Maya Meets World

Maya Meets Grad School

Maya Meets World
(Disclaimer: I own zero things, except my two dogs -they're not in this fic though. All characters are MJ/Disney)

Chapter 1: Maya Meets Grad School

Maya slung herself into a seat in the back row, her hair thrown on top of her head in a large messy bun. She brought her knee to her chest resting the heel of her boot on the front half of her chair. Pulling out a sketchpad, Maya's attention was immediately centered on a new sketch.

Tonight was the first night of class for Maya. She sat in her seat, her toe tapping along to her internal soundtrack as the remaining members of the class filled in.

Art History. A love-hate relationship for Maya. Having Mr. Matthews as her history teacher for the majority of her adolescence, Maya always had an interest in history, but when it came to art, she would much rather be acting than reading. As class began, Maya tried to pull herself out of her current focus.

New Message. From: Riley
Good luck tonight, Peaches! Stop drawing and pay attention.

Maya chuckled to herself and clicked her phone off without responding to Riley's message. She sat her pen down and propped her head in her hand as she listened to course objectives and schedules for the semester.

The sound of hurried feet down the hallway, followed by the class door opening distracted Maya from what her professor was saying. She picked up her pen and was quickly pulled back into her sketch. As a seat near her rattled, the late student picking his spot for the night, Maya continued drawing.

"Let's take a break and we'll meet back here in say, ten minutes." Dr. Khan announced and Maya finally looked up from her drawing. She pulled her phone out of her bag and clicked the side lighting up the time. Two hours? She thought. She had been so engulfed in drawing that two hours had passed without her realizing it.

A hand appeared at the top of her sketchpad, "Pen, huh?"

Maya was used to getting this question and without missing a beat, she spit out her frequent response, "Pens are honest." She said finally looking up. In an instant that felt like a lifetime, Maya felt her heart speed up, the blood rushing to her cheeks and an all too familiar feeling in her stomach that was almost exclusive to this one person. "Josh," she exhaled.

Josh smiled and extended his arms, opening for a hug from his friend he hadn't seen in years.

Maya stood up and attempted to rein in those feelings she hadn't felt in years. She leaned onto her tiptoes as she embraced a now mid-twenty year old Joshua Matthews.

"How've you been, Maya? It has to have been what, two -three years?" Josh asked pulling himself back eyeing Maya up and down with an endearing look in his eyes.

Maya raised an eyebrow and nodded. "At least."

"Alright class, let's bring it back in..." Dr. Kahn announced settling the remaining chatter happening in the classroom.

"We need to catch up." Josh nodded in Maya's direction tapping her desk then stepping back to his seat with a smile.

"Yeah," Maya nodded. She picked up her pen, flipped to a blank page in her sketchpad and focused her attention downward once more. She wracked her brain for a song to distract her while she sketched, but nothing came; her internal soundtrack had paused, replaced with past conversations and thoughts she had as a teenager. She began tapping on pad out of frustration, and the simple need to be moving her pen. She thought something would come, something always comes. But, for the remaining 90 minutes of class, Maya drew nothing.

"We'll see you all next week."

And with that, Maya slapped the cover of her sketchpad down frustrated with herself, and tossed the pad and pen into her bag. She quickly grabbed her keys and slung her bag over her shoulder as she practically stomped out of class.