Page 3 of Outdrawn

"I've barely slept since getting that first email from the recruiter," I confessed with a little laugh.

"I remember that feeling." Tyson nodded and started toward another set of doors that needed to be unlocked. "There was an itching in my hands that wouldn't stop unless I worked on something."

"Exactly," I said. "It's a good thing moving kept me busy."

"Definitely don't envy the unpacking, but it's usually a great distraction." He let me walk through the door first. We entered a long hallway surrounded by glass, water populated with dozens of fish above us. I spun around, trying to process suddenly being in an aquarium.

"Mariana Trench Hall," Tyson explained with an amused look in his eyes. "Harpy's founder, Benny Baker, was into anything and everything to do with the ocean."

I nodded, remembering my research. "The photos online don't hold a candle to this. I didn't realize it'd be at the entrance."

"Baker was a show-off." Tyson started down the hall.

I marveled a little while longer as I tried to keep up with him. I knew humans could get used to almost anything, but I couldn’t imagine being as nonchalant about walking underneath sea life every morning like he was.

“I know you two have interacted on Inkmic, but have you met Sage in real life?" Tyson's question pulled my focus away from a school of jellyfish.

Have I met Sage in real life? We went to the Art Center at the same time—what felt like a million years ago, but it’d only been seven. Since then, she'd gone to every comic convention this side of the country. She always had a booth and spot on a panel. Sage did multiple signings a year at my favorite indie bookstore. Her talks at the community college often overlapped with the workshops I attended.

"We've met. We went to the Art Center at the same time," I said simply. "She was a year ahead of me, but we still had a class or two together."

I smiled, focusing hard on not making a face. I needed to be a professional today. This was my first full-time art gig, and I'd be damned if Sage Montgomery ruined it.

"No way. I didn't realize your time there overlapped." Tyson's eyes brightened. "She never mentioned that."

Our time did more than overlap—it tangled. I held my tongue about the tangling, because it's too weird to explain how we had gotten close enough to draw in each other's sketchbooks but never exchanged phone numbers. It's too weird for even me to fully comprehend.

Tyson opened another door that led to a colorful hall. The walls on each side were covered in murals dedicated to the big characters at Harpy. Captain Silver, of course, took up most real estate. He was Harpy's bread and butter, a retired fighter pilot who was abducted by aliens and turned into a killing machine.

The Sovereign Six was next, a superhero family who'd gotten trapped in their house and poisoned with a gas that made them practically invincible.

"She probably doesn't remember me; that's why she hasn't mentioned it," I said. My rivalry with Sage didn't mean she had a rivalry with me. I'd always been more of a small fish nipping at her larger fins.

I stopped in front of a painting of Queen Leisah, a Black goddess cursed with immortality and the eternal defender of her people. She was the reason I was here—the story I'd been tasked to help flesh out after a lackluster first run.

My skin warmed as I smiled to myself. My excitement was quickly overshadowed by nerves that spread across my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

You're meant to be here.

My throat tightened as I repeated the mantra. It refused to stick, and instead, drowned underneath the inner critic currently suffocating me. Am I really capable of doing this? The word 'no' is a poison that spread quickly. I'd have to pretend like I'm not infected, which isn't something new. I'd been pretending for what felt like forever.

"Don't you regularly post on Inkmic?" Tyson asked. He's a few feet away, waiting for me to catch up.

I gave him an apologetic smile and hurried to rejoin his side. He opened the last set of doors to Harpy's buzzing lobby.

"Yeah, I have an ongoing comic." I admired the bright walls, faux vines hanging around the plaster, people hurrying back and forth between rows of desks.

Tyson smiled. "The one about mermaids and demons."

"It's my baby." My stomach dipped when I considered why he'd asked. "I was told continuing it on Inkmic wasn't a problem during the interview process, as long as it doesn't interfere with my work on the clock."

"No, it's not a problem," Tyson quickly assured me. "It's just that Sage posts there, too. From what I remember, you almost beat her ranking last month."

I didn’t even attempt to tame my smile. Was it a little pathetic my only claim to fame was almost knocking Sage out of the top spot on Inkmic? Yes. Still, I reveled in the win.

Instead of confirming Tyson's comment, I asked, "You read Inkmic often?"

"All the time." He chuckled. "Some of the top talent's on there. It's how we found you, of course. Sage, too."

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