Chapter 3

A little background on Kristine.

Kristine Robles was born on May 10, 1988 to a middle-class family. Her father is a lawyer while her mother is a doctor. She is the only child in the family.

The Robleses lived in a nice single-story house with a white gate. There were flowers and bushes in the front. A gray Honda Jazz was parked in the garage. Their house was adjacent to the Andradas’ on the left.

Kristine was a smart girl who loved to read books, draw and write. Most little girls loved to play with dolls and stuffed toys. But Kristine was different from those girls. She drew dresses in paper. In her mind she would come up with beautiful designs and draw them. She showed her designs to her best friend Dianna.

“Wow, Kris! Your dresses are beautiful!” exclaimed Dianna.

“You think so?” asked Kristine.

“Yes, they’re absolutely gorgeous! When we grow up, you should make these dresses and sell them. I will definitely buy them!”

“Wow, I already have a future regular customer,” Kristine said. She smiled, pleased at her drawings. “When I grow up, I want to be a fashion designer and an editor-in-chief in a fashion magazine.”

“Really? You have a really big dream. But I know someday you will make it. You are a smart girl.”

“Thank you so much. You are a wonderful friend. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I want to be a model. And I also want to be a mother and a wife.”

“I know you will be a model. You are very pretty,” Kristine said. She envied Dianna for having a beautiful face. I wish I am as beautiful as her.

“I know!” Dianna said with great confidence.

“I hope that when we become mothers and wives, we’ll be good ones just like our mothers,” Kristine said.

 

Growing up, Kristine was a voracious reader�"she could read anything from fiction, non-fiction, science and many other subjects. But what she’s really interested in were fashion and makeup. Her love for fashion and makeup grew as the years passed by.

 

When she was a teenager, she learned how to make clothes from her teacher in Home Economics. So, after school, she bought fabrics and sewing supplies from a fabric store a few blocks away from her house. Then she went home to study her lessons first and do her assignments. Afterwards, she sewed with her hands. The first time she sewed she pricked her hand with a needle. But she still continued sewing. She wouldn’t stop until she finished sewing her first little black dress. So, she stayed up late just to finish it. At 11:00 p.m. she got tired so she slept in her soft green bed.

Kristine woke up at 7:30 am. She was late for school!

She hurriedly bathed, put on her white and red checkered uniform and black shoes, and ate her breakfast.

Sunny side up eggs, bacon and white rice were served on the table. Her parents had already gone off to work. So, she had to commute to school.

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, she brushed her teeth carefully so the toothpaste won’t stain her uniform. Then she left the house and rode a tricycle to school.

 

Upon coming home from school, Kristine went to her bedroom to study and continue sewing her little black dress. She noticed that her bedroom looked differently. She wondered what made it different. Then she realized there was something new in her bedroom. It was a sewing machine!

“Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed.

Her parents appeared in her room. They were smiling.

“Last night, I saw that you were sewing that dress using your hands. You have hurt yourself by doing so,” her mother said. Her mother is petite with brown complexion. Her black straight hair shone brightly. “If you sew that dress by hand, it will take you forever to finish it. So, your dad and I bought a sewing machine for you.”

Kristine approached the sewing machine. At first, she touched the wood that supported the machine. Then she touched the black machine itself. She observed the whole thing. She was awed by this wonderful gift. She was grateful. Her parents did not need to buy her the sewing machine, but they did anyway. Her parents were simply the best!

“Thank you so much mom and dad!” was all she said.  She hugged them. “From now on I’ll study harder and do my household chores better!”

They laughed. They were glad to have a sweet and nice daughter like Kristine.

“Well, you better do that because if you don’t, we’ll take back your sewing machine,” her dad joked.

Kristine was excited to try the sewing machine. She finished her little black dress within two days. It was a round-neck sleeveless cocktail dress which was above the knee. Kristine thought it could be paired with a white pearl necklace and black pumps if she would go to a party.

From then on, she sewed clothes using that sewing machine.

Most of the clothes she made were inspired by the ones famous celebrities wore. So, she made and designed tube tops, crop tops, denim jackets, flannel shirts, boyfriend jeans, and many others.  

The clothes she drew on paper had come to life when she sew.

She also experimented with makeup a lot. She could not afford to buy makeup so she just borrowed from her mother. Back then blue eye shadow was fashionable, so she wore blue eye shadow and matched it with red lipstick. Sometimes, she just used a lip gloss or a lip balm for her lips.

Mrs. Robles saw her daughter using her makeup. She just smiled and told herself that she would buy her precious daughter affordable makeup.

“Wow, you bought all this for me? Thank you, mom!” Kristine said when her mother bought an eyes shadow palette, lipsticks of different shades, lip gloss and eyeliner from Maybelline. She kissed her mother’s soft cheeks.

“You’re welcome, honey,” her mother said.

Kristine won’t have to get her mother’s makeup. She had her own makeup.

Kristine practiced applying makeup. First, she prepped her face with a moisturizer. She waited for five minutes to let her face dry.  She spread foundation all over her face. She dabbed some concealer on the circles under her eyes, and then powdered her face. Afterwards, she swiped blue eye shadow on her lids and blended it perfectly. Next, she lined her eyes using liquid eyeliner. She carefully lined her eyes so the eyeliner won’t mess her look.  She elongated her eyelashes with the help of mascara. She applied a light pink blush on her cheeks. Lastly, she wore a bright red lipstick.

She looked in the mirror and noticed that she did not look like a runway model. However, the girl in the mirror was the prettier version of her. She liked the way she looked.

Kristine noticed that when she did a job well, her parents gave her presents. Whether it was getting high grades or doing household chores, they would reward her of something that she liked. For example, when she aced a math quiz, they gave her a Cadbury. When she got her first honorable mention, they gave her a bicycle. One time she swept and mopped the floor of the house. The floor was so clean it shone. They gave her a Gameboy.

“You really liked playing with that thing, huh?” Dianna said when she saw Kristine playing with her Gameboy.

“Yep,” was all Kristine said. The whole time they were in the guest room of Dianna’s house, Kristine was just quiet while she played the Gameboy. At that moment, she was playing Contra, which was a popular game in the 90’s.

It occurred to Kristine that in order to get what she wanted; she had to work hard for it. She had to earn it. She was not like her best friend who always got what she wanted without breaking a sweat. Her parents were not rich like Dianna’s. Dianna’s parents spoiled their daughter rotten. At a young age, Kristine learned the value of hard work and perseverance.

Because she did not have Dianna’s looks and wealth, Kristine could have one gift: her determination to be the best she could be. She knew she was bound for greatness.