Off Campus | ✓

3: Renzo- An Inspiration

the shape and contour is worth drawing

****

WHEN MILA WALKED away to go on her date, I left campus confused out of my mind. To put it simply, I was jealous. I didn't know she was engaged either, so I was conflicted about whether I should go through with the bet. It was wrong to even consider stealing her away, and I've experienced it firsthand how cheating could destroy other relationships.

When I reached my apartment — which I shared with Fletcher — I went straight to my art studio. The apartment was relatively larger than other students' since Fletcher's parents were paying for it. I paid half the rent and as a 'thank you', Fletcher told me I could use the extra room to store my paintings and other art supplies.

I felt frustrated that I didn't tell her my feelings and waited this long. It was naïve of me to think since Mila dated no one on campus, she wouldn't date someone off-campus.

I sound stupid. Snap out of it, Enzo.

I walked over to my stool and sat on it, releasing a loud sigh. Picking a new canvas behind the easel, I immediately set to work. It was the only way I could properly destress without going down a spiral of emotions.

Art was basically the only thing keeping me sane after my mom's death. When we lost her, my brother and I were sent to live with our grandma, who just so happened to be a sculptor. Through her, I was able to appreciate the remedying feeling art had others. The way I could somehow express everything I couldn't say daily. All of it bursting through the selections based on color, line, and shape. It was something absolutely indescribable whenever I was asked how art saved my life.

Through this passion, it was also the reason I'm on a scholarship for the art program here.

As I was sketching, I let my imagination wander. My mind was filled with pictures of a certain girl. The frustrations of this week and today, going all into this drawing. I decided on this piece I wouldn't use any paint since I was almost running out of the colors I majorly used.

When I finished drawing, I was surprised to see that I sketched a picture of two people intertwined. Arms were wrapped around their bodies and the smaller figure had their head resting on the taller person's shoulder. The girl's hair was messily styled with her lips shaped in a pout. The lines flowed and connected since it was a continuous line drawing, in which I didn't raise my pencil from the canvas. It was without gradation or hue. By the time I finished writing the title on the back and signing the canvas, Fletcher and Mike strolled into my studio.

"Wow," Fletcher gasped. He had always been a fan of my work. "Did you just sketch a picture of a couple?"

"Draw," I corrected him, taking the canvas off the stand and placing it to the side. "There's a difference. This is only one line. In sketches, there's multiple."

Fletcher knew how much I hated drawing people. Even when I was a pupil under my grandma during high school, she made me take on commissions of couples just so I knew the basics of how to draw faces. I basically only did them just to get money from the people who were posing, since that was a side job for me.

"Idiot," Mike smacked Fletcher's head while pointing to the sketch. "That isn't just any couple. That drawing is of Mila and Enzo."

"No, it's not." I raised an eyebrow. Was it really? I had her in mind when I created this, but it wasn't explicitly representing her and I.

Mike smirked at me, having a knowing look on his face. He was calling me out.

Who was I kidding? It was of her and the image I had in my mind ever since I saw her. But that was all just an illusion. She was taken, and I had to respect it.

"Where's Seth?" I rolled my eyes, trying to avoid the topic.

"Seth is in the darkroom," Mike answered. "He said he needs to develop some film for his assignment."

Seth was an avid photographer. His passion for it started around the same time I held a paintbrush grandma handed to me. Throughout high school, his photos won many awards, but in the end, he decided to pursue business.

"I don't want to end up hating it," I remember him telling me after I asked him if this was a career he had in mind. "I just want to have this as a hobby. Maybe I might start a business related to it, but I don't want to only be a photographer."

Fletcher looked at me with bright eyes, "Enzo, you need to send this to Mila! She'll think it's the most romantic thing ever, having a guy draw a picture of her. You agreed on the bet too, so this could be a good start."

"What? Fuck no!" I cringed at the idea. "There is no way in hell I'm sending this to her! She'll probably think I'm a creep too. You know she's dating someone, right?"

"Then steal her," Mike stated, shrugging his shoulders as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I gave him a look that just basically screamed to shut up.

"Guys it's not happening." I shook my head. "It's wrong. And on top of that, I don't want her to see this."

I left the studio to go get some water.

"Enzo, we're gonna go to the club tonight! See you there!" Fletcher called out before I heard the door close. I also thought I heard Mike chuckling as he said something to Fletcher. Oh well, I'll just find out later.

I went back to my studio just to see that my painting wasn't there.

"Those dipshits," I cursed. "Fuck, they better not show her the title."

The title of the painting was "My Inspiration".

Simply because she was.