"I think the best way to start off our drawing class is by doing something exciting." Mrs. Prez spoke to her class. "For the rest of the week, we'll be practicing gesture drawing. Every single one of you will model for the entire class, varying from two to fifteen minutes each."
Murmurs filled the room as students eagerly whispered to one another. Ace glanced around the room nervously, noting that many were terrified of the thought of staying still while dozens of eyes studied and sketched them.
She noticed a certain boy besides her shaking slightly, more anxious than anyone in the class. "Hey," Ace whispered softly to him.
Evan slowly rose his grey eyes, almost making eye contact to her. The female noticed a few of the boy's dark blue hair peeking out from beneath his large hood, as well as the white earbuds that hung around his neck. "It's going to be alright. I'm scared to stand in front of everyone too. You're not alone."
Ryoma watched his friend hesitantly nod slightly at the girl's words. He narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion.
"You'll need some paper and a pencil, preferably your sketchbook." The teacher continued explaining. "I'll randomly pick students from the roster and check off their names, just so I know who modeled and who didn't model. Let's see.." Mrs. Prez flicked her eyes down on the roster, gazing at the list of names. "Elene. You'll be our first model."
Ace looked to a table nearby to see the girl stiffen up slightly before taking a breath and standing up. "You'll be standing on top of this table." The teacher smiled as she gestured towards a table that had been set up in the middle of the classroom. "This way, everybody should have a clear view and a different angle."
The student forced herself forwards, feeling the gaze everybody in the classroom on burning her skin. She climbed up the chair besides the table and planted her feet on the heightened surface.
"We'll start off with fifteen minutes." Mrs. Prez clasped her hands together. "Strike a pose that you can keep for that long, and I'll keep watch of the time."
The students hummed in amusement as they prepared to draw the figure standing atop the table. Ace flipped open her sketchbook and picked out a pencil from her pencil case, waiting for Mrs. Prez to begin the timer.
"And.. begin! Fifteen minutes."
The sound of students gliding their pencils around on their paper sounded through the entire classroom, creating a relatively relaxing environment. Ace relaxed herself, focusing on sketching out the entire figure before honing in on the details.
~
"Time!"
The students dropped their pencils, many groaning at their unfinished sketch and chatting with their friends. The girl stared at the figure she had drawn, feeling waves of despair hit her as she looked at the distorted humanoid with awkward limbs.
She noticed that students began talking with each other, many laughing at what each other came up with.
"That's pretty bad."
Startled, the girl looked up. Her eyes met Ryoma, suddenly standing behind her and peering at her work from on top of her. An amused smile pricked at Evan's lips before he covered his mouth with his sleeve. "What?" She coughed out. "You're talking to me?"
The large male rolled his eyes. "Who else would I be talking to when I'm standing right behind you?" Ryoma reached over the table, using the blunt of his pencil to point certain features out on her sketch. "The proportion of the head is too large compared to the rest of the body. The neck is too long. The shoulders should be farther apart, the stance looks stiff. The arms are too short, the feet are too big."
Ace grimaced at his words of critique. "Well I'm sorry, I wasn't born an artist." She sent the male a glare. "And why are you helping me?"
Ryoma sent her an annoyed look. "Your drawings hurt my eyes. I've seen what you've drawn in that sketchbook of yours. Maybe I can help a hopeless case."
The female defensively pulled her sketchbook back, hugging it against her chest. "I didn't give you permission to look through it!"
"And nobody told me to return it." He retorted.
She sighed, defeatedly placing her sketchbook down onto the table.
"And," Ryoma started again. "Nobody is born an artist. Drawing is a skill. Everybody starts off the same. Some just have more experience than others."
"But it just seems like my practice is getting me nowhere. I feel like I haven't improved at all." Ace mumbled.
The red-eyed male rolled his eyes and wondered why he even bothered talking to the girl in the first place. "Do I have to punch it through your thick skull? Of course you won't turn from a beginner artist into a professional in a week."
Evan hummed softly to himself, silently agreeing with his friend's words.
"Alright, our next model will be modeling for fifteen minutes." Mrs. Prez alerted the class. Looking down at her roster, she chose the next model. "Okay. Evan will be modeling next."
Besides her, Ace felt the boy immediately shrink at the proclaimed words. The girl gazed at the hooded boy, seeing the fear and anxiety building up in his eyes as his small body began shaking. She felt a wave of sympathy wash over her bones. Ryoma glanced at the boy before nodding encouragingly at him.
When it seemed like the boy would never get out of his seat, Mrs. Prez was prompted to say, "Come on now, don't be shy. Everyone will have to model, so won't it be better to get it over with now?"
"I-I..." The small boy muttered, unable to get the words out. He felt like his skin was burning as he felt the gazes of every student burning into his body. He began curling into a ball, wanting to shield himself from those judgmental eyes.
Ace stood up abruptly, feeling a surge of courage washing through her. "If it's okay, I'll model in place of Evan. Maybe he could model next time for two minutes instead of fifteen."
The female met her teacher's considering eyes, trying her best to ignore all of the eyes on her. She was acutely aware of Evan's shocked expression while Ryoma remained taken aback from her sudden actions.
