Miss Scarlet's School of Patternless Sewing Read Online Free

back patio. Above all the small talk Nana Eleanor could be heard bragging about her latest doctor’s appointment. Ever since her early seventies, the only prescriptions her doctor required were a daily dose of fresh air, a multivitamin, and a weekly shopping spin with Scarlet around town in her Mercedes. Nana made up the last one, but no one dared question it.
    By eight p.m., everyone had left except for immediate family. It was a Santana ritual. Scarlet’s older siblings, Charles and Eliza, sat at the kitchen table and took turns explaining, in detail, their current respective work projects. The conversation always ended with rounds of accolades for one another.
    Scarlet listened to all their play-by-play anecdotes, knowing her turn to discuss her accomplishments would not arise. Her life choice had become the white elephant of family talk fests. One would think she’d shaved her head and married a female unicorn instead of choosing to work in fashion. The Santana clan considered her budding profession a joke, and the otherwise upbeat discussions turned into career intervention. To avoid headaches on all parts, Scarlet muted her own professional accounts and simply tuned into everyone else’s.
    After her second serving of turkey, Scarlet joined her eldest brother, Charles, in an in-depth review of his latest work project: designing a solar-powered light system for a new public art sculpture that would sit atop Glendale’s tallest building.
    “Traditional solar panels are so bulky and sci-fi-looking, they’ll distract from the beauty of the art piece,” he said. “Too bad that’s what we have to work with.”
    Scarlet shrugged. “Why limit yourself to tradition?”
    “Oh, here we go, little Scarlet’s going to save the day again,” Charles said with a wide smile.
    “I will,” she replied, more confident than Donald Trump cashing a check.
    “I know you will,” Charles nodded. “That’s why I said it.”
    “Substitute the panels with that new stretchable solar-cell film that comes in different colors.” She winked at Charles and removed the pen from his shirt pocket. He slid a paper napkin her way so she could sketch her vision.
    “See?” she said as she sketched. “Why not construct a seating area on top of the building to complement the sculpture? The solar-cell film will cover flake-shaped frames to provide the shade. The effect will cast a soft rainbow kaleidoscope of color for visitors to enjoy, plus keep the lights on at night. The best part? It will run off a brain the size of a quarter.”
    Scarlet snapped the cap on Charles’s pen and slid it back into his pocket while everyone sat at the table in silence, amazed at her rapid-fire mash-up of creativity and critical thinking. Well,everyone except a bored Eliza, who pulled out her phone and began to text.
    “Scarlet is as gifted as she is beautiful,” Scarlet’s father, Manny, announced. She gazed at him in appreciation. He had the same pride in his eyes as he had when she took first place at the science fair every year in middle school. She’d give anything to record this moment—and replay it whenever she felt inadequate.
    “Thanks, Daddy,” she said.
    “Now, if only she’d make this seamstress business a hobby and get back to engineering as her real job. Scarlet, you have enough patience to juggle both. It’s like I always say…”
    Scarlet blew air out of the corner of her mouth and looked to the low popcorn ceiling. “ ‘To achieve success we must strive for balance in all we do.’ Yeah, Dad.”
    “Hey, Scar,” Charles said. “My buddy at Metropolitan Advanced Systems said he’d love to hire you. He was really impressed with the freelance work you did for them last summer.”
    Here it comes,
she thought. Time to change the subject. Scarlet waved her hands in front of her face. “Nah, I’m cool, really. OK, kiddos, I’m going to clear the table for Mom’s pie. Everyone, pass plates to the right, please.”
    Eliza,