Muse

Two

The sun was about to set soon and we got dismissed. It was evident that my muse wouldn't come and discuss our meeting time. I sighed with a tinge of envy when Vera and Nikolai came to their painters on their own. The rest of the muses along with Kristian were nowhere to be found. I guess they wanted to throw their weight around and not come first to the mere mortals whose brushes were meant to paint them.

Now I knew why he noticed me today. He had already been told I was going to be his painter. I took a deep breath and collected my drawing supplies. The drawing itself I left on the easel.

I had to be the one to go and arrange our meetings. The worst part was that I had no idea how he'd react. Kristian had never spoken a word to me. With a heavy heart I headed to the music department hoping to catch him before they sent him home.

All it took is to ask a random female student which was Kristian's room and I sat on the marble floor waiting for him to finish class. I could hear people singing inside accompanied by music. Usually I'd enjoy it but I was too jittery today. Thousands of invisible spiders were crawling all over me, eating me alive. Finally, I heard the teacher announcing the end of the lecture and students started exiting one by one. My pulse quickened when I saw Kristian taking his leave. He saw me too and he stopped abruptly in his tracks. For a fraction of the second everything went still and we just stared coldly at each other. But then he broke the spell and walked towards me.

I breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't try to run away or something. I rose from the ground and dusted my robes.

"We need to check our schedules and arrange an appointment," I announced with more courage than I actually felt.

Arranging was a strong word really. Portraits were deemed important and we were automatically going to be dismissed from lectures.

Kristian nodded and looked at me expectantly. I had the feeling that he wanted to say something but at the same time stubbornly resisted it and it irritated me.

"Are you free tomorrow?" I asked still maintaining a polite tone.

"No."

The first thing he ever said to me was no. It stung a little.

"What about the day after tomorrow?"

"No," he said flatly.

My blood was starting to boil. What was his problem? Did he hate me that much?

"Don't you dare ruin this for me," I growled in a low tone only he could hear.

He seemed taken aback. Almost shocked that I dared to speak to him like that. His delicate lips remained open but no sound came out of it.

"If you don't appear for the appointments, I'll notify the dean," I continued spewing the words rapidly before my courage left me, "This is a rare and amazing opportunity for me as an artist and not even a muse can snatch it away from me!"

I must have looked quite scary because Kristian took a step back. Breathing heavily I also withdrew from him and took my bag from the ground. My legs were wobbly but I needed to get of here before my façade cracked. I didn't like the way his dark eyes were fixed on me without blinking.

"Do you need me to wear something specific tomorrow?" he yelled behind me.

I clutched my bag and frowned. His tone has softened somehow. He sounded almost... cooperative.

"Just come in your uniform," I said without turning back to him and went on my way.

For the first time I allowed myself to crack a smile.