April
"That," Soul said, peering over her shoulder, "Does not look like a logo."
"Jesus FU—Soul! Don't sneak up on me like that.
He had walked up behind her while she was drawing in her sketchbook, and subsequently had scared the shit out of her.
"Ha, Whatever. Want to tell me why you're drawing me?"
"That's none of your business!" She cried, blushing as she held the book to her chest.
They were sitting on his couch, waiting for Black*Star and the others to join them for their weekly video game hangout. Soul was playing on his phone while Maka was 'working' on the new Spartoi logo. Under normal circumstance, she would be; she had promised 'Star this a while ago but had yet to deliver. But lately, she had been putting all of her effort in an application for a summer internship.
"Come on, Maka, it's not everyday I get to be a model. Let me see how I look." Soul complained.
"Nice try, but, no." She answered, still refusing to meet his eye.
"What if I got you a smoothie?"
"Nope."
"What about two smoothies?"
"Master negotiator, aren't you?"
"Alright, Albarn, name your price." He offered.
Maka thought about it, wondered what the 'Soul Evans' equivalent was of a sketchbook. Art was personal, he knew that better than anyone.
"A song." She decided.
"What?"
"You heard me. Play me a song and you can see the finished product."
He was silent as he mulled over the deal. He wasn't a kid anymore and this was Maka, she probably wouldn't know the difference between a good song or a bad one. Still, the idea of playing for anyone, even her, was enough to bring back fears of his shortcomings.
Maka noticed his inner turmoil and was about to say nevermind when he answered.
"Alright, deal."
"Wait, really?" She asked.
"Yeah." Soul sighed, attempting to sound aloof.
"Just...just not now." He amended. "When I finish the song I'm working on."
Despite agreeing, Maka could see how uncomfortable it made him.
"You don't have to, you know. It's just a sketch." She told him.
"I want to." Soul reassured her, looking into her eyes resolutely
" Alright, Evans, you've got yourself a deal. No hold still while I finish this sketch."
As she turned to face him, Maka couldn't help but feel grateful for an excuse to draw him. Sure, she had been sneaking small sketches of him ever since they started working together, but this was a chance to observe every contour of his jaw and every angle of his hair.
"What are you drawing me for, anyways?" He asked, trying his best not to move.
Maka continued drawing, trying to capture his aloof expression. It was a moment before she responded.
"There's an internship over the summer. It's this place called the Newberry Institute and it's really famous for their art programs. Every great graphic designer, artist, and architect in the last decade came from there. I need to send in an art portfolio as part of the application process."
"Why draw me then? Wouldn't you want to show them something worth looking at?" He joked.
Maka paused in her drawing to smack his arm lightly.
"Don't say that, do you know how amazing you look?".
It wasn't until she noticed Soul's blush that she registered what she had said.
"I-I mean from an artist's point of view." She explained.
"Right, right, of course."
"So why do you want to do this summer internship anyways?" Soul asked as she continued, feeling strange to be stared at but not spoken to.
"Mama used to be an artist; she was the one who taught me how to draw. She was never famous but always drew beautiful things for people. I want to be able to give people something through my art, like Mama was able to. Getting into this internship would help improve my art and would be a chance to be paid for doing something I love."
She paused before adding softly,"I don't think I've ever wanted to be a part of something this much."
Before Soul could respond they heard the tell-tale yell of her brother.
"'SUP PLEBS!" He yelled, ruffling her hair as he passed.
Patti and Killik entered behind him, bee-lining for the kitchen.
"Black*Star, get off." Maka demanded, swatting at his hands.
"Watcha working on Maks? Is that for that Blueberry application?"
"Oh no you don't! Keep your hands off my art, last time you touched this sketchbook, you got it covered in your stupid hair dye."
"Don't insult the hair!"
"You look like a blue monkey!"
"You're just jealous that you're not a star!"
"Is anyone going to eat this sandwich?" Kilik asked from the fridge. "Because I'm already eating it."
"Hey that was my sandwich!" Soul protested.
As Black*Star tried to put Maka in a chokehold and Soul battle Kilik in the name of his sandwich, Patti walked over to Maka's sketchbook where it laid on the coffee table. She saw the page it was opened on and giggled, promising herself to tell her sister all about it later.
May
Maka was staring at the letter for the millionth time that day, the words replaying in her mind.
