“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to,” Sunny didn’t smile, but there was a moment– deep, deep down– where she actually wanted to. That prickly spirit within her shrank back and became less protective when she heard him laugh. She decided she liked that the most, even more than his interesting hair color.
This must be what it’s like to have a friend. Sunny was embarrassed to say that she’d forgotten. Even if she tried really hard she couldn’t quite remember the faces of anyone she’d laughed or smiled with at Rae-ning’s age. Not that she could call this stranger her friend by any means. He was just some attractive guy that she’d vaguely remember in a month, telling her coworker about the muse of a sketch she’d never manage to paint. At best he was a spark of inspiration she’d lose like everything else.
She watched as he positioned himself in the chair. The whole world around him turned into a blur of color. Large wall windows made a thick metal grid behind his silhouette and made his edges glow. That was when she realized that none of her earlier thoughts were true. He wasn’t some stranger, and she really wanted to paint the colors that seemed to suit him so well.
“Okay…” Her tone was quiet but sharp at the suggestion of payment. Like a switch had been turned on inside her, Sunny’s study of the man intensified. Trusting people wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for her anymore, and she’d been conned enough times to be skeptical of his integrity. Were it not for her determination to make this a painting she might have left altogether.
– but she softened at that, the feeling that something seemed to be turning in her direction at last. Someone acknowledged her rather than judged her. The prickly spirit inside her settled down, and she allowed her lips to turn up enough to qualify as a smile. “Five dollars.” That’s all she needed to pay for Rae-ning’s trip. She could survive the rest of the week until payday.
Sunny tilted her head from side to side as she considered his final pose. “Could you turn your head a little to the left? Away from me just a bit.” Her index finger ticked towards her requested direction twice as a guide.
This must be what it’s like to have a friend. Sunny was embarrassed to say that she’d forgotten. Even if she tried really hard she couldn’t quite remember the faces of anyone she’d laughed or smiled with at Rae-ning’s age. Not that she could call this stranger her friend by any means. He was just some attractive guy that she’d vaguely remember in a month, telling her coworker about the muse of a sketch she’d never manage to paint. At best he was a spark of inspiration she’d lose like everything else.
She watched as he positioned himself in the chair. The whole world around him turned into a blur of color. Large wall windows made a thick metal grid behind his silhouette and made his edges glow. That was when she realized that none of her earlier thoughts were true. He wasn’t some stranger, and she really wanted to paint the colors that seemed to suit him so well.
“Okay…” Her tone was quiet but sharp at the suggestion of payment. Like a switch had been turned on inside her, Sunny’s study of the man intensified. Trusting people wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for her anymore, and she’d been conned enough times to be skeptical of his integrity. Were it not for her determination to make this a painting she might have left altogether.
– but she softened at that, the feeling that something seemed to be turning in her direction at last. Someone acknowledged her rather than judged her. The prickly spirit inside her settled down, and she allowed her lips to turn up enough to qualify as a smile. “Five dollars.” That’s all she needed to pay for Rae-ning’s trip. She could survive the rest of the week until payday.
Sunny tilted her head from side to side as she considered his final pose. “Could you turn your head a little to the left? Away from me just a bit.” Her index finger ticked towards her requested direction twice as a guide.
