*
My impressed whistle echoed around the hall as we all wandered into the exhibition space. It was a large space with plain white walls and light brown floorboards, while a normally boring setting, each corner of the room was already decorated by hung up art pieces, statues and pieces covered in sheets to maintain secrecy.
Workers were dressed in all black, loading certain projects and angling canvases to be straight with the help of other workers. Aside from us, there was only one other person not dressed in black.
Artists were weird.
Or at least this one looked weird.
Like, on purpose.
A man with dark silver hair, a red-carpet fabric beret and a long tweed scarf that was millimetres from licking the floor, was standing before a large painting of abstract flamingos. I think.
Estelle was brave enough to approach him, standing beside him and tilting her head at the sight of the canvas. He barely took notice of her. Out of boredom, she copied the way he stood, how he favoured his left side, resting his elbow heavily on his right hip as he twirled a vaping pen in his fingers.
Estelle didn't have a vaping pen, so she pulled out a normal pen and copied.
"I see cotton candy," she commented.
The artist barely moved at this comment, but answered with a deep, throaty tone, "I can see that."
"Is this yours?" she asked, tilting her head the other way.
The artist copied Estelle's head tilt this time. "Indeed."
"How close was I?" She dropped her pen when her fingers fumbled.
"Who bloody knows," he replied, biting down on the vape pen, "Cotton candy is a fine enough insight. Very child-like, very innocent."
Estelle tilted an invisible hat. "I take that as a compliment, good sir."
I shook my head in disbelief at how easily she had struck up a conversation with the strange man. Alexis followed the voice of an employee, who was guiding us to her corner of the space. When we got there, several of her pieces were hanging from the wall, but were covered in a white sheet to maintain secrecy.
"You're really not going to let us see any of them?" Ava asked, noting how some of the canvases had the blankets buttoned around the frames.
Alexis smiled, "Surprise."
The employee started chatting to her about some of the work sets ups, asking for clarification on lights.
I thought Alexis was only submitting paintings, but in her designated area were a handful of exhibits that looked like statues or busts. I wandered over to one as unsuspiciously as possible, hands in my pockets, steps as inconspicuous as possible, as I tried to peek at the work.
An employee caught me before I could look and herded me back to the other girls.
Amada had Mia on his back as they looked at a covered-up easel, Amada trying to guess what may be under it. "Alexis is blind so… maybe it's one of those pieces where you throw paint at the canvas and call it art," I heard him say, to which Mia shrugged.
Bonnie got herded away from an employee as well when she managed to lift the corner of a small painting. "Such secrecy," she said as she rolled towards me, "I hate it."
"Your parents are politicians. Isn't secrecy a big part of your life?" I asked.
Bonnie scoffed, "It ain't secrecy, it's disinterest."
I chuckled, "Come on, I'm sure you have some interest in what they do. They aren't my parents and I'm interested in what they do." I looked up to the skylight, blinded by the sun. "I can see you in politics. You're stubborn enough for it."
"Har, har," Bonnie countered, pulling out some paper from her back pocket.
"Anything to cross off?" I asked, seeing it was her Basic Bucket List.
Bonnie considered her list. "No. I just wanted to double check there wasn't some art like one," she informed checking her check-list.
I looked over her shoulder to check the list. She had crossed off a lot of them. I narrowed my eyes at one, "When did you go hot air ballooning?" I asked.
"Parents," she answered, "Went with Mia. Turns out I'm scared of heights, so that's never happening again."
I chuckled as I leaned closer, trying to read some of the scribbles. "Partake in a field race," I read.
Bonnie clicked her tongue and shrugged, "I thought it would be cool to be part of one. Before Amada left, he made them sound like fun," she informed, "I don't know how important that is to me now though." She refolded the bucket list and wiggled it into her pocket.
I took my moment, "I heard he asked you out."
Bonnie bit the inside of her cheeks, offering a sideways glance at me, "That so?"
I nodded, "I thought you liked Amada."
