Finally, all the students were taken to their respective rooms for orientations, and they were briefed on the available modules. Silvia listened to the available options. While she was set on painting, she also became interested in sculpting as her 2nd option. She quickly filled out her forms, signing up for her modules, and left instantly without staying back to talk to anyone.
When she got back home, her brother was already home and preparing lunch. They talked about their days and the things they did. "I think I will try swimming again, James," Silvia said suddenly. The room felt a bit silent.
James may have been a kid and still is in some ways, but he understood what swimming meant to his sister, regardless of the situation she had been through, if not more.
She doesn't seem to realise it, but she loves swimming... she will never be able to separate herself from the water. I am glad to see that she is gaining some courage again. But I will support her in whatever she wants to do.
Ultimately, in the end, James sighed, "If you think you can do it, you should go for it, sister. Just don't push yourself too much. You don't need to do it if you don't want to."
"I saw the pool in the university today... It was scary, but I could not help but be drawn to it. I have registered for it already and should be able to go sometime by the end of this week." Silvia sat down silently, hugging her legs as her eyes strayed away, thinking of the water.
----
Classes had started for both Silvia and James now. Everything was going relatively smoothly. For her first painting class, they all had to do life drawing with a live model in place, and everyone freely painted in their own style. Silvia stared at the woman in front of her, bare flesh exposed. She painted every single curve and line she could see, everything, the beautiful and the ugly. She watched the shadow fall on parts of her body as she portrayed it in her painting, and as if in a trance, she kept painting nonstop. The other students watched her while pausing their own work. Silvia's depiction of the lady was intoxicating.
Finally done, the professor praised her for her work. "This is absolutely beautiful, Silvia. I see you really do have the skills to be a scholarship student here. It's been a long time since I have seen such great work from a first-year student."
While Silvia's face remained blank, her cheeks flushed a bit from the compliment she had received. With the focus staying on her the whole time, in addition to the professor's compliment, she had very much gained a lot of admirers and enemies at the same time.
"Ok, class, since we have had a good warm-up class today, I will now announce your first project of the year. You guys will all be making self-portraits. It needs to voice who you are as a person and as an artist. Think about it clearly in terms of how you want to convey yourself. Anyway, class is dismissed." The painting professor, Mrs Jackson, dismissed the class as they broke out for lunch.
After lunch, the next class was sculpting. Silvia had never really experienced claywork before but was eager to try it out. The students were put in pairs as they were instructed to sculpt their partners. Being taught various skills and tricks, Silvia focused on moulding the clay. It took a while for her to get the hang of it, but once she did, she finally started to manage creating something recognisable. The face was starting to form, digging into parts and pinching and creasing as she went along. Unconsciously, she started to reach towards her partner's face to feel it.
"Um... Silvia. What are you doing?" Her partner was a girl named Li Yue, who seemed flustered as Silvia's clay-covered hand came closer to her face.
Coming to her senses, Silvia blinked a couple of times. "Oh, sorry, I thought I could perfect my sculpture more if I touched your face," she went back to moulding her clay once again, determined to get it right.
If only I could feel her face... I just want to know how much depth there is and the shape and feel of her features. I am sure I can get it perfect if I could just touch her face.
Silvia thought to herself, holding back, still wanting to touch Yue's face.
With the lesson now over, Silvia still seemed to be keen to keep going. However, the professor, Mr Howard, instructed everyone to put away their models and taught them how to preserve them properly so they would not dry out.
At the end of the class, the professor gave out the project for this year again. "I would like you guys to create a sculpture with a theme in mind, which is freedom. Just like how we allow you guys to express freely for your courses, I want you guys to express your freedom in your art. Since I know you guys are doing artwork based on self-portraits for your other class, I want you guys to find a model you can work with for the whole year, preferably the whole length of time you will be studying here. I know it is not always possible, but try your best."
With the lessons for the day now over, Silvia collected her things without talking to other students again, making her way to the art studio. Today, she had plans for the night, finally getting her registration approved for the pool, but she waited until it was late. To pass the time, she worked on some sketches and plans for her projects.
What is freedom?
She could not seem to properly grasp it.
Am I living my life freely now? Is this freedom? It does not seem like it.
A few hours passed by, and Silvia checked her watch. It was nearly 11pm, so she started to make her way towards the pool.
I miss this feeling. Nighttime swims were the best. I do hope James is alright, though. I told him I would be late today.
Changing her clothes into a swimsuit, she made her way to the pool. The smell, the feeling and the sound of the pool itself felt nostalgic. Hearing someone swim, she opened her eyes, a guy who zoomed through the lane like a bullet. He moved in the water with such magnificent speed. Not a single mistake was seen in his form as he pulled himself out of the pool and sat on the edge.
Wow... he moves in the water so freely. It's as if he is a creature born of the sea.
She watched the man, who seemed quite familiar. As he sat there, taking off his swim cap and running his hand through his hair, the muscles flexed, exposing the immaculate build he had even further. His chest seemed to rise and fall rhythmically as the water dripped down, caressing each curve. The whole scene was alluring; his body was perfection in Siliva's eyes.
Is this what they call being enchanted? I have never seen such an amazing form in and out of the water before. Who is this man? I want him...
She walked towards the man, each step causing her heart to pound even harder. The man did not seem to hear her silent steps over the water, splashing, too busy recovering his breath. Silvia leaned in enough to feel his heat radiating off his body.
"Excuse me... would you like to be my muse?" Silvia spoke in a soft voice as her hair fell onto his shoulder, lightly brushing him. This shocked him, causing him to lose his balance at the edge of the pool, and he made his way into the pool. In the midst of the situation, Silvia instinctively tried to grab onto him to stop him from falling, but he was just too heavy as they both went into the pool together headfirst.
Thankfully, the pool was 3 meters deep, so they did not hit the floor directly, but neither had breathed properly before falling in and had to quickly get their head out of the water.
Grabbing onto Silvia, the man swam upwards and, with his free hand, grabbed onto the edge of the pool. Once their heads were out, both of their chests pressed together, pushing at each other in unison as they breathed heavily. The sudden closeness sent a jolt through his body, and he was able to feel every breath she took. Between those breaths, her heartbeat, hammering hypnotising him with each thump.
The man held onto her waist naturally, making sure she would not drown and kept her safe. He looked down to see a succubus-like beauty drenched in water. Silvia ran her hands over her head, shoving her hair back, trying to catch her breath. He saw her breasts squeezed against him as she blinked away the water. The thin swimming costume made him feel every part of her body. His arm seemed to sit perfectly over her waist, holding her against him.
How is she so unguarded? Does she know what she is doing?
Seeing the unchanging and blank face on Silvia, he started to get enraged. "Fuck."
A single word caused Silvia to turn her eyes towards him. Even with a scowl on his face, he still looked handsome as ever.
"What the hell are you doing here?"