artistic experimentation || chaelisa

new friends / old friends

Chaeyoung wished she hadn't put the flyer up on her wall. Anywhere she sat in her dorm room, at her desk, on her ancient couch, even when she was in bed she could feel it watching her. Judging her. Taunting her. Even when she span around in her desk chair the print seemed to be burning a hole in the back of her head.

Life drawing class, tomorrow afternoon, free for college kids.

Chaeyoung had come to college to try new things, to push her artistic boundaries. To try to break out of the shell she had spent most of high school safely curled up in. She knew she was going to be a photographer, but learning different skills would help her grow and develop her talent. Getting some experience working with a model, capturing form, would be invaluable. The drawing part of the class wasn't what was worrying her. It was what, or rather who, they would be drawing. That, and what they, you know, wouldn't be drawing.

Frustrated, she broke eye contact with the badly photo copied flyer. She wouldn't be stared down by a piece of paper. If she was going to make a decision because of peer pressure she wanted to be pressured by her actual peers. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but in the four weeks she had been in college she had only really made one friend, and even then Chaeyoung wasn't quite sure that the term 'friend' applied.

Jennie was in her photography class, and sat next to her, and insulted her in a way that Chaeyoung thought translated into affection. If she was completely honest, she didn't have enough experience of hanging out with other girls to really be able to tell. Having one friend who might actually hate her seemed better than being completely alone. Besides, they were facebook friends, and that had to count for something.

Chaeyoung booted up her laptop and sent Jennie a message, half hoping she was out partying as she seemed to be every night. No such luck though.

Park Chaeyoung
hi

Jennie Kim
hey u have like three minutes of my attention before i'm going to this dorm party so go fast

Ooh or u could come withh

the guy hosting it has the weirdest room mate and u can totally distract him for me

Park Chaeyoung
umm no that's okay.

Thanks for the invite though.

Jennie Kim changed Park Chaeyoung's nickname to Boring

Boring
umm okay.

I was actually wondering if you're planning to go to that life modelling class tomorrow?

Jennie Kim
yess we absolutely should

it will be good for you to actually see boobs for once in ur life

Boring
umm I meant for the experience and stuff

I hadn't really thought about the model

Jennie Kim
no it'll be amazing I totally know her

Boring
?

Jennie Kim
the girl whos modelling is a girl who went to my high school and then dropped out

but she moved here and I saw her putting up the posters and stuff

Boring
Maybe I won't go along then. I don't want things to be weird or anything.

Jennie Kim
no backing out now! I have to go literally now but if u arent at that class tmrw I will die of pissed offness and then come back as a ghost and haunt ur ass

ok gtg ily xxx

•••

So that's why Chaeyoung was here, setting up her easel and trying to ignore the fact that her heart felt like it was trying to break out of her chest and take as many ribs as it could along for the ride. Chaeyoung was here to avoid losing her only sort of friend, and to become a better artist, and had no ulterior motives whatsoever.

Jennie, on her left, couldn't stop glancing over and rolling her eyes at Chaeyoung's obvious nerves. One of her perfectly manicured hands drummed an impatient rhythm on the edge of of her sketch book for a few seconds before leaning over. "You don't have to be nervous you know. She doesn't bite," she paused for a moment to pluck an imaginary piece of lint from her cardigan before continuing, "at least, not on the first date."

"Hilarious," Chaeyoung replied, trying to bring the blush in her cheeks back under control.

"I know, I surprise even myself sometimes," Jennie shot back with a smug smile. Chaeyoung would have been able to work out something halfway witty to shoot back if the collective embarrassment of the entire situation didn't have her head spinning.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, a moment later the professor came in, followed by a girl in a bathrobe. Chaeyoung looked just long enough to take in the shock of blonde hair before hiding behind her sketch pad and working hard on controlling her breathing. It was fine. She was doing it for art. There was no reason to be uncomfortable.

She risked peeking above her easel and saw the model step up onto the little stage at the front of class, her back to assembled students. She rolled her shoulders a few times and stretched, then in one fluid motion slipped off the robe, turning around as she passed it to the professor. Chaeyoung probably would have spent longer appreciating the stretch of smooth skin this movement exposed if she hadn't made eye contact with the model and, after a moments confusion recognised her.

"Lisa?"

"Chaeyoung?" the two girls spoke almost in unison. There are a lot of strange ways you can reconnect with your child hood best friend, but this, Chaeyoung thought, Lisa standing completely naked in front of her, was probably the weirdest.