There were once five sisters: the Pandra Sisters. These girls, Yareli,
Brittney, Alice, Natalie and Serena, were very close in age and best friends.
It was apparent from a young age that these girls shared a special gift. From
the time they could hold a crayon, all five girls showed a love for art. They
all loved to paint, draw, and build. Mrs. Pandra would often catch the girls
cutting up doll clothes to create new outfits. As the girls grew, their talents
only continued to flourish. What started as five-star drawings on the
refrigerator soon turned into contest-winning art pieces at school.
Mr. and Mrs. Pandra were extremely proud of their girls and encouraged their creativity. But knowing that neither of them had any background in art or design, they worried that they wouldn’t be able to help their daughters meet their potential. The parents sat down one evening and scoured the phone book and internet looking for any kind of art teacher. Some had great reviews, but insane prices; others were affordable but didn’t seem credible. Discouraged, the two went to bed. They prayed that they would find a way to help their daughters succeed.
The very next day, the five girls were playing at recess when Brittney overestimated her balance and fell off the monkey bars. When she fell, her pants got caught on the bars and ripped completely. Quick to help their sister, the other four Pandra girls surrounded her and ran to their teacher. Their teacher, unsure of what to do, sent them to Ms. Diana, the Home Economics teacher.
The girls had never met the Home Economics teacher before, but wasted no time running to her classroom. Ms. Diana welcomed the girls with a smile and told them to come in. She assessed the damage and told Brittney that there was no way that the pants could go back to how they used to be but asked if she could try something new. Brittney, desperate for some pants, eagerly complied. With that, Ms. Diana began snipping and sewing and quickly presented an all-new skirt. Brittney beamed as she put it on. It was more beautiful than her original outfit! The girls couldn’t believe their eyes and ran home that afternoon to tell their mother all about their newfound hero.
Ms. Pandra was quite impressed! She immediately called Ms. Diana to thank her for saving her daughter from humiliation and making her day. The two women talked for some time and the conversation ended with Ms. Diana offering to work with the girls after school with art and design. Mrs. Pandra could not believe the luck and graciously accepted the offer. When she told her daughters the news, they could hardly contain their excitement!
From then on, the girls spent every day after school with Ms. Diana. The wise teacher had an incredible eye for individual talents. She found that Yareli was a master of creative ideas. Her mind contained designs and innovations that were unparalleled. Brittney was the queen of the pencil. She could listen to Yareli’s ideas and draw them to perfection. Alice and Natalie loved fashion. Ms. Diana set them up with sewing tools and learned that they had skills far beyond anyone their age. Lastly, Serena was the refiner. She could take the girls’ ideas and make them even better. She was always looking at the bigger picture and could tell how to bring Yareli’s ideas into fruition through the other sisters’ fine-tuned skills. Ms. Diana worked with the girls for years, continuing to develop their individual talents and bringing them together as a team.
By the time the girls were in high school, they were basically masters of design. They were making their own clothes and selling some of their designs on Etsy for extra cash. Ms. Diana could not have been more proud of the girls. Once they were old enough, she pitched the idea of entering competitions. The girls and their parents quickly agreed and loved the idea of a challenge! Ms. Diana continued to train the girls and perfect their skills. In no time they were ready for their designs to take the stage in the biggest fashion competition in the state.
When the girls arrived at the venue they looked eagerly around them. They couldn’t believe how far they had come! They looked to Ms. Diana, expecting to see the same look of excitement in her eyes. Instead, they saw a look of vengeance. They looked across the room to see a tall, well-dressed woman, about Ms. Diana’s age walking toward them with a smug look across her face. She stopped in front of the girls’ beloved teacher, looking her up and down before casting a sideward glance at the five girls.
“Ah Diana,” she said with a smirk. “We meet again.”
Mr. and Mrs. Pandra were extremely proud of their girls and encouraged their creativity. But knowing that neither of them had any background in art or design, they worried that they wouldn’t be able to help their daughters meet their potential. The parents sat down one evening and scoured the phone book and internet looking for any kind of art teacher. Some had great reviews, but insane prices; others were affordable but didn’t seem credible. Discouraged, the two went to bed. They prayed that they would find a way to help their daughters succeed.
