Old School Buddies [Toni]

I watch my friend hoping to see the spark of inspiration that means she has a great idea for what she could do with the designs and picture she has. Once that spark appears I know that my friend will be OK with what she is doing and has found what I am wanting to give her, the one thing she needs to take her fashion to the next level, a level that will make her stand metres above the rest of the fashion designers in this small shopping area. If there is a midground that is fashionable this is the one woman in the whole of district one who can spot it and bring it out. Suddenly as I look into her eyes I get what I want, the spark appears and I know the fashion diva inside my best friend has truly been set free. I smile as I see her face light up at this spark and turn into a smirk. Now she is looking at me and I have a wider smile on my face ready to encourage whatever idea has popped itself into her mind just now. As my friend prises herself from her seat I am unprepared for her next move, obviously fueled by a new energy from the excitement of her thoughts. For the second time today the woman pulls me into a tight hug which nearly makes it difficult to breathe but this doesn't matter right now. My focus is on my friend and what is happening in her mind. My body still being crushed by the figure of my best friend I feel warm air by my ear and realise my friend is about to whisper something to me. I know now that she has definitely been hit with inspiration and I am going to witness her latest breakthrough in fashion. I really can't wait to see it as it is bound to be something never seen before and hopefully it will catch on so Layla can feel proud of what she makes using this design of hers. It is the mystery the woman creates that always holds extra interest. Nobody ever knows what is going to appear in her head so there is always an element of surprise when you rely on her for a task that needs doing. No matter what it is there will be a Layla way of doing it different.

"Thank you... I have an idea."

6 words. 6 words that completely confirm my previous prediction and prove my friend is indeed about to let me in on her newest idea. It always thrills me to hear about the designs she comes up with when she is working as even though the style of the Capitol may not appeal to me, Layla's designs always have something different to them. It is that something that gives her fashion designs individuallity. In a way my friend could be represented by the very clothes she designs. They speak of a reluctance to confirm, a will to express true self and be an individual which is always something I have loved about the woman. Her individualism may earn her many strange looks from passers by but I bet inside they are jealous because they are too afraid to be true to themselves and follow the template the crowd has set. I look at her now, excited and jumpy looking at the pictures. It is uncertain if she has even noticed that the afro wig she has been wearing all this time has fallen off and her long, brown hair is revealed for the first time since I have been talking with her today. This causes me to let out a giggle which I surpress as I see her looking at me again. Her brown hair is messy as a result of her excitement but I am used to this from back when we were teenagers. I find it good about my friend that she can always find reasons to be excited, after all if we all lived in misery then there would be no fun to life at all and life without fun isn't worth living. Her excited actions could almost be mistaken for a form of dancing as a plan seemingly formulates in her head. Who knows what could be in there this time. Layla's mind can sometimes be like a lucky dip where whatever is picked at random stays in her head. Though this time I believe the time she has spent happily contemplating has given her a chance to think out this new idea of hers and see if it would actually work. Maybe that is what she was doing with the two pictures. Could it be she was mentally seeing her design come together and she liked what she saw in her mind? I hope what she produces will be like the Layla I remember.

"Okay, now that I'm done dancing, let me explain what I will do."

This is when my heart starts to beat slightly faster in response to anticipation I am feeling at the prospect of seeing this new idea of Layla's. I hope I will find out soon to ease my sudden impatience. I have to laugh at the first part of her comment, even if she doesn't notice immediately my friend always realises when she is reacting out of excitement. Then my eyes move and fixate themselves on the file which has been left open. My eyes skim the images I can see, most of them I remeber seeing before back when we were younger and I would take in her designs while she was getting her guitar ready to use. However I also find a couple of designs in the group that I am unfamilar with. Has my memory has evaded me of these particular ones or could it be that they were designed when Layla was a young girl living a life of luxury in the Capitol? I look at them in even more detail and smile. If these were indeed from back then that means she has always had a natural gift for fashion even before arriving in district 1. I wonder if back then she ever dreamed that she would an office in this skyscraper and design outfits for a living. Would the younger her be proud? I sure hope so. Capitolites always want to be the forefront of fashion and designing like this is the most important part of it so my friend is more important then she probably believes. My eyes cross back to her now as I can see the happiness created by her new brainwave is still pulsing through her veins. That is good. That happiness is what stirs creative energy which is just what my friend needs right now. My mind wanders over the thoughts of previous ideas she has come up with in the heat of passion and as far as I can remember they have always been popular. Maybe the people who buy them can sense what went into the designs, compelling them to want it for themselves. If there is anything Layla can do with clothes it is making them metaphorically speak out to potential customers and give a buying impulse. Maybe that is why it is her and none other who have been asked to do the design based on this Julian boy. Although is tedious they must have known that the woman would be able to create something totally unique and fashionable out of the idea which the Capitolites will want to wear. Although I am not fond of the Capitol but I actually feel they might have made exactly the right decision here and given my friend a chance to get her name well known there. If this turns out the way I think it will this will be the best project yet. Now I see Layla's mouth opening and await her explanation.

"Okay, so, I will make multiple designs of the Tribute boy's outfit, and put them in rainbow colors!"

