Doodles, Post-Its and Letters
Namtan
The dim lecture hall suddenly erupted with movements as soon as the professor turned the projector off and asked one of the students to turn on the lights. Students were hurriedly fixing and stuffing their things inside their bags while chatting noisily with each other. “Paper’s due next Friday!” The professor called out loudly into the vast room when she saw several students already hastily exiting the hall. She sighed as she shook her head and rolled her eyes at no one in particular. It was a Friday and she knew how the students looked forward to their weekends, each and every time. She understood them, though, since she was also a student many light years ago. She started putting her lecture notes and textbook inside her brown leather satchel bag before looking up again at the now nearly empty lecture hall, except for the only group of students left. Two boys and one girl were laughing and waving goodbye to their classmate, who was still seated and had her belongings scattered all over her table. “You guys are crazy!” She was laughing while she shooed them away. “Yeah, I’ll see you next week!”
The professor had already slung her bag to her shoulder and curiously looked at her student before quietly approaching the tiered seating. She stopped a few chairs directly across the first row where the lone student, who was still sitting and jotting something down. “You are Namtan, right? Education major student?” The professor asked as the student looked up. “Yes, ma’am.” Namtan politely replied before smiling. “You’re well aware that class is over, right?” The professor eyed Namtan suspiciously, who now looked a bit flustered. “I, uh, yes ma’am, I’m just – I just – I had an idea. I-I had to write it down before I forgot it.. S-sorry. I’ll just fix my things.” Namtan babbled nervously while carelessly shoving things into her bag. The professor chuckled and then waved her hands in front of her student to get Namtan’s attention. “No no no! I was just joking Namtan! Relax! Don’t worry about it!” Namtan awkwardly looked at her professor before smiling nervously. “You’re working too hard. You know that? I know you’re a good student. An excellent one at that. But, please, take some time off for yourself and enjoy life. Okay? Have a good weekend.” The professor smiled reassuringly at her. “Yes, ma’am. Have a good weekend, too.” Namtan smiled politely before her teacher waved goodbye to her and walked out of the lecture room.
Namtan zipped her bag and sighed. Relax? I’ll do that once I’m done with my papers. Can’t afford to relax now. Or ever. She gathered her things and made her way to the library next to the old arts building and cafeteria on the other side of the campus. She pulled her phone from her pocket while she was walking to check the time. It’s just 3:30pm. I think I still have time for a quick snack. So… khanom krok it is! And kluai thot!.. Let’s not forget big sheet!! Namtan felt salivating just thinking about food when drool trickled from her mouth and fell on her shirt. Namtan heard someone snigger nearby. Her eyes widened, and she quickly looked around to check if anyone saw it. Shit shit shit! Several art students were walking by casually, and it seemed like they didn’t notice her drool fest entry. However, Namtan’s eyes fell on someone sitting on one of the benches near the cafeteria steps, with one leg tucked under her knee, a long-haired girl next to a big canvas bag heavily stained with paint. She looked like an art major who exuded bad girl vibes that somehow were both scary but attractive at the same time, especially the way she coolly ran her hand through her hair. Damn! She’s hot! The girl seemed to be talking on her phone but had a naughty smirk on her face. Their eyes briefly met, but Namtan quickly looked away, feeling mortified. Shit! She coolly, but swiftly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and rushed inside the cafeteria.
Film
Film rested her chin in her left hand as she squinted at the Stippling Art she had just made. Hmm.. O-kaaay.. Good choice on the Bristol Board. Most of the time, she did Diagrammatic Drawing and excelled at it. But for some reason, she decided to try another drawing style to challenge herself and add variety to her portfolio. After a few seconds, she crossed her arms and tilted her head, looking intently at her artwork. The moment she decided it was good enough for her, she let out a sigh of relief. She then started to carefully put her initials on the bottom right-hand corner of her work when a hand gently clasped her shoulder. “I see you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone. And as usual, amazing work! Well done, Film.” The professor remarked while nodding approvingly at her work. “Thank you, sir.” Film politely responded before looking behind her, smiling smugly and arrogantly waggling her eyebrows at her classmates. The class erupted into laughter as someone shouted, “Show-off!” While another one playfully threw a piece of crumpled paper at Film, who just laughed.
