Volume 1 - CH 1.3

Art Class with Shimizu-san – 3

“Shimizu-san, do you want to draw first? Or do you want to do it later?”

“Either way is fine. You choose what you want.”

To be honest, I don’t mind the order either. But if Shimizu-san says so, I’ll decide.

“In that case, may I draw first?”

“Yes.”

Sensei takes his eyes off the watch. It looks like 30 seconds have passed.

“Have you decided? Then the first one to draw gets their sketchbook ready. Whoever draws later moves their chair away from the desk a bit so that they face the first person to draw. You have ten minutes to draw. The person to be drawn should be in a comfortable position because you have to stand still for ten minutes. When you are ready, we will begin.”

As soon as Sensei finished talking, half of the students pulled out their sketchbooks and got their pencils ready, while the other half moved their chairs toward their pairs and struck a pose.

I opened a blank page in my sketchbook and took out my art pencil from my pencil box. I looked at Shimizu-san, who was already sitting facing me. While all the other students to be drawn had their hands on their knees, Shimizu-san crossed her arms. In addition, her legs were also crossed.

(Not an image from the chapter.)

“Shimizu-san, are your hands okay in that position? “

“It’s easier this way… should I put my hands on my knees? “

Shimizu-san whispered a little anxiously in a voice that only I could hear.

“If it’s easier for you, I think that’s okay.”

“I see. Then it’s fine.”

Shimizu-san looked relieved, though it didn’t show in her voice.

“Looks like everyone is ready. Let’s get started. “

With a call from Sensei, the students who were to draw first, including me, started to move their hands at once.

I decided to draw a rough outline first. I stare at Shimizu-san. She has long, shiny, beautiful black hair, slender arms and legs, and is taller than other girls. Her legs are crossed, which naturally draws my attention to her long legs.

“Hey, Hondō, your hand stopped.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

I was surprised to hear her voice. I had been so absorbed in staring at Shimizu-san that I had not moved my hand. I felt another piercing gaze. Maybe she noticed that I was staring at her legs.

I hurriedly proceeded to draw the sketch. I was able to complete a rough sketch of her in less than half of the time limit. However, I omitted some details in favor of speed. In order to draw one of the omitted parts, the face, I moved my eyes to Shimizu-san’s face.

(Shimizu-san is a very beautiful girl…)

Her eyes are slanted and her eyelashes are long. Her nose, lips, and other facial parts are all well-defined, and I think everyone who sees her face would find her beautiful. In fact, according to Toshiya, there are a surprisingly large number of boys who would be interested in dating her if she didn’t have such a personality.

While I was staring at Shimizu-san’s face to draw a detailed sketch, Shimizu-san suddenly turned her face to the side.

“Shimizu-san? I’m drawing your face right now, so please don’t move.”

“Because… you were… “

I could tell from the movement of her lips that Shimizu-san was saying something, but her voice was so low that I couldn’t completely understand what she was trying to say.

“Sorry, Shimizu-san. Can you say that again? “

“Muu.”

Shimizu-san turns her face toward me and protests with her eyes. I thought it would be a good time to draw her now that she was looking at me, but I had a feeling that Shimizu-san would get angry at me later if I drew her grumpy face.

“Anyway, my face should be drawn last. You have a lot of other parts to draw too.”

“Okay. I’ll draw the other part first.”

I don’t really understand what’s going on, but Shimizu-san seems to have her own reasons. I have no choice but to draw from the neck down first. I turn my eyes down a little. A little lower than the head is her neck, and a little lower is her chest. My gaze naturally moves to Shimizu-san’s chest. Shimizu-san’s arms are currently folded, and her chest, which has a strong presence, is even more prominent in that position.

“H-hey Hondō. Where are you looking with such serious eyes!”

Shimizu-san noticed what I was looking at and shouted.

“Where…? A little below your neck.”

I didn’t have the guts to tell her directly that I was looking at her chest. Then Shimizu-san moves her arms to cover her chest.

“Why are you looking at me like that? “

“Shimizu-san asked me to draw something other than the face first, so I thought I’d draw a little bit below the face. I didn’t mean anything by that! I’m so sorry! “

I feel like apologizing would be admitting my fault, but I can’t think of any other way to handle this situation other than by apologizing. I apologized as sincerely as I could.

“Are you sure you didn’t mean anything by that?”

“Yes.”

“Can you say there is not even 1 millimeter of feeling at all?”

“Yes…there is none.”

“I see…”

Why does Shimizu-san look so disappointed? Don’t you feel uncomfortable with the evil glances from the opposite sex? Think again. Did I really feel nothing when I looked at Shimizu-san’s chest? I mean, to be honest, I think I felt a little nervous, partly because it was unexpected.

“I’m sorry, Shimizu-san. I lied.”

“Huh?”

“I said I didn’t mean anything, but I actually had one millimeter of feeling… or maybe two. Sorry.”

I bow my head to Shimizu-san. I didn’t want to regret this, so I wanted to apologize to Shimizu-san now, even if she got angry with me. I slowly lifted my head and saw that Shimizu-san was looking at me.

“You saw my… and thought about it a little bit.”

“Uh, yes.”

“W-well, I’ll forgive you this time. I was a little nervous too… If you don’t stare at me with ‘that’ kind of eye, you can look at it when you draw it. But there’s a condition.”

“What is it? “

“I’ll try not to move, so draw me properly…”

Shimizu-san said to me in a slightly quieter voice.

“Okay. Leave it to me.”

I decided to draw Shimizu-san even more seriously in the remaining time.