Michelle was getting bored over spring break.

Michelle was getting bored over spring break. She had exhausted herself playing with her friends outside all day and wanted to learn something new—a new skill, a new hobby.

“Right!” she remembered. She had stuffed away a brochure given by a stranger on the street, advertising a crochet club. Michelle searched around, tossing her room in the process. After 30 minutes of searching, she sighed and gave up.

As she was cleaning her room, she found it—the glorious brochure! She scampered to get it. “Crocheting? Really?” she said to herself, disappointed. She’d seen what crocheting looked like. Her cousin often came by and offered to crochet together, but she never saw the appeal. Why would anyone want to do something so boring?

“I’m sooo bored,” she sighed.

“Then go do something,” said her brother, Liam.

“I would’ve if I HAD something to do.”

“You should try crocheting,” her cousin Sally interjected.

“This again?”

“She’s right,” Sally said. “You should try crocheting. It’s a great skill—easy, cheap gifts for our family!” Her mom chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“YES!” exclaimed Sally. “I’ll teach you—”

“No thank you! I already know where to get the courses.”

“Oh, alright,” Sally said, dejected.

That night, Michelle tossed and turned in bed. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try,” she mulled over. She picked up the brochure again, reading its contents. Courses start on Monday, February 5th, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Glancing at the calendar, she saw the date. “That’s tomorrow!” She promptly shut her eyes, drifting to sleep.

Beep, beep, beep. She fluttered awake, turning off her alarm. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the clock—12:03. She jolted awake, rushing to the bathroom for a quick change of clothes. She sighed as she considered it again. “I told Mom I’m joining, and I can't let Liam prove himself right.” She took a deep breath, reassuring herself, “Okay, let’s do this!” Trudging down the stairs, she said, “Bye!” and left, cycling.

“Excuse me, do you know where ‘Beatrice’s Workshop’ is?” she asked a passerby.

“Yes, just turn right at this intersection, and you’ll be there.”

“Thank you!” She arrived at the designated spot. It was a petite, quaint shop, nestled between two large restaurants. It didn’t look out of place—in fact, it looked surprisingly well-kept. She entered the building.

Looking around, she noticed some dolls and hats displayed, some well-made and others…creepy. “Let’s not look at that ever again,” she thought. She wandered around some more before heading to the registration desk.

“Hi, I’m here to join the crocheting course.”

“Oh, of course! You’re just in time. What’s your name?”

“Michelle.”

“Alright, please head into the room over there. The course is about to start soon.”

She walked in, noticing only three other people in the room. She sat down, waiting until the clock struck 1:00. At that moment, a person barged into the room—dressed quite eccentrically, with all sorts of clashing colors, and wearing a hat indoors.

“Hello! I’ll be your crocheting teacher. My name is Beatrice, the owner of this shop!” She was tall, wearing layers upon layers of colorful clothing. Her hair was long and sleek, reaching right below her stomach. With pale skin and green eyes, she stood out. “Today, I’ll be introducing the basics: the chain stitch, the single crochet stitch, the double crochet stitch, and how you can crochet a granny square.”

“Hold your crochet hook in your dominant hand. Take your yarn and make a knot on the hook, creating a slip knot.” Michelle did exactly that. “Bring the yarn over the hook from the back to front, then grab that knot with the hook. Draw the hooked yarn through the slip knot and onto the hook,” Beatrice instructed. Michelle started to get lost.