Come On Over (2 page)

She
watches her students, all of them sitting silently, listening intently. This
woman may be dramatic, but she does have a way of pulling you in.

"That
is you assignment for this class," Jean says. "You will be presented
with a theme, and your task is to find a way to express that theme through your
medium of choice. At the end of these eight weeks, there will be an exhibition,
and your work will be put on display for the public."

Annie
nudges Dominic lightly in the arm, and he turns to her. She looks positively
thrilled, eyes wide and a smile on her face, her enthusiasm honestly a little
contagious.

"The
theme is
heart,
" Jean says.
"Now, what that means is entirely up to you. It's not my job, nor my
place, to tell you how to think or feel. The point is for you to interpret this
yourselves, to find and use whatever comes to mind, to uncover just what this
word means to you. It's all about instinct, that gut feeling. Use it."

A
small murmur ripples through the room, and Dominic notices how every face seems
to light up with inspiration and excitement. He feels it too, that tingle he
hasn’t really felt in a long time, and he can’t wait to get started.

The
introduction class doesn’t consist of any actual work, instead just gives
information and encourages questions, and so Dominic is glad he didn’t bring
his camera, since it would have been a bit of a waste. He spends the next two
hours or so just listening to Jean―she insists they call her by her first
name―and the answers she gives to the many curious and eager questions.

The
class apparently encourages the students to do their own thing, offering
resources and materials to help them with their projects, and Dominic is
pleased to hear that that leaves him with full access to the printers housed in
the art building. He can see a door on his right that leads into that
designated room, and on his left is a dark room, while the main classroom
they’re in holds every other art-related tool one could ask for.

When
the class is over, Jean bids them all goodbye and good luck, reminding them of
the next few classes over the upcoming weeks, meant for discussion and
inspiration for their projects. Dominic absently says goodbye to Annie and
Shanti, before getting up to leave, but Annie seems to have other plans.

"Hey,"
she says, stopping him in his tracks and making him turn around. "We were
gonna head out for some lunch. Wanna come?"

Dominic
deliberates for about a second, before becoming all too aware of the subtle
rumbles of hunger in his stomach, and he relents.

"Yeah,
sure," he says, and as the three of them leave together, Dominic throws
that dark-haired guy by the window a last glance. The stranger doesn't so much
as look up.

They
end up at restaurant on campus, the only one still open over the summer,
apparently, and Dominic notices that it's almost completely empty apart from
him, Annie, and Shanti.

"There
are a few summer classes," Annie explains as they sit down at their table.
"But most of them don't start for another week or so, so it's pretty chill
around here right now. Calmer than usual, anyway."

"If
you say so," Dominic says, digging into his spaghetti
carbonara
.

Annie
looks a little surprised.

"You
don't go here?" she asks, and Dominic shakes his head.

"Just
for the summer," he says. "I work, normally. I'm from around here,
though."

"Not
me," Annie says. "I just closed my eyes and pointed at a map, and I
ended up here. I mean, within a limited area due to my limited funds, but
that's pretty much what happened."

Dominic
eats as he listens, rather enjoying the quiet atmosphere of sitting here in the
middle of a calm campus, shaded by the awning above the restaurant's outdoor
dining area, the structure blocking out the worst of the hot summer sun.

"What
do you guys study, then?" he asks after a little while.

"Liberal
arts," Annie says vaguely, with a shrug. "Philosophy. A little
feminist literature on the side."

Dominic
raises his eyebrows.

"Sounds
compelling," he says a little dryly, but without judgment. He turns to
Shanti. "What about you?"

"I'm
not much better," she says with a small smile, digging through her food.
"Liberal arts, mostly, and some other stuff. We actually met during that
fem-lit class a few months ago."

She
gestures between herself and Annie, who smiles fondly. It seems that both of
them are mostly in college for the sake of having something to do, something
Dominic can very much relate to, even if it has been a few years since he was
in the same situation.

The
three of them talk and hang out for about an hour, before Dominic has to excuse
himself to get to work on time. He exchanges numbers with both Annie and
Shanti, and feels rather light and optimistic as he walks home, swinging by his
apartment before he makes his way to work.

He
arrives just in time for his afternoon shift, the jingle of the bell above the
door as he enters familiar and welcoming, and he almost immediately spots an
equally familiar face pop up behind a row of shelves on the other side of the
room. It's not a very big place, just a small convenience store, and although
it's rather empty at the moment, Dominic knows that will most likely change in
a few hours.

