Eleven

The Met was almost sparkling white in the bright sunlight and bigger than I could have ever imagined from the pictures I’d seen online. It looked more like a majestic castle than the museum, and Zeina, Sohee, Carolina, and I gasped as we took lots of pictures of the building from all sorts of different angles.

“Isn’t the Met absolutely gorgeous?” Ms. Chang smiled as she and Emma watched us take pictures. “I recommend you girls look up at the columns to fully take in all the intricate details.”

“Yeah, they’re really cool,” Emma said. “I think I stayed outside just staring at the building for fifteen minutes when my mom and I first came here.”

I had to pinch myself repeatedly to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I couldn’t quite believe that we were actually right here, on the same steps that celebrities walked up every year for the Met Gala. The same steps that I’d seen on my aunt Yeji’s Instagram.

Since we’d all rushed to get on the subway, I hadn’t gottena chance to properly introduce Sohee to my friends. So once we finished taking in the awesomeness of the Met, I said, “Oh, yeah, Sohee, these are my friends from back in Texas. This is Ms. Chang, Emma’s mom. She came with us on this trip. Everyone, this is Sohee, my roommate.”

“Nice to meet you, Sohee!” said Zeina. “Glad you could join us.”

Sohee blushed a little and said, “It’s nice to meet you all too!”

We were about to go in when Emma yelled, “Wait! We have to take a big group picture on the steps! To commemorate our trip to NYC together.”

Sohee backed away. “Oh, I can take the picture for you guys if you want.”

“Nonsense, dear,” Ms. Chang said. “I can take the picture for you girls. Gather around and strike a pose!”

We did what she said. I grinned big and wide. I’d dreamed of this exact moment.

“Cute!” Ms. Chang said after she took the picture.

As impressive as the Met had been on the outside, the inside of the museum was somehow even more mind-boggling. The ceilings were super high, and there was a massive staircase that ran through the center of the museum’s front area.

Ms. Chang bought us our tickets and we started wandering around. It was so surreal to see art in person that I’d only seen as posters in Ms. Williams’s class, like Degas’s ballerinas and Washington Crossing the Delaware. Many of the art pieces were either so much bigger or smaller than they had looked in prints and books.

Also unbelievable was the huge courtyard with ancient Greek sculptures from several thousands of years ago. My friends and I took as many pictures together as we could, and Emma made everyone laugh by posing dramatically with the sculptures.

I’d seen a lot of the artwork in the Met on TV, in classes, and on Google Images plenty of times before, but none of that compared to the experience of having everything right in front of me. All the art was so real and powerful. Thinking about all the different artists from all over the world who had created the art throughout thousands of years was overwhelming in a good way.

When it was almost time for us to go back to Starscape, we decided to split into groups so everyone could see what they wanted to see.

Carolina, Sohee, and Zeina went to the medieval European and Asian art sections while Emma, Ms. Chang, and I went to the modern art and fashion special exhibits.

“Let’s meet back up at the main hall in thirty minutes, girls,” Ms. Chang said. “Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their time in the museum!”

I didn’t think I’d be too impressed by the modern art section, but the moment I entered the room, I was taken aback by all the different creative pieces. My favorite was Jackson Pollock’s painting. Although at first glance, it just seemed like a bunch of paint splatters, the more I stared at it, the more I noticed the great care he must have taken to create the artwork.

Sohee had been right. By the time we left the museum, I was bursting with ideas for my assignment.

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Later that night, I lay in my bed. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw the different works of art I’d seen at the Met.

I thought about how Jackson Pollock, Vincent van Gogh, and other artists had their own unique styles and painted whatever they wanted, even when people said what they were doing wasn’t art. Even though I still had a long way to go and was nowhere near those great artists, I still felt really inspired. It made me think about my own art and about how I’d been drawing superhero comics for as long as I could remember. Even if they were “overdone” like Christiana had said, none of the other books were about Meteor Girl and her friends. And none of them were by me or about the story I wanted to tell. Didn’t that mean they were still worth pursuing?

Plus, Christiana had been so dismissive. Not only was she on her phone for most of class, but she hadn’t given me anything but bad feedback. It made me wonder if she really cared about me or the rest of the students in our class.

After glancing across the room to make sure Sohee wasn’t sleeping yet—she was thankfully just listening to music with her headphones on while drawing—I video called Paul and told him about my dilemma.

“On the one hand, I can listen to Christiana and start working on something else,” I summarized for him at the end. “Or on the other, I can trust my instincts and go with what I had before.”

“Hm, that sounds like a tough decision, Gigi,” said Paul. “I’m no expert on art or anything like that, but I personally think you should just do whatever you want. It’s your story, and it’s your graphic novel! Not Christiana’s.”

“That’s true. I guess I feel like I should go with what she told me to do since she’s my teacher and this super-famous artist, you know? What if she’s right about my idea being overdone?”

Paul shrugged. “She may be super famous, but she’s just one person. She’s also not you! And you’ll probably never see her again after this month. If you think the story is bad, you can always fix it. But you should do whatever you want. It’s not like you get grades there like we do in school, anyway.”

We went on to talk about other things, like what Paul had been up to in Korea.

“There are so many cool museums and cute cafés here. And some things are so much more high tech. It’s like living in the future!” he said. “My uncle has this cool closet that looks like a fridge. It steams and cleans his clothes so they’re ready for work the next day.”

“Wow, that’s really cool! I can’t even imagine having that in my house in Texas.”

I’d never seriously thought about visiting Korea for anything besides family stuff before, but now I wanted to try going for fun, too. Paul seemed to be having the best time!

When we finished talking, I was about to hang up when Paul said, “Hey, Gigi?”

“Yeah?”

“About Starscape and Christiana’s class… you’ll figure it out, okay? I believe in you. You’re a super-talented artist. Don’t let her get you down.”

I smiled. “I won’t,” I said. “Thanks, Paul.”

Encouraged by our conversation, I thought of another story idea, thinking about what Mr. Hernandez had said during his class about “reflecting reality.” I jotted down my idea right before I went to sleep. This time my graphic novel was about a girl named Melanie. Melanie was Meteor Girl after she lost her powers and found herself stranded in NYC. And she had to somehow get her powers back, something she could only do with the help of her friends.

When I was done, I began drawing the pages, starting off the story where my friends and I were this morning, at the steps of the Met. Melanie finds herself there, without her powers or her memories. I didn’t know how the story was going to end yet, but I felt like I had a good start.

The next morning I showed it to Sohee, who gasped. “This is so good!”’ she said after she read my outline and looked at my beginning sketches.

“Thanks!” I said.

I was about to go to sleep that night when I got a text. It was from Aunt Yeji!

Hey, Gigi! The text said. Are you free next Saturday for brunch? I’d love to meet you then!

My heart almost launched itself out of my mouth with excitement.

OF COURSE! I replied. I’ll see you then.

Great Hope you’re having a good time at Starscape!

When I went to bed, I was happier than I’d been since arriving at camp. Things were finally starting to look up!