The email from the runway committee came one week after the runway show.

It started as a formal apology to those who came to the show and quickly became an invitation to an exhibition of all the final-round participant's works at the Laurel Museum. The exhibition would be a temporary installation on the first floor. All the final-round participants were offered three free tickets to the exhibition: one for themselves, the other two for their family and friends. On the day the installation was open to the public, there would be a semi-formal reception for all participants to attend, with light snacks and drinks to enjoy.

Simone and Julianna's texts flooded into Beth's phone screen. "Lovelies!" "I can't believe our dresses are getting exhibited!" "How exciting would that be!" Simone's texts were short and fast, loaded with hearts and kisses emojis. In comparison, Julianna's texts were much more deliberate.

The three girls had a group chat where they chat, post funny memes, and rant about school and life. However, though the group chat was for three, Beth and Simone mainly dominated the chat space, greeting each other with cute stickers and funny pictures. After Simone discovered her magic, she started speaking to Beth a lot more. At first, they mostly exchanged online resources about magic, but their conversation gradually moved towards fashion, internet culture, and fun places to hang out in the city. In contrast, Julianna was silent most of the time in the group chat, either popping out for important messages or sending random articles on scientific and social issues. Simone never mentioned reading these articles to Beth. Beth didn't have much to say about the articles either. However, she felt like replying to Julianna once in a while. She hadn't been talking much to Julianna compared to Simone recently.

Nevertheless, it was only 6 AM, but Beth had already rolled out of bed. She was greeted with a picturesque view. In front of her, a giant splash of bright pink had gently melted in the blue sky, adorned with small, curly-shaped clouds. The cityscape glowed rosier when the sun spread its first golden beams. Another day of hustle-bustle had begun.

Beth felt her heart burning as she looked far away into the cityscape from the window. Her eyes were fixed on the serene blue which formed a glaring blend with the flaming orange.

Blue is a color that was deeply coded in Beth's memories from childhood. The cloudless azure sky with birds soaring freely that always invited so many daydreams. The bright cobalt blue stained glass from the local churches. The little indigo flowers gently resting on the windows, waiting to be caressed by the sunlight. The sparkly icicles dangling under the sky or on the translucent leaves. The light blue from the long uniform dresses girls wore to school. The clear summer lakes. The old oil pigments found in vintage bookstores.

Living in a small town in the countryside, Beth had always been in touch with nature. Her home was a little house located near the forest, which made it convenient for her to have fun in the woods with her friends when she was a child. During summer, kids from Beth's class formed into groups to play hide-and-seek, collect mushrooms and run across fields and creeks. In winter, the snow painted everything white, leaving dabs of white highlights on the pine twigs. The lakes in the forest became frozen as well, becoming the perfect ground for ice skating. Each day swamps of kids covered themselves up with layers of sweaters and coats, and raid the ice like puffy drumrolls.

Sunny weekend mornings were the best when Beth was entering her teenage years. Waking up wrapped in warm quilts, Beth usually saw sunlight kissing her forehead. The cool air in the morning brought along fresh smells from the grass and trees into the room. Luke and Madison were already in the living room. Usually, Luke was the one busy flipping bacon and eggs in the frying pan; Madison sat in front of the TV, finishing up sewing a ribbon, laces, as well as colored patches onto the chest of an old red dress of Beth to make it prettier. Seeing Beth scribbling by herself, Madison grabbed the finished dress and handed it to her.

'Here it goes, sweetie! Try it on!'

'This dress is so cute! Thank you so much, mom!'

'Do you want me to braid your hair again this time, sweetie?'

'I'd love that, mom!'

With the new look on, Beth was ready for the day. Soon, her friends would be knocking at her door. The dorky little group that she frequented the forest with. Among the group of friends, two girls were the closest to her--Gina and Margot. Margot came from a nearby farm, which her parents managed. She had a rebellious streak and often spoke like a young boy. Gina was different. She had long hair and a clean pixie cut. Her gentle words acted as a buffer between Margot's crude jokes and Beth's absentmindedness.

Today Beth learned a new word from Gina.

'Maggie and Gina! Look at my new hairstyle today! Don't I look like a little princess today?'

'Well then, shall I be the queen almighty?'

'I can be the little sister if that's the case! You always have an interesting fashion sense, Beth. Maybe you'd want to become a fashion designer in the future!'

'A fashion designer? What do they do?'

'Umm...fashion designers draw clothes and make them for people to wear. Sometimes they even work with stars!'

'How cool is that! Have you seen any fashion designer before, Gina?'

'No, I think they all live in the city. If you go down the newspaper aisle in the convenience store downtown, you can find some magazines with photos and articles talking about them, and models wearing their clothes.'

'Yea! I have seen those photos!' Margot was excited. 'The models wore silk dresses with puffy coats and boots. Their outfits were a combination of stripes, velvets, and colors! Crazy!'

Upon listening to Margot's description of the fashion magazine photos, Beth went immediately to the convenience store right after school the other day. Flipping open the first page of the magazine, she felt an indescribable force inviting her into the exotic, alluring land where tall glass buildings dominated the landscape, and neon lights adorned the evening windows. The way fashion models dressed were quite different from the people she often saw in the town. A purple-haired girl had angel earrings, a black suit, and white boots on. A curly girl wore a frilly, puffy dress with candy prints. A tall guy wearing a floral shirt and blue jeans that match with his nail polish color. Back at school, kids often pretended to dismiss their classmates who had shorter skirts or dreadlocks, while secretly staring at them for a longer time. Here, the magazine wrote, "bravery is dressing up the way you want and showing your unique style." It felt forbidden, yet liberating to appreciate these models who are not afraid of exhibiting their styles in public.

A job for people who dress other people up for a living? Beth was intrigued. The act of putting pieces of fabric together, tossing in some elements, then stringing them together seemed like magic to her when done by Madison. Wouldn't it be cool if she has that magic to make things, let alone beautiful outfits herself?

The shades from the leaves left soft, scattered lights on the serene forest path. As the three people walked together under the breezy shadows, Beth felt as if Maggie and Gina were just like two sisters of her, who grew up with her together.

'To be honest, I just had a thought. I wish I had magic.'

'Magic sounds super fun! What kind of magic would you like to have?' Gina asked.

'Why?' Margot followed Gina, asking a follow-up question.

'Gina's question first: I want to have magic that could let me capture all the beautiful moments in my daily life! As for the reasons, I want to explore all the interesting things the future has for me, and I'd like to be special!'

Beth held her finger up and traced the clouds on the window as she remembered her carefree days spent with her childhood friends. I do have magic now, but it's so different than what I expected before.

Nonetheless, with the invitation from the runway competition, Beth had already started to feel more confident in herself and her fashion design dream. Not to mention that she slowly saw herself integrated into the city as one of the numerous little people finding themselves. She felt as if she was slowly starting to enjoy the Laurel life, and wondered if she could find a way for her magic to disappear on its own.