New Friends?
Lia took out a fresh paper and redrew her sketch of Dong Quai root. She had been doing and redoing this page for the last thirty minutes. She tried a couple of strokes more with no improvement from the previous ones. With a sigh, she placed her pencil down and stared off into space.

They were told that for the first six months of their training, the scholars would be attending different classes. Based on the things that they would study, Lia assumed that they were to study anatomy, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, and the likes. After that, they would have to join the field to have hands-on training, like an internship in the modern world. For now, Lia, along with the rest of the new recruits, were in the botanical garden to draw and study the medicinal properties of the plants. It was supposedly a piece of cake since she had been doing that with her notebook, but there must be something off with her hand today.

“You’re doing it wrong,” a voice suddenly sounded beside Lia, startling her. When she looked up, she found Charlotte’s face peering down on her paper. All Lia could do was watch as the other girl took the notebook from Lia’s hands and started scribbling.

Their professors grouped them into twos, supervised by a senior physician. With her luck, she was paired with Charlotte, and a prim and proper guy with beer-colored eyes named Norman was assigned to them.

When Charlotte was done, she handed the notebook back to the still dumbfounded Lia. Despite her reluctance, Lia had to admit that this rich miss drew something really good, better than her even. Lia was okay with her drawings, but she had to admit that she was no genius. Charlotte was the genius. Good family, good looks, brilliant mind, and a great sense of artistry to boot. Now, that was what people called blessed.

“You’re good,” Lia stared at the plant drawing she received. She was definitely not envious. All her previous drawings looked like a child’s handiwork. “You should be in the arts.”

The other girl laughed without mirth. Lia felt dread creeping on her as she realized the implication of what she said. “Oh no, I didn’t mean that–”

“I get it. I get that a lot. Don’t worry about it,” Charlotte turned then hesitated as though she had something more to say. In the end, she stood, waved, and went back to her plant.

Lia watched her buddy go back, having mixed feelings about her. Was she referring to their exchange or to some other discussion from somebody else? Charlotte, despite her bubbly yet straight nature, was like a mystery. The very reason why Lia was wary of the other’s friendly attitude. It brought back some bad memories she did not want to revisit. Charlotte made it even more suspicious. Lia felt like there was a catch to this facade. No one should be too friendly to anyone right off the bat.

Yet, there were also times when Lia felt bad for responding coolly. Despite her usually warm nature, Charlotte was good at keeping people at a distance. That, or she was also being alienated by their fellow scholars.

She was almost like Lia.

As if to prove a point to nobody, Lia scanned the area, and the other rich kids seemed to band together, leaving Charlotte and Lia alone. Lia preferred alone, deemed it safer that way. But what about Charlotte? She did not mingle with the rest of them. And she did not seem to mind.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Lia called out, startling Charlotte. There was something wrong with the way she hunched her shoulders that made Lia feel a tinge of pity as if Charlotte was rarely complimented with her art.

Charlotte turned back, and Lia thought she would cry but she only smiled.