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Marcel Garbi 2020 ____
"The shape needs to be more vivid, Miss Mallory." The instructor advised. "It's too morbid."
Alice rolled her eyes at the comment, feeling the clay slip through her fingers as it spinned around at the display.
"What does she mean by 'more vivid'?" She muttered to herself in a complaint.
"Means wider." Someone suddenly said, able to hear to her previous low comment. A figure approached her right side. "Trust me, make it bigger and put on some color, she won't be able to complain about it."
Alice's eyes met the voice's ones, as a small gap was formed on her lips. "Taye!" She smiled in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to find a hobby. Someone suggested to me that sculpting is a way to release our souls...whatever that is." The charming black man tilted his head to the side, taking a small bench to sit next to her. He was incredibly tall to look at. "And now, helping a damzel in distress." He pulled up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his long arms and big muscles. "May I?" He gestured to the sculpture.
"Oh, sure." Alice nodded, allowing Taye to come closer, his large hands started touching the art slowly but calmly.
"Your movements need to be slow. Visualize what you want to create, and then allow the shape to transform itself." He guided her. "Like this." He delicately grabbed both her hands underneath his and positioned at the spinning brownish clay. She could feel the smooth sensation of his skin and how he directed her towards a certain path on the art while speaking in a paced tone. "Just like that...let it flow..."
Taye discretely glanced at her, she was immersed into the sculpture, the blue eyes scanning and the hands wandering. Alice met eyes with him in a solid second, realizing something his expression was friendly, casual, comfortable to look at.
"He wanted to get to know you then." Hannibal's voice echoed in her consciousness.
Alice immediatly took her hands off the art, letting the clay splash through the walls and both of them in a catastrophe that led to multiple lectures by the teacher, but mostly guiltiness that Alice felt for being with that man.
Once the class was over, she rushed towards the door, trying to avoid Taye's stares and velvet speech. She needed to go home. She needed Hannibal.
"Hey, Alice!" A voice called her from behind and as much as she tried to avoid the 3 calls, he ran a bit and blocked her path by standing in front of her. "Hey, are you leaving already?"
"Class is over." She answered.
"Yeah, I know...Do you, uh, you know, wanna grab lunch? I know a place-"
"My boyfriend already prepared lunch for me back at home." She replied right away, silencing him.
He felt embarrassrd and the atmosphere immediatly became awkward, heavy, as Alice held her hands behind her back, in an anxious act.
