A Day in the Life of Molly the Mannequin

A Day in the Life of Molly the Mannequin

Today was a day I will never forget. I live in a place called the London College of Fashion where most of my days are the same. Each morning a man with a necklace of keys comes and wakes me up by turning on the light in my room. Then throughout the day my room becomes filled with people who play music with sewing machines and give me makeover after makeover. In the evening, after being poked and prodded, I am left to sleep.

This morning things started a little differently. Instead of the normal man and his keys, I was woken by a girl and a boy who looked like her friend. They smiled at me and then at each other.

"She will be perfect," they said to me. I was delighted and taken aback. No one has ever called me perfect before. "Hmm, it's nearly there," or "perhaps with a little more here and a little less there,", they often say to me, but never 'perfect'.

Before I knew it the boy was hugging me around my waist and lifting me off the ground.

"We need your help," said the girl, as she followed me and her friend out of my room, "you're going on an adventure today."

With me over his shoulder the boy walked out of the building I call home and into the daylight, the girl chatting at his side.

The three of us went past cars and people and buses and all the while I looked around and up at the bright blue sky that I have so often gazed at out my window.

Before long we came to a station, where I disappeared down into the darkness.

"Excuse me," said the boy, as my hip knocked into a man with a briefcase. The man turned back and stared at me in such wonderment that I felt myself blushing.

The next thing I knew, we were on a train and I was standing next to a young man, reading the Evening Standard over his shoulder whilst my new friends sat down and watched me from the corner. It was noisy and bumpy and I had trouble keeping my balance, but it wasn't long until the boy and the girl were carrying me off the train.

We walked down another corridor (where I bumped myself on the ceiling) and were then back on the moving staircase. I could see light at the top of the stairs. Before we could reach the light, my friends had to get me through a barrier, which proved to be a bit of a challenge for them. I was relieved when the three of us managed to pass through and were climbing some more steps, up into the open air.

I had never seen so many people.

"Trafalgar Square really is beautiful, isn't it?" said the girl, as the boy set me down in the middle of a big square where I was surrounded by inspiring buildings, birds and so much wonderful noise. Most noises are wonderful compared to the monotonous sound of sewing machine music.

The girl set up a camera as the boy started to dress me. He put me in a black dress and leather belt, but you could see my body through the dress as if it was made from coloured tissue paper.

Once I was fully dressed the boy disappeared. I was a little worried, even if I still had the girl by my side. I watched her setting up her things. She had a freckly face and a camera for her eyes.

Soon the boy returned, accompanied by a group of people. The girl then told the group where to stand (I would have said she sounded a little bossy, but she had been nice to me all day so I didn't mind) and then the boy was asking them questions about fashion and what I was wearing.

"Oh. Wow," said one of the girls in the group.

"It's a bit revealing," said another.

"The fetish look is a big trend coming through this autumn," said the boy.

At the end the group and my friends all laughed together and the group left.

This process continued again and again as the afternoon drew on. All the while the boy continued asking questions, the girl continued nodding encouragement and giving directions, and the groups of people continued giving surprised comments about my attire.

I was a little confused, however, as to why they were so shocked. Compared to lots of the makeovers I have had in the past, I thought I was looking a little bit restrained.

After an hour the girl and boy said, "I think that's a wrap," and laughed at each other. I sensed it was nearly time to return to my home amongst the sewing machines and tables, so I took one last look around my surroundings.

Old buildings smiled down at me and a fountain sang water at the bottom of the square. People wandered around me, turning to look at me as they passed. Above me the sky was huge and free, and my heart felt full. I promised myself I would always remember the way the day looked from this spot.

Then I was back over the shoulder of the boy and disappearing down into the tunneling station.

After the journey we emerged back on the road I now recognised as Sheperd's Bush Road. People watched me as we walked down the street, and I felt myself blushing again.

It had been a long and tiring day modelling so I was hungry. We stopped off at KFC where I had a small portion of chicken and chips (I wanted the large but I need to watch my figure). Then the three of us walked slowly back to the London College of Fashion. The boy and the girl were talking to each other and to me as they walked. When they arrived back at my home they stopped and gave me a hug, asking two friendly police officers who were passing to take a photograph of the three of us.

Then the boy and the girl took me inside and put me back in my room.

"Goodbye Molly the Mannequin," they said with a laugh.

"I know it sounds silly," said the girl, "but after the crazy day we have just had, I am really going to miss her." Then she looked back at me for one last time, before turning off the light and following the boy out of my room.

Tonight I will fall asleep dreaming of the sound of sewing machines and Trafalgar Square.