By the time the showcase neared its closing hours, Evelyn felt like she had entered an entirely new world—one where she wasn't just the quiet girl in the background but someone worth noticing.
She caught glimpses of her fellow students congratulating each other, exchanging contacts, and discussing future collaborations.
It was a scene she never imagined herself being part of, yet here she was, standing among them, feeling more at ease than ever before.
Adrian leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed, watching her with an amused smirk. "You're officially famous now."
She shot him a look.
"Hardly."
"Come on, people have been talking about your piece all night. And Thomas Laughton gave you his card! That's next-level, Eve."
Evelyn glanced down at the card still in her pocket. It still felt surreal.
"I guess it is."
Mia joined them, bouncing with excitement.
"You need to celebrate! We should all go out for dinner—no arguments!"
Evelyn hesitated. Going out, after such a draining day, seemed exhausting… but when she looked at Adrian and Mia's hopeful faces, a warmth spread through her chest.
"Okay,"
she said softly.
"Let's go."
They ended up at a cozy little diner just off campus. The atmosphere was lively, filled with students and late-night chatter.
Evelyn found herself unwinding as she sipped on her milkshake, listening to Mia gush about everyone's art and Adrian's dramatic retelling of how he'd witnessed a student nearly drop an entire sculpture on a judge.
"You should've seen the guy's face,"
Adrian said, eyes wide.
"I swear he aged ten years in two seconds."
Evelyn laughed, the sound feeling lighter than it had in a long time.
As the night wore on, she realized something: for the first time in a long while, she wasn't dreading what came next. She wasn't thinking about failure or what-ifs.
She was here, in the moment, and she was happy.
Later that night, as she lay in bed, exhaustion finally setting in, she pulled out Thomas Laughton's card one more time.
A future in art. It had always felt like a distant dream, but tonight, it felt a little closer. A little more real.
She wasn't sure where this path would lead her, but for once, she wasn't afraid to find out.