"Is
that you, little brother?" Alina calls from behind the shelves, and
Dominic makes his way through the store, heading for the back room.

"In
the flesh," he calls back, and he hears his sister shuffle through the
store a few moments later.

"You
have a nice first day?" she says in a mock cutesy voice, and Dominic
throws her a glare through the open door to the back room, as he grabs an apron
to tie around his waist. He doesn't like wearing it, but with its decent,
burgundy shade, he supposes it could be worse.

"I
did, actually," he says, heading back out to the front of the store.
"Had lunch, and everything."

Alina
perks up a little.

"What
kind of lunch?" she asks suggestively, shuffling closer to him while
holding her hands behind her back. Dominic raises his eyebrows.

"The
kind with food," he says. "But I did get two girls' numbers, if that
helps."

Alina
makes a face.

"Shame
they're not your type," she says, nudging him in the arm, but Dominic ignores
it, getting to work with stocking some shelves with baking soda and flour; his
father has kindly left the box out on the floor, as though to emphasize the
importance of the task.

"Yeah,"
he says. "They're really nice, though."

He
says it sincerely, and his sister seems to pick up on it. Regardless of the
teasing and bickering they've been doing since back before they could even
speak, Dominic knows that Alina still possesses that protective big-sister
streak, and that she is genuinely pleased to hear that his day went well.

"I
gotta say, I still don't really get it," she says after a moment, picking
up some packs of flour from the box to help Dominic out. "I mean, why
would you want to spend your summer doing the same shit you've been doing for
the past two years?"

"Because
this time," Dominic explains, "it's just for fun. No stiff poses and
awkward family photos. No boring shit, for once."

Alina
raises her eyebrows at him.

"You
sure you want to be a photographer?" she says doubtfully, and Dominic sighs.

"Pretty
sure there's a difference between what I just described," he says dryly,
"and actually doing something interesting. Besides, I didn't get into this
just so I could spend my life doing the same stuff any idiot with a
smartphone
could do."

His sister
huffs a small laugh, shuffling the things on the shelf around to fit some more.

"Alright,"
she says. "Calm down. Just asking."

Dominic
turns to his sister. At twenty-three, she's two years older than him, but they
could honestly just as well be twins. They both have the same lightly tan skin,
not to mention the same hair, with its semi-wavy texture and color―Alina
once pretentiously described the color in question as
truffle
, and has stuck with it since, while Dominic prefers calling
it what it is, which in his opinion is just brown. Where
Alina's
hair reaches well past her chest, however, Dominic's is shorter, unruly, and
tends to stick out in all directions when he gets up in the morning. It's just
a little bit too long, enough to fall into his eyes way more often than could
be considered practical, but he tends to be too lazy to do anything about it.

"You
think you're gonna manage working, at the same time?" Alina asks, meeting
her brother's gaze. Her eyes are hazel, like their mother's, different from
Dominic's light brown.

"Yeah,"
Dominic says, grabbing some more baking soda from the box. "Really cut
back on my hours, this summer. Should be fine."

Alina
nods.

"Not
taking any assignments, then?" she says, and Dominic shakes his head.

"No,"
he says. "I just wanna focus on the fun stuff about it for once, you know?
The...
artsy
stuff."

His
sister smiles at that, a bit too amusedly, for his taste. It's true, though;
since he decided he wanted to actually be a photographer full-time, he feels
like he has been forced to neglect a lot of what he enjoys about it. Mostly, he
just does freelance work for the occasional, local newspaper, sometimes takes
family photos and portraits for an established studio in town. It will be nice
to do something different.

"Well,"
Alina says with a huff. "Make sure to come by here every once in a while,
okay? I am not running this stupid store all by myself."

"You'll
be fine," Dominic assures her. "
Dad'll
be
here."

"Yeah,"
Alina says flatly, with a pointed frown. "Up until the point where mom
finally convinces him to take her on that second honeymoon."

"She's
serious about that?" Dominic asks, slightly surprised.

"Are
you kidding?" Alina says. "It's all she's been talking about for
weeks. You should know that, you're the one who lives here."

"I
do have my own place, you know," Dominic says defensively. "I mean
yeah, it's shitty, but it's mine. I don't exactly hang around at home
much."

