Living for the fat girl [Book 2]

Part 8

I tried really hard to get this chapter out today and I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this now so this might be a mess! I hope it's not though ;) Enjoy!

8. Arya

I am in class and whilst everyone is settling down, I remember the last week. It had passed in a blissful blur. Whenever I wasn't in class, preparing for class or doing extra work to soothe my anxiety about failing, I was with Seth. On Monday he was allowed back on the soccer field as he had recovered fully from his slight head injury. Afterwards I had been waiting for him in his room and we celebrated his recovery in his shower.

It is true, what they say, the more often you sleep with each other, the better it gets. The insecurities that were deeply engraved in my mind started to fade, although I was still concious about his touch whenever he would hold my hips or trail loving kisses down my belly.

I'm still not fully convinced that that will ever go away. For years I have trained my brain to hate my body, hate myself. It's going to take more than Seth caressing every inch of my body, licking and sucking at my neck, kissing that sensitive spot right above my belly-button sending chills down my spine and making me crave all of him...

"Listen, everyone!" Mrs Fuentes, the Spanish mother-like art professor, shouts, clapping her hands.

As I look around the room, I notice that all easels, chairs and supplies have been pushed to the walls, leaving a large open space. For the first time I get a good look at all the other students, taking this class. Until now I hadn't really cared about the others. Surprisingly there's an equal amount of women and men.

"It has been a month since we met so now it is time to get serious." Mrs Fuentes announces, a bright smile on her face. "All of you have been hand picked by us, the professors, and our sponsors so we expect you to grow to your fullest potential. Now for this semester we have chosen a group project for you to work on."

I'm fighting the urge to grunt in annoyance. This never goes well!

"I know what you're thinking! But you're wrong. This is going to be fun! I want you to form groups of four: two men and two women in each group. This is important because we want equal gender representation, alright?"

Everyone nods, looking around until one guy raises his hand.

"What exactly are we supposed to do?" He asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"That's the fun part! It is up to you... Well, not wholly but mostly. Your work will be inspired by an influential artist. When you have formed your groups, it is up to you who you will base your work on. You may choose whomever you want and you can create whatever you want individually as long as your works are cohesive! Also I will need you to write an essay about why you chose the artist, why you decided to create your piece and of course how you created it. I would like you all to start now, work on the project in your free-time and make this your best work so far. This will make up fifty percent of your grade. Now, get to know each other and form your groups. I want to know the artist you choose by the end of the week."

Overwhelmed and anxious, I look around the room as everyone starts walking towards each other and introducing themselves. Wrapping my arms around my body, I automatically move back a little, disconnecting from the group.

What are you doing? Go! Introduce yourself! I tell myself but my body is frozen on the spot and I have all of a sudden forgotten how to move, speak or think all together!

"Hey!" Someone says and I jump slightly. "Oops, didn't mean to scare you. I'm Erich and you seem just as uncomfortable about introducing yourself as me, so I thought - her! Her I will go speak to."