Gary and the Goth Girl

The president dialed the number, "Gary, I don't think this is going to be a big deal, I just want to make sure all the T's are crossed and the I's dotted. It sounds like you've followed the rules and done everything you should, even talking with the dean."

"Glenda? Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I wanted to check on a senior project you signed off on. Crystal Forester. Yes. Well, actually, yes, that was the question. You did?" There was a pause as the dean listened. "Okay, no I don't see any issues at this point, I think everybody did the right thing and were honest about what was going on. Thank you, Glenda! Oh, and I think Gary would be very interested in hearing your reactions to the proposal sometime. No, I haven't seen it. Really? That could be interesting. Thanks again!"

"Well, Gary, that was interesting! Evidently, Glenda actually suggested Crystal consult you on the project, knowing what you were teaching this semester. But Crystal explained to her why that probably wasn't a good idea and she understood. She also said that she visited the studio space on numerous occasions and saw her progress on several of the pieces. Let me check one more thing." The president typed away on the keyboard and after a couple minutes nodded his head. "Okay, I think we're pretty ironclad here. There is no record of you ever having entered the studio building."

"No, my class meets in the main building and the students do the assignments on their own time. I critiqued and demonstrated in the classroom and not the studio."

"So, aren't you concerned about the age difference?"

"She's only a couple years younger than I am, older than most of the students. She just turned 23 and I'm 25."

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It was a couple of weeks before the end of the semester and graduation. He was holding his normal office hours. Typically he'd have a handful of students that would show up and ask for a critique or suggestions about their project. Once in a great while there would be a student just looking for another opinion, most of them would be students from the Intro to Media course. Only the third person in the door today was Crystal. The students waiting had been a bit shocked, after all, they had been working to prevent this sort of thing from happening accidently all year. But she smiled and let them know it was okay. "Just listen!" she whispered to them. "No academic content here!"

"Well, hello! I wasn't expecting you here!" He was a bit concerned, as they had agreed not to interact on campus, but here she was.

"Professor, I wanted to get your input on some job offers I've received. I've gotten three of them I'm considering and trying to decide which one to accept. Here's the summary of the three and I would value your opinion."

She handed him the three sheets she had put together. Gary looked them over. He wasn't totally surprised about her having three offers, graduating with top grades meant that she was a pretty hot commodity. There was one for a job in a city a few hundred miles away working advertising. Another was a large manufacturing company on the west coast. The third one was with a local printing company in assisting clients with creating their material and marketing packages. He looked at the compensation packages. Most of the benefits were pretty similar, health and wellness, 401(k) plans. And the salary levels seemed appropriate for the cost of living in the areas.

"Three very different job descriptions. Based on what I know about you, I think this third one is your best bet. It appears to have a wider scope and will allow you more variety and creativity which appears to be your strongpoints. As far as the compensation goes, this other one pays the most, but the cost of living in that area is much higher than the other two. I'm guessing there are no relocation expenses being provided, so you have to get yourself there, but you probably don't have anything to move other than yourself. This one is here and you already know the area. You don't have to move across the country and re-establish yourself, that will make it much easier to transition from school to the working environment. And as a final bonus, I'm pretty sure you can find someone you know and like to share an apartment with in the local area."

"Thanks, professor! That was what I was leaning toward for some of the same reasons, but I hadn't thought about sharing a place. That actually could make a big difference financially."

"As long as you can find someone you are compatible with and trust!"

She smiled, "I already have an idea of someone that I could ask! They work in this area and might welcome sharing the costs. And I do trust them. I'll have to ask if they would consider it!"

She left the office feeling more sure about her future. Anyone listening outside the door wouldn't have made much of a connection and would not have seen the looks being exchanged. And the next student came in to talk about their assignments.

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Graduation finally arrived. All of the seniors had the opportunity to have their senior art project on display. Crystal was clearly in the top tier of the graduating class. Each year the faculty would judge the senior projects and the top ones would have the opportunity to display a selection of their works in the campus gallery.

It was normal that new professors would have an exhibit of their works displayed in the campus gallery at the start of their first year. He had been essentially an adjunct for the Spring semester, so he officially started the fall of the next year but his work was mounted in one of the small side galleries at the same time as the graduating senior works were put up. And he had no problems choosing the set of works to display. He started with a rough pen and ink sketch he had done of the campus from the main entrance. Followed by all the pictures he had done of Crystal and their dates and activities over the last year. Goth Girl in the Art Store was still one of his favorites, the stark black and white appealed to him and he was working on creating prints of it.

They had been pretty much connected at the hip over the last couple of weeks before graduation, even on campus. Of course she opted for the local job and had formally asked if she could move in with him and cover half the rent. Given that all the grades were in, there was little risk of any sort of scandal. Whenever she came to his place she would bring a box of clothes or books or materials. She'd lived in the dorm for four years, had no furniture of her own, so the move was pretty low key. The only thing they had to shop for was a good dresser for her things.