The very next day, the five girls were playing at recess when Brittney overestimated her balance and fell off the monkey bars. When she fell, her pants got caught on the bars and ripped completely. Quick to help their sister, the other four Pandra girls surrounded her and ran to their teacher. Their teacher, unsure of what to do, sent them to Ms. Diana, the Home Economics teacher.
The girls had never met the Home Economics teacher before, but wasted no time running to her classroom. Ms. Diana welcomed the girls with a smile and told them to come in. She assessed the damage and told Brittney that there was no way that the pants could go back to how they used to be but asked if she could try something new. Brittney, desperate for some pants, eagerly complied. With that, Ms. Diana began snipping and sewing and quickly presented an all-new skirt. Brittney beamed as she put it on. It was more beautiful than her original outfit! The girls couldn’t believe their eyes and ran home that afternoon to tell their mother all about their newfound hero.
Ms. Pandra was quite impressed! She immediately called Ms. Diana to thank her for saving her daughter from humiliation and making her day. The two women talked for some time and the conversation ended with Ms. Diana offering to work with the girls after school with art and design. Mrs. Pandra could not believe the luck and graciously accepted the offer. When she told her daughters the news, they could hardly contain their excitement!
From then on, the girls spent every day after school with Ms. Diana. The wise teacher had an incredible eye for individual talents. She found that Yareli was a master of creative ideas. Her mind contained designs and innovations that were unparalleled. Brittney was the queen of the pencil. She could listen to Yareli’s ideas and draw them to perfection. Alice and Natalie loved fashion. Ms. Diana set them up with sewing tools and learned that they had skills far beyond anyone their age. Lastly, Serena was the refiner. She could take the girls’ ideas and make them even better. She was always looking at the bigger picture and could tell how to bring Yareli’s ideas into fruition through the other sisters’ fine-tuned skills. Ms. Diana worked with the girls for years, continuing to develop their individual talents and bringing them together as a team.
By the time the girls were in high school, they were basically masters of design. They were making their own clothes and selling some of their designs on Etsy for extra cash. Ms. Diana could not have been more proud of the girls. Once they were old enough, she pitched the idea of entering competitions. The girls and their parents quickly agreed and loved the idea of a challenge! Ms. Diana continued to train the girls and perfect their skills. In no time they were ready for their designs to take the stage in the biggest fashion competition in the state.
When the girls arrived at the venue they looked eagerly around them. They couldn’t believe how far they had come! They looked to Ms. Diana, expecting to see the same look of excitement in her eyes. Instead, they saw a look of vengeance. They looked across the room to see a tall, well-dressed woman, about Ms. Diana’s age walking toward them with a smug look across her face. She stopped in front of the girls’ beloved teacher, looking her up and down before casting a sideward glance at the five girls.
“Ah Diana,” she said with a smirk. “We meet again.”
(The girls had a special gift for turning their creative visions into beautiful designs! Source: Pixabay)
Author’s Note: For this story, I used Episode 16, Drona Trains the Pandavas, from the Epified version of the Mahabharata. In this scene, Drona becomes the Pandavas' trainer and develops each of their individual strengths. Once I watched the Epified video, I understood the scene a lot better than I originally had. Seeing a visualization sparked some new ideas for me! I also really related to the story. As a Human Resources major, developing and individualization are two strengths that are very important to me! I love helping people use their individual strengths and learn to grow upon them. In a society that constantly tells you to work on your weaknesses, I believe that it’s more important to build on your strengths.
I decided to make a story that followed the guideline of the original story. However, instead of training warriors, Ms. Diana (taking the role of Drona) was training designers. The original episode ends with the Pandavas realizing that Drona had been training them for his own personal revenge reasons. That is why I ended the scene how I did, with Ms. Diana running into who appears to be an old competitor. I left the story on a cliffhanger, just as the Epified episode ended. The video left me wondering and I wanted my story to have the same effect. I had a great time taking this story in a new direction. It was very fun to write!
I decided to make a story that followed the guideline of the original story. However, instead of training warriors, Ms. Diana (taking the role of Drona) was training designers. The original episode ends with the Pandavas realizing that Drona had been training them for his own personal revenge reasons. That is why I ended the scene how I did, with Ms. Diana running into who appears to be an old competitor. I left the story on a cliffhanger, just as the Epified episode ended. The video left me wondering and I wanted my story to have the same effect. I had a great time taking this story in a new direction. It was very fun to write!
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