Annunciation

Little snowflakes, sparse in the gray sky, floated to the ground outside the giant rectangular windows of Chishiki's classroom. Every once in a while, one or two rogue flakes got swept up in a gust of wind, and they swerved to the side, right into the window pane. Rin watched as they touched the glass and melted away into little watery splotches. She thought that was a pity, and then she wondered what would make her think something like that.

Someone passed by Rin's face, drawing her attention suddenly- a boy that she didn't know very well carrying a framed painting in his arms like a baby. Chishiki took it out of his hands and placed it on an easel in the front of the room. Bleary-eyed, Rin shifted in her seat to watch them, fixating on the painting with an intense frown.

It was a picture of Paris at nighttime, full of grey and black but dotted with yellow lights. Looking at it made her a little sad for a reason she couldn't understand, and for a few moments she turned her head back to the window to look at the snow again out of frustration.

"Ueno," said Chishiki enthusiastically, addressing the student that carried the painting up. "Care to tell us what you've got for us today?"

Ueno paused for a moment before responding, drawing Rin's attention again. "I call it Still Evening."

"Excellent. Care to explain?"

"I think the thing I focused on the most while I was working on this was to capture some kind of… sense of tranquility, in the middle of what I would envision as a busy night life."

"As you would, in a stereotypical downtown setting like this."

"Yeah." Ueno scratched behind his head with an awkward little smile, staring at his own painting for a little while longer. "It- I think the main idea is that it's strictly observational. I was careful to frame it so that it wasn't directly engaged with the environment. That's why the point of view is of someone standing on a balcony above the city streets."

Chishiki paused before speaking, too, crossing his arms firmly in front of his chest. "Have you ever actually been to Paris?"

"No. But I've always wanted to go."

"So what did you use as your model for the features of this painting?"

"Um, mostly photographs. I centered it around the Eiffel Tower, which is emphasized in a lot of pictures of the city since it's so easy to identify."

"Mhm. And so, what is it that inspired you to paint Paris specifically? Because to my eye, it looks like you could simply recolor the Eiffel Tower to be red and white, and all of a sudden, the locale would seem considerably less exotic."

A few people around Rin- to her typical confusion- laughed at the remark. Ueno did not, instead just smiling uncomfortably at it and scratching the back of his head again. She watched him thoughtfully, intrigued by his reaction.

"I guess it's just picturesque," he explained eventually, though he seemed like he didn't want to say that. "I've got an image of it in my head, and since I was aiming to emphasize the quiet in a lively sort of environment, it seemed like it fit."

"Right. An environment which is foreign to us can be more completely romanticized. Someone who is not a native of Paris can, I'm sure, much more easily identify the themes of such an image without also bringing in their personal experience of traffic, light pollution, and the smell of smoke." Chishiki smiled softly, rapping his fingers along his arm. "I don't know how many of you are actually from the city, but as someone who grew up in Kita, I can tell you that it is easy to tell the residents from the tourists. There is a different mindset for someone who simply wishes to expose themselves to an environment as in a snapshot, rather than live in it." Chishiki turned to Ueno suddenly, gesturing to him with his hands. "That's why I'm so interested by your decision to emphasize stillness as an- as the- essential element of the painting. I find it fascinating how we are so interested, collectively, in cityscapes and skylines as a form of still imagery. There is something so… alluring… about this snapshot of an environment that we associate with so much life and activity. It gives a great deal of power to art as a medium that communicates and reflects reality."

Rin looked away from Chishiki, back to the painting of Paris. Why, she wondered, would someone paint a city that they had never even been to? She would never have thought to do such a thing. So many ideas seemed so completely out of her grasp. Or would seem out of her grasp, had she a grasp.

Chishiki pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek before speaking again. "I keep using that word, 'snapshot'. Okay, this isn't a class on photography, so I don't want to diverge too much, but I will say that I think this theme is a big part of photography as an art form in general. Especially landscape or nature photography. Imagine a snapshot of a hummingbird in mid-flight. There's so much power in having that single moment captured where it would have otherwise escaped us entirely. I think that's an important takeaway. Subject is an important part of how art conveys meaning, which it can be easy to overlook when you so greatly emphasize general aesthetic and technique." Chishiki jabbed a finger at the Eiffel Tower in the background of Ueno's painting as he said that. "Take, for example, something- say, something as famous as the Mona Lisa. A layman might describe it as a very realistic painting. It would be tempting to describe it that way: a beautiful, highly-detailed Renaissance oil portrait. But consider our subject, and how she is framed. A woman who, 16th century Italian standards of beauty aside, is presented in a way that is very flattering, without blemish, in a fantastical environment. In many ways, the presentation of Mona Lisa can be seen as representing a certain ideal- that of womanhood- especially when you take it in the context of its contemporary Renaissance works. The power of an artist to convey through their choice of subject and presentation."

He paused again, looking over the class to allow time to think on his words. And Rin thought very hard, picturing the Mona Lisa in her head. She had never painted anything like that- she didn't draw portraits very often in general. When she did, they weren't smiling.

Ueno put his hands together when Chishiki stopped speaking, shuffling around in place a little. "So you're comparing my painting to the Mona Lisa?"

