Danas couldn't submit her design for her final project. No, while everyone thought she was the one who copied Renata's design, the opposite was true.
If she had submitted her final project first, would people believe that it wasn't her who copied Renata's design?
"Danas, where's your final project?" asked her lecturer who demanded her design.
"Apologize, sir... I forgot to bring it. Can I bring it tomorrow?" replied Danas who was already in the lecturer's room.
Every pair of eyes seemed to be accusing her. Danas struggled to hold back her tears that were about to come out. She strengthened her heart, that if she cried because of something like this, it meant she lost to Renata.
The woman who was the lecturer in charge of the final project just exhaled and said, "Yes, already. I'll wait for you tomorrow."
Danas couldn't help but feel relieved for the opportunity she had gotten. She walked out of the lecturer's room with a sinking feeling. Her mind was now in turmoil.
"Danas ...."
The familiar voice called her name. Danas lifted her gaze, finding Davina who had just arrived. The face of her best friend actually looked very representative of her current feelings.
"Are you okay?" The question sounded stupid. Davina then regretted and cursed herself for not being able to think of any comforting words she could give Danas.
Danas just smiled weakly. Trying to look okay.
Then there were more whispers from some students who were also about to submit their final project there.
"How could Danas' design be exactly the same as Renata's?"
"I think Danas copied Renata's."
"It could also be the other way around. Don't you remember how Renata's track record has been? Compared to her, Danas is more diligent and her assignments are always good."
Hearing these rumors, Renata suddenly appeared and began to speak up.
"You don't know, Danas has always copied my designs. I'm just trying to be patient because we've been best friends since high school. I don't want our relationship to break down. But..." Renata paused her words, pretending to cry and hold back her sadness, "I don't want to be bullied anymore. I've had enough of being treated unfairly."
Renata began to shed crocodile tears. Mumbling a few sentences that accused Danas as if Danas was the bad person.
Some of the other classmates whispered to each other in response to Renata's words. Some seemed to believe her, while others didn't seem to care much about what was happening.
"I can explain the source of inspiration for my design. That way, it can prove that the dress design is indeed mine!"
Then Renata gave an explanation regarding the design that she collected as hers. Danas was once again wide-eyed. The explanation was perfect, exactly the same as what she had been thinking the whole time she was making the design. Surely Renata didn't just copy her drawings, but also peeked at her notes and studied them. Making it look like it was really her own.
After Renata explained, most of the people there seemed to believe her. Now Danas was again seen as a suspect.
"Liar! I knew clearly that all the ideas were Danas'. During Danas' final project, I witnessed Danas' struggle to create the design." Davina tried to defend Danas. She couldn't stand Renata's convincing-sounding nonsense.
"Where's the evidence? Anyone can claim to be a witness to a thief!" Renata accused.
"So can you, Renata! You can claim to be a victim when you're the culprit!" Davina was not to be outdone. She was already angry and was starting to get overpowered. Renata's unconscionable actions had always left her with a short fuse.
"See, right ... no matter how hard I try to tell the truth, it will still be denied. That's why I've been silent all this time."
Again Renata pretended to cry. Davina rotated her eyes lazily, sick of hearing and witnessing the crying drama as if it was a tragic fate. I don't know what made her become friends with this snake woman like Renata. How could she not see her real face back then.
"'Stop it, Dav... let's just get out of here," Danas said soothingly to his friend.
Davina turned to Danas, looking at the woman with a dissatisfied expression. She wanted Danas to dare to fight Renata. However, she knew Danas' nature very well. It's just that she couldn't understand why there was a human being with such a large stock of patience like Danas. Why should someone as good as Danas have the misfortune to meet an opponent like Renata? It felt so unfair ....
"Okay, that's it. Let's go. There are snakes here. So it feels very uncomfortable!"
Davina is not one to simply retreat from the battlefield. She had to throw an attack at the enemy before actually retreating.
"Bitch!" cursed Renata because she knew very well that the snake Davina was referring to was her.
Danas and Davina walked towards the park and quickly took a seat in one of the empty gazebos before it was filled with other people.
Davina, whose heart was still hot, looked fiery as well. The scorching sun seemed to add a few degrees to the temperature in the air right now.
"I don't get it, how can you still be patient with Renata." Davina started ranting again.
"Never mind. After all, it's true, I can't prove that this design is mine." Danas opened her sketchbook, and stroked the smooth surface of the paper displaying her hard-earned work.
"If I were you, I wouldn't accept it. I've seen with my own eyes how hard you've worked to make this design," Davina said sadly.
"It's okay, Dav. I've learned one thing with this incident." A smile appeared on Danas' face.
Davina who saw it was immediately curious. "What is it?"
"I have to be more careful and alert so that this kind of incident will not happen again."
Davina was instantly disappointed to hear Danas' words. She thought she would hear something unexpected. In fact, it was just a standard sentence that almost everyone should realize when experiencing a similar incident.
"Anyway, I suddenly had another idea for a new design." Danas continued, making Davina a little surprised.
"Really?" asked Davina to make sure she hadn't misheard.
Danas nodded in response. Another smile broke out on her face.
"Yes. Well, with Renata stealing my design, I didn't submit it as my final project. The design was good, but it was still marketable and only incorporated a few ideas from famous designers. I realized when Renata explained voluntarily earlier, that the design concept was not suitable as a final project. The final project should be something original and unique, not just pretty."
Davina could see a ray of hope in Danas' eyes. It made her anger towards Renata now begin to recede.
"Well, that's good! It turns out there's a point to Renata the snake woman cheating. You have a new inspiration!" Davina said, already smiling.
Danas nodded her head. She was happy with the change in Davina's mood for the better.
"'Cause you said so, I've just been enlightened too. I think I should change my design a bit, there should be a unique touch of myself in it!" said Davina again who felt motivated because of Danas.
"Thank goodness!"
Danas stroked her stomach. Thanks to the baby in her womb, she tried to be patient as much as possible. She didn't want her pregnancy to expose the baby to bad thoughts and emotions from her.
Davina also stroked Danas' stomach. Greeting the baby inside there.
"Hello, baby. This is Aunty Davina. You're healthy in there," Davina said.
"Yes, Aunty Davina." Danas, on behalf of her future baby, returned Davina's greeting.
After Danas returned home from college, she wasted no time in once again creating a dress design for her final project.
Ever since she was in college, she already had a big picture in her head. It was just a matter of how to pour the idea into a string of lines that blended together to create a beautiful dress.
It didn't take long for Danas to finish drawing the design again. All that was left was to record the material design and the type of fabric suitable for the design.
Tomorrow is indeed the last day to submit the drawing design and material design, and the finished dress does not have to be one hundred percent exactly the same as the initial design. Fortunately, there was still plenty of time to start sewing and turn the design into a real form that could be worn by humans. Danas would maximize her abilities in that time.
Time flew by, Danas didn't realize she had spent so many hours. From day to night, Danas only paused to eat and rest for a while. That too for the sake of her baby.
"I'm sorry, baby. I hope Mama doesn't force you to do this chore. Be good in there."
After making sure everything was in order, Danas was already getting ready for bed, resting her body for the night. To prevent anything untoward from happening again, Danas locked the door to her room this time.