Who: Conner Kent and Anna of Arendelle When: December 9 Where: UCI Campus Cafe What: Random Encounter Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete
Anna was between finals. She had an hour to kill, so she headed to the cafe on campus to sit and read. It was going to be weird when she was finished with her finals, to be able to sit and read for pleasure instead of trying to force as much information as possible into her little brain. And it was starting to be time for her to look for internships or positions at local museums… that sort of thing. Since she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life, that would be a good place to start?
She really just wanted to study art. Forever. Maybe she could write about it. She wasn’t that bad with words. (Even though someone told her once she was.) ...that thought made Anna’s expression sour. She didn’t want to think about him right now. She wanted to slurp whipped cream off her mocha, read up for her next Final, and not think about stupid boys.
Conner was trying to figure out what his focus in school would be, and how he would deal with everything that was coming. School, work, and life, really. He didn’t want to lose who he was, now, but he wasn’t much of anyone yet, really. He knew that.
He wanted to discover more, and people seemed to like art as something to discover. So, today, he was trying to sketch in colors, people who came into the cafe. He wasn’t sure he was any good, but as he sketched the girl across the tables from him, he smiled. This was fun, and he was enjoying it. Maybe there was something to this whole art thing!
He waved a hand once, when the woman looked up, nodding to her. “Hello.”
Anna jumped a little at the sound of the voice, and turned to look at who’d spoken. She’d been so off in her own little world that she hadn’t noticed anyone around her talking to her, hadn’t noticed someone trying to get her attention. Now she realized he had said something to her, she couldn’t help feel a little embarrassed that she missed him. She broke into a sheepish smile. “Hi. Sorry. Did you… say something?”
Conner was amused by her jumpiness a little, and her smile was enchanting, so he grinned back. “Just saying hello.” Conner grinned, and nodded to her. “Really getting into your drink, eh?”
“Oh, yes. It’s fascinating whipped cream,” she teased, then gave him an apologetic smile. “Hello! How are you today?”
Conner chuckled, amused, despite himself, and smiled warmly. “Doing finestkind. And you?” He kept sketching as he spoke. She had a real animated look to her. “How is your day going, if you and your fascinating whipped cream won’t mind me horning in on your private time?” He teased her back with a grin, even as he alternated looking at her and at the sketch he was working on.
“I’ve just been… finals, you know.” Anna said, giving her hand a little wave. “Trying to brush up on stuff so that I’ll pass all my classes with flying colors. I got a four-oh last year, and I want to match that score again this year.” She watched him sketching for a moment, then cocked her head to the side. “What are you drawing?”
Conner grinned as he listened and watched. “Wow, a high achiever. I’m impressed. I have no idea how I’m going to do when classes start up in the spring. Kind of makes me nervous.”
His sketching pencil, a precise thing from the arts store he had found in Los Angeles, flew across the page as he sketched and when she asked him that, he nibbled one lip, then nodded. “Ah, well, hopefully you won’t think me too weird, but you. I sketch people a lot. Just for fun and for practice. I’m not sure if I’m any good at it, but... there you go.”
Anna laughed. “Oh, I have to know. I have to have everything planned out, or I get this sick, stressed feeling in my tummy.” She lowered a hand to rest against her stomach. “...Well, that’s what all artists do, isn’t it? I mean, I’m not an artist, but I’m studying them. Kinda. Art History is my major, so I know a lot about artists and that kind of thing.” She grinned. “You wanna show me something you’ve drawn?”
Conner smiled. “Sounds cool. I don’t think I even can think like that, so I guess it is really to each their own.” He nodded.
“I suppose so, I’m not sure I’m much of an artist, yet, but I think I like it.”
He nodded and held out his sketchbook unabashedly. The top page, of course, held his unfinished sketch of her, caught in a thinking pose, eyes distant, still not completely filled out. In the pages behind it were about twelve other sketches of people on campus. “I’ve just started. Forgive the mess, please.” Several were unfinished, or rough, but they had the beginnings of something more.
“No no, this is great!” Anna said, smiling down at the picture of herself. Then she turned the pages and took a look through. “I wish I could draw. Those who can do, those who can’t… well, study?” She broke into an impish grin. “I’m thinking museum curation is in my future. Or maintaining an art collection for some rich and famous people. The kind who need people to tell them what’s valuable and what’s not, you know?” She was only partially teasing.
“Thanks.” Conner flushed bright red at the compliment.
“That’s awesome! I think museums are pretty cool, and to run one, or even just one section of one, would be pretty awesome, if a lot of work.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I could ever do that.” Conner nodded. “Or maybe just someone who employs you to make sure they have the best, and that they know what is the best, out there, to have.”
“Exactly. I mean, I’d like to say that I think art is subjective? And that everyone should find the kind of art that they like? But there’s also value in it. Art is an investment, and I want to make sure that people are spending their money wisely.” Anna said, nodding. “Or that a museum will have the kind of artwork that will draw in a crowd. There’s no purpose in having a museum that no one wants to go to.”
“That makes sense. Better to have someone who knows what they are doing rather than just a random selection.” Conner grinned at her. “Have you ever gone to art auctions or showings to check them out, to see what they are like?”
Now it sounded interesting to him.
“No, I haven’t done any of that yet.” Anna brightened considerably at the thought. “But that’s an amazing idea. That’s something I really should look into. I wouldn’t even know where to start… I suppose I could ask my professors where that sort of thing happens. I don’t do a lot of art buying, but if that’s the field I want to get into, that’s where I should start learning!”
Conner blushed, then smiled. “The professors here seem very nice, and pretty smart, so yeah, I would start there, or on the network.” He nodded. “I have no idea if it will work, but it sounds like you have a good idea of how and what you want to do. I wish I had any idea at all of what I was going to… well, even try to do.”
“I think that’s a part of the reason we’re going to college, you know? So that we can figure those things out. Who knows, in five years I may be doing something completely different.” She gave a gentle shrug of her shoulders, then pulled out her phone to glance at the time. “Oh, I really should get going. I have to get ready for my next final. Don’t want to be late, you know.”
Conner rose. “Makes sense! It was nice meeting you.”
He extended his hand. “Maybe we'll see each other around?”
“I hope so!” Anna stood as well, and took his hand to shake. “It was nice meeting you, too.” She gave him a bright smile, then collected her things. “Good luck with finals!” She called out, then turned to rush out of the cafe.