- Gabriella -

"Pssst, hey! I'm Claudia. What's your name?" The girl sitting beside me whispered and gave me a small smile. "Gabriella," I replied, not bothering to look up.

Oops maybe I was coming off a little anti-social. Unfortunately, I was too focused on the class that I kinda ignored her. It's my first lesson and I'm determined to keep up with the lesson. Sorry table partner.

"Why Mythology in Art? Why not just Art per se? That's because, in Soren's University, all the Art students need to be well-versed in the knowledge of the myths and the truth. So you guys can view the world differently. Not everything is black and white." Prof Kaley's voice filled up the class. "Now does anyone have an idea of what Mythology means?"

The size of my class ranges around 20 students. Not too big and not too small. I like it to be that way.

I'm in a white-walled square room, with one of the walls made entirely of glass, revealing a scene of the green forest surrounding the school. It's distracting because I can really see the trees up close, almost like I'm in the forest once I reach out with my hands. Hummingbirds flicker out and in of the view. I have to admit, the school really takes the immersing students in nature part quite seriously. Well, whatever, it's good for me.

Claudia leaned in closer and whispered: "I heard that Prof Kaley is the best teacher in this course. She likes to make her lessons interesting but her expectations are also up there." She gestured her hand, holding it high above her head. I just nodded showing that I heard her, but didn't want to be distracted. That high? Is she exaggerating?

At the back of the classroom, white canvases on stands were arranged neatly in a random array, each with a stool in front. As if waiting for someone to splash their colors on it. It reminds me a little of mom's studio room, where it is usually filled with several canvases, some half-drawn with sketches, some already completed with paintings of her artworks. But most of them are empty, pristine clean sheets, that are waiting for their own stories to be drawn.

Trying my hardest not to stray my eyes towards the distracting view of the forest on my right, I trained my eyes on Professor Kaley and focused on the lesson.

Prof Kaley went on. "I'm sure my dear students that you've heard of fairytales when you're young? And so do I. My parents told me stories of a world before technology permeates every corner of our life. A place covered with nothing but seas and grass and the sky. I believe many of you here think these are just childhood stories told by your parents or legends of old. But to me, they contain some grain of truth of our origins and so I view the world differently."

With a conspirator's smile, she tapped on the screen of her phone in her hands. A white panel on the floor slid open to reveal a projection node built into the floor. It flickered to life to show a holographic art piece featuring a woman.

We all gave a collective gasp, including me. The artwork is breathtaking. The woman is almost ethereal; translucent white skin with eyes the color of grape wine. Her hair is red, the color of ripe apples. She wore a luxurious white dress, that drapes around her bodice like a second skin. Lounging under a grapevine, with a hand reaching up to pluck off a big fat grape. The very incarnate of the Goddess of love, Venus.

"So this is the importance that I want to bring to light. Mythology paves the way we view the world today. And what does Mythology mean to you? That is what I want to know and that will be the first assignment I have for you guys. You may choose to brainstorm with your classmates for the rest of the class time. The due date for your assignment is two weeks."

We are all seated in front of the white canvases trying to brainstorm about what to draw for this assignment. I'm racking my brains, trying to recall the bedtime stories Mom used to tell me before I fall asleep when I was really young. I wrinkled my nose in concentration, thinking hard.

"I think I know what I want to draw. I'm gonna draw my idol, Prince Damien." Claudia continued on, ignoring my attempt at avoiding conversation. "What about you?" That earned a gawk from me. "What? Damien? You're kidding right?" I exclaimed, finally looking at her.

Claudia rolled her eyes and said: "Yeah you heard me. Prince Damien." As if she didn't just announce that she wants to draw a real living breathing person as a Mythology subject. I stared at her incredulously. "But this is about Mythology and you are saying you'll draw him? Didn't you say that Prof Kaley expects high-quality work?"

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"Aw c'mon girl, I'm not going to draw him exactly. Just something inspired by him. Maybe I will alter some of his physical traits and make him appear as a prince warrior or something. After all, I've never listened to bedtime stories or fairytales. All my life, it's just Prince Damien." Claudia waves her hand in the air, picturing how Damien will look on her canvas.

Damien Ytger is the only son of Soren's Prime Minister, and probably the sole future heir of his father's political seat.

Since young, Prince Damien is known for his intelligence at excelling in the various subjects of Science and Arts. He has appeared in many of the latest conferences and public speeches since he reached the age of 18 this year. Many of the fan tabloids have blasted photos of him everywhere, singing their adoration and admiration.

