Page 36 of The Backup Plan

How’s this for a benchmark?

“Jordan never complained.” And Jordan wore his jersey so nice and tight. Jordan was always pointing the right way.

Marshall

Jordan was banging her. You know he was.

Cameron

Thanks for the visual, Marsh. Never speak to me again.

Hayden

Pointing the right way?

I have no idea what you guys are talking about.

Marshall

Trust me, it’s a great problem not to have.

Ethan

Is it, though?

Marshall

Point taken. Shadows and angles, it is.

See you Saturday, Hammy.

TWELVE

Two Dimensional

AVERY

Cam was already in the lounge when she arrived, and had taken over the center table with sketchpads, notebooks, and a textbook. “Hello, and welcome to Foundations of 2-D Design,” he announced. “Allow me to show you all the ways I suck at design because I suck at drawing.”

“Everyone says they can’t draw,” Avery said, dropping her bag on the floor next to his. “You’re a sophomore, right? You had Drawing 1 and 2 last year, and you obviously passed.”

“I think I got pity passing grades. I’m really weak at perspective, so in this class, where a lot of emphasis is on composition, the layering aspect becomes a struggle. Look.”

“Hold on.” She stopped him before he opened his sketchbook. “When you think about composition in 3-D, what makes that click for you?”

He moved his hands as he talked about sculptural design, about singular versus disconnected elements. Avery watched, fascinated, imagining clay between his palms worked into thumbprint bowls as he slipped off on a tangent about additive and deductive material choices.

“Back up to what you just said about focal points and disconnected elements,” she said, cutting off a ramble about soapstone. “When you think about 2-D composition, it’s no different from 3-D in that you want to understand the viewer’s line of sight and how it travels, right?”

“Right.”

“You said with a physical medium like a stone, you can pick it up and really see the depth. You don’t have to envision the layers translated to something flat, so the stone is easier.”

“Exactly.” He leaned closer. “I’m supposed to be studying, and I feel like I’m being studied.”

“Beware. I haven’t had my methods reviewed by the Board of Ethics yet.”

“Now we’re having fun.”