***
I was early for the honor’s session, waiting in the hall wearing a pretty pink sundress and trying not to strangle my purse strap too hard. I’d already lost one this month to the penguin incident.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when a someone lightly smacked the back of my head, grabbing my attention. “Yo, earth to Yuri! You in there?”
No. No way. I froze in place, the proverbial deer in the headlights. She’s not… it couldn’t be!
Piecing together the last of my will, I turned my head to meet her eyes. Her smirk was like a physical weight on me, making it hard to breath, hard to speak. She rolled her eyes, clearly thrilled by my wide eyes. “You just gonna stand there, or are you coming in? We have work to do, y’know.”
Mary Kent. One of only three people from my high school who went to the same college as me, and the last person I’d ever expect to see in an honors class. She was taller than me by a full six inches, even in my heels. Brown hair pulled back in a little pony tail to show off her undercut and keep it out of her eyes. Slim and fit in the way someone who spent her weekends running from the cops tends to be.
“R-right.” I finally squeaked out a response, my voice sounding small even in my own ears. She laughed shortly, grabbing my wrist to pull me into the studio and kicking the door shut behind me.
“Geeze, loosen up Yur. It’s just an art class, we do this all the time.” She snapped the lock on the door shut so no one would walk in on us, a gesture I appreciated immensely. But something still felt wrong as I scanned my eyes around the dimly lit classroom. Mary saw my look flicked the overhead lights on, “See? There’s not even a crowd like the intermediate art class. Just you and the only TA for the art teachers this semester.”
My already pounding heart somehow kicked it up a notch. “J-just, uh, us?”
“Yup!” She had moved into the center of the room, putting easels away to clear the space. “That oughta be a relief, right? I mean, we used to have gym together so it’s not like i haven’t seen your perky little… knees before.”
I stepped slowly up to the raised stage, trying to ignore the shivers her teasing sent down my spine and focus instead on the real logic hidden in her words. It’s nothing she hasn’t seen. Nothing she can’t see in the mirror. Just us girls, doing an art project.
Somehow I actually managed to steady my breathing, setting my purse behind the stage and looking around for somewhere to take off my dress. I realized quickly that it was silly to hide behind something when the only other person in the room was going to see me naked anyway, but I didn’t want to give up the tiny amount of modesty I was afforded.
“You gonna strip, or were you hoping I’d come up there and help you out?” My spine went stif, a shiver creeping down my body even as sweat began to bead on my brow under the stage spotlight. “I’d say we don’t have all night, but we kinda do. No one’s gonna kick us out, and I have all the keys to lock up, so.”
The thought of spending my whole night in here naked while Mary teased me finally got me to shake the webs out of my head. I gathered up all the courage I had, then borrowed a little extra to make up the difference so I could grab the hem of my dress and pull it over my head. I tossed it on my purse, barely managing to restrain the urge to cover myself. Instead I clasped my hands over my stomach. “Where’s the- uh- Is there a cloth somewhere?”
“For draping? My-” Mary stopped suddenly, and I reflexively turned to look at her. She was staring at me, and for a brief moment I thought she might finally have found a shred of modesty. She did away with that thought by grinning and wolf-whistling at me. “Damn Yuri, did you wear that just for lil’ ol’ me?”
I glanced down at myself, at the simple white and pink underwear I had selected. It was modest, with just a little lace around the edges for flair. I felt my face flush deep red and couldn’t bring myself to look back at her. “I mean… I didn’t want to look frumpy if anyone saw…”
“Well, you aren’t gonna hear me complain.” She laughed, and pulled out her sketchbook to flip to a blank page. “Anyway, I was gonna say my project doesn’t include the draping element like the class’s. I’m graded on one-hundred percent anatomy.”
“So, I-” I couldn’t say it. I didn’t want to think it.
“You won’t be covering anything up!” It was like she was telling me I got upgraded to fly first-class. She watched me stand frozen under the spotlight for a long moment, then huffed out a small amused sound. “Feeling shy, huh? That’s alright, I’m really digging the lingerie anyway. Why don’t you strike a pose and I’ll warm up a bit? We can work up to full-frontal.”
I wanted to thank her, or beg her to let me just leave, or scream meaninglessly just to get all the tension out of my chest, but all I could do was stare incredulously. Mary was trying to make me comfortable? Mary? The bully that used to flip my skirt and announce the color of my panties to anyone who would listen?
She rolled her eyes at me again. “Geeze, Yur. It’s not that weird y’know. You realize you’re the one doing me a favor, right? No one’s forcing you to do this. There’s no penalty if you turn around and walk away, except that I won’t be able to draw from a live model.”
That actually made a lot of sense. I forced myself to relax a little, finally managing to meet her eyes again. She looked… earnest. Thankful. “Right.” I had to clear my throat and repeat myself just to hear my own voice. “Right. Thanks for… that.”
Mary nodded, and I took a seat on the chair, trying to think of a pose that would be interesting for her and comfortable for me to hold. She took my hesitance to mean I was still unsure about going through with this (and she was probably right), so she addressed me in a firm but gentle tone, “Yuri, you can tell me if you want to stop, okay? I’ll be sad, but I’m not gonna try and force you to do this if you’re that uncomfortable. Just be honest with me, alright? Tell me how I can make this easier for you.”
I thought about that for a moment. What could she do? I was already willing to pose for her, at least wearing this much. I was just so self conscious about every little thing. Suddenly, a thought skipped right over my filter and out of my mouth before I could really consider it, “Could you tell me what to do?”
We stared at each other for a minute, the corner of Mary’s mouth twitching slightly. “Elaborate?”
“Like, tell me how to pose.” I clarified, gesticulating wildly as though I could fight off the misconceptions I must have created. “I mean, I’m already kind of freaking out about this whole thing, and then I spend the whole time you’re drawing wondering if you’re just putting up with me or… you know.”
She giggled, covering her mouth with a hand that wasn’t nearly big enough to hide her grin. “Yeah, I can do that. Are you ready to start?”
I nodded before I could psyche myself out. “As I’ll ever be.”
“Alright then. Cross your legs and put your hands behind your head.” I did as she instructed, primly putting one knee on top of the other and keeping my thighs pressed together, then weaving my fingers to help my arms stay up. “Lean back a little more, try to relax. This will be easier if you’re not as stiff as a rod.”