Arielle put down the brush.
“Put it back.”
Sadie lifted the cup.
“What, this?”
“Yes.”
For one moment, she could still have replaced it.
Instead, Sadie tilted her wrist.
Purple paint poured across the canvas.
Arielle gasped.
The first stream struck the reflection near the center.
Another ran across the painted shoreline.
Heavy purple streaks slid downward, mixing with wet orange and blue pigments.
Sadie emptied the rest.
The cup returned to the tray.
Nobody spoke.
Arielle stared at the painting.
The figure representing her grandmother disappeared beneath one dark streak.
That detail broke something in her expression.
“What is wrong with you?”
Sadie laughed.
“You’re an artist.”
“Fix it.”
Arielle turned toward her.
“You just destroyed three weeks of work.”
“Then make another one.”
“The exhibition is Monday.”
“You get extra help for everything else.”
The sentence came out easily.
Arielle stared.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Sadie shrugged.
“You know exactly what it means.”
“No.”
“I want to hear you explain it.”
Students started moving closer.
Lena stood.
A junior named Caleb Ward raised his phone and began recording.
Sadie glanced toward the audience.
The attention seemed to make her bolder.
“You’ve been handed everything since you got here.”
Arielle laughed in disbelief.
“I painted that.”
“You got the fellowship.”
“I earned it.”
“You got the showcase.”
“I earned it.”
“You got the faculty ranking.”
“I earned that too.”
Sadie shook her head.
“Of course that’s what you think.”