4. Black Sheep

Lee Somin

Later she would apologize to Mrs. Miller with a stomach pain excuse, feeling watched by the small crowd in the large classroom.

Mrs. Miller raised her brows, checking her watch way too obviously. Her eyes questioned the new girl. She accepted the challenge in a sort of "we'll see if you can catch all you've missed here at the exam period" way.

The strict teacher had her fair share of difficulties with all kinds of art students. From the absent ones, which she cold-heartedly failed, to arguing experts, constantly questioning her like they had a Ph.D. in Art History themselves. To the not-so-rare cases of being too arrogant, proclaiming she wasted their time with the unimportant artworks of dead people. Why should prodigies like them care?

The lecture hall was way too big to accommodate the laughably small number of art students, but Somin could easily imagine it being filled to the brim by IT students from the nearby department.

Its wideness started to collapse on her as the small girl rushed to her seat. Her bag and sweater lay draped over her vacant seat, making her absence in an already almost empty room too clear.

Somin made an effort to focus during the rest of the class, but some other girls were already starting to point at her.

"You sure took your time." Giggles rippled through the room.

Not everybody was amused, but a good quarter of the class was.

Great, now I'm the weirdo who spent the first hour of class crying in the bathroom.

Somin wasn't surprised at all. Art schools weren't known for their strict academia-like environment. They stuck out from your usual universities by their different, more creative approach. "We're a family," was a mantra not only at Somin's previous art high school but on most pamphlets from other schools she read.

Which could lead to all types of sibling-like behavior or worse. If you stress your peers enough they could mess up their work, have problems focusing or even have an art block. That only meant fewer eyes on the classmate's work, more praise to you from teachers. And you'd be more likely put into the national art competitions by the school board when the opportunity came.

Having your art be seen was everything to others and even to Somin.

You could be a best friend or lover of your so-called teacher, but also a thorn in someone else's eyes, just because. Somin hardened internally and ignored the whispers. She scanned the room and caught sympathetic glances from a few other classmates which made her calm down more.

They haven't chosen only her, that was a good sign. There were more students being laughed at.

So it'll be this again. Somin recalled her high school.

You won't have to be a part of the group, but you have to be prepared to fight for your spot.

"Would you like to take over my lecture, Ms. Nowak?" Mrs. Miller shot at the intruder and the quietness set in again. She moved her head in disapproval, cracking her knuckles in distaste.

Stress from the class dynamics brought more worries to the foreground.

I haven't met my new roommate yet. Somin dug her nails into her palms.

That fact made yet another wave of anxiety come crashing down.

I can't deal with more today.

...

The new girl didn't show up the day before when she should have. Apparently, she had settled on the late arrival beforehand. She was having a prolonged family vacation, the smiling old receptionist told Somin when she asked.

I would use that excuse too.

Somin had been relaxing at the flat two days prior, adjusting to the notion that she would have a roommate again. If money hadn't been scarce she would have for sure chosen the option of a single room.

Brace yourself, Somin, you have to be friendly today on top of everything.

You don't want to exist in a living hell with yet another furious roomie.

Images from her high school dorm popped into her mind. She tried to push them away with the rest of her mental power to no avail.

...

Her previous roommates had hidden away her clothes in a seemingly innocent prank.

"Somin-ah don't be like that. You're no fun," the pigtailed girl snickered.

They ate her meals from the shared floor fridge.

"Well yeah, I saw your tag there, but I was hungry, come on."

Not respecting a night's quiet by drunkenly singing in their narrow room with other girls visiting while Somin put her blanket over her head, exhausted, wanting to have silence for a good night's sleep. They sneaked the liquor in of course as everybody did back then.

...

They just didn't understand each other at all and Somin didn't have the means to move anywhere else.

I hope it'll be different this time.

She prayed that her new roommate, probably in their twenties like her, would be different.

...

😳 Author's corner 😊

💥Do you have any experience with alternative academic structure?💥
💥Or just a bad group of older, supposedly adult people?💥

...

🎨Illustrations of each chapter are available on my Wattpad acc, AO3 acc -klubickoArt🎨