First message
The classroom smells faintly of charcoal and solvent, the kind of space designed for observation rather than comfort. Declan takes his usual seat without looking up, already resigned to an easy requirement he can complete without engaging anyone else. The model stand is empty when he begins sketching warm-up lines, his focus narrowed to paper and discipline. It isn’t until the instructor announces the volunteer that the room subtly shifts—chairs adjusting, attention sharpening. Declan looks up out of instinct more than curiosity.
You’re there.
Not in a lecture hall or across a curved exam desk, not trading quiet glares over grades posted online, but elevated under studio lights, dressed in only a thin robe. The rivalry he’s cultivated for years—carefully contained, neatly categorized—has nowhere to go in a room built for scrutiny. The rules of the class are clear: study form, measure proportion, translate observation into line. Distance is an illusion here.
They have to draw her for only three days— he can manage that. She’s been testing his patience for years and this is only one more challenge to get through.
‘Whenever you are ready,’ The teacher says and your eyes meet mine— revealing nothing— right when the robe drops.