Being talented and outstanding in your field doesn't guarantee success in relationships.
Julian "Jay" Adams is a fine art student struggling with both creative and emotional blockages. Caught in a draining relationship, he finds an unexpected source...
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Jay stood at his desk still dressed in his pajamas, eating cereals.
Leaning his head on his hand, he turned the magazine pages, his gaze drifting lazily back and forth between the pictures. His fingers slid over the cold, glossy paper. One page at a time. Slowly, a nagging feeling crept in. Every detail was useless. Every painting was dull.
Portraits, rural landscapes, and a few still-life pieces. The painting section ended. Nothing caught his attention. The pictures in the magazine were large, but Jay barely noticed them. He couldn't see beyond the geometric shapes, splashes of color, and parallel lines.
Nothing. Jay had been reading articles for the past fifteen minutes, and nothing stayed in his mind. Just the crunch of the cornflakes. Sitting with one foot on the chair, he glanced at the magazine. It made him feel as if he were back in high school. Distracted and unmotivated. However, he remembered an article beside a photo with a young woman completely covered in white paint, from her gray sweater and baggy jeans to her face. She suggested that if you want to overcome creative block, you must start with... uhm, what was that again? He put down his bowl and skipped through the pages until he reached the photo. Then, with narrowed eyes, he read, "to step back and take a break."
Bullshit.
Jay sighed, tossing the magazine aside.
He already tried it.
He got up, pushing the chair back under the desk.
The dorm room was compact, with identical beds and desks on each side. The shelves held stacks of books, art supplies, and some superhero figurines on the roommate's side. A kitchenette ran along the wall at the entrance, and they had a toilet and a shower, which was more than enough.
While getting dressed, he noticed Mason's key in the door's lock. When he left in the morning, he must have forgotten to take it out. To Jay's dissatisfaction, he also forgot to lock it. As he thought about it, he felt as if he had slept bare-naked on the streets. Idiot.
Jay picked up his backpack, and just before leaving, he noticed a book on Mason's desk. The title caught his eye. Architecture Details. He reached for it. It looked neat from afar, but up close, he observed the uneven, faded text, the rough edges, and the harsh scratches on the cover. He leafed through it, seeing the yellow pages and some notes. When it gave off a musty smell, Jay quickly closed it and put it back in the same spot.
What does he need that for? He asked himself as he closed the door.
*
In the classroom, the air was thick with the strong smell of paint and the scent of rain drifting in through the window.
The professor's heels clacked incessantly, creating an irksome noise.
Tara Carter, the professor, was hectic—a whirlwind. She darted around the classroom, flitting from one student to another. She started a discussion but didn't finish it. After remembering something else, she moved to the next one. She got bored quickly, and although she encouraged her students to ask her anything, she got annoyed when they did. "Didn't you read about this in the book?"
