Chapter Seventy-Two: Art Studio

Studio: a room where an artist, photographer, sculptor, etc. works.

*

Alexis chuckled as she was pulled by the arm down the street, Estelle excited to show her what we had put together.

"I can understand to some degree, but why am I wearing a blindfold?" Alexis asked.

"Must you ruin everything with your logic?" Estelle grumbled, "Just let us do something nice! Enjoy the mystery!"

"Mystery with you, Estelle, is terrifying!" Alexis countered as she almost stumbled on the uneven dirt ground.

"I can vouch that it's really cool," Ava informed, "I think you'll like it."

We walked as a group down the path, passing one another excited glances as our surprise was in sight. Amongst the pine trees, we eventually came to a small, wooden cottage hidden amongst a patch of trees. As we approached, we couldn't contain our smiles as Estelle guided Alexis up the three steps onto the balcony. Alexis' first step made a loud creak under her weight, causing her to freeze for a moment and consider it.

Estelle unlocked the door and swung it open, the knob hitting the wall from how hard she pushed it, "Ta-da!" she exclaimed, in one swift motion taking the blindfold off Alexis' face.

Alexis blinked and brushed aside her hair. "Wow, I'm so glad my eyes were covered for this," she said in a flat tone. Alexis took a deep breath in, and her eyes immediately widened. She rummaged through her pockets for a moment before pulling out her bell and giving it a soft ring.

The little cabin was a semi-abandoned cottage that was occasionally issued for rent during the summer and autumn months since there was no effect source of heating. But it was cozy.

The cabin overall had four room, the main room, which we walked in on and was the biggest, a bedroom, which we didn't have the key for, a bathroom and a small office in the back. Like the exterior, the interior was made from long planks of wood, making up both the walls and the floor. With some decorating, we had placed desks, collected the easels from the school, laid out a comfy looking rug for atmosphere, and Estelle even arranged to get the lounge previously in the dorm moved to this cabin. With the many windows lighting up the make-shift art studio, it was a comfortable, paint/paper/wood scented workspace.

Alexis ran her hands over the first table, touching the paint pots we had set out and examining some of the brushes we had hastily put in pencil tins. For a while, she didn't say anything, whether she liked it or disliked it, just slowly walked around the room, ringing her bell and touching certain objects she came across.

"We figured since the school kicked you out of the shed," Amia began to explain, "For your last month or so we'd get you an actual studio to work in."

Ava nodded, "This way, none of your works will be in the house, and we won't stumble upon them. Accidentally or otherwise." When she made that last comment, she looked from Estelle to Mia. "We just got what we thought were the essentials. Some easels, paint, pencils, all that artistic stuff we were allowed from the school. But you're free to decorate it however you wish."

"How did you guys get this?" Alexis breathed, her eyes looking to the ceiling as if she could see the marvel of the space.

"We paid for space up until December," Bonnie informed, "It's ours to do as we wish until then. And it's super close to the dorms."

"We wanted to do something that shows how proud we are of you," I added, "So, naturally, the girls got you a studio."

"Don't sell yourself short, Lawson," Ava said, "It was your boy-toy's idea to begin with. But he didn't have the funds to do any of it."

Alexis furrowed her brows at this information, offering a quizzical look to me. "This was your idea?" she asked.

I pocketed my hands and sighed, rocking on the soles of my feet, "I kinda picked out the house." I didn't know how to make that sentence sound modest, so I didn't try, "I figured you wouldn't want anything flashy. And this isn't a tin shed, but still just as potentially claustrophobic if you added… curtains and your signature paint fumes."

Alexis chuckled as she walked to me, placing her hands on my shoulders when she spoke to me, "I would've thought you'd be the last person to want me to go all out with this." Her smile somewhat dropped as she considered something. "You didn't sound too thrilled the other night."

I sighed through my nose, offering a shrug, "This is something you've been working towards long before we became a thing. Who am I to try and stop you, I guess?"

There was hesitance in my words that I hoped didn't completely voice how I felt about this. But I did have no place in telling Alexis to back out of this opportunity or to not give it her all, or tell her not to go to New York. I just felt it wasn't for me to try and make her decision. Coach Morrison thought, by the end of the year or even next year, I'd get the attention of scouts looking for sport specific scholarship kids, ones who were promising for the big leagues. If I were to achieve something like that, I wouldn't want Alexis telling me not to go, or telling me it would ruin our relationship.

Despite my support and words, there was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes, a millisecond of a reaction, where her brow twitched, and her smile went away completely. Was that not what she wanted to hear?

Before I could even decide whether I had seen it, she kissed me on the cheek and looked to the other girls. "Thank you all, this is just…" she started to tear up, shaking her head to dismiss the tears, "It's beyond words. Really."

"Consider it our gift to you," Ava translated for Robyn.

"Or, you know, as a way to remember who helped you get to the top when you're some big, fancy artist in ten years," Estelle added, snooping around some of the art supplies and freaking out when she saw a plastic carving knife.

Alexis pressed her hands to her eyes, laughing despite her wet eyes, "I really can't find the words this is just…" She shook her head again, "I'm so lucky to have all you guys."

"Aww." The girls all piles into one big hug, Ava being the one to gesture for me to join in.

When the hug barely finished, Alexis rubbed her eyes and said, "And perfect timing too. I needed to present some pieces to the exhibit organisers so I can prove I'm meeting the tallied requirements."

"Tallied requirements?" Bonnie asked.

"How many works I planned on presenting," Alexis elaborated, sniffing and clearing her eyes. "My initial submission was apparently significantly under what my fellow artists were planning on presenting, so I've been scrambling around trying to complete some of my works in time for the show." She sighed, stretching her arms out to the air above our heads, a big smile on her face. "But with a space like this: it's perfect. Much more professional than my bedroom, and I'd imagine it looks it too."

"Smells better as well," Amia commented.

"They're artists!" Estelle spoke with a spit, "They do not care about the scent of art!" Estelle's over-the-top snobbery was useful in making us laugh.

"So, what's the theme of the art exhibition?" Ava quired.

Alexis shook her head, following the desk's surface to make her way around the room, "There isn't a theme exactly. It's just whatever the artist wants to make and then give that grouping of works a title." She found the workshop bookcase, running her fingers over the new art equipment we had pitched in to buy. "From what I've heard, one artist has called their work Temptation Life, another is Flamingo to my knowledge, and the other hasn't even told us what their theme is."

"So, what have you decided?" Ava clarified, sitting in a comfy armchair that she very quickly started to sink in.

Alexis considered a glass jar, running her nails over the rim. "I've decided to call it How I See You."

"Oh, the possible meanings are endless!" Estelle cooed, "Please give us a sneak peek of your works."

Alexis shook her head, replacing the jar, "No. It'll ruin any semblance of surprise. "

We all exchanged grunts of annoyance, and after berating Alexis for ten minutes, we accepted that she wasn't going to give us any hints as to what she had created. "In that case, we'd better start bringing over all your stuff," Ava informed, struggling to get to her feet from the chair, "I texted the Delinquents like twenty minutes ago, they should be here to help us move stuff." Robyn pulled Ava to her feet, "Promise we won't peek."