That is it. She is definitely onto somethig truly amazing with this idea. Although maybe not what I would have come up with I can see how she could have arrived at it when I remember the pictures of the rainbow dresses and the symbolysm they contained in them. Like those dresses each colour of Julian's outfit could represent something entirely different, bringing a whole new dimention to an otherwise plain and simple oufit that certainly wouldn't score many points with the customers. How Layla always manages to come up with the last idea I would ever come up with is a mystery to me but it is what helps her giver her fashion something not many can offer. It gives her designs a sense og uniqueness and originality. My eyes wander over to her again as she has gathered a pen and paper. Now this is the part I like best when I watch the woman work. Although for the moment it looks like she is only making notes to formulate a plan I know a picture will soon follow to illustrate her new inspiration. My gaze locks onto her in curiosity. When she finishes her designs the near enough jump out of the page at me giving me a clear picture of how the final product is going to look. The way she puts deatail into every little section of her outfits leaves it easy to the imagination which must help the people who help create her designs. As she works I get a comfortable feeling that has not overcome me for quite some time. It is the feeling you get when you and your best friend are together and working as a team to create something sensational though I admit she is doing all the work here and I am just fuelling her ideas. Even when we were teenagers this is one thing our friendship would bring. Whatever was on the other's heart we would always encourage each other and it is one thing that has never died out between us. Maybe that is something that has kept us friends for so long. I know if we ever fell out then I would be lost without Layla's support. I divert my thoughts from that scenario quickly as I can, not wanting to contemplate the options of what would happen. I don't believe there is anything that can ruin our friendship so I don't even need to consider that kind of thought. She seems to have finished her notes and looks ready to move around the room once again.

My eyes follow her movements as she heads towards the closet in the room. As I see her ready to open the doors I can't help but contemplate what she has stored in there. It is a big closet in my opinion which means it could be hiding quite a lot behind those two doors. It is almost as if they lead to an unknown land where nobody knows what to expect. Howver there is pausing before I can see what exactly my friend has stored in there as she speaks to me. "There is something I want to show you, Chi". This comment does nothing to decrease my curiosity, only serving to further increase it. Although I am a patient woman a wave of impatience is starting to sweep through me as I wait for the opening of the doors. I find myself holding in a deep breath as the doors open with a quiet creak, starting to dispense the aura of mystery surrounding them in the previous moments. In fact the moment even starts to take a comical twist as I watch my friend dive straight into her closet happily. She is now digging through what seems like a bunch of rubbish or discarded items to find whatever it is that she is searching for to show me. Now I can see why this room was so tidy when I entered earlier today. My friend had obviously gotten used to tidying it up in a hurry and hiding evidence in her big closet. I don't realise what the object is in her hand as my eyes survey the heap of mess that now resides on the office floor. That will definitely need a proper clean up later. Maybe if we have time I can help her out later when we have had chance for a proper catch up and have told each other a lot more about what has been going on in our lives. "Oops... What a mess". A mess was really a slight understatement to describe the current state of my friend's office floor and I shook my head comically. I have always been the clean freak of the two of us so she knows what I am like around messes but I hope she also knows I don't mind her making mess as long as we can spend more time together. Anyway, I really have to stop thinking about the mess on the floor and focus on my friend who has probably retrieved the object she was looking for by now and will want to show me whatever it is that she has.

Now I look back up to find out what Layla is clutching. To my surpise she is holding a guitar. It is not the same as the one I am used to seeing her play but it does bear some resemblance to the one I remember from back when we were teenagers. So clear are the memories I can pinpoint the careful detail on the guitar showing the skill taken to create the instrument. The guitar has always been a sort of symbol of the bond between me and Layla so I automatically give a big smile at seeing this guitar from her closet. It seems like she has been holding on to the same memories as me, wanting them to last a lifetime like I hope our friendship will. Silence falls in the room apart from 4 beautiful notes coming from the wooden instrument. The four notes seem familiar and my mind swiftly searches for the connection until it hits me. It is the same four notes that I heard in the elevator coming up to this office. Although I only heard these four notes together today the notes take me back to the past to relive memories of the best times I ever had. I visualise a whilwind of strings vibrating, a hand strumming and two feet dancing. All of this is over a mix of both guitar notes and the singing of both of us. It is amazing what four strums on a piece of wood can do but to me it much more than that. It is a strong link that I want to stay connected so I can always go back to those moments where I find happiness and comfort in times of need. As my head replays the notes I hope Layla feels the same as I do right now. I hope she feels the deep connection linking us together for a long, long time into the future. Maybe this is what both of us need today to help us get back to what we used to have and meet up more often like we used to before our pathways started to separate due to our different career paths. Lost parts of music can be recaimed so why not lost time. It almost makes me want to curse destiny for separating the two of us for so long and leaving me alone without my best friend to help guide me. Now the two of us are able to talk again I have to make sure this happens more so that I can have more memorable moments remembering the music and the dance.

"We could go back to the days, Chiyo... We could."

Finally I hear the words I have been hoping for since I first saw Layla coming out of the building today. Words that gave hope and promise for the future ahead and guaranteed me many more days of music and laughter with my best friend by my side. The memories of those late nights are still so clear in my head and they cry out for us to creat more and more of them, something I am fully willing to do. Ideas make their way into my head like firecrackers. There are so many thing we can do with the time we now have ahead of us. There are so many songs not yet played and so many words not yet sung but now is the time to get a start on them. My feet wake up slightly and yearn to dance just like they got so used to doing in the days. I think of what song should be played first and my mind comes back to the four simple noted of the elevator music. Notes that created such a link shouls surely be appropriate for such an occasion as this. "Play those notes again. We can sing and I can dance just like we used to". This is what I have wanted all this time we have been in her office. Although I also wanted to see what she had been up to and update her on things in my life that has always been a short part of our time together. After all, most strengthen bonds of friendship through talking to each other but me and Layla have always been different from the rest of them. We share a bond I believe few can truly understand. The music we create together is our form of communication and it somehow speaks to us about each other. We can get from music things that nobody can get from talking to each other. I wouldn't have it any other way than this, the simple sharing of music that has turned into such a sweet blessing. My feet are already twitching awaiting their chance to move to the repeated strum of the guitar, dancing through the years of my life as I spin myself around gracefully