She sighed, gathering all her hair and resting it over her shoulder, her fingers getting entangled in her black locks. "I thought so too," she muttered. She stole a quick glance at Amada, who was still piggybacking Mia as they tried to guess what was under the sheets. Bonnie sighed, "Can you leave me alone for a bit, Landon?"
I sighed, "Sure, mate." I straightened and didn't follow when she rolled away from me, choosing to sit on her own by an obscured art piece.
I looked to Alexis, who was still discussing details about the works' lighting, and frowned that she was still busy. I didn't want to awkwardly stand in the middle of a bunch of artworks.
For the fifth time, one of us was berated by employees to not look under the sheets. This time; Ava and Robyn.
"Can you guys behave for five minutes?" Alexis jokingly scolded when she heard the employee's words.
Robyn started signing, "Then show us something!" Ava translated.
"Come on, just one," Amia added, making a pleading gesture, "We don't see your works very much and all of them are now covered up. We want to see!"
Alexis sighed, crossing her arms as she shook her head. "Okay… umm…" she muttered something to the employee, asking for the whereabouts of a 'Bird Outside.' "If I show you one," Alexis asked as the employee walked off, "Will you promise to stop harassing me to see the works?"
"Harassing is such an ugly word," Estelle commented, wandering over, the other artist following behind her.
"Sometimes people need the harshness to understand," the artist informed.
Estelle nodded, feigning understanding, "That's deep, Mister."
Alexis smiled at the new voice, "Wilmer Quince, I assume?" She offered a hand to shake, which was taken wholeheartedly by the strangely dressed artist.
"And you must be Alexis Baine," he countered, Alexis' hand looking small in his, "Such iconic hair, and beautiful, unseeing eyes."
Alexis scoffed, "Wow. Your flattery is very benign."
Wilmer grinned wider, "I've heard much about your work."
"All lies, I'm sure," Alexis joked.
"Apparently very different, very out of the ordinary," he commented. When he spoke, he waved his arms around, creating an animated persona, one which Estelle was happily trying to imitate behind him. "I'm excited to see it."
"I only wish I could return the favour," Alexis replied clasping her hands together, "But unless you want me to touch it, alas it shall never be."
Wilmer roared in laughter, a very over-the-top reaction that startled me but unfazed Alexis as she maintained her wide smile.
"Wow!" Amia exclaimed.
We all turned to the twin, watching her marvel before one of Alexis' unveiled painting. I widened my eyes at the sight of it.
It was a black background with a golden, elegant birdcage in the centre, inside the birdcage was a little blue bird. Unlike the works I had seen of hers before, this seemed so precise, almost tactile looking. No guess work seemed to function in this work, everything looked deliberate and obvious, unlike the chaotic looking strokes of her other works that created vague but wonderful images. I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected.
The other girls gathered around the painting to admire it. I stayed on the outskirts of the small crowd, even Wilmer coming close to examine the work. "Marvellous," he stated after a moment.
"Indeed," Estelle replied.
"Alexis, this is incredible," Ava informed. I could hear it, there was a hint of exaggeration in her tone, because while it was a pretty image, I agreed that it wasn't overly spectacular.
Either Alexis didn't hear it or brushed it off, "Thank you."
"Why's it called Bird Outside?" Bonnie asked, "It's in the cage."
Alexis nodded, her smile widening, her cheeks perking up, "It certainly is, isn't it?"
I could hear that too, Alexis sounded like she was withholding something from us, as if there was more to what we were seeing.
I squinted, trying to analyse the bird, the lines of the cage, the tones of the black in the background but I just couldn't see anything more then what was in front of us.
"I suppose there is something intriguing about the mundane," someone remarked.
We all turned to the voice, acknowledging it wasn't any of us that said it.
A woman, a grouchy looking woman in a red coat and black pencil skirt, walked with loud heel clicks towards us, this simple noise allowed for Alexis to watch her approach. "Madame Margot I assume," she replied as the clicking stopped in front of her.
"And I take it you're the blind artist," Madame Margot replied.
"You take correctly," Alexis informed.
I didn't like Madame Margot. There was this snotty air around her, the way she flipped her hair and lifted her chin created an unapproachable, I'm-too-good-for-these-peasants image. Alexis held out a hand to shake, which was discarded as Madame Margot stepped past her and approached Wilmer, immediately acknowledging him with more respect then her.