Film checked her watch as soon she stepped out of the art room and stopped. It was just 3pm and she realized she still had half an hour to burn while waiting for her driver. Film yawned and decided to just go to the library and nap there. Since it was already a Friday afternoon, students no longer frequented the library during this time except for a handful of students still doing their last-minute research. Film took a few minutes going around the library, checking which area was the most ideal for her nap. She found that the table near the fire exit somehow screamed privacy and uninterrupted sleep. Gently, she set her things down at the table, quietly pulled the chair out, and sat. Putting her earbuds on, she rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she sat back up and leaned on the chair before removing her earbuds. Seriously? Slightly annoyed that she no longer felt sleepy, Film walked up to the nearest bookshelves and lazily traced her finger on the book spines while browsing the titles. She then randomly took out a book, brought it back to her table, and started flipping through the pages, not even bothering to read anything. Once she got to a page with a double-page spread of an illustration, Film sneakily looked around and smiled mischievously, her whisker dimples on full display. Grabbing her art pouch, she got several pens and started doodling on it. The book’s previously humorless black-and-white illustration now had goofy doodles and was partially brightly colored in all the wrong ways but in an artistic way. Film chuckled to herself as she admired her work-in-progress artwork. Just as she was about to continue squiggling, her phone chimed. It was the driver texting her that he was just a few minutes away from the campus. Film casually closed the book and pushed it aside before she gathered her things and stood up. Before walking away, though, she quickly glanced back at the book and tried to remember what it looked like.
The bench near the cafeteria was where Film usually waited until the driver arrived. It was near the parking area and the perfect vantage point to see whether the car had already arrived and was in its usual parking slot. Seeing the car was still not there, she placed her big canvas bag down and sat down with her left leg tucked under her. She fished her phone from her pants pocket when she looked up and noticed a girl, with long-flowing hair and tantalizing eyes, but seemingly deep in thought, walking towards the cafeteria. God, that’s some work of art right there. However, a loud snicker escaped Film’s mouth when the girl she was looking at suddenly drooled. Shit! That was loud! She tried her best to stop herself from laughing, so she pretended to be on the phone talking to someone. The girl, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, seemed to look around to see if anyone saw what just happened. Film, still looking at the girl, smiled naughtily as their eyes met for a brief moment. As soon as she saw the girl rush into the cafeteria, Film put her phone down, covered her face with her hands, and laughed uncontrollably.
Namtan
After stuffing herself silly with at least three types of snacks within fifteen minutes, Namtan made her way to the library and sat at her regular table near the fire exit. This was the only area in the library she realized that had the least foot traffic, which meant fewer distractions and noise. She quietly unpacked her bag, arranged her notes, opened her laptop, and started typing away. Two major papers were due next week, so she wanted a head start and hoped she would finish before the due dates. After almost half an hour of working nonstop, she straightened her back before lazily stretching her arms over her head. Namtan covered her mouth as she yawned inaudibly. Her eyes wandered around for a bit, and only then did she realize that a book was left at the far end of the table. She took this opportunity to stand up and walk around for a bit. Namtan took the book and checked its call number. PL 2115 .D13 2024. She checked the nearby shelf and slowly scanned the for the similar call number. But, before placing the book back, she started to riffle through the book out of curiosity until an odd page got her attention. She checked the other illustrations and found that they were all black and white. Only this specific one was brightly colored and had silly drawings added to it. Namtan rolled her eyes at whoever vandalized the book. Seriously? Does someone here at uni still do these things? But to be fair, though, it’s quite artsy and charming. She shrugged her shoulders as she carefully put the book back on the shelf. Going back to the table, Namtan spent another half hour working on her paper before finally calling it a day and heading back home.
Film
The following week, Film looked forward to going to the uni to work on her “special project” in the library. Not to mention hoping to cross paths again with the drool girl. Hahahaha! Drool girl. So cute. Film sighed inaudibly, feigning interest as she sat in class listening to the professor drone on about art history. Instinctively, she grabbed her pencil and started to sketch drooling lips while occasionally glancing at the slideshow being presented in front of the class.
