"Just one last stoke aaand done!" Crystal declares. Sitting in front of her was her latest creation: a hyperrealistic painting of the Grand Canyon. Crystal smiles triumphantly as she admirably stares at her new masterpiece, a perfect addition to the wall of paintings in her room. She carefully grabs her painting and adds it to her wall. The wall, once plain and simple, became Crystal's expression of her inner world, vast and complex. The intricacy of her paintings made a simple room into her own oasis. After gazing at her new painting, she checks the time: 7:35 AM. It's time to head to school, a place she dreaded to go to every day. She gets dressed and picks up her backpack. On the car ride to school, all that Crystal can think about is what her next creations will be. "Crystal, did you hear what I just said?" asks her mom. "Sorry mom, what did you say?" Crystal replies. "I asked you if you studied for your math test today. I hope you're prepared. Calculus is no joke". The calculus test. Crystal freezes. She was planning on studying last night for it, but her mind wandered and prompted her to work on her painting. She even stayed up all night to work on it. But in the rush of it all, the calculus test completely slipped out of her mind. "Yeah don't worry mom, I should be fine," Crystal responds. Heading inside the building, Crystal knew she needed to find some time to cram for her test. Her grades were slipping recently from the late night artistic frenzies she had faced from working on her paintings. Crystal thought for a moment. Period 3 was calculus. She had her art class the period before. With her exceptional abilities, Crystal would often finish art assignments within a few minutes and would often use the remaining time working on her own personal art collection. But with the calculus test coming up, she would have to give up her free time during art to study for it. A locker nearby slams shut, bringing Crystal back to reality. "Hey Crystal, ready to flunk another test?" a voice taunts. It was Tara, her bully and nemesis who has tormented her from freshman year of high school. "Whatever, Tara, it's not like you can do any better" Crystal mutters. "What did you just say?" Tara asserts. Crystal ignores her and walks to her first period class. The bullying was always vexing, but it somehow grew even more unbearable these last few days. "It's ok, only a few more weeks until summer," Crystal thinks. First period flew by, and like that, Crystal enters her art class. 45 minutes to explore her inner world. Unfortunately that will be cut short today. Her calculus test was just one period away, and she knew she needed to study. Crystal heads to her seat and just as she is about to sit on her chair, it gets yanked. "Looks like someone needs a seat" Tara says mockingly. Crystal was exhausted from the bullying. This time, she didn't even bother acknowledging any of Tara's remarks. Crystal grabs her chair back and takes her seat. Before Tara could respond, Ms. Sanders starts class. "Alright class, today I'll be giving you all some time to finish your landscape paintings from yesterday. A lot of you requested some extra time to finish them, so please finish them and submit them to me by the end of the period." Crystal was already done with her painting, so she didn't need to worry about it. In fact, she had already completed her extra credit art assignments as well, so she really didn't have to worry about her art assignments for the week. Ms. Sanders walks past her desk. "Crystal, since you already finished this week's assignments as well as the extra credit, you can use this period to work on some work from other classes, or to just rest. Keep being stellar!" "Keep being stellar". Ms. Sanders would always say that to Crystal. It would always make Crystal smile, no matter how many times she heard it. "Thanks Ms. Sanders! I'm gonna review some notes for my upcoming test," Crystal replies. "Sounds good! Good luck!" Crystal opens her calculus notebook, but as she glances at her notes, her mind constantly wanders back to her artwork. Her inner creativity was not fully unleashed, and it was almost tormenting for her to study for her test instead of creating another colorful masterpiece. "I must get through this. It's just for today" Crystal reminds herself. She looks through her notes, but her painting from this morning seeps into her mind. That was the downside of having hyperphantasia. But while all of her artwork resonated with her, this particular painting seemed to resonate with Crystal the most. The Grand Canyon painting was a reflection of Crystal's life. Like the Grand Canyon, which survived millions of years of erosion, Crystal had pushed through all the years of bullying she's faced and moved with unwavering resilience. The bell rings, and Crystal walks to third period, hoping that the test goes well. But during the test, Crystal blanks. "I just reviewed this, why can't I solve this?" she thinks. Time flies by, and it's time to submit the test. But Crystal frantically writes down her answers and hands in her test. "Well that was not good". Crystal sighs and leaves the room for her next class. After zooming through her day at school, Crystal rushes back into her room to check on her paintings. They were all lined up just as she saw them before leaving the house. But Crystal was upset. She didn't have time to work on anything since her Grand Canyon painting. "I don't have much homework, I'll get through it and then get to painting". Hours pass, and Crystal rapidly finishes her homework to work on her art. She's almost finished her new painting. "Crystal, come downstairs. It's time for dinner", her mom says from downstairs. "Coming!" Despite hearing her mother's call, Crystal could not go downstairs with her painting unfinished. In another artistic frenzy, she manages to finish her painting after a few minutes and heads downstairs. "Crystal, I called you several minutes ago. Your plate is getting cold". "I'm sorry mom, just finished another painting. Don't worry, I also finished my homework a while back." "Crystal, I'm worried about your future. I feel like you're wasting so much time painting when you should be studying and focused on school", her mother responds. Crystal remains silent. She's heard those types of comments from her mother her whole life. But instead of getting irritated, Crystal remains weary. It was hard enough to go through the bullying at school, but comments from her own mother dismissing her artistic abilities was like adding salt to the wound. Still, Crystal was determined to continue pursuing art. Her mother's comments and her bullies taunts only propelled her to prove them wrong and to continue being a mad genius. Her artwork served as her oasis to escape from the bullying and torment she faced daily. Years passed by, and after graduating from high school, Crystal moved on to college to get her Bachelor's degree in fine arts. College opened the doorway for Crystal to create her own art gallery. Through years of hard work and dedication, she not only opens up her own gallery but ends up becoming a renowned artist. One day, Crystal shows up to her high school reunion with her head up high. "Hey Tara, it's been a while. How are you doing?" Crystal asks. "I'm alright. I have to say, I'm impressed by your artwork and your gallery. I was wondering if you have any job positions available to work at the gallery?" asks Tara, embarrassed. "Not at the moment, no", Crystal replies. Crystal turns and smiles triumphantly. Oh have the tables turned. The same bullies from school who constantly tormented her are now asking her for jobs, while she has thrived on her boundless creativity and financial success.

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