When In Doubt - Freshman Year

Chapter 28

Heather

"That was brutal," Heather muttered while her chin rested on her tented hands. Jenna, Zach and Matt all nodded in agreement, staring off into space as if they too were traumatized by what they'd witnessed an hour prior.

Jenna shook her head. "Poor girl, she didn't deserve any of that."

The group had all sat down in a booth at the MSC shortly after their class let out. A couple of students were using the pool table nearby, and the normal chatter of people coming and going filled the space, along with the smell of freshly brewed coffee and cheese curds from Matt's tray.

They'd eventually found Eden, and as Heather and Jenna tried to help her out of her stall, Eden quietly sobbed and told them to let her be alone for a little bit. They'd of course stayed, and Heather's heart broke for her as Eden slowly ambled out from behind the door. Eden's eyes were so red, her lids swollen, tears still flowed down her cheeks, her makeup smeared, and she was bent over as if in physical pain. Jenna and Heather helped her over towards the sink to clean her up.

No one had said a word, but as they all congregated towards the main doors again at the Applied Arts entrance, Eden had quietly announced she wasn't hungry and just wanted to go lie down. They'd all offered to walk her back, but she'd reiterated wanting to be alone, so with a smile that hadn't reached her eyes, Eden walked back to their dorm alone.

"What an asshole," Matt glared down at the table. "She does what he told her to do, and then pulls the rug out from under her like that."

"That's so not fetch," Heather said, but no one laughed. Yeah, too soon to try and lighten the mood, she'd inwardly cringed.

"I remember reading reviews for him on rate my professors," Zach shrugged. "A lot of them had said his guidance is inconsistent and aimless like that, but if he's that harsh on someone, it means he see's major potential, and tries to squeeze it out of them."

Heather snorted. "There's a difference between guidance and just being an asshole. What happened back in that classroom was just plain bullying."

Zach had no response for that.

Heather hated to admit it, but Zach had a point. Usually if Arquez talked to someone, even if it was harsh criticism, it'd meant he cared about their work to some degree. If he'd said maybe two words and moved on to the next student, that was the worst sign that he'd given up. That only happened with the few in their class that hardly ever showed much effort, so it'd been semi-deserved, but it was obvious Arquez had his favorites too.

"I just hate how subjective art school is," Heather crossed her arms. "I mean, we can all agree when I say Eden's art is amazing, right? Well, it's not fair that someone's grade has to suffer just because their instructor's personal opinion determines what counts as good work or not."

"I feel like teachers are pretty good about being nonbiased in their evaluations," Jenna said. "As they should, but to what degree does that stay enforced? I mean, art is and has been about the eye of the beholder. Someone's personal taste being a deciding factor in what they deem is great or not."

"And whether the instructor thinks the student was able to show the requirements of the assignment handed to them," Zach argued. "Like, were they able to successfully show the themes they meant to convey?"

"Sorry to interrupt," Matt had cut in. "But haven't we talked about enough art today? Can't a guy eat his cheese curds in peace?" he'd emphasized his point by shoving a curd into his mouth.

Heather rolled her eyes. "Of course, all you can think about is food."

Matt shrugged; guilt was obvious in his expression, but he'd kept eating.