Page 98 of Never Have I Ever
32
The L-word
Rosalie
I’m met with three angry faces. Well, not really angry, more like disappointed. “No.” They all say at the same time.
My shoulders slump. “Why not?”
“Because you’d be working for someone else.”
Gabi nods. “And all your designs would be under someone else’s name,” she says.
Leila puts her hand on my shoulder and frowns. “This isn’t what you wanted, Rosie.”
I sigh. I’ve been trying to rack my brain with what to do for the past two weeks. I was given a month, so time’s running out, and I need to make a decision. I need to know if this job is the right thing for me to do or if my friends are right.
“It’s going to be a long way away until I launch my own brand.”
“Yeah, but you wanted to go to college, right?” Madi asks.
I nod.
“Then do that,” Leila says. “You wanted this for years, Rosie, and now you want to abandon it?”
“Yeah, but Paris—”
“Will still be there when you graduate,” she finishes.
“But the job offer won’t be,” I tell her.
“You don’t need that job offer,” Gabi says. “That was the first one, and there will be plenty more if you want it. But you want to create your own line with your own designs and your own name,” she says.
That’s true. I do want that. I want to create and design the clothes and be in charge of the whole operation, I do. But working for a designer like Emily Livingston would also be beneficial to my career. It would allow me to learn new things about the business that I wouldn’t be able to do on my own.
“You wanted an inclusive line, right?” Leila asks. I nod. One of the most important things to me as a designer is to create high fashion for all body types. “You won’t be able to do that if you work for someone else,” she says.
I close my eyes. I’d love to live in Paris and work for a fashion designer, but I’d love to have my own line too. “You’re right,” I say on an exhale.
“So, does that mean you’re staying?” Gabi asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I think so.” I only have two weeks to decide, but I think they’re right. I can always try again once I graduate if I still want it, and if not, I can start creating my own line.
“Please stay,” Leila says. “You’re only eighteen, and this is our freshman year,” she says. “We have four more years left. Let’s make the most out of this.”
That’s the biggest reason I don’t want to move to Paris. College. Being here with my friends and living the college life I always wanted. “Yeah,” I say, nodding. “I want that.”
“Good,” Gabi says, exhaling and dropping her head back on the couch. “Any more life-changing news we should know about?” she asks, popping a chip in her mouth.
“Like Grayson?” Madi says.
My eyes flash towards her, looking towards where she’s sat at the kitchen table. “What about him?”
“Really, Rosie?” she says.
“He’s fine,” I say with a shrug.
“That’s it?” Gabi asks. “You drop a bomb on us, saying you’re hooking up with him, and then leave us with nothing?” She shakes her head. “Where’s the details? I want them.”
