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"I understand if you don't want to go. Believe me, nothing could have prepared me for my first life drawing class."
"But I want to go!"
It wasn't as if her parents had put their foot down. Claudia had gone in ready to debate, rehearsing her arguments like an actress practicing her lines. Sooner or later she was going to take this kind of class, so why keep pushing it off? Ashley had recommended it. Didn't her parents really like her? Why doubt her now? Claudia had already seen stuff like this in school - in both her art and health classes. Her parents certainly hadn't debated signing the permission slip for the latter!
All that forethought had done was prepare Claudia for a fight that never came. No questions, no concerns, just a shared look was all it took to get a "Yes".
If her own parents thought her mature enough to do this, then why should Claudia hold herself back?
"All right," Ashley said, pushing her hair back. "But if it gets too weird, don't feel like you have to stay."
Claudia swallowed a groan. How did Ashley expect her to make anything like her own sketches if Claudia ran off? Ashley's drawings weren't the sort of thing one hid under their mattress. She brought a warmth to each figure, an individuality that went beyond an assortment of features and a change in mediums. Looking at her drawings was like getting a glimpse into another person's soul - all one had to do was look to the flesh.
What was art, after all, if not a chance to shine a light on what otherwise went unseen?
Claudia smirked. "I'm starting to think that you just want to hurry up and get ice cream!"
While Claudia would be the first to sing Sullivan Sweet's praises, her cookie dough bonanza Sundae would just have to wait.