"Pft. Yes, in a sense, I suppose I am. But don't forget, even the most well-established works of art are open to critical interpretation… so don't expect your grade to reflect the comparison." Chishiki chuckled loudly, along with several students. "You can take your seat. Thank you very much for sharing your work with us."

Ueno returned to his desk, taking Still Evening from the easel as he stalked away from the front of the room. Most of the students clapped. Rin did not.

"You know why I like this assignment so much?" asked Chishiki, loudly and without any expectation of a response. "Because there's so much variety in an environment. It tells you a lot about an artist, just from how they choose to interpret it. You guys have come up with some surprising and nuanced stuff so far, and I really appreciate everyone's unique insights."

Rin looked at Ueno, who yawned. He seemed to have known exactly what to say about his painting of Paris, and he had never even been there…

With his arms crossed, Chishiki shot his eyes up to the far wall behind the students in the back, glancing at the clock. "Alright, I'm pushing it on time a little, so I'll be brief. But before I let you all go, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about something extracurricular. I'm sure many of you don't need to be told, but now is usually the time I advise students to start thinking about the students' open museum exhibition in the spring. There are a lot of opportunities for you to get your work out there while you're a student, but if you want to get exposure with professionals- or media attention- this is far and away your best shot. I don't want to sound too cynical or dispassionate, especially since this class is all about art as a form of self-expression. But if I can be perfectly frank, you don't need to sit at a desk and listen to old men lecture at you in order to learn how to express yourselves. You can improve your abilities as an artist at school, certainly, but the mere fact that you all got in proves that you have talent as artists." He sighed quietly before continuing. "No, the most important thing you can do at this school to find success as an artist is to make connections. Network with people. Being an artist requires your passion and your heart, but making that a sustainable choice- that requires a little bit more. And I know that we all have a very romantic notion of being a starving artist, but you can take it from me- speaking from very personal experience here- it is a lot less enjoyable than it sounds. And a lot less appealing to women than you might imagine, too."

Several people laughed, including Ueno, who kept smiling as he scrawled in his notebook. Rin leaned over in her seat, but she couldn't make out what he was writing. Was it important…?

"I'm really out of time, and I don't want to keep you late. There are a few of you that I've already spoken to about this a bit that I'd like to stick around. So… if I call your name, stay behind. Otherwise, you're dismissed." Chishiki glanced down at a sheet of paper for a moment and cleared his throat. "Takeuchi, Hayashi… er, Hung, Tezuka, and Ueno. And anyone else who'd like to talk about the spring student exhibition, of course."

All the students that Chishiki called moved against the crowd to circle around Rin's seat in the front row. Not a single other person stayed. Even those that were called didn't seem like they wanted to be there. Rin studied Ueno's expression as he settled into the chair next to hers- but try as she might, she couldn't figure out what was going on in his head.

She narrowed her eyes. She certainly would have stayed, even if she hadn't been called on.

Chishiki approached the small cluster of students in the front of the room, coming nearly close enough to touch Rin's desk. She looked up at him from her seat, and he flashed her a little smile before looking away to address all of the students.

"So I am going to extra lengths to promote the spring exhibition this year," he declared, "because I'm one of the organizers on behalf of the school. The events coordinator of the museum specially reached out to me to ask about students that might be participating. Last year we had forty students host exhibitions. This year they're cutting it in half. And while that does mean it'll be a lot harder to get a slot, it also means you will be able to show off a lot more of your art if you're selected for the exhibition." Chishiki scanned the students sitting in front of him with a contemplative frown. "As a faculty organizer, it's my job to approve and reserve five of the twenty slots. So I'm trying to speak to the interested students ahead of time and gauge interest… as well as plug the exhibition. I really do think this is the single best opportunity you guys have to branch out to the larger art community in the city. It's certainly not common, but in the past I've actually seen students that get noticed at this exhibition end up getting funneled straight into the museum doing commissioned work after graduation."

Hayashi raised her hand to Rin's right, but Chishiki didn't immediately look at her. Instead he met Rin's uncomfortable gaze, and she slumped her shoulders in response.

"I'm sorry; is something wrong, Tezuka?"

Rin froze for a moment before replying. "You never talked to me about this before."

"No, I didn't. I'm sorry to have you stay; I just-" Chishiki finally looked over to Hayashi, gesturing to her to wait a moment. "Since we did speak before about how you've actually done a private exhibition of your work elsewhere, I thought the spring exhibition would be a really good opportunity for you. I really hope you'll consider it… I was actually hoping you could share what that experience was like, for the benefit of the others…"

Everyone was looking at Rin now, surrounding her on all sides. She widened her eyes, worrying that she might simply lose the ability to speak altogether.

"I-" -Rin took a deep breath- "S- sorry, what?"

Chishiki scratched his chin. "Er, I'm sorry. The exhibition you did at your old high school? Could you tell us a little bit about it?"

"I… I don't know…"

"Just the process. What did you do? What did you get out of it?"

