SUMMER BREEZE

Chapter 2: Art Class

I wasn't the very artistic type of person, but I didn't suck at art either. I think of myself as someone who was in the middle of amazing and not so amazing.

Every time I had art class, I would always end up sitting next to this guy who always wore a hoodie. He was pretty mysterious. Since I sat so close to him, I could always see his breathtaking works. He became this go-to guy in class. Whenever someone needed some tips, they'd ask him. However, his ego grew bigger and bigger everyday. Until one day he bragged on and on about this piece he did for an art museum somewhere in NYC. I got sick and tired of hearing him yap about the same thing every single day.

It was a Saturday when I was in charge of the clean up for our art room. I walked into the room and I gently lowered my purse on a simple wooden table. The room had this inspirational glow. I started to tidy up, and as I moved around the room, my eyes suddenly fix themselves towards my workspace. Something wasn't right. It was filled with scrap materials.

I've always kept my space clean.

The trash wasn't mine. I moved closer to it and I was able to trace the source of the garbage. It was from the workspace of the 'hoodie guy'.

"For someone so great in art, you'd think they'd be great at tidying up but no, he just had to be a pi-"

I stopped talking as I heard someone shift into the room. I turned to see who it was that rudely interrupted my rant.

Oh crap. It was him.

He noticed me and began to talk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for the mess. I swear I didn't mean to cause that much chaos in your workspace."

I call bullshit. I gave him the most fake smile I could possibly give.

" Yeah... Its alright" no it wasn't, "Well, you're here now, so you can clean it up right?" He better.

"Yes, of course. I mean, I wouldnt want you to think of me as a pig."

I couldn't see much of his face with his damn hoodie on, but I knew that he was looking at me so knowingly and so delighted with himself, and that annoyed me so much. I just rolled my eyes at him and continued to clean other parts of the room. Both of us remained quiet for the whole duration of the clean up. I got a little bored so I started to hum my favorite song. Then I begam to sing, but softly. I could feel him staring at me.

To my surprise he sang along. For a moment we had a little duet.

Felt a lot like a Disney fairytale.

It was getting late, and I could tell that he was just as ready to leave as I was.

Finally. The awkwardness can stop.

I took my purse and I was ready to get the hell out of there. As I was about to leave, I noticed that a huge pile of garbage still remained on his table. I looked back at him and I gave him a pretty menacing look. I stomped my way to his place and quickly grabbed the top part of the pile. To my surprise, everything was stuck together.

"Ah... I see that you've mistaken my work of art as nothing more than a pile of garbage."

I could tell that I was turning as red as a cherry. A little embarrassed, I slowly placed his work down.

"Pshh.. No I just um-, thought that it would have much better lighting here... Hehe, don't you agree?"

Yes. Such a nice save. I deserve a medal.

He glanced at his work that was now several inches away from its original place, then he looked straight at me and lets go a soft chuckle.

"So, what do you think?"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You mean... About your work?" I asked in confusion.

"Yes, haha what do you think about my masterpiece?"

I sighed deeply. How was I supposed to tell this guy that his so called 'masterpiece' is practically just trash glued to one another. I really think that his sudden popularity in class made him lose his touch.

"I don't think you should call it your masterpiece. I've seen you do better. In case you haven't noticed, you just glued pieces of trash together."

I could tell that he was shocked at how straight forward I was. I think I'm the first ever person to give him a negative review.

I'm so heartless... But hey, what are you gonna do?

He opened his bag and he took out a red flashlight. I had no idea what he was up to. He turned off all the lights in the art room and he flashed his light source directly at his work.

Holy cow.

The shadow of his work showed two people, one with a cigarette and the other with a wine glass. Both of them sitting back to back. It was a masterpiece.

I was speechless.

"It's the work that I'm doing for an art museum in NYC."

Im still silent.

"I want everyone to look at this the same way you just did. Nothing special... Just a pile of garbage, but when given the chance to shine a little light on it...My god, I just want them to feel a sense of awe you know?"

He was really passionate about his work. It made me feel really guilty to have said what I said earlier.

I finally found my words.

"It really is your masterpiece." I continued, "I'm sure everyone would feel that sense of awe that you want them to feel...

Then maybe a little shitty afterwards, for thinking so little of it."

Both of us laughed. We kept talking for hours. While we were talking his phone rang. He quickly checked it then he placed it back in his pocket, then looked at me.

"It's late. We should get going."

Both of us left the room. The place was finally empty.