Alexis didn't seem to take it to heart, but Ava did as she stepped forwards, "Is it normal in the art world to be rude?" she asked, "Or do you prefer the word snobby?"
Madame Margot rolled her eyes at Ava's presence. "Such a pretty face to have such irrelevant comments come out of it," she stated, discarding Ava with a wave of the hand and looking at the painting up close.
Ava's hands scrunched into fists, only relaxed when Robyn loosened her fingers to hold her hand.
Alexis stepped forwards, still yet to show any annoyance for this woman. "It's a privilege to be in your presence, ma'am," she began, "To even have you behold my work is a marvel."
"Yes, it is," the artist answered, furrowing her brows as she leant into the work.
"Please don't get too close," Alexis requested, "Any questions you have about it, I can answer while you stand about three inches back from it, please." There was a bite in her words then, but so subtle I almost missed it. "As per artist protocol. My painted works are made to be viewed, not breathed upon."
Madame Margot grunted as she straightened her posture, not commenting on how Alexis knew she was standing too close. They had a conversation quickly about what paints she used and what it was depicting, and the type of paintbrushes were utilised, the whole time the woman sounding more and more disinterested by Alexis' answers.
"And what makes this so special?" she wondered, waving her hand so close to the canvas she almost slapped the bird, "I've seen children paint with enough skill to do this. That doesn't make it meaningful."
Alexis shrugged, cupping her hands together at her front, "Meaning is in the beholder, ma'am. Sometimes people can find it in the simpler things, other times yes, it does need to be shown." Alexis sighed. "If you wish to know the meaning of this painting, like all the others, then I will be happy to explain it to you at the exhibits opening. I'm sure we'd be able to have lovely conversations about our works. Yours especially, since I've heard nothing but excellent things about them."
Madame Margot hummed an acknowledgement, offering another quick glance at the painting before adding, "The potential is there, but the passion clearly isn't. How do you call yourself an artist when you recreate still life so poorly and pass it off as a meaningful piece? As surrealism? The blind hardly have a place within this genre of art, and it's works like yours that prove my point more that the mundane is achievable by literally everyone." After the criticism, she straightened her posture and grunted. "For your sake, I hope the rest of your works aren't as plain."
With that, she marched past, approaching her own section of the exhibition hall and startling a skittish assistant.
"What a bitch," Bonnie commented.
"I'll say," Estelle added, crossing her arms.
"You have nothing but nice things to say, and she goes and says those awful things?" Ava shook her head, "That's just…" She growled. Robyn linked arms and gently petted her forearm, offering a comforting presence.
Alexis made a high pitch sigh as she faced the dormmates. Unlike the rest of us, who were beyond outraged, Alexis and Wilmer seemed unaffected by her words.
"Is she always that delightful, Mr Quince?" Alexis asked in a cheery tone.
Wilmer made a belly laugh. "She used the word mundane. That's quite the compliment," he replied, "If you're as unique as they say, my dear, you have absolutely nothing to worry about with her." His assurance confused me, but Alexis seemed to understand.
"I promise, Mr Quince, my work is more then what it seems," she answered.
Mr Quince took her hands in his and gave them a quick kiss, "Until next time, my dear." He turned on his heels, managed one step, before looking to Estelle, "And you, my dear, are an absolute delight." He produced a business card and held it out to the princess, "Keep in touch. I haven't had a good banter like that in quite some time."
Estelle swiped the card from the artist's fingertips and nodded, "Likewise, good sir."
Wilmer Quince continued to his own flamingo-themed section. Estelle smiled as she looked at the car, quickly giggling, "His business card has a picture of a smiling Quokka." The animal was adorable as she showed it off to the other girls and Amada.
I hugged Alexis from behind, "You okay?"
Alexis smirked as she leant back into me, placing her hands on mine as she sighed, "I really hope I embarrass Madame Margot." I hadn't heard Alexis' mischievous, borderline evil tone in a long time, and hearing it now sent a chill down my spine as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.