"Whatever,
I'm just saying. I didn't come home to spend all summer cooped up in this
place."

She
gestures redundantly around the currently empty store, and Dominic can't say he
doesn't relate; the two of them have been working part-time, on and off, at
their parents' convenience store since they were twelve. Now that Alina is back
home from college over the summer, and Dominic isn't working as usual, the
siblings have been asked to pitch in as much as they can.

"What
else you got planned, then?" Dominic asks, and Alina shrugs.

"Not
much, honestly," she says. "Catching up with some old friends, taking
it easy. I heard Nat had a kid a few weeks ago, by the way."

"She
did," Dominic confirms. "She and the baby daddy are actually engaged
now."

He
wiggles his eyebrows, and Alina makes a groaning sound in the back of her
throat.

"You
know," she says, sulking with her entire posture for a moment.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out, but then I remember that I'd
rather actually enjoy life, than be tied down like that."

Dominic
smiles.

"Hang
in there, sis," he says, shoving her teasingly with his shoulder.
"Prince Charming will come along, before you know it."

Alina
shoves him right back.

"Yeah,
yeah," she says tiredly, but fondly. "Not that I'm waiting on that.
And who knows, maybe yours will come along first, and you'll beat me to
it."

Dominic
cocks his head with a flat expression.

"Doubt
it," he says, and that's all there is to say on the matter. Even if he
were into the more conventional kind of dating, he has never had much luck with
it; the pickings are pretty slim in this town, and he has found that casual
hookups are just generally easier. He's growing a little tired of it though, if
he's being honest.

"
Aww
," Alina says in a mock-baby voice, ruffling her
little brother's hair. It doesn't matter that he's a few inches taller than
her, she still pulls it off. "Sounds like someone is jaded."

Dominic
swats her hand away, needlessly smoothing over his messed-up hair. The effort
makes no difference―it's a lost cause, as usual.

"Shut
up," he mutters, but Alina just smiles. What the hell does she know,
anyway?

Chapter 2

Lollipop

Dominic isn't
sure if it's just because Annie is very social, but over the next couple of
days, she has made friends with practically half of the people in their
class―this is rather impressive, seeing as they have all been in a room
together only once since the introduction. She still sticks close to Dominic
though, something which he honestly doesn't mind. He likes her company, likes
how easy she is to talk to and hang out with. Shanti, in contrast, seems like
more of a loner, spending more time off on her own and working on her project,
while Annie and Dominic brainstorm a bit―not that it helps much.

 
"Don't hold it against me," Dominic
says as Annie hands him a can of soda, purchased from a nearby vending machine.
"It's just been a while, my creative center is a bit rusty."

Annie
sits down on the grass beside him, the two of them having settled under a tree,
not too far from the art building on campus. It's sunny and warm, just like it
has been for the past several days, and Dominic pops open his soda, surrounded
by the soothing sounds of birdsong and a light breeze. He could definitely get
used to this.

"I
thought you said you take photos for a living," Annie says, opening her
own drink.

"I
do," Dominic says. "But nothing fun. It's just to pay the bills
really, help build my portfolio. It's not like I get to play around with it
much, anymore."

Annie
leans back against the tree trunk, taking a sip of orange soda. The art
building is within eyeshot, a paved path leading up to and past it, winding
together with the rest of campus. It's not a big college, but it still does
kind of feel like a village, somehow. There's even a pond behind where Dominic
and Annie sit, shielded from their view by some bushes and trees, a small,
grassy slope leading down to it from the edge of the path. The art building is
across from the pond, only one story high and with large windows and glass
front doors. Even without knowing what the building is for, one could guess;
the paved area by the entrance is flanked on either side by colorful sculptures
and stones, as well as more plants than most buildings here seem to have.

"You're
lucky, though," Annie says, making Dominic turn to her. "Most of us
don't get to do what we love full-time. I worked at a fast-food place for two
years after high school before coming here, it sucked."

"There's
no shame in that," Dominic says. "Hell, I work at a convenience
store, over the summer. And it's my parents' store, which I think adds to the
sense of non-accomplishment. But it's all temporary, right?"

Annie
smiles softly, as though Dominic's words do make her feel better.

