~~~~~~
Waving her hands towards me, she wickedly smiled; her horrific makeup was still on, showing a demonic expression on her face, as the sunshine melted some of it, making it look more dreadful.
'How did she know I am here?' I wondered.
She was sitting right at the bike's bar. Hence, I had no choice but to walk towards her.
Slowly strolling till I reached her spot, casually greeting, "Hi, Ai,"
She got surprised that I remember her name, as she faintly greeted back, "Hello, Yami," she got up and added, "What brought you here?"
'Am I just bluffing, or do I feel like I am being asked this type of question a lot these past two days?'
I scratched my head, smiling on my own, as I answered, "I want to learn painting, so I came here to fetch the prices,"
Her eyes glistened, making a thinking gesture, she approached me more, saying in a low tone, "Ah, I am not too bad at painting; but, I can help you learn the basics,"
Of course, Ai was awfully humble at the moment; if her talent was "Not too bad," then the top artists in the country are dirt in the ground.
"Hm? You want to help me? Why?" I acquired.
"I owe you some money from the candy, remember?" She explained, eyes scanning my body from head to toe.
'Hm, interesting, If I think about it, it doesn't sound bad; after all, I will be getting lessons from a prodigy,'
Upon reaching such a conclusion, I put a silly smile on my face and nodded my head.
"Sound great, thanks!"
She tore her gaze from my eyes but still had the same cold stare as she lifted her finger, flickering it to follow her. As she strolled in the direction of the building window.
"Wait!? I am going to have the lesson now?" I polled, yet, no answer met my question.
'Ugh, let's just follow her,'
We reached the window that I remember well enough from the last time's scurried exit.
I sighed and crossed my fingers, acting like a gentleman, as I instructed, "You can put your leg here so that you can hop up on the window sill easily,"
Reactionless, She did what I told her.
I knew that what we are doing right now is illegal; breaking into a private institution is no joke; however, I didn't want to argue with the girl; curiosity only kills the cat.
Sneaking, we went to the same place where I met her for the first time; A complex room of artistic creations and grace.
The large mirror was still there; the walls were perfectly led to enhance the artist's work and even guide him, as a corner had a warmer color, which leads to warmer plattes. In contrast, the opposite one was cool, inspiring cooler ones.
Similarly, the remaining were also dashingly placed; one was dark, and the other was light-colored.
The light also was halogen, the furniture looked middle-aged, and the tools were expensive and plush.
Just by taking one step inside, I felt my habits and spirit nourished; I can smell the hard work and persistence of the earlier students still lingering in the air.
Not wasting any time, she grabbed the easel squeezed in the corner, aura completely switching, just like a wizard when he holds his magic wand, she said, "Remember, Painting was never a job but a way of living," she flipped the board and immediately started to identify the tools, "This is an easel, this a palette, brushes in the left side, varnishes, oils, watercolors, and acrylics."
After that, she explained the basics of a painting process; I didn't really understand anything at all. She was totally using terms that I never heard before and skipping most of the desired knowledge, which to her was banal.
There was a saying, 'A genius is the worst teacher possible,' and now I understand why.
They naturally comprehend things that most people find troubling.
Time went by; my fascination peaked, while my life esteem rocked when she began to paint; I never saw such graceful hand movement; it was transcendent, something brought from a magical book, she didn't care about the ink dropping in her dress or her hands, even me was a side character in her world right now, I had watched Miku play the violin, I might say she might become the best in the world, but this girl in front of me, will be remembered for ages, just like DaVinci and the other greats.
Few Minutes became hours; my eyes couldn't avert for even a second from her figure; she looked incredibly alluring, even with the demonic sketches on her face, her black hair draping on her shoulder like silk brought from heaven. And her red eyes glinted with unspoken passion.
Nevertheless, the heavenly show ended with a deep inhale, sweat sliding from her skull, catching up to her narrows, and then finally landing on her jade white-collarbone cavity.
The windows were shut; I could hear every beat her heart made, and after finishing the heavy exhale, she plunged back and straddled beside me.
"You like it?" she whispered.
I took a peek at the final result.
My heart instantly fluttered; I saw a boy that exactly looks like me sitting on a wooden chair in a garden that I assumed it represents prosperity and good fortune, while a faceless slender girl is feeding me food.
I didn't know how she did it, but I appeared blissfully happy, as the whole scene reminded me of my grandmother, but grandma was never this skinny.
'Weird, what is she implying with such painting?'
I couldn't help but turn my head to face the girl, pondering about the meaning of the portrait.
<
The host is advised to pick one sentence:
1- "Yes, it is, but what's the meaning of it?"
Infatuation: -20%
Description: Ai has a good evaluation of your insights and talent; any decrease will also affect the infatuation points.
Route: Truth path.
2- "..."
Infatuation: +0%
Description: remaining silent will keep the real level of your talent hidden.
Route: Open.
3- "It's decent for such a short period; I will tell that the girl in the portrait means life and the food means art, and my whole body is a brain. However, there's still another meaning to it that I quite like."
Infatuation: 20%
Description: A pinpoint understatement of her motives, which will raise her evaluation of you even more.
Route: leads to fast Infatuation boost, Yet, total collapse of the relationship if the host talent level is found.
Seeing the clear screen on my eyes, I gaped.
'Why would option number one have such a huge drop? For me, in chronic cases, I would go with it a hundred times out of a hundred, yet, it was the worst-case scenario for this one.'
Furthermore, in the last option, there was something that I couldn't discern; another meaning? What would it be?