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Good Things in Three – Six times where Andrea Sachs told a lie to herself
By pdt_bear
I.
Andy told herself that she didn't care -- that the Runway interrogation was no different than the other interviews that she had had while in New York City. Even before she had uttered a single word of introduction, she had been judged and dismissed as unsuitable for Runway. Even though this shouldn't have mattered any more than the other occasions, she could not forget that urge to prove Miranda Priestly, no, Runway wrong in dismissing her like the grunge fashions of the yesteryear.
II.
Andrea hid the wince when she had first endured the raucous ribbing from her friends. She knew that she didn't quite fit in at Runway -- not as the proverbial Six in a bevy of Twos, Fours, or even Zeros. Yet, with these fine feathers, she was no longer the 'Andy Sachs' that her friends knew. She wondered if she had been successful in ignoring their barely hidden disdain that seemed to carry a greater hint of malevolence than she'd thought she'd deserved. She'd allow herself no regrets on her choices.
III.
What had been a work-related function had somehow morphed into something else with Christian Thompson --his rough charm seemed awkward amongst the suavity that was New York City. When Lily questioned her behaviour and the other changes that Runway had wrought on Andy, Andrea had said that she was still the same person she'd always been. It wasn't until that glance at the mirror in Paris did Andrea realize that the changes were deeper than she had imagined they'd be. She'd finally recognized that Andrea Sachs made decisions that Andy Sachs would never have even considered.
IV.
Paris was both a dream and a nightmare made real. She'd made a promise to herself that she wouldn't throw someone (Emily) under a bus (or in front of a taxi) for the sake of advancement; and yet, she had taken Emily's dream and it was a bitter taste on her lips to be able to see Paris at Miranda's side. She tried to tell herself that she had had no choice but to tell Emily that she wasn't going to Paris, crutches or not. This might not have been how Miranda wanted it to happen, but Andrea justified it to herself as being the same result even if a taxi had gotten involved. She'd always had a talent of being able to not only meet but surpass Miranda's expectations.
V.
For once, Andrea Sachs would not regret her decisions. Andy would agonize over the smallest of things, but Andrea would own her choices; she had made them consciously even if she might have tried to believe otherwise. It wasn't the smartest move to pitch the phone into the fountain like so much detritus on the street, yet it was the most visible severing of the relationship with Runway, and more importantly, with Miranda Priestly. Andy brushed at the dust that seemed to have blown into her eyes causing them to tear.
VI.
It would be months if not years later when Andrea realized that she'd told the first lie to herself even before she'd ever stepped into the Elias-Clarke building. She'd told herself that any potential employer would not change her. She was out to change the world, but she would not be changed in turn.
By the time she realized the fallacy of her presumptions, she had already fallen in love with a presumed Dragon Lady that had changed her world by her high expectations; changed her life by a few words; and changed her by revealing a world hidden by a stern facade.
The End