Film’s class had finished a lot later than she hoped, so she hurried over to the library to continue working on her “project” before her driver arrived to pick her up. Usually, students return all the reading materials they used to the same place where they got them. Film hoped that the book was still where she left it and that no one placed it back on the shelf. However, when she got to the table, it was empty. Annoyed, she sighed and rolled her eyes as she put her bag on the table before walking toward the shelves. It took her several minutes to find the book since it wasn’t where she had initially found it. It was now placed on a different shelf. Because of this, Film was left with only a few minutes to spare to do a little bit of “artification”.
Namtan
After briefly consulting with her professor about her paper as soon as class ended, Namtan proceeded with her usual routine – having snacks in the cafeteria before going to the library to work on her paper. This time, she made sure she wasn’t thinking about food too much to avoid repeating the “disaster” that happened to her last week. As she was walking, Namtan nonchalantly fixed her hair and checked her outfit to see if she looked presentable enough in case she crossed paths again with a certain student. Reaching the bench near the cafeteria, she stopped walking and casually surveyed the surrounding area. Far off in the distance, she saw a glimpse of the girl with the familiar paint-stained canvas bag getting inside a black luxury car. A faint smile formed on Namtan’s lips as she watched the car drive off. Who are you?..
Energized by food, Namtan pushed open the library door and confidently strolled inside, making a beeline to her “spot”. Her pace gradually slowed as she approached the table and saw that a book was left on top of it. Did someone beat me to my spot? She looked around and saw that aside from her, there were only four students currently inside the library. Two were working at the same table; one was busy reading a book on the couch while the other one was furiously writing something down in her notebook. Namtan shrugged her shoulders as she put her bag down and pulled out her notes and laptop. I guess someone must’ve forgotten to return the book. Before she sat down, she found herself walking towards the far end of the table where the book was left. She picked it up and recognized it was the same book that had already been left there once at the same spot. Again. Namtan rolled her eyes. How difficult can it be to return a single book? But before she put the book back into its rightful slot, she riffled through it and stopped at the only colorful page with the silly doodles. This time, more color was added to the picture compared to last week. Namtan hated to admit it, but the vandalism started to look like a work of art. But it’s still wrong.
Film
What started as “a way to pass time” slowly became a daily routine for Film. She felt her day wouldn’t be complete if she couldn’t go to the library and artify the double-spread illustration. Not until it was finished, though. Day in and out, even if she only had a few minutes to spare, she religiously visited the library to “work”. And each and every time, the same thing kept happening over and over.
Seriously? Film sighed exasperatedly as she got to her “spot” at the library and saw that the table was cleared once again. She raised her hands in disbelief because other tables almost always had books left on them, and only this specific table seemed to have the auto-return feature. Tsk. She sulkily went to the shelf where she knew it was likely to be, and, to no one’s surprise, there it was. Not wanting to waste more time, Film got the book and sat down. She then started putting highlights on the drawing to give it more depth. After some time, she leaned back a bit with her head resting on one hand and carefully considered her artwork. Looks good.. but I think it still lacks.. something.. She was lost in her thoughts when her phone chimed quietly, which meant the driver was already there to pick her up. Film gently closed the book, pushed it toward the middle of the table, grabbed her bag and strolled out.
Namtan
Why am I not surprised? Namtan thought to herself when she saw that the same book was left on the table. Again. And she knows she has to put it back on the shelf. Again. It annoyed her to a degree because every single day, the same thing kept happening. This time, she decided to ignore the book and left it alone. I have far more important things to do than pick up after someone else. Namtan worked diligently for more than an hour before her eyes started to wander off, right behind her laptop screen. Reluctantly, she stood up, reached for the book, and pulled it towards her. She plopped down on the chair and started to flip through the pages and saw that the picture was almost completely colored. Namtan’s eyes narrowed as a thought crossed her mind – anonymous note. She then unzipped the front pocket of her bag and fished for her yellow speech bubble Post-it and black pen. Almost instantly, she took the pen cap off and started to write on the sticky note.
Hello there. Just a friendly reminder:
- This is not a coloring book.
- Putting back books after use is common courtesy.
Namtan carefully peeled off the post-it and stuck it in the middle of the left-hand page. She read her message again and looked satisfied with it. Hopefully I made things clear enough. She closed the book and put it on the shelf before returning to work. Little did she know that what she did was about to start something bad.. or good?