"I
guess," she says. "It was worth it, though. I mean, I saved up every penny
so I could leave, and now here I am. Granted, it's only a couple of hours away
from home, but it's far enough. And I'm glad I'm here."

"Me,
too," Dominic says helpfully, and Annie's smile turns into a grin. She
sighs, tilting her head so that it's leaning against Dominic's shoulder, and
the two of them just sit there for a few moments in easy silence.

"Maybe
I should just stick with something safe," Annie says after a little while.
"For the project. Like, draw my grandma's face, or something. That always
works, right?"

Dominic
makes a noise of consideration.

"Pretty
sure I'm not qualified to answer that," he says. "It's already inside
you, after all."

He
does his best, dramatic imitation of Jean, which is still pretty terrible, and
Annie smacks his arm.

"So
no ideas on your end, then?" she asks, and Dominic shakes his head with a
sigh.

"Nope,"
he says, taking a sip of soda. "But it'll come to me. It always does,
right?"

"Right."

It doesn't come
to him, not quickly, at least.

Dominic
has spent the last few days thinking about what to do for his project, making
an effort to listen in on the discussion the class had at their second
meeting―it was about the theme itself, the different angles, how it might
be applied to different media. As far as Dominic can tell, most of the students
are artists in the classic sense, either painters or sketch artists, along with
a few sculptors. He is only aware of two other photographers so far, and he has
learned that one of them does most of her work in editing, to make the pictures
as surreal and bizarre as possible.

Dominic
prefers the more classic kind of photography―
old school
, as Annie put it. He likes to photograph anything from
people to nature to inanimate objects, and when he finally gets his crap
together and gets to work, he makes sure to include all of it. As it is, that
consists mostly of him wandering around town with his camera and trying to
think of something that works, snapping a few pictures of couples holding
hands, some people shots, that kind of thing. The pictures mostly turn out
pretty good, but not great, and it's oddly frustrating.

Heart.
What the hell is that even supposed
to mean, anyway? Dominic has always considered himself a good photographer,
with a keen eye and an ability to think outside the box, but he must admit that
this is a little out of his wheelhouse. Any other theme would have been
easier―this one feels like it has to be personal, something which has
never really been his strong suit.

He
gets some decent photos together, spends some time at his apartment picking out
and touching up the best ones, before heading to the college to print. Seeing
pictures on a screen is one thing, but holding them in your hand and feeling
them on paper is another, and Dominic is determined to make the best of the
resources his class has to offer.

It's
early evening by the time Dominic gets to the art building, and he pulls the
door open to head inside. The place is unlocked from eight a.m. to seven p.m.,
he has been told, so the students are free to come and go as they please. That
said, he’s still honestly a bit surprised to find people there when he arrives.

There’s
a guy who looks maybe a year or two older than Dominic, with half-long, shaggy
hair and a matching goatee, and Annie introduced him as Marcel, the other day.
He gives Dominic a nod of recognition and a small smile, before getting back to
his drawing, and Dominic returns the greeting before he scans the room for any
other familiar faces.

There’s
a girl he recognizes from class, fair and round-faced, sporting a dark pixie
cut with silver-white streaks, and a metal stud piercing in her bottom lip. He
doesn’t know her name―he just remembers that her hair reminded him of a
skunk when he first saw her. There’s also some blonde girl with headphones in
the corner he doesn’t recognize, but his attention is quickly diverted from her
when he spots someone else. That dark-haired guy from the introduction class is
here, and unlike the room’s other occupants, who all seem to favor drawing,
he’s standing by an easel, half-hidden from view.

Dominic
eyes him up and down quickly. He appears to be a little shorter than Dominic,
but not by much, and he’s got a look on his face that appears focused and
simultaneously bored, eyes on his canvas, headphones over his ears. His attire
consists of black skinny jeans with too many torn holes, as well as a dark tank
top and a loose-fitting, thin cardigan that's currently unbuttoned over his
chest, sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Dominic tries not to watch him too
curiously. He's probably a
douchebag
anyway, Dominic
decides―he certainly looks the part, with the clothes and the undercut,
right down to his worn-looking, dark green slip-on sneakers.

Not
that it's not somehow insanely attractive, but still. In Dominic's experience,
this is the type of guy who would bring out a guitar at a party and play
Wonderwall
,
while acting all modest and wounded
about the song choice, simply to hide the fact that it's probably the only song
he actually knows.

