artistic experimentation || chaelisa

the aloha diner experience

A stern cough from the professor was enough to snap them out of it. Lisa stuck her tongue out at Chaeyoung, then lay back on the couch at the front of the class. Chaeyoung couldn't help but think of a cat, back arched, stretching in the sun, her muscles taut and ready to leap. It was easier to think of her as a cat. Or as a log. Or as some random inanimate object that she just had to focus on for an hour and then never, ever think about again.

Ever.

Okay, okay, pencil to page. Focus. Chaeyoung began to make loose, sweeping marks that spanned the page, outlining the girl in front of her in shadow and texture. A curve for her hip, another for her back, four strokes for her knee.

Chaeyoung was surprised by the tattoos that wrapped their way up Lisa's arm and circled the top of her thighs, abstract floral patterns and skulls in bold reds, greens and blues. They made the other girl look older than her eighteen years, and harder too, though maybe that's because Chaeyoung was still trying to reconcile the girl stretched out naked in front of her with the thirteen year old she had been remembering all these years.

Gradually, the drawing began to take shape, so Chaeyoung was slightly disappointed that she didn't seem to be able to capture whatever it was about Lisa that was still tying her stomach into knots. Something about the shape of her, maybe, the confidence she seemed to have despite being exposed. Whatever Chaeyoung was feeling didn't seem to be something she could pin down on paper.

The other problem she was having was with her face, she couldn't bring herself to look at Lisa closely enough to draw it in. Every time she glanced at the strong line of her jaw, or her eyes, partially obscured by that newly blonde hair, she couldn't help but remember the last time she had seen them. So much had changed since then, but one look was enough to leave her feeling 13 all over again.

•••

Sooner than she thought possible, the hour was up. Jennie glanced critically at Chaeyoung's sketch, the face still a barely outlined blank slate, "I guess you prioritised."

"Shut up," Chaeyoung muttered, but she'd already lost Jennie's attention. To Chaeyoung's horror, she was waving at the front of the class to catch the attention of a re-bathrobed Lisa. "Jennie, what are you doing?"

"Saying hi, of course. I may be many things Chaeyoung, but I am never rude."

"You called me a binch earlier today. I don't even know what a binch is."

"Okay hush, she's coming over, I'll introduce you."

"Umm, actually," but Chaeyoung didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as Lisa closed the last few feet between them and wrapped Chaeyoung in a tight hug. Chaeyoung was caught completely off guard, inhaling the smell of coffee and sweat mixed with something sweeter and familiar, the smell of Lisa. The hug lasted less than a second before Lisa broke away and held her at arms length, looking her up and down.

"Not too bad super-Chaeng. Good to see you didn't waste too much time growing after you moved away?" In a second it felt like she'd never been gone, it was amazing how everything she thought she'd forgotten came rushing back, like Lisa had unlocked a door at the back of her brain and started picking through all her old stuff.

"Shut up, you're barely taller than me."

"Au contraire, besides every inch counts when you have as few as you."

Jennie seemed confused by a conversation that wasn't about her lasting this long, and interjected. "So I take it you two know each other?"

Lisa turned around as if she was noticing her for the first time, "Oh my God, you're here too? You went to high school with me too right?" She snapped her fingers as she tried to remember, "I want to say it began with a J, right? Jennifer?"