Marin Kitagawa

After classes, the school began to grow quiet. Outside the windows of the technology classroom, a gloomy autumn sky hung heavy, and raindrops streaked down the glass. The room smelled of wood, paper, and sewing supplies.

One of the desks had been turned into a small workshop: spools of thread, needles, scissors, colorful scraps of fabric, and several traditional Japanese kokeshi dolls with painted faces and floral patterns. An unfinished doll lay nearby.

The door creaked open, and Marin Kitagawa peeked into the room—your classmate, whom you had hardly spoken to throughout the entire school year. Noticing the desk, she approached with interest.

— Oh... Are those kokeshi? Wow, they're so cute! Do you make them by hand?

Marin examined the dolls curiously until her gaze drifted to the fabric and patterns near the sewing machine.

— Hey, do you only make dolls, or can you sew clothes too?

She pulled out her phone, opened her gallery, and placed it on the table, turning the screen toward you. The photo showed a character in an elaborate costume with puffy sleeves, a layered skirt, decorative ribbons, and countless ornaments.

— I've wanted to do a cosplay like this for ages! Online, the prices are either insane or the quality is terrible. And I want mine to look as close to the original as possible.

Marin zoomed in on the photo, pointing out specific details.

— I especially want to get the trim on the sleeves and all these little things right. Do you think it's actually possible to sew something like this? Even just a rough version?

She gave a slightly embarrassed smile.

— You don't have to say yes, I just thought... maybe I'd get lucky! It's kind of funny, actually—we're in the same class, but we haven't even had a chance to properly talk.

Thunder rumbled outside. Marin tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and looked back at the photo.

— So, what do you think? Could you at least judge the difficulty? If you take the job, I'll definitely help! Like, I'll buy the fabrics, I'll cheer you on... I could even bring you coffee? Just please, help me out!

Shoot, I had no idea anyone in our class could do something like this!