Admittedly,
that may be way too many assumptions to make about a stranger, right off the
bat, but Dominic doesn't very much doubt their accuracy. It’s not like he’s
going to make an effort to find out otherwise, anyway.

The
printing room is empty, and Dominic settles in with his laptop to get some work
done. It's over two hours later, after printing some small, quick photos and
adjusting, editing, retouching, and then printing a few more, that Dominic
calls it a day and puts away his things. He flips through the printed photos,
overall pleased with how they turned out, but still feeling like it's not quite
enough. There's nothing really special about them, and he sighs, rubbing his
eyes as he puts them into his bag and gets up to leave. It has only been about
a week since he started, he assures himself, he's got plenty of time to get
this right.

To
Dominic's slight surprise, the main room is abandoned when he goes out there,
the place slightly dimmed. The big windows cover most of one wall, the opposite
wall solid and instead covered in shelves stocked with tools and paint, and
along with the lighting, Dominic thinks the atmosphere feels rather calm and
soothing.

It's
only when he closes the door to the printing room and heads for the building's
exit that he suddenly notices that the place isn't completely empty after all.
That dark-haired guy is still here, still standing behind his easel, still
working, headphones still pressed against his ears. He has taken his cardigan
off, and Dominic can see that his hands and lower arms are spattered with
paint, smudged with different shades of dark colors.

The
artist looks up, eyes finding Dominic's, and Dominic instinctively gives him a
nod of greeting. The guy doesn't return it, just gives him a flat, bored look,
before turning back to his canvas, and Dominic feels more annoyed than
deflated.

Fine
, he thinks as he leaves. He only
came here to work, anyway.

When Dominic
stops by the art building with a new batch of photos the next day, the guy is
there again. Just like last night, he’s hidden behind an easel, bare arms
already flecked with paint, and he barely spares Dominic so much as a glance
when he notices him come in. Dominic does let his eyes linger for a few
moments, but only for appreciative purposes; the guy does look good after all,
especially without a sweater covering up those amazing arms and collarbones.

He
doesn't bother saying hi.

The
grumpy painter isn't the only one there. In the corner is that girl with the
pixie cut again, and she looks up as Dominic enters the room, a large sketchpad
settled in her lap. She seems to recognize him from yesterday, and she gives
him a friendly smile and a wave, which he returns. The guy behind the easel
glances over at the two of them, before getting back to his own work, the head
phones over his ears just barely muffling the music streaming out of them; even
from over by the door, Dominic can hear it.

He
makes his way across the room, heading for the printers, and just like last night,
he ends up finding his own work less than satisfactory. He leaves only after an
hour or so, and although it's still only afternoon, the place is empty when he
returns to the main room―except for that guy. He's still hiding behind
his easel and painting away, headphones still secured against his ears, and he
glances up as Dominic enters.

He
looks like he’s chewing gum, Dominic notices. No, wait―hard candy, maybe?
Something is rolling around in his closed mouth, and Dominic makes a point not
to stare. He holds the guy’s gaze for just a moment―he looks bored and
downright unpleasant, like Dominic is somehow intruding on his
territory―before hitching up his bag and heading across the room, for the
front door. They don’t say hi, barely even acknowledge each other, and Dominic
leaves him where he is, before heading home.

♦

Skunk-girl's
name is Kim, apparently, which Dominic learns when Annie takes it upon herself
to get a little group together for lunch one day, properly introducing Dominic
to a few more people, all of them in the same class.

It's
nice to have some names to put to people's faces, Dominic finds, and learns
that Marcel is a graffiti-artist with a long-distance girlfriend whom he pines
over every chance he gets, and that Kim also has a girlfriend, although one
considerably closer to home. He's introduced to the dark-skinned girl he
remembers seeing with the grumpy artist on that first day; her name is Jemma,
and she's a sculptor, who apparently makes her own jewelry, reminding Dominic
of the layered necklace he saw her wearing when he first saw her. She's
friendly, and she also turns out to be one of the most social people Dominic
has ever met―Annie included.

"You're
kidding," she says, leaning over the table toward Kim, who pulls back a
little at her intensity. "You've never seen
Sailor Moon
?"

Kim
shrugs.

"Well,
I've seen it," she says. "I just don't really get it."

Jemma
settles in her seat again, a disappointed, slightly disbelieving look on her
face.