Art Girls

Angel has a slow first day, before a new girl walks in.

Angel’s last class of her first day was AP Art. She walked to the class on heavy feet. She’d never felt so exhausted on the first day of school in past years. Was she still hungover? Angel sat down in class and got her sketchbook out. It was already half-filled up with drawings, she figured she could buy a new one when she had fully used every page of this one. Class started and the teacher, Ms Hyeon, introduced herself and the planned curriculum. Angel had already started doodling a cartoonified Ms Hyeon holding a comically oversized paintbrush when a student walked in. Angel didn’t recognise her. She had dyed orange hair and a light beige skirt. The new student scanned the room for a seat. The only spot left was next to Angel, since she didn’t have any friends in this class.

“Hello,” said Ms Hyeon, looking up from her attendance sheet. “Are you Erin Chow?”

The new girl nodded and tucked a neon lock of hair behind a pierced ear. “Yes. Sorry I’m late. I got lost.”

“You can take a seat beside Angel Huang over there,” said Ms Hyeon kindly. “She’s very friendly. Not to mention one of my best students.”

Angel shot the new girl a quick smile and tried not to blush at Ms Hyeon’s comment. She had her highest grades in art class and definitely enjoyed it, but she also felt like art wasn’t a valued skill. It's not like her parents were overjoyed when she brought home her report card to find fine arts was her biggest skill.

Erin sat down beside Angel and set a brand new sketchbook on the table. She turned to Angel, smiling.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” said Angel. She noticed the four ear piercings in Erin’s ear, ranging from hoops to what looked like a tiny spear. “Cool earrings,” she added.

“Thanks!” Said Erin. “My mom hates them. She says men will be repelled by them.”

The two girls shared a laugh before Ms Hyeon silenced them with a look, and continued with the lesson.

“I’d like everyone to partner up for the first project,” said the art teacher.

Angel glanced at Erin, only to find the new girl already looking at her.

“Partners?” Angel asked.

“Partners!” Erin said.

“We are going to be studying surrealism,” continued Ms Hyeon. “I’d like everyone to research a surrealist artist from the twentieth century and study their life and what inspires them. Next week we’ll start presentations.”

There was a murmur of groans throughout the class.

“Presentations already?” Muttered Charis Olivera, seated in the back of the room among her friends. Ms Hyeon pursed her lips at the reaction.

“You’ll be individually marked, so set up the presentations equally,” she said. “Okay, you can all go. See you next class.”

The students filed out of class, chattering about their first day.

Erin met Angel in the hallway.

“Hey,” said the new girl. “Thank you for being so friendly to me. I was scared I was going to have no friends at this school; I heard some people here can be brutal.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Angel. “Trust me, you’re going to fit in here. You should meet my friends. We’re going to hang out at the mall later today; want to come with us?”

“Sure,” said Erin, smiling.