Work Of Art

1. Theana

       M O N D A Y - 5 : 3 0

     His office smelled like lots of cleaning supplies, it was as if he had done a cleaning spree and decided it was best to dump the chemical sprays on the floor. It was slowly killing Theana. The blank look on his face gave little to what he was thinking about her artwork and the slightest movement seemed to make him angry. Theana couldn't possibly even imagine how he was concentrating with the smell, it was quite suffocating and if she had the chance Theana would run straight out of the room and take in the beautiful scent of a normal office. But no she decided it was best to stay put, if she didn't who knows what would happen to her chance of the scholarship. The scholarship. It was the only thing keeping Theana from pulling out her hair and screaming at the strange man. His thin lips were in a deep frown and his blonde hair was covered in gel and pushed back, he was obviously trying to cover up the bald spot forming on top of his head but he was doing a horrible job at it. Or at least that's what Theana thought. His brown eyes looked straight into her own and he took off his glasses with a sigh.

      "Well I have good news and bad news..." He said while taking a sip of his coffee which Theana swore smelled just like his office.

     "Good news first would be better." She said hoping it really was good news.

      "I love your artwork and think you are perfect for this school. It's quite obvious that you are very good at what you do and I see a bright future for you up ahead." The twinkle in his eyes gave Theana the hope she needed not to mention the amazing comment about her artwork.

     Theana was simply on a high and nothing could bring her down. The next words Principal Winxton said came to Theana as if they were under water. She was caught up in the moment and she just gave a smile to the man sitting infront of her. Principal Winxton seemed to be trying to get her attention but her thoughts were else where. In fact she was still floating on cloud nine when he snapped his fingers in her face. Now that got her attention.

     "As I was saying, even though your artwork is spectacular I just don't see that spark in it. The passion you have is undeniable but I want to see it on a canvas. This school could use someone like you but you have to find your inner self before to become a part of our art family." His voice was monotone and the twinkle in his eyes was gone. It seemed to have vanished into thin air.

     Her eyes held unshed tears and her hands trembled. How could this happen to her? After all the hard work she had put into these paintings. Only to get rejected. Theana wanted to shout how bad she wanted the opportunity to become a part of the school, how bad she wanted to become a famous artist, how bad she needed this. But instead she stayed silent, her eyes stayed trained to the ground. She didn't say a word knowing that her voice would crack and the tears would fall. Without another word she stood from the sticky leather chair and her hopes and dreams seemed to stay in the chair even after she gave a quick nod to the Principal and walked out the office.

     Is this how dreams are crushed?

     Making her way outside Theana didn't bother to wrap her warm sweater around her to protect herself from the whipping cold air. Nor did she make a sound when a college student bumped into her causing Theana to stumble. She felt herself slowly slipping away from reality. What if she went insane? She needed this scholarship so badly and it would cover all of her expenses. If only she had the stupid spark. What was the spark anyways? All she felt at the moment was grief.

     The Five Stages Of Grief:

     Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

     But at the moment Theana didn't feel any of those, all she wanted to do was go home, cuddle with her best friend, and eat ice cream while watching Netflix. She just wanted to be with the only person in the world that could partially comfort her during this miserable time. Most people say that they would rather be alone with the lights turned off but not Theana. Company and vibrance helped her cope with it all.

     She quickened her pace to her car and hastily grabbed the keys out of her purse. Her vision was already slightly blurred as she unlocked the car after a few attempts and closed the door. Once inside she took a few short breaths while gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. This wasn't suppose to happen to her, other people sure. But not Theana. She had put too much effort into this school only for her to be turned away.

     The tears started off slow but as she thought more into the depth of her current rejection, they poured down her face. She tried her best not to wipe off her thin layer of mascara but it was a difficult task seeing that she couldn't drive without wiping her face. Sitting there with hair in her face and tears drying on her face only for more to roll down, Theana must have looked like someone had killed her inner self right in front of her. Which they did, the stupid school. Who cares for a spark?

     WHAT IS A SPARK!? Theana thought to herself. The sound of her and Katherine, Theana's best friend, laughing brought her out of the trance she was in. The stupid ringtone made her smile even when she was dying inside. She quickly picked up her phone from the center console and answered it with a swipe of her finger.

     "Hello?"

     "Hey! How'd it go?"

     Silence. Theana couldn't get the words to come out of her mouth; she couldn't form a single sentence.

     "Theana? Are you still there?"

     "I got... I got rejected."

      "No way! Stop joking Theana, that's not funny."

     "I'm not joking; I was hoping you could tell me that this was all a dream and that I would wake up in my room. Please tell me this is a dream Katherine. Please!"

     Theana's voice cracked and she started crying all over again. This was her only chance to prove people wrong about who she could be and what she was capable of. Theana could see it all now. The relatives asking too many questions, her parent's giving her the look of disappointment, her little sister seeing how bad her older sister was.

     "Go home; I'll be there in ten to fifteen minutes."

      "Thank you Katherine."

     "Anything for you."

     With that Theana put her car in reverse and headed back to her apartment. She zoomed in and out of lanes and probably would have gotten a ticket if there were any cops out. Everything seemed to crumble around her and a headache started forming from all the crying she had done.

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     The doorbell rang and Theana ran to it trying not to slip with her socks on the hardwood floors. With a huff she swung the door open while straightening her back for the best of hugs from Katherine. Or at least she was hoping that her best friend would comfort her. Katherine dropped the bags she had in her hands and engulfed Theana into the biggest hug she had ever given. It held so passion. They stood there for what seemed like hours but were probably only seconds just merely enjoying each other's company in the warm embrace.

     "Did you put on Netflix yet?"

     "How could I begin the marathon without you?"

     They broke away from each other and Katherine closed the door. She grabbed Theana's hand and together they forgot the world in movies, food, and friendship.

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Hi there! This is a new story done in third person(which I've never done before) so this is quite exciting for me. There will probably be a question on why Theana is so hooked on this school and I will tell you, but it's going to be later on in the story. Thanks for reading my beautiful unicorns! :)