Akari stared at her bedroom ceiling for what seemed like hours. What the hell came over her? She couldn't imagine hurting anybody, yet in that moment, it made her feel powerful. Eventually, her nerves dissipated and she managed to sleep. Well, as much sleep as she could manage. Over the last year, Akari's dreams had gotten stranger, and it made her feel very uncomfortable. The only thing that helped would be to begin a new painting.
After a couple of hours, Akari awoke drenched in sweat. Not knowing what else to do, Akari grabbed a brush, a blank easel and began painting. Her eyes would flitter occasionally as she went to work. No pauses, no deep breathes to keep her composure. Just dabbing different brushes with different colors and painting on her easel over and over and over again. In that moment, she couldn't tell you what she was painting or why she needed to paint it the way she did, she just had to do it.
Finally, two and a half hours later, she was done. Akari breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at her alarm clock, which read 7:42. "Shit," she said aloud to no one. She threw on a white tee and a pair of jeans, grabbed the painting, and ran out the door. She threw the painting in her car and drove. She didn't know why she took her painting with her, she just felt like she had to.
-----
Arriving at Mr. Chesterton's office at exactly 8:00, Akari burst in with her painting. "Hi, Mr. Chesterton, I'm here."
Mr. Chesterton, blankly starting at a wall, turned to face her. "Good to see you Miss Kagawa. What is that you're holding?"
"A painting. I'm an artist...well, I like painting."
Mr. Kagawa had told Chesterton about her paintings, but he was sure he was exaggerating. As Akari turned to show the painting, Mr. Chesterton's face went pale. He stammered backwards.
"That...that is...quite something."
"I know, I'm terrible. I just enjoy it."
Mr. Chesterton composed himself. "No, you are brilliant. In fact, the museum is holding a local art show in two days. I would like to submit this painting on your behalf."
"Really?? That would be amazing, I'd love to."
"Just set it aside right here. Here are your list of dropoffs for today."
Akari took the list and packages and exited out the front door. Mr. Chesterton stared intently at the painting. It depicted a monstrous red creature with horns having a blinding white sword driven through his stomach. He didn't think the girl had some future sight, but whatever compelled her to draw these, he was going to find out.
-----
It was the afternoon of the gallery showing. Akari tried to find an outfit for herself. She wasn't used to dressing up "nice" but figured she should try something a little different. Rummaging through her stuff, she found an old black skirt and a pink top she had never worn. "Good enough" she thought.
Akari drove over to the art museum. As she walked inside, she saw about 35 people walking around. Walking past the other artist's paintings, she stumbled upon her own painting. No one else was around so she stared at it intensely, hoping through sheer will power she could find some deeper meaning behind it.
"It's quite good, isn't it?" a familiar voice said cheerifully. Akari turned around and saw Preitha, the Indian girl from a few days earlier.
"I think it's very nice."
"Do you know who the artist is?"
"I- don't"
"Miss Kagawa is, don't let her be so modest." another familiar voice, Mr. Chesterton said as he walked past them.
"Oh my goodness! You're amazing" Preitha beamed.
Akari blushed. "...thank you"
"If I could ask, how did you come up with the idea for it?"
"I...I didn't. I get the images in my head, and I just translate them to paper."
Akari, getting overwhelmed, walked away. Preitha followed her. "Hey, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you" Preitha said. "No, no, no, it's okay. You're very nice, I'm just not good in social situations."
Preitha smiled. "That's okay...hey, do you wanna grab a coffee somewhere?"
Akari was about to say no, but to be honest, she kind of did want coffee and she felt oddly comfortable around Preitha. So she said yes
----
Akari and Preitha walked 10 minutes to Early Risers, a local coffee spot. They sat down at a booth and for the next five minutes, said nothing. Surprisingly, it was Akari who mustered up the first question.
"So, what do you do Preitha?"
"I'm doing a summer internship for a local company. My mother wants me to be a software engineer, although I find the field dreadfully boring. You work as a delivery driver?"
"Temporarily. My dream is to do art for someone...I always feel most myself when I do my art. My father never much approved"
"Parents...I want to go to school for fashion design but my mother said I would be better off burning my money.
Their espressos arrived and they quietly sat their and drank their drinks. Akari couldn't help but keep staring at Preitha. Her heart pounding, Akari made the most impulsive decision of her life and kissed Preitha on the cheek.
"What the-"
Akari stood up. "I am so, so sorry," she said almost weeping and started walking towards the front door. Preitha caught up to her and turned her around. "Don't be." she said smiling, as she gave Akari an extended French kiss. Preitha quickly scribbled her phone number on a loose piece of paper and handed it to Akari. "Maybe we could do this again?"
"That, that would be great" Akari said in a stutter. Walking outside, Akari started giggling uncontrollably. She had never imagined herself kissing another girl, but it felt so, so good.
-------
Mr. Chesterton was driving off to places unknown. Something had been annoying him for several hours. Throughout the entire art show earlier, an old Asian woman had been staring at him with a deathly glare. He wasn't sure why, but he felt very uncomfortable and with good reason. From a distance, the woman looked like someone who could be related to Akari Kagawa.