Rin listened to her own breath, which was frustratingly loud. The exhibition at Yamaku was the very last thing in the world that she wanted to think about, but knew she had to answer, and not just for Chishiki's sake.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think a little less. "I had to make a whole set of paintings. I couldn't think of how to name them, so I didn't. I used a lot of paint, and the colors got mixed up, more mixed up than they usually do. Or usually did. Back then. I mean- I- I spent a long time- I didn't eat or sleep much. I was-"

-Rin opened her eyes. Chishiki frowned uncomfortably at her. Looking over her shoulder, she received a strange glance from the other students surrounding her as well.

Rin took another breath."…I worked really hard on it. People asked me a lot of questions about my art. And I sold a painting. And someone from this school was there. And they told Nomiya that I should come here. They gave me a scholarship." She exhaled through her nostrils, throat dry. "Someone wrote about me in a local magazine."

Nobody spoke for a few seconds, and Chishiki scratched his chin again.

Then he smiled at her. "…Well, that's something! I- er, I was trying to illustrate the value of this sort of thing, after all. The exhibition in the spring generally gets quite a bit of attention from journalists." He scratched his nose. "Thank you very much, Tezuka."

"You're welcome," Rin said quietly.

"Um." Chishiki looked away from her, taking one step back from her desk. "And yes, it's going to mean a lot of hard work. If you choose to participate. The curators that set the whole thing up at the museum ask that every student prepare an original collection of their work for display. So that means you'll have to set aside the time to produce a unique set of paintings. –Did you have a question, Hayashi?"

The black haired girl twirled the end of her hair in her finger, shooting Rin a glance before responding. "No, sir- well, um, it's been answered."

"Right. Then… does anyone else have any questions?" Nobody spoke up, and Chishiki did not wait long to continue. "In that case, I'd like to take down names if you guys want to participate. Can you raise your hand if you are interested in a slot?"

Everyone except for Hayashi raised their hands. Rin looked around at them frantically, knotted sleeves hanging uselessly at her sides. She clenched her teeth.

After a moment, Chishiki uncertainly met Rin's gaze again, and she stared at him pleadingly.

He tilted his head a little. "Er, Tezuka…?"

Rin straightened out immediately. "I want a slot." She spoke firmly, louder than before. Almost fiercely.

"Right." Chishiki took names on a scrap of paper, nodding to the group. "Thanks for your interest, guys. I am really looking forward to the exhibition this year. I will try my damnedest to get you all in the exhibition. But either way, you can expect to hear from me about it in the next week or so. Okay?"

The people around Rin murmured in affirmation, while she remained silent.

"Okay, then you're all dismissed. Have a nice afternoon, everyone." Chishiki waved his hand as he returned to his desk, shuffling the paper he'd written names on into a stack of others.

Most of the other students simply left right away, but Ueno made his way back to his own seat first, retrieving his painting from its position leaning against his desk.

Still Evening. Rin stared at the painting as Ueno got his things. Noticing her watching him as he stepped out of the room, Ueno's eyes lingered on her for a few seconds before he made his exit.

Rin looked at Chishiki again, who seemed ignorant to the fact that she was the only one left in the room. Seeing no reason to stay longer than she needed to, she hurried out of the classroom, forcing the door handle down with her knee.

Rin stumbled out into the hallway as the door swung open against her body weight. Ueno was already most of the way down the hallway. On impulse, she scurried after him.

"Ueno," Rin said, being firm again.

He looked over his shoulder with surprise, raising an eyebrow at the sight of her. "Oh. Uh, hey. You can call me Eiji if you want."

"What do you think I should call you?"

He paused before answering, frowning suddenly. "Um, we can go by first names. But you'll have to give me yours… I'm not that great with names, sorry."

"Rin."

"Okay."

Rin stalked a little bit behind Eiji, mimicking his footsteps without ever actually catching up to him to walk side-by-side. He only looked back at her to make an odd face.

"You asked Chishiki to give you a slot for the exhibition," said Rin.

He blinked. "Uh. Yeah. I did. So did you."

"Do you think it is going to make you a better artist?" Rin heard her voice crack a little as she asked that.

"I- what? Yeah, I guess."

Eiji slowed down a little as the two of them approached a staircase, and Rin stopped altogether, staring at the painting in his arms.

Noticing her lack of footsteps, he stopped at the door and turned around, one eyebrow raised. "Uh…?"

"That painting." Rin craned her neck to gesture to Still Evening. "Why did you paint that…?"

"Uh." Eiji took it out from under his arm to look at it. "…I don't know. That was the assignment."

"No. The assignment was an environment."

"This is an environment."

"But why did you paint it?"

"I don't know. I like Paris. I don't really know how to answer that." He made a face at her and tucked his painting under his arm again. "Uh, look, I've got to get going. I'll… see you around, Rin."

He waved with one hand and turned away from her, stepping through the door. Rin's shoulders slumped, and she turned around, back leaned against the wall next to the stairwell door. Not feeling like standing, she slid down to the floor, legs outstretched directly in front of her.

She didn't want to do the exhibition in the spring. Certainly not. And there were not many things she was certain of, particularly lately.

And yet she wanted to do it more than anything in the world.

Rin's brain felt like lead.

Exhausted, she cried, just quietly enough to make sure nobody heard.