Chapter 6: Habiba, a sissy

Chapter - 06

"So? What do you guys think?" Raising her eyebrows and with a questioning look, Megan swept her gaze through the room.

"... Do you guys like it?" Megan curiously tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for the response from the other ladies in the room.

Right now, they were in an overly packed room which was supposed to be the meeting room, but with all the cartons, it looked more like a storage room. A run-down glass table was in the middle, and six ladies sat around it.

The room was big enough to hold a meeting. But with all the raw materials, fabrics and other random stuff, even the air conditioning couldn't make it comfortable for them.

But even with all this, Megan, who sat on the boss's chair, paid more attention to the job at hand. On her right sat Amber, her good friend. Followed by Simran. While on Megan's left were Catherine, followed by Sylvia and Judith. This was the current working staff of Trendz, apart from the intern Habiba.

Meanwhile, Habiba stood before them, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. She had just finished presenting her designs to them and was waiting for the opinions of her seniors. It had already been a week since she started working at Trendz, and it was about time that she showed something for herself. And it was Megan's idea to have everyone assess her designs and offer constructive criticism. After all, it was part of the deal that Megan would help Habiba grow.

"Don't just sit like a statue. C'mon, say it," Megan, when saw that none of them spoke for so long, urged them again, "You don't have to hold back."

Although Megan said so, everyone in the room still looked at each other in hesitation. The one week that Habiba had been here at Trendz, everyone could see that Megan had a soft spot for her. Not that they were jealous of Habiba for this or resented her, but they did not know if Megan would take it sportingly.

"If I have to say," Finally, Simran was the first to break the silence.

"... It looks fine overall," Simran said, "A few alterations can be done here and there. The colours look a bit dull and don't mix well with each other," Simran put forth her opinion.

After Simran was done speaking, the others nodded, agreeing with her. And when they saw that Megan did not refute Simran and did not look angry, everyone relaxed a bit. Since Megan was not against positive criticism, the other ladies also started presenting their views.

And for the next fifteen minutes, everyone discussed Habiba's designs and proposed their ideas. After everyone was done, Megan contemplated everyone's ideas before turning her attention to Habiba, who stood in front of them, playing with her fingers.

"What? Do you think all your effort is nothing but waste? Your designs are... How should I say it politely... Trash?" Megan asked Habiba.

But as soon as Megan spoke those words, it was not Habiba who looked stunned. It was the other ladies who felt that something was wrong. Didn't Megan adore Habiba? What about that soft spot? Were they mistaken? These were the thoughts that suddenly erupted in their minds.

Meanwhile, Habiba did not even lift her head to look up at Megan. Her fingers were now entangled, and it felt like Habiba was trying to break them.

"What should I do with you?" When Megan saw Habiba like that, she sighed.

Megan was sure that one more word from her was enough to make Habiba cry rivers. And that is what Megan hated about Habiba the most. She had no self-confidence. Ask Habiba something, and she will become nervous. Speak a bit loudly to her, and she will go silent. Criticise her, and you will find yourself drowning in guilt.

"Will you stop it?" Amber tried to hush Megan, "You are scaring the poor girl."

"Do you think I want to?" Megan frowned when she saw Amber blame her, "It's just so easy to do that. I ain't even trying?"

"Apologise," Amber mouthed as she eyed Megan.

"What? No way," Megan looked at Amber and shook her head.

"Now," Amber whispered and looked more authoritative this time.

"What the fuck," Megan could not believe Amber would do this to her. The god cop and the bad cop scene was long gone. Why should she still need to bend to Amber's will? She was the boss.

"Ahemm..." Clearing her throat, Megan decided to ignore Amber.

"Don't act pitiful," Megan said to Habiba, "Tell me, are you satisfied with your designs?" Megan asked without beating around the bush.

Finally, Habiba moved as she shook her head in denial. It was not sure if she truly agreed with what Megan said or not, but she still shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Megan raised her eyebrows and asked, "You can't change that later you know." But this time, Habiba did not react like before. She stood still.

"Then I will take it as you agree with what you said," Megan leaned back on her chair and continued.

"So you are saying that even though you knew that your designs were no good, you still chose to push that idea," Megan said, "Am I right in thinking that?"

Habiba nodded instinctively, but when the words registered in her mind, she vigorously shook her head, "No... I didn't do it knowingly. I tried my best," Habiba said.

"I really thought that you would like..." Habiba spoke but stopped before completing her words.

"That's the point," Megan slapped the table and stood up, "The point is that you tried."

Megan's expressions softened as she looked at Habiba, and everyone in the room finally understood Megan's intentions. Even Amber, who thought that Megan was taking it too far, was also impressed by her friend.

"... Did you hear what they said about your designs?" Megan pointed her finger at the other ladies and asked Habiba.

Habiba followed Megan's finger as she looked at the other ladies and nodded.

"Did anyone of them say that they disliked your designs?" Megan asked to which she got a shake of the head in denial from Habiba.

"You idiot," Megan sighed, "Then why were you standing with your head buried in your own breasts?" Megan asked, and everyone laughed hearing her.

"None of us here were blaming you," Megan walked up to Habiba and lifted her chin to look straight into her eyes, "We only want you to grow and be better."

"Everyone, including me, liked your ideas, your approach is fresh, and you are creative," Megan said, "But you are still not the best. You need polishing, Someone to guide you through your experiments. And that's what all of us did," Megan smiled. And hearing her, when Habiba looked around her, everyone else was also smiling at her.

"We pointed out your mistakes and what could have been better. So the next time you try something new, you know what you are doing," Megan said, "And believe me, drawing a dress is the easy part. You still have a lot to learn."

"... So you better get used to such criticism," Megan said as she poked Habiba's forehead with her finger and walked back to her chair.

"Now... Since we can all agree that our newbie is... Well... We can say not bad, right?" Megan looked at everyone and asked. And the response was positive. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So it's time for us to officially welcome the newbie to our group," Megan smiled, and apart from Habiba, who was confused about what was going on, everyone else suddenly got excited.

"It's..." Megan said as she looked at everyone for them to complete.

"PARTY TIME!" Apart from Habiba, who did not know anything, and Amber, who was not interested, the other ladies yelled at the top of their voices.

"PARTY TIME!" Megan joined as well.

"But I can't come," Habiba suddenly said, pouring water on everyone's excitement.

"But why?" Megan asked, but Habiba did not reply, and it confused everyone. Not to mention, they all could see the hesitation on Habiba's face.

'Should I ask Ammi (mother) for permission?'

'Will it be rude to decline their kind gesture? Will they understand?'

Habiba had numerous thoughts running in her mind. She wanted to join them, but...

Suddenly Habiba's phone buzzed. She sneakily tried to look at who was calling, and when she saw Abba (father) flash on the screen, she became nervous.

'Does he know?' This was the first thought that came to her mind. But she quickly shook that thought away, 'How could he?'

But the nervousness was not easy to subdue, and Megan, who had already closed the distance between them, could see it clearly. Megan was always curious about the docile nature of Habiba. Despite being so good at her job, Habiba rarely, if not never, showed emotions.

As she got close to Habiba, Megan peeked at her phone and saw "ABBA" flashing on the screen before the call ended.

'ABBA?' Megan had no idea what it meant in the first go, 'Was it a name?'

But before Megan could ask, Habiba spoke up.

"I am sorry, but I really cannot join you all," Habiba apologetically said and, gathering her things, walked out of the room.

'Sorry?' Megan thought, but more than Habiba, the Abba guy had her interest, 'Who is he?' Even without knowing who that person was, Megan had a hunch that Abba was a man.

* * * * *

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