Page 54 of Darn Knit All

Pressure slowly built upon my shoulders, like sand trickling to settle at the bottom of an hourglass—each second adding one more grain of pressure.

It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. It’s a non-elimination round. You just need to get through today.

Our workbench became a makeshift battlefield, scissors and pins our weapons of choice. With pattern pieces now complete, I pinned while Theo pressed. We worked in unison, passing the pieces back and forth like a conveyor line.

“Four hours left,” Michelle called from the stage. “Tools down for the moment, please. We’ll take a ten-minute mandatory break, then get back into it.”

“Shit,” Theo grunted, standing from his seat. “My back is killing me.”

I noted he didn’t speak about his leg, but judging by how he leaned, I guessed it also pained him.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to track down some painkillers?”

Theo waved me off. “I’m fine. I just need coffee and to stretch.”

My foot jiggled nervously as I glanced around at the other teams. They were far more advanced than us—many having already completed various pieces of their outfit.

“Damn,” Theo said, tilting his head to one side as he surveyed the competition. “Are we slow or are they fast?”

“Both?” Unable to remain seated, I stood, stretching out my shoulders and neck as water bottles, cups of coffee, and snacks were handed out. “We’re really behind.”

Theo shrugged. “We’ll make it up. I have faith.”

“I’m glad you do,” I muttered, rubbing my temples. “I’m not sure I can pull together something of this magnitude in four hours.”

“Hey, look at me.” Theo’s hands were warm and comforting on my shoulders as he turned me toward him. “What have we got left to do?”

“Finish the pinning, actually sew or hand stitch the pieces, and then assemble.”

“So three things. Easy.”

I snorted. “Not quite three but I appreciate the sentiment.”

His hands pressed into my shoulders, massaging the stress from my aching muscles. I groaned, closing my eyes as his thumbs glided over my shoulders and up my neck, the slow sweep hypnotizing as he dissipated the tension from my body.

“We can do this, Mai. I have faith.”

“I should be doing this to you,” I said, tilting my head to give him better access.

He chuckled, his warm breath dancing across the shell of my ear. “Later.”

We broke apart to eat a small serving of fruit and yoghurt, then settled back at our bench as the director began a countdown.

“In three, two, one.” Celeste pointed at Michelle.

“Four hours left!” she called once more. “Better kick those machines into top gear because the end is near!”

The remainder of our pieces were quickly assembled, and then Theo and I sat down to begin the process of assembling thedress. I gave him the easy pieces—the ones which didn’t require perfectly straight lines.

Together we whizzed through the construction of the pieces, and I found myself surprised by Theo’s dedication to precision.

“How’s this?” he asked, handing me one of the panels that would form the train.

I examined the stitching, noting a few missteps but nothing that would require a complete redo.

“Great.” I glanced up, smiling at him. “You’re really improving.”

“Improving? That doesn’t bode well for your team, Ms. Sakamoto.”

---