Broken (Edited edition)

Painting Life

The judges are old, very old.  Around fifty to sixty years of age.    They mostly have white hair, and they all have that distinct smell.  That Grandma, Grandpa smell.  The smell all of them share.  The men wear black suits with stripes running down them, pinstriped as Mark calls them.  The woman are wearing very pretty dresses.  Some of the most gorgeous colors I've ever seen.  Blues and yellows of all sorts.  The leader I suppose was a woman.  Her gray/white hair pulled back in a bun, no hair out of place.  Her dress was blue, a vibrant blue that made it hard to stop looking at."  Good morning students, it's a wonderful day to be alive isn't it?"  She asks, her high heels tapping against the wood floor.  She has her hands behind her back, and she giving us a huge grin."  I want you to show the passion within, the life of the paintings.  I want you to express yourself in the best way you can.  You will have three hours to complete these paintings.  You may listen to music, you may even look up references on your mobile devices.  But you are not to sneak peaks at the other contestants work.  We will be looking at you.  I promise you this, we catch this, you're disqualified.

"You may begin....now"  We all start doing our drawing on the canvas, and mine is very difficult.  Mine is of the galaxy, but drawn in the galaxy is two people dancing.  A man and a woman.  Dancing the night away.  I get the stars perfectly, and the woman comes over."  How's it going?"  Her voice makes me mess up on one of the stars, and I glare at her."  Very well, Thank you!"  I tell her, and she grins.  She leaves me alone, and I fix the star.  I put my headphones on my head, rolling my eyes.  I get the sketch all done, and pull out my paints.  I get the brushes wet, and pull out the colors I want to use.  Blues, Purples, eggshell white, and sunshine yellow.  Very expensive paints that I bought before I even knew Mark.  They were on sale, and I was able to purchase them.  It was one of the greatest days of my life when I got them.  I remember that day so well.

I hear the others still sketching as I start to paint.  I feel odd sitting here painting, so I stand up, kicking the stool out of my way.  It cause a loud noise to erupt, and I look over to see the contestants looking at me curiously.  I hold the paint in one hand, the brush in the other.  I paint the dark blue on first, then a lighter blue to blend with it.  I swirl it a bit, making it seem as if it's sort of moving.  I give it a small smile, than I paint in the purples.  The purple blends into the blues as well, creating that certain universe look I want.  I paint the pale white and yellow into the stars.  The stars look as if their glowing in the dim light, and I grin at them."  It's amazing I mumble to myself.  I start to paint the man and woman in the stars.  The woman is wearing a pale red dress, her long brown hair intertwining with the stars.  The man dancing beside her has on a tight suit, the stars shining off his buttons and shoes.

His hair is brushed back, and I put a gentle sparkle in his eyes.  The way Mark has sparkles in his eyes.  I can feel tears forming in my eyes, but I don't allow them to come out.  I fix up the painting a bit, putting the finishing touches on it.  Time has gotten away from me, and I hear the loud alarm go off.  Meaning time is up.  I pull out my headphones off, and stare at the crowd of people.  I see Mark talking with one of the parents, smiling as they chatter on."  Now, children.  May you wait outside as we look around at the art pieces.  It will only take a few moments."  The leading judge lady says, giving us all a cheesy Joker smile.  I walk past her, walking into the hall.  In the hall there is a table of food and drinks for us.  A fresh pot of coffee, with large cups and real creamer."  Thank God, I thought I was going to rip someone's throat out."  I mumble, the guy next to me chuckles."  Same, that stupid bitch was giving you mean looks."  He says, his smile is contagious.  Causing me to smile with him." I'm not sure she likes me at all, which I'm happy with, I don't like her either.  She's weird, and way too happy for my type."  I say.

We talk for a little more, and I find out his name is Evan.  His twenty-six years old, and he lives in New York.  He's a photographer, but he's really good at painting.  So he thought he could try winning a few bills for some extra cash.  He's already married, and they're expecting their first before Christmas."  That sounds amazing, congrats to you."  I grin at him, he smiles back at me."  Children, come back in."  A different judge says, another woman.  Her hair is cut short, making her look almost like a man.  We all file into the room again, standing perfectly in a row.  The head of the judges walks back and forth in front of us.  Her smile is gone, and she has an evil, mean look on her face."  Now, I've looked at these with so much of my time.  And ALL I see is failure.  You drove here from near and far, just to show me garbage?  How dare you?  What kind of Artists do this type of thing?"  She asks, staring us all in the eyes.  Except for me.