Young Lies

20 ❥ "alex"

I nod and make my way back to the booth.

Here we go again. Focus Ry!

Just fucking draw something you dumbass.

I jump when I suddenly hear a voice interrupt my thoughts.

"So, whatcha working on?" My eyes immediately snap up towards the stranger.

"Oh- uh...my best friend's boyfriend's family is awarding a scholarship for art and it's due in 4 days," I say quickly.

I have no idea why I'm telling him this but oh well.

"4 days?! Wow, you're last minute." He laughs and takes a seat across from me in the booth.

"Trust me, I'm usually really good with time management but they told me about it 3 days ago and I have no idea where to start." I sigh.

I continue staring at the blank canvas and I can feel his eyes on me.

"Can I see the instructions?" He asks.

I pause for a moment before I reach into my bag and take out the folded piece of paper.

I hand it to him and watch as he sets down his coffee and reads over the guidelines.

"Oh, is this the Mitchell family scholarship?" He asks.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Oh um, my brother also applied to it." He says.

"Oh haha, what a coincidence." I laugh.

"So does that mean your best friend is dating Xander Mitchell?" He asks.

How did he-

Ok, now this is getting weird.

"Yep"

"Well from what it looks like, all you have to do is create a piece that represents you."

"It's a lot easier said than done," I mutter.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why is it easier said than done?" He asks.

"I don't know...I just don't find myself interesting." I say slowly.

Jeez, that was fucking depressing.

Damn Ryan, might as well tell the man your whole life story.

"Well I've known you for about 15 minutes and I find you interesting." He smiles.

That causes a small laugh to erupt out of me.

"Haha very funny."

"I'm serious." He chuckles.

"Yeah, whatever." I roll my eyes.

"You know art isn't always meant to be positive, if you can't think of anything positive to sketch then why don't you talk about the negatives." He says.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if you can't seem to illustrate the good things going on in your life, then sketch the bad things. It's actually proven that the more depressing pieces usually catch the audience's eye rather than the happy ones."

Woah, I didn't even think about that.

"I think an angel sent you to me because you just saved me," I say quickly and he laughs.

"How do you know so much about art?" I ask before I grab my sketchbook and begin sketching something.

"I come from a big art family and I study film production at Yale." He says.