After Somin finally gets into a prestigious Art university, everything in her life turns upside down. What was once a secure plan to get closer to her boyfriend is now a mess. Her future is unknown, though already stained with heartache.
Will she p...
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Lee Somin
Later she would apologize to Mrs. Miller with a stomach pain excuse, feeling watched by the small crowd in the large classroom.
Mrs. Miller raised her brows, checking her watch way too obviously. Her eyes questioned the new girl. She accepted the challenge in a sort of "we'll see if you can catch all you've missed here at the exam period" way.
The strict teacher had her fair share of difficulties with all kinds of art students. From the absent ones, which she cold-heartedly failed, to arguing experts, constantly questioning her like they had a Ph.D. in Art History themselves. To the not-so-rare cases of being too arrogant, proclaiming she wasted their time with the unimportant artworks of dead people. Why should prodigies like them care?
The lecture hall was way too big to accommodate the laughably small number of art students, but Somin could easily imagine it being filled to the brim by IT students from the nearby department.
Its wideness started to collapse on her as the small girl rushed to her seat. Her bag and sweater lay draped over her vacant seat, making her absence in an already almost empty room too clear.
Somin made an effort to focus during the rest of the class, but some other girls were already starting to point at her.
"You sure took your time." Giggles rippled through the room.
Not everybody was amused, but a good quarter of the class was.
Great, now I'm the weirdo who spent the first hour of class crying in the bathroom.
Somin wasn't surprised at all. Art schools weren't known for their strict academia-like environment. They stuck out from your usual universities by their different, more creative approach. "We're a family," was a mantra not only at Somin's previous art high school but on most pamphlets from other schools she read.
Which could lead to all types of sibling-like behavior or worse. If you stress your peers enough they could mess up their work, have problems focusing or even have an art block. That only meant fewer eyes on the classmate's work, more praise to you from teachers. And you'd be more likely put into the national art competitions by the school board when the opportunity came.
