Twelve

By Wednesday, I was already halfway done with my script. It wasn’t going to be a full-length graphic novel or anything, but the entire story was probably going to be around thirty pages, which was the longest story I’d ever written. In Mr. Hernandez’s class, we had some time to do independent work, so my friends and I shared what we were doing for our other classes. Zeina was working on a super-cute picture book about a cat and a dog that were frenemies but were learning to become actual friends, while Carolina was writing the story for a cool puzzle game about fighting robots in space. Both their projects looked amazing and so very them that it made my heart all fuzzy inside.

When I shared what I had so far, Zeina exclaimed, “Wow. This is unlike anything else I’ve seen you work on before, Gigi!”

“Yeah, it’s like on a whole other level,” added Carolina.

At that moment Mr. Hernandez overheard what my friends said and came over to our table with a big smile on his face.

“Do you mind if I take a look at what you’re working on, Gigi?” he asked.

“Um, sure!” I handed my laptop over to the teacher, and he gently took it out of my hands. I bit my lip, feeling super self-conscious. After what had happened the last time I shared my work with a teacher, I was nervous about sharing it with anyone.

Mr. Hernandez slowly scrolled through the document. As he did, I watched his face carefully for his reactions, but his expression was completely unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he liked what he read or not until he set the laptop down. His poker face finally disappeared, and a big smile slowly spread across his face. “Gigi, this is phenomenal. Definitely keep working on this story. I can see you’ve put so much of your heart and soul into this project.”

I beamed. “What you said last class about reflecting reality helped a ton. It inspired me to write this story!”

“Amazing,” he said. “I’m so glad to hear I could help. That’s what I’m here for, after all. You girls are all presenting at the showcase at the end of this month, right? You really should consider it if you haven’t already since it’ll be an excellent opportunity.”

My friends and I all nodded.

“We are,” Carolina said.

“Excellent,” Mr. Hernandez said. “I’m looking forward to seeing all of your amazing work there.”

After Mr. Hernandez’s class, I felt so much better about my work that I got so much done later that night. By Friday I had the whole script done, along with the pencil sketches for the first ten pages. Before I went to Christiana’s class, I showed my parents what I’d done over video chat. I almost never showed my parents my art, but thanks to the good feedback I received from Mr. Hernandez and my friends, I felt confident enough to give them a little peek.

“You improved so much in such a short time!” exclaimed Mom. “I’m glad the camp has been good for you.”

“Yes, it seems like the camp has been worthwhile so far,” agreed Dad.

This was one of the first times ever that my parents complimented my art. I beamed.

“Thanks!” I said.

“Take pictures of what you’ve drawn so far and send them to me,” Mom said. “So I can show them to Yeji-imo.”

Just the thought of my aunt Yeji seeing my work made me sweat, but I did what Mom said anyway.

Before I got a reply from Mom or Aunt Yeji, I had to go to Christiana’s class again.

When it was my turn, Christiana frowned as she started flipping through my pages. Unlike with Mr. Hernandez, it was clear from the very beginning exactly what she thought of my work.

“Gigi, I thought we had an agreement that superheroes were overrated,” she said.

I took a deep breath and told her the response I’d practiced by myself in the mirror, “That was your opinion, not mine. This is the story I feel the most strongly about.”

“I see.” Without even looking at the rest of the story, Christiana handed my pages back to me. “Then I’m afraid you may not be the right fit for my class. Here we value students who challenge themselves and are not afraid to try new things. Not do the same thing repeatedly.”

“But she did try a new thing!” Sohee said before I could respond. “You told her she needs to have a better story, and that’s exactly what she did. And her art improved as much as it could in a week’s time. I’ve seen her working so hard on this every day.”

I looked to Sohee, my eyes almost welling up with tears because of how grateful I felt.

“Hm, maybe so,” Christiana said. “I suppose I can’t really tell you what you can or can’t draw. But it’s still important to branch out and try new things, especially as a young artist.”

“This is my first graphic novel,” I replied. “Ever. I am challenging myself and trying new things.”

Christiana shrugged. “In any case, your line art has become better. In such a short amount of time, too. Keep up with the good work, then.”

She walked away. Sohee looked angry for me, but I said, “It’s okay. At the end of the day, this is just Christiana’s opinion. Thanks so much for defending me, though.”

“You should keep working on this book,” Sohee said. “And definitely present it during the showcase. See what the other experts who aren’t Christiana have to say. Even after Starscape, if you don’t finish it during the program, you should finish it and publish it one day! Don’t let Christiana discourage you.”

I smiled, grateful that I had a new friend like Sohee.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t.”

“Maybe we can dedicate some time to practice drawing together? We pretty much already sit quietly at our desks drawing every day in our room, so why not?”

“Like roommate-bonding drawing sessions? I love that idea!”

When we got back to our dorm, Sohee and I worked together for the rest of the day, listening to K-pop as we bonded over our favorite K-dramas and webtoons. It turned out that Sohee had read and watched some of the same things I had, just without English subtitles like I did. Christiana’s class may have been a bust so far, but I was so glad and grateful that I now had Sohee as a friend.

Later that night, I’d just gotten into my bed when I got a text.

Wow, Gigi! It was from Aunt Yeji. Your mom sent me pictures of your work and I have to say, I’m really impressed! Listen, one of my friends is a professor at Parsons. I know it’s still too early for you to seriously look into colleges but I think it’d be good for you to meet her. Do you mind if I invite her to our brunch tomorrow?

My jaw dropped. Parsons wasn’t my number one dream school like Tisch was, but it was still really cool.

Sure! I replied. Thanks so much, Yeji-imo!

I was so excited for tomorrow that I could hardly sleep.