Fifth Floor Common Room, Sunday Evening

[wasthecuteone]

Petra had fully intended to go along with this whole song and dance for a day or whatever, buck up, wear the uniform, in the name of just getting it over with.

That was, until she saw the uniform in question. Some things were not meant to be borne. More plaid than a lumberjack convention, ugly boxy cuts, and none of it in breathable fabrics¹? Oh hell no.

Upon returning to the dorms, Petra had dug through her sewing supplies, collected everything she thought she'd need, and relocated it all, including her sewing machine (which was set up on the coffee table), to the common room. She figured this was going to be an all-nighter, especially if she was going to restructure a blazer² into something figure-flattering, and she didn't want to test Dany's patience.

And now? She was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, surrounded by...well, mostly, at this point, pieces of cloth. Plaid polyester cloth. It might look familiar. And if the penny didn't drop then, the fact that Petra was currently taking a seam ripper to those pants might trigger a clue.

She couldn't fix this sartorial disaster completely, but she could remake it. She could make it better.

¹Not to mention the disastrous rise on the pants she'd been given, which were also about three inches too short--kind of astonishing when you considered practically everything else she'd been given was at least two sizes too big.
²Something she was actually kind of excited about attempting. Petra was kind of a dork about sewing sometimes.

((Open common room, y'all know the drill.))

Comments

[ihavediabetes.livejournal.com]

Stacey was really just looking for someone to complain with, so she'd gone on a hunt for people. Looked like she'd come to the right place.

"You really don't like the uniform," she noted.

[wasthecuteone]

Petra sort of laughed, looking around at her fabric pile. "I'm going to put it back together?" she said. "In a way so it actually fits? But no. In general I think it sucks."

[ihavediabetes.livejournal.com]

"And here I was just going to roll the skirt up," Stacey said, taking a seat. "You can really remake that monstrosity?"

[wasthecuteone]

"Well, I've never tackled reconstructing a blazer before, but I'm pretty sure I can do it," Petra said, casting a critical eye over her work so far. "The skirt's pretty easy, even with the pleats to deal with. I'm just going to take it in and shorten it." She looked down at the pants in her lap and said, "These...I don't know how I can salvage these."

[ihavediabetes.livejournal.com]

"I'm pretty sure the pants were created as an alternate method of birth control," she said.

See, Jeff and Jamie, one of your students was sort of learning!

[wasthecuteone]

Remembering the rise, Petra muttered, "They would definitely inhibit sperm production." Then she shook her head and said, "If I had two pairs I could make some kind of funky maxi skirt, but then I'd have a maxi skirt made out of polyester, so I would probably sweat to death."

[ihavediabetes.livejournal.com]

"Let's avoid that," Stacey decided. "I wish I could do stuff like that. I just decided all my accessories were going to come out to play while we're stuck with these."

[wasthecuteone]

"Oh, definitely that, too," Petra agreed. In times of great stress, Petra relied upon her skill at accessorizing to calm herself. "But let's face it, the raw materials could not be saved by accessories alone here. This is...tragic. Luckily, I can sew." This was not bragging, it was merely fact. "My mom taught me."

She hesitated, then offered, "I have to focus on my own stuff first, but if you want something hemmed or whatever I might be able to do it tomorrow? I could even go super short if you want to be slutty rage against the machine. If we're still having to do this thing. Do you know how long this guy's visit is supposed to last?"

[ihavediabetes.livejournal.com]

"No idea. But it can't be too long. I mean, it's finals, the year's almost over," she said. "But if you're willing to help out, that'd be soooo great."

She pronounced every o.

[wasthecuteone]

"No problem," Petra said easily. "This uniform is cruel and unusual, no one should have to suffer like this. Just swing by room 511 with it if I'm not in here or whatever."