not wanting to reveal her desperation, nor make him lose whatever good impression she made on him, she relented.

"Very well, then." She maturely and graciously said, despite being very disappointed. "Thank you for coming.

"No, thank you." Rodrigo said as he headed out. "I'll see ya at school."

"Let me see you out." Rhonda quickly said as she followed him. "Host courtesy and such."

"Oh, sure." Rodrigo casually said as the two headed back downstairs and made it to the entrance door.

Rhonda, with much reluctance opened the door.

"Alright, see yeah. Have a good weekend." Rodrigo said as he began to head out.

Rhonda however had not yet given up.

C'mon, c'mon, think fast Rhonda! She thought to herself. If he leaves now, then everything you did today would have been for not.

"Oh wait!" Rhonda exclaimed, prompting Rodrigo to stop and turn around, just as he went through the door.

"I uh...uh." She tried to think of something. "You can't leave yet...because….I just remembered something."

"What is it?" Rodrigo asked.

Rhonda didn't know what to say, but she tried to think of something.

"Well..."She nervously said. "It's about...uh...what happened last week!" She said.

"Last week?" He asked.

"Yes." She said, regaining her composure. "About what happened at the restaurant, I feel bad how I ended things and I would like to make it up to you."

"That's very nice of you Rhonda, but it's not necessary." Rodrigo said. "I understand why you stormed out and I didn't take it personally."

Oh no you don't! She thought to herself. I'm not going to let you weasel your way out of this one. This time you are mine!

"I'm afraid I must insist on this one, Rodrigo." Rhonda courteously but firmly said. "I would not be able to live with myself with the way I treated you. That is why I would like to invite you again to have dinner with me next Friday evening, as…"

Rhonda had to use all of her strength and took a deep breath before she could say it.

"Friends." She said.

Rodrigo was surprised at this second invitation, but was rightfully skeptical. He knew she still like 'liked' him. Those feelings didn't just magically disappeared. But then again, what if this was her way of reversing that?

"Rhonda, are you sure you are okay with this?" He asked.

"Yes, most definitely." She confidently responded, even though she was barely able to stand up due to being highly nervous and anxious about his response. "Think of it as a fresh start, without any expectations."

Rodrigo remained silent and thought about it for a second.

"Well, okay sure." He said with a smile. "I would love to."

Rhonda could hardly sustain her excitement when she heard him say yes, but she restrained herself and maintained her calm composure.

"Wonderful." She calmly said. "I will see you on Monday then. We can coordinate a specific time later in the week."

"Sounds like a plan." He said before turning around to head home. "See ya on Monday." And he headed out.

Rhonda stood at the entrance and waved goodbye before closing the door. It was just in time too as she was getting cold.

As soon as she closed it, she leaned against the door and swooned as she put her hands close to her heart.

"He said yes." She excitedly said with a big smile.

"I can't believe I got a second chance with Rodrigo." She said. "I thought it was over between us. Now I just need to continue playing it cool and calm and show him that I can be as mature and sophisticated as he is now seeing me to be."

"And once I truly impress him, he will have no choice but to fall for me. This was such a great plan! Yeepiee!" She almost squealed with excitement.

With much excitement, she quickly ran back upstairs to her room, jumped and fell on her bed, grabbed her cell phone and immediately began to dial.

"Hello, Nadine?" She said on her phone. "Oh my Gosh, you would not believe what happened!" She very excitedly exclaimed. "I have a second date with Rodrigo!"

Well, I bet no one thought of Rodrigo would ever be interested in sewing, lol. Well, apart from the fact that I needed to have something that would get the two to bond, I thought it would be interesting if Rodrigo oddly did indeed have an interest in sewing, similar to how Curly took ballet classes back in the fourth grade.

It is also common for people in Third World countries to sew their own clothes or sew ripped clothes rather than buy them or dispose of them. Hence sewing would have been something that Rodrigo would been exposed to.