Fine Arts is not physics for you

Fine Arts is not physics for you

“Today we have a free topic in class. Draw whatever you want, but keep in mind that I will not tolerate any sloppy work.” Another Tuesday arrived in a small village school in the outskirts of Kyoto. School life here was measured, no one was in a hurry. All the few students behaved with dignity, did not create noise or problems. “Shinamori-sensei! Shinamori-sensei!” One hand shot up, attracting the attention of the stern teacher. He looked menacingly at the violator of his beloved silence, and when he recognized one of the students from class "D" in her, he tried to answer as restrainedly as possible. “Makimachi-san, how many times have I asked you not to shout in art class? This is a temple of art, here you need to behave with dignity and not interfere with other students creating their masterpieces.” “But, sensei, my question concerns the lesson, honestly!” the high school girl didn't calm down, not even thinking to lower the volume of her ringing voice. Aoshi sighed and looked a little tiredly at the cheerful face of the student. He could not understand where the energy of the hurricane came from this fragile body. “I'm listening to you.” “You said that we can draw anything. Can I then draw your portrait and submit it to the competition?” Sensei's lower eyelid twitched. He knew the level of talent of this girl in the field of drawing. He could not forbid her to draw him, since he himself had just said that the topic of the lesson was free. But he certainly did not want to show the upcoming masterpiece to anyone. “I don't think I am suitable as a model, Makimachi-san. I advise you to choose someone else.” He still had a tiny hope that he would be able to convince the student, but she exclaimed indignantly, throwing up her hands. “You underestimate yourself, sensei! You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen! You deserve to be drawn by me!” Her eyes were burning with an inner flame of confidence in overcoming a great goal. Shinamori Aoshi did not share such enthusiasm at all. He only hoped that this time his "portrait" would at least slightly resemble the image of a person. “Do whatever you want, Makimachi-san,” he said resignedly, “just keep quiet during the lesson.” “Yes sir!” the loudest cry of jubilation rang out, from which sensei's ears almost twisted. When the issue was resolved, the culprit of the commotion was addressed by her best friend Kaoru Kamiya, who had long ago begun to paint a picture, the main character of which was a red-haired young man with a basket of tomatoes in his hands. “Misao, I admire your courage. So you can just admit that sensei is the most handsome man. By the way, Himura-sensei is no worse than Shinamori-sensei. I hope you're not picking a fight with me.” Misao just smiled triumphantly, sharpening her pencil thoroughly. "Sorry, Kaoru, but with all due respect to our homeroom teacher, I don't perceive Himura-sensei as a representative of the stronger sex. My dear Aoshi-sama is another matter," Makimachi said dreamily, "he's tall, handsome, smart and so... so..." Kaoru just rolled her eyes. Their squabbles over the two senseis had become a routine. Each defended the good name of her favorite teacher as best she could. "All of that can be said about Himura-sensei as well. Except for his height, of course." "Hey, girls, stop chatting," a rough, youthful voice was heard from behind. “What's it to you, Sannosuke?” Misao raised an eyebrow. “Don't interfere in our girlish conversations.” “I don't need your conversations,” the guy snapped, “if Sinamori hears you, he'll give us a ton of homework, and I don't have time to draw all sorts of birds.” In fact, Sannosuke was very good at drawing, to the envy of many. On the outside, the guy looked like the last hooligan, but he had a creative soul. The school won first place in fine art competitions for several years in a row, thanks to his talent. Remembering that such punishments for not keeping quiet had already taken place in the past, the girlfriends immediately fell silent. At the end of the lesson, the teacher approached each student to evaluate their efforts. “Well done, Sano,” the teacher patted him on the shoulder, pleased and proud of his protégé. When it was Kaoru and Misao's turn, blue streaks started to creep across Sensei's face. "I put all my feelings into your portrait, Sensei! This is my best creation!" Misao wasn't lying. Compared to her previous works, this "masterpiece" really stood out for its uniqueness. Aoshi had never seen such a wild combination of colors, facial expressions, and poses. It was hard for him to even determine at first glance what was depicted. Of course, he didn't find himself in the portrait, but he did notice a certain similarity between what was captured on the canvas and the painting "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. After thinking for a while about how best to convey his idea and spare himself the shame, Shinamori very sympathetically addressed the would-be artist, taking the painting from the stand. “Makimachi-san, can I keep your work as a memento?” The girl's green eyes lit up with stars of delight and adoration. “Of course, sensei! I'm happy that you liked the portrait. If you want to keep it, then I won't put it up for the competition.” Aoshi sighed with relief. The plan had worked. “Teacher, please evaluate my work, too,” Kaoru reminded him, turning the easel for a better view. Right after Shinamori-sensei had time to recover from the first cultural shock, a second one immediately followed. Kamiya's work looked much better than the one her friend had painted. In any case, the image of a familiar person was clearly discernible on the canvas. “Kamiya-san, today at your work Himura-sensei does not look as pale and exhausted as at the last lesson. Continue to hone your technique in the same spirit.” The teacher's words of praise made the girl very happy. She smiled radiantly, pressing her hands to her chest. Having announced to the class that the lesson was over, the sensei hurried to leave the drawing studio, but already in the corridor he was overtaken by a hurricane named Makimachi Misao. “Shinamori-sensei! I will come to your handicraft club tomorrow!” The man only nodded, suppressing a groan. He did not like this club, but due to the lack of personnel in this village school, he had to take additional education hours for the students. The handicraft club fell to his lot, where he taught the children how to fold origami, model clothes and embroider with gold thread. And there were only three students in this circle, among whom was the noisy Makimachi-san. Continuing his way to the teachers' room, Shinamori-sensei noticed his colleague and physics teacher Himura Kenshin in the hallway in the company of the second restless student Kamiya Kaoru. The girl was just presenting him with her new creation, and Himura was just smiling awkwardly and scratching the back of his head. Just like Aoshi, Kenshin also had to take on an additional teaching load, and in addition to his main physics classes, he also headed the home economics club, which was popular among girls. And Kamiya Kaoru was the most loyal regular at these classes. Only her talent in cooking was exactly as great as Misao's talent in drawing. Mentally wishing his red-haired colleague good luck, Shinamori-sensei disappeared behind the door into the teachers' room of a small village school called "Oniwaban".