Prince Damien is privately-educated by his parents, who hired personal tutors to suit his study needs. What's worth admiring about Damien is his down-to-earth views about many complicated taboo topics such as the recent influx of refugees from our neighboring country Velin, who is experiencing political strife. And also his great looks.

Yes, what's a prince if he isn't good looking right? Damien has taken the media by storm. Fans just can't help taking secret photos of him and posting their "close" encounter with him. I can relate a little how it feels to be in his shoes, except for the crazy fans part. It must have been much worse than my experiences with the type of friends I make back in high school.

I can vaguely picture how he will appear in Claudia's work as a mythological character with some "tweaking" to his appearance. She is a genius.

"I don't know Claudia, maybe it will work if you pull it off correctly. As for me, I still have no idea what I'm gonna draw." I said still pondering about how I should start my assignment.

"Maybe some food will help. You can't think like this. It should come easily like an inspiration." Claudia suggested. "Come, let's eat lunch. You can think about it on the way." Apparently I nodded or said something close to agreeing with her because the next thing I know, I find myself back in the Garden of Sins, walking towards one of the glass domes housing a cafe.

Internally, my mind replayed the events that happened yesterday. Ugh. No this has to stop. It's rare for me to find a garden as big as this and I liked it, I don't want some random silly hallucinations to ruin it.

Taking a seat at an empty table in the slightly crowded cafe, I leaned on my chair and sighed in contentment as the feel of the cold air conditioning blasted my sweat-drenched skin. Why is the weather so hot recently? It's like 35 degrees out there. Usually, in the capital city of Soren, temperature ranges from 20 to 25 degrees in summer, and today the weather is melting me.

"Hey, back there you seem quite serious about the assignment. Is Art your core?" Claudia asked me as she sat on the seat opposite mine. "Yeah, it is. Aren't you as well?" I asked, suddenly curious about her. It's rare to meet someone who doesn't start commenting on my eyes. She seems to be the second person to do so other than Res.

"Oh nope. I'm from the Sciences. Drawing is my hobby and I took up Mythology in Art as one of my electives. It's just that the class cohort is small enough that the school decided to put both the Science and Arts students together." She replied. Ahhh, no wonder she doesn't take the assignment as seriously as me.

One good thing about taking electives is that one gets to clear the academic units allocated to each student. It's an education system that the government has created to foster students to develop their interests or in another saying; to become all-rounded. The second good thing about electives is that the criteria to attain the academic units is just a pass in the final grades.

We were studying the menu when Res and his group of friends walked in. Our eyes locked and I waved at him. "Hey! Fancy seeing you a second time." Res said in a way of greeting, flashing me his smile. "Haha. Fancy seeing you again so quickly huh." I laughed.

The feel of butterflies tap dancing in my stomach appears. What's this? It didn't happen the first time we met.

"Oh, I see you've made another friend," Res said, looking at Claudia's direction. "What about joining me and my friends for lunch too?"

I looked at Claudia, posing the question in my eyes. Claudia just nodded. "Sure," I replied coolly. He pointed to the table that his friends had already occupied and said: "I'll be sitting over there if you ladies are kind enough to join me." With that, he sauntered off casually to the table.

"You know Res?!!" Claudia burst out after Res was out of earshot. I turned to her in surprise wondering what the hype was all about. She gawked at me, and then looked in the direction of Res for emphasis. I followed her stare feeling bemused and incredulous at the same time.

"Er yeah. I met him yesterday. Why?" I asked Claudia, a little alarmed that maybe Res shouldn't be someone I know.

"Do you have any idea who Res is?? Omg, he is the top 6 senior voted for his looks by the Science students." Claudia whisper-shouted at me as we stood up to push in our chairs.

"So?" I asked her, shrugging. "I don't give a damn if he is top 6 or top 3." Claudia just continues to gape at me and shook her head in disbelief. "What, don't tell me you have a crush on him?" I asked her, trying to randomly bring the topic back to her. The instant I uttered those words, I immediately regretted them because Claudia looked at me with her eyes wide, and nodded enthusiastically.

No way. Disbelief colored my thoughts. I don't mean to judge a girl I just got to know, but really? Firstly, she mentioned his looks and stuff, but now, she says he has a crush on him because of his looks. I find it superficial. Maybe liking others because of their looks is a sore spot for me. After what I've been through, I just never judge a book by its cover anymore.