Crystal's parents and her brother were coming into town for the graduation ceremony. They were very excited to learn that she had been unanimously selected by the faculty to represent the graduating class and present a small speech at graduation. Crystal was terrified about the prospect. After she had shown them the dorm room, she had each of them grab a box or bag and they walked off campus and to Gary's apartment. He met them at the door and immediately grabbed the clothes her mother was carrying, shaking hands with her dad and brother, planting a quick kiss on her cheek and leading the way up to his studio.

He had ordered some Middle Eastern food for a quick lunch, they were going to go out for dinner that evening. When the door buzzed that it had arrived, rather than have the guy bring it up he asked her dad to come with him to carry the food up. They got in the elevator and Gary went for broke.

"Mr. Forester, I believe you and your wife are okay with Crystal moving in with me, but I want you to know I am still deeply in love with her and I'm going to do right by her." He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and showed the gleaming diamond. "I plan on proposing in the next 24 hours, actually, everything is already in place. Depending on what Crystal decides we're doing this afternoon, it could happen today, but probably tomorrow morning. I think she is amazing and I love her very much."

Her Dad nodded and stuck out his hand. "Crystal has always been strong willed and has always done whatever she wanted, so I don't think how we felt about it mattered to her. But we are very happy that she has been happy since meeting you. It is obvious that she has changed a lot over the last school year. And I mean a lot! I think her mother will be very happy to know. Can I share it with her?"

"Your call, sir. If she can keep the secret, no worries. If you think she will give it away, probably not."

The next morning, an hour or so before the ceremony was to take place, they went to see the exhibits. He let Crystal walk her family down the row of his art work in the small gallery. She had seen them before and many of them at various stages of their creation. And she was the subject of many of them. There was a change in what was on the wall from what she had seen a couple of days earlier. He'd worked with the curator to add a canvas. Toward the end there was a canvas that had a large question mark on it. Arrows shot off the canvas and pointed to other canvases. There was one that showed her new job. A couple of others were sort of jumbled clouds, but there was a new one with a picture of a ring captioned "Please say yes!"

When they got to the end Crystal saw it and froze. He could almost see her swallowing hard. She turned slowly and looked at him with wide eyes. Gary held out the small box, the ring glinting in the gallery lights.

"You would marry a Goth Girl?" she asked in a whisper.

"Not A Goth Girl, THIS Goth Girl!" And as their lips touched, she thought, "How does he always know the perfect level of kiss every time?" He slid the ring onto her finger.

Then he walked over to the picture with the question on it and hung another picture beside it that had been sitting on the floor and facing the wall. The background was black and there was just a silhouette in light and feathery white and silver lines. It was obviously a bride, with long flowing train and a vail, all hinted in the reverse type of sumi-e picture that she had made the focus of her senior project. The caption was pretty simple, "She Said Yes!"

Graduation Address

"We have quite a crowd here today. It is more than our usual turnout. Part of that is I recognize a large number of current students that have put off studying for their finals to be here to celebrate the graduating class."

"Each year the faculty selects the class representative, the individual that has made the biggest difference to the school and their class. Often it is the individual with the best GPA, but there are other factors involved. It typically requires a great deal of discussion and multiple votes. This year was very different. Twenty seven of the twenty eight faculty members voted for the same person in the first round. The 28th member abstained. What typically takes up a large percentage of the semester's last staff meeting was completed in less than five minutes. And the entire faculty was thrilled, yes, even the member who abstained."

"For three years this student was present. I deliberately use the term present in that they were always in class, always on time, attended every guest lecture or special presentation. Within hours of any new exhibit being put on display, she was there to see it and evaluate it. Her grades were pretty much perfection. Every project was completed with as much precision as possible. And everyone knew who she was, faculty and students alike, but no one knew anything about her. Other than she was present."

"Suddenly, last fall, she burst out like a blazing comet and within a couple weeks she became a key part of the student body. Not in a leadership position, but as a focal point for what was probably one of the most interesting projects this campus has ever seen. It wasn't an art project, but it had a lot of potential to be beautiful. And I think that is what attracted everyone. There was often a line of students outside her dorm room looking to both get and share critiques and opinions, suggestions and help. And there was an entourage of support for her, helping her with all sorts of things, but most importantly a specific goal. The faculty was aware of this change but had no idea what had caused it at first. The entire student body seemed slightly more excited, more connected. And when the faculty learned about the goal and what was going on, they, too, did everything they could to support its accomplishment. So it is my pleasure to introduce to you this year's student representative, the individual known to faculty and students for three years simply as Goth Girl and is now known by us all as Crystal Forester."

"Crystal!" The dean stepped back and pulled down the step for her to stand on and one of the Marshals helped her up the steps. She was shaking as she stepped up behind the podium. A couple of squeaks came out of her mouth and she turned away. The crowd was restless, but a couple of voices called out encouragement. A faculty member quickly stepped up to the podium and faced her.

Gary looked at her in her beautiful eyes, welling with tears. "Deep breath! Remember, be curious. Where are your parents out there? Where are your dorm mates? The entire floor, hell, I think the whole campus is here to support you, find them! This is your chance to thank them. You've written a beautiful speech, all you have to do is deliver it. I believe in you, I love you and you've got this!"