"Very well. I think that's an excellent idea. Thank you, Miss Asai." Mrs. Prez smiled, scribbling down a small note onto her roster.
The female walked towards the table in the middle of the class, climbing up the chair and situating herself onto the hard surface. She met Evan's thankful grey eyes and gave him a small smile before deciding to lower herself down onto one knee, posing like she was tying her shoelaces. This way, nobody will see my knees shaking, she thought to herself.
"Fifteen minutes, begin!"
~
Ace climbed down from the table after her teacher had called time's up, shaking and stretching her cramped up legs. She walked back to her seat and sat down, her eyes falling on Evan. He gave her a shy, grateful grin. "T-thank you so much, Ace. You really s-saved me."
Ryoma scoffed, looking at the female for a second before looking back down at his sketchbook, writing a few words down on blank space.
The female gave the thankful boy a smile. "You're welcome. I couldn't stand seeing you go through that."
Evan hid his face with his sleeve, feeling a nervous, yet welcoming heat spread through his cheeks.
Ace curiously gazed at his sketch of her, flattered that he really tried capturing the expression on her face rather than focusing on her entire body.
When Evan noticed the female looking with great interest at his sketch, he jolted, quickly covering the sketch with his right hand. Embarrassment ran through his body, leaving him nearly sweating.
The female frowned at his actions. "It's a really beautiful sketch. Thank you, Evan."
Ryoma felt a twinge of envy run through his mind before he quickly brushed it off. 'When did I ever care about what she thought?' He frustratingly ran a hand through his hair.
The grey-eyed boy felt himself flutter slightly at her compliment, feeling flustered. I.. I've never experienced this feeling before.. W-what is it? He thought, panicking slightly.
"Alright, our next model will be.. Alex. He'll be modeling for ten minutes." Mrs. Prez announced once again.
~
The bell that indicated that 6th period was over rung, alerting the students.
"We'll continue gesture drawing our next class. See you kids soon!" Mrs. Prez called out before retreating back to her desk.
Packing her things, she was suddenly pushed aside by Ryoma as he exited the classroom. Glancing in his direction with confusion and a twinge of anger, she sighed and resumed picking up her things, ready to proceed to her next class.
The female was stopped by a small tug by her sleeve. Turning around, she lay her eyes upon the hooded male. He was looking down, avoiding making eye contact with her.
"Yes?" Ace questioned the boy curiously.
"I.. uh.." Evan stuttered as he struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "I.."
The female hummed to herself as she awaited the boy's words.
Evan perked up at the tune she that had left her lips. He finally found the courage as he uttered his words. "D-do you.. Need help finding your next class..?" He bit his lip as he anxiously waited for her answer.
"I think.. I got it. But sure. Just so I don't end up going the wrong way." Ace smiled as she read what her next class was on her schedule. "I have Marine Biology right now."
The male smiled, his eyes widening as he beamed hearing that she had the same class as him. "We have the same class! Can we walk together please?"
"Of course!" Ace grinned.
As they walked together, she couldn't help but hum a song that had been stuck her head ever since last week.
Evan perked up and he asked excitedly, "Were you just humming 'Libra'?"
Ace pleasantly smiled at his guess. "Yes. It's just been repeating in my head for the past few days. And it makes me even happier that I'm a Libra."
The boy happily smiled. "I love that song. Even though I'm not a Libra, I still adore listening to that song."
"What sign are you?" The female curiously asked.
"I'm a Pisces." He replied. "I'm still waiting for the artist to release the song dedicated to Pisces. I'm excited about what he came up with."
Ace cheerfully agreed. "Yeah, all of his songs that have come out so far sound pretty good. I'm very patiently waiting for the rest of the signs to come out."
As the teens entered the classroom, Ace introduced herself to her teacher and waited patiently as she gestured to an open seat by the side of the class.
A flicker of disappointment showed on the boy's face but was quickly hidden when he neutralized his face and proceeded to sit in his normal seat, longing to sit beside the female.
As Ms. Blair started the class, he found his gaze fixated on the girl's back, as he was sitting by the back of the class, hoping desperately that she would turn around and look at him.
"Okay class," Ms. Blair initiated. "Today, you'll be working on a powerpoint presentation with a group of two to four. The whole purpose of this is an introduction to echinoderms- sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. You'll pick a species from a list that I will be providing for you and you'll be expected to conduct research on it. Get into your groups and then I'll pass out the rubric."
The grey-eyed male froze at her words as the words that haunted every introvert echoed in his mind. 'Presentation' and 'Group'. In a panic, he looked around the room to see that students have already begun forming their groups. His eyes landed on Ace, who was busy jotting down notes onto a small booklet.
He shot out of his seat, grabbing onto her shoulder, startling her.
With wide eyes, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Can we please be partners?" He pleaded desperately, hoping for her confirmation.
The girl noticed just how panicked the poor boy looked, his eyes filled with anxiety and apprehension. "Of course." She answered.
Evan let out a loud, relieved sigh. "Thank you so much. You're saving me again for the second time today."
Ace chuckled at his words. "It's no problem. Let's get started."
The song 'Libra' is an actual song written by Xan Griffin. When I wrote this chapter, the song 'Pisces' wasn't out yet. He's created the 'Zodiac Project' which consists of all the zodiac signs. ^~^