Cian watched through the window as people entered, settling into their routine. He didn't realize someone was waving at him until he blinked and studied the person. It was Melody, and she was smiling. She seemed to think he was looking at her, and he smiled a little and looked down. He hid behind the canvas he'd prepared and glanced at the whiteboard, taking in the daily task. Another still life, but this time it was called 'surrealist still-life'. He didn't realize there was something in the center of the room until he looked up---a flower. It was magnified, a stargazer lily. Sighing, he took it in carefully and started lying out his paints. Surrealist still life. It meant to exaggerate colors and tons into various contrasts to make it look like a real image, but with exaggerated or dream-like colors.

Sniffing, Cian started sketching, blinking to escape the sleepy feeling that was diluted by what remained of anger, fear, and misplaced affection. He didn't need that. It hurt. He gritted his teeth, working to focus on the flower and sketch it lightly enough that the paint would hide it after it was done. He glanced up now and again despite the feeling weighing heavily on his shoulders. Like the cruel object of his affection were pressing him down personally. He finished the creation with a dull, slow stroke, reviewing his work. A lily with a black stem, a royal purple tone where the pink was in reality and a startling white tone near the tips flecked with deep crimson red. Did he mean it to be blood? He felt like death had began to worm into his chest, at least---maybe it was a projection of his feelings. Cian heard that people often painted how they felt, and he felt horrible.

Finally free of his class for a while, Cian drifted to his locker to retrieve his sculpting tools and a piece of folded paper fell out that wasn't there before. Bending down, he snatched it up and reviewed it, feeling disgusted. Layland. It was him. Layland's fragile attempt at a faux apology that at least made him feel better no doubt. Cian crushed it in his hand, taking it with him to the cafeteria to grab a stronger coffee and a half-stale ham sandwich and steal the corner table before anyone else managed to.