He stepped back to his seat. A couple of deep breaths and she faced front and began.

"Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, Parents, Students, My fellow Graduates

"Nine months ago, I never would have imagined how much my life would change in this last year of school. And I certainly couldn't have imagined myself standing here in front of you. I would never have imagined that I would suddenly become the focal point for the girls on my dorm floor and a project that incorporated the entire student body and faculty. It would have been beyond my comprehension that anyone would share my passion for art and even elevate it. I don't know what to call it, kismet, fate, happenstance, a miracle. I think I'll call them miracles.

"Looking at me and my makeup and even the collar I'm wearing, it should come as no surprise that for the three years I was 'present' as the president said, I was known by most of the students and faculty here as the Goth Girl. I was a loner, shy, unsure of myself and, as you may have noticed, suffering from some pretty severe social anxiety. Goth Girl was a facade created in high school that helped insulate me from people. A hard shell that surrounded me and the outfit and spikes helped make sure that no one tried to break through it. Most people didn't even know my name, I was just the Goth Girl. I have done well in my classes, driven by curiosity. Some of the success was due to my love of art, and probably too much of it was because I didn't have anything else to do. I had no friends. Few individuals would approach my prickly exterior, which was fine with me. I very seldom found myself one on one with anyone. But that changed one afternoon last September when in less than 12 hours my hard shell completely disintegrated.

"The second miracle. I know! We'll get to the first miracle, I promise. Like all of us in our last year, I was struggling to find the topic for my senior project. So I was wandering the aisles of the art shop where so many of us have spent so much of our parent's money!" That got a pretty good chuckle from the crowd.

"My frustration was interrupted by a large sniff. I looked at the figure standing next to me as he made a sour face. He closed the box and opened another one and took a sniff. And smiled. And one of the things that has been the most important trait in keeping me moving through life took control. I was curious, the one emotion that could overcome my reluctance to interact with people. So I actually had the courage to ask a question of a complete stranger.

"Are you smelling that box?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Here, close your eyes. Now sniff. What do you smell?"

"Um, exhaust?"

"Exactly! Okay, now sniff!"

"Pine, I smell pine!"

And then I learned about ink sticks and how some are made of burned tires and others are made using pine pitch. The next thing I know I'm sitting in a coffee shop head to head with this stranger looking at artwork on his phone. And he made a comment and my senior project was suddenly right in front of me! And for some unfathomable reason, I was so excited about my project that, oh my God! I asked him out to dinner! I asked him!"

"I put my number into his phone and what I had just done really hit me. I was so shocked I ran out of the coffee shop and ran back to the dorm. I collapsed on the couch in the floor lounge with my head buried in my hands on the verge of tears and scared and sick to my stomach.

And then the third miracle occurred. One of the girls on the floor asked me, "Hey, Goth Girl, are you alright?" I suddenly found myself spilling my guts, again, to another complete stranger! I had never been on a date before! Twenty two years old and I'd never been on a one on one date! Ten minutes later, there were a dozen girls in the lounge. They raided my room and were pulling out clothes, debating whether I needed to still be the Goth Girl or if something needed to change. They coached me, they encouraged me, they dressed me, they did my makeup, they nurtured me. They were a host of angels. I love you girls! They sent me off in a mostly Goth style outfit with no sharp pointy bits and some splashes of color. And devised a complete escape plan for me that even included a couple of them being at the bar in the restaurant to help me get home if I got overwhelmed.

They walked me to the address and made sure I got in. When I finally got up the courage and knocked on his apartment door, he opened it and froze. I felt like melting into the floor. After what seemed an eternity he simply said, "Wow." I don't think a single word has ever had such an impact on me. A guy, admittedly a really good looking guy, simply saying, "Wow." He invited me in and said he wanted to make one change. He went into the other room and came back with a handful of ties and after comparing them with my blouse, picked the one that was the closest match. After he replaced the tie, I reached over and adjusted it a bit. And we had our first kiss. Less than five minutes into the date and we had already kissed!"

"Okay, let's get back to the first miracle. The key miracle was that I found and was accepted to this school. When he introduced me, the dean made the comment that the first vote for who was to be the class representative was 27 with one abstention. There had never been such a consensus before. A school where everyone, students and faculty accepted me and my personality without trying to push me into a mold. And they were still willing to help a Goth Girl. And not just in class, not just during office hours and not even just on campus. A couple of my fellow students created an app and it was downloaded and used by pretty much every student and faculty member on the campus.

And it's entire purpose was to help them assist the two of us stay away from each other on campus. But a sniff in the aisle of an art store led me to more learning and growth than I could ever have imagined.

"It is a miracle that so many of the faculty knew who the Goth Girl was and felt that she had made her mark at this school. And it is pretty amazing that faculty, staff and students had a common goal in mind for this year, beyond the one of learning and education. I know which professor abstained from that vote. I know exactly why they abstained. Every other member of the faculty knew why he abstained. That professor knew the rules, and went to great lengths to make sure there were no possible violations. For almost two semesters, everyone on campus did everything they could to nurture and protect the blossoming romance between the Goth Girl and the Professor.