Dear Ms. Albarn,
We regret to inform you that despite your various attributes and qualifications you have not been selected for the competitive Newberry Summer Internship. The decision was a hard one, given the number of applicants, all certainly qualified in their own way, and this in no way reflects on your worth as a artist. We at the Newberry Institute wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
She didn't bother seeing who signed it. Numbly, she realized that she had wandered into the lounge and sat on one of the various couches. She let out a huge breath and covered her face with her hand, trying not to let bitterness take root. It was difficult, she found, and she felt her tears bloom before she could stop them. Angrily, she wiped her eyes lest anyone see and ask her if something was wrong.
I'm being childish, she thought. It didn't matter if she had worked hard for this, she couldn't expect to get what she wanted every time. Life didn't work like that. She always knew that she would be rejected for something at one point, but she just didn't expect her first rejection to be from something this important to her. Up until then, she had always been accepted into programs she wanted, and she felt stupid for assuming that it would be that way now. Maka told herself this over and over, creating a mantra for herself, but it did nothing to make her feel better.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to will away the red eyes she knew she was sporting. How much time had passed? She was supposed to be meeting Tsu at five and had lost track of time in her little pity-party. By the looks of the darkening sky, it was close to 6:30. She moved to get up, or at least go back to her room for her phone so that she could call Tsubaki.
Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted up into the air and heard the tell-tale yell of-
"SHORTSTACK! Where have you been? Tsu's been looking for you for the last ten...minutes." He finished lamely, noticing her runny nose.
"Blake, put me down." Maka sighed, using his 'mortal' name in a fit of annoyance.
She didn't feel like putting up with Black*Star's antics today, or for the rest of the week really. All she wanted to do now was go to her room, stare at a wall in an effort to not cry, and watch some crappy anime to keep her mind off things.
Black*Star, however, had other plans. He took only one look at her and then proceeded to forcibly sit her down, offering her what she assumed to be his 'serious face look.' It looked more as if he had stomach blockage. Maka, who had just spent the last hour (at least) trying not to cry, couldn't find it in her to comment on it.
"What's wrong? Who do I need to beat up? WHO HURT MY FAVORITE MINION? WAS IT SOUL? DID MY BRO TRY TO PUT HIS MOVES ON YOU?"
"For fuck's sake, keep your voice down." Maka finally snapped. "It's not about Soul, godammit. And there's nothing you can do! I just didn't get into my program and now I'm being a pissbaby about it okay? Now can we please get out of here so that I don't have campus police telling me that you're being disruptive, again."
Black*Star seemed to understand that Maka's anger was not aimed towards him because he didn't even blink at her outburst. Instead, he settled for yelling louder.
"YOU KNOW WHAT?" He started, "Fuck the Shitberry Institute, or whatever they were. They're idiots if they don't realize how awesome my sister is. Come on, nerd. Let's go fuck shit up."
At this, he picked her off the couch and started pulling her towards the exit. Maka, who was pretty tired of him forcing her to move at this point, punched him hard until he let her go.
"Black*Star if you think for one second that I'm going to a frat party—"
"Relax, pigtails. If I wanted to fight with obnoxious dudebros with you, I'd at least head north where they have nice beer. No, no, my virgin minion, we're going to Mort's." He said grinning.
Maka visibly paled at the sound of Black*Star's favorite bar. She'd gone there at least three times a week during finals, dragging him back to the library so that he didn't drop out. From what she'd seen then, she knew it was mostly inhabited by dudebros in sports jerseys.
"Oh no. No, no. No way in hell am I spending my night watching you kill off what little brain cells you have Black*Star." She protested, "I have better things to do than see how many drunk college students can piss me off in the shortest possible time."
"Pbbbbbbbttttt. What better things do you have to do? Sit around on your bed, watching shitty anime?" he laughed.
Damn him, Maka thought, he always did know how to trick her into getting what he wants.
"But come on, Maks. You worked hard on that application and life screwed you over, you need to forget about your study life for a night." Black*Star said, eyes sincere.
"You scare me when you're serious." Maka said, slightly taken aback.
"HA THAT'S BECAUSE I'M A GENEROUS GOD WHO LOOKS OUT AFTER HIS FOLLOWERS!" He bellowed, smacking her back with more force than was necessary.
"Alright." She agreed. "Let me go get my stuff and check in with Tsu. Why don't you call the others?"
"THAT'S THE SPIRIT BUTTERSTICK!"
Maybe Black*Star was right, she needed to forget about expectations and academics for a night, it would be good to let loose. Besides, it couldn't be that bad.