I turned my head. One of our group members stood next to me, staring at the sculpture with his own expression of awe and humbleness. I raked my gaze quickly over his figure. He was older than me by a few years. A ginger, but not cute like Prince Harry. His hair was short, with a cowlick rather than royal red curls. Pale skin with freckles. His eyes were a pretty, deep blue, but his face was a bit too round, his lips a bit too red, as if all the colors of his face were overly bright and contrasted with one another. He was tall and lean and wore jeans, a simple T-shirt, and sneakers. A silver type of medal hung from a chain around his neck. Definitely Irish—he spoke with a slight brogue, which was cool.

I nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t think it would be this impressive in person. To be honest, the statue always seemed boring in the books they gave us in art class. I always preferred the paintings.”

He grinned. His teeth were white and perfectly straight, like he’d worn braces for years. “Same here. Can you imagine being able to make a slab of marble feel human?” He sighed. “There’s no great artists anymore. None like da Vinci or Michelangelo.”

I frowned. “That’s not fair. It was a different time. We treat creativity and art like a commodity nowadays. Our society doesn’t value artists like they once did. There are fewer opportunities for apprenticeship and learning an art. Everyone needs to pay their bills.”

I couldn’t believe I’d burst out with something so nerdy with a stranger, but his face lit up. “Agreed. But even in the Renaissance, they needed to find wealthy patrons to finance them. Sometimes that meant giving up what they wanted to work on and pleasing the patron. Don’t you think the same thing happens today? Rich people pocketing artists to finance what their vision is?”

I’d never really thought about it. “I guess. Kind of like the record companies who tell musicians they have to be a certain way in order to sell the music.”

“Yes!”

“Like Lady Gaga in that movie A Star Is Born.”

He frowned. “Like what?”

I laughed. “Never mind.”

“I’m Ian.”

He stuck out his hand and I almost snorted at the formal gesture. But I shook it anyway. “Allegra.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m still learning everyone’s names and stuff. Who are you with?”

“My mom and grandmother.”

“Women’s trip, huh? You guys celebrating?”

I thought of my mother’s rage when she picked me up at the police station. “No, just a summer trip. How about you?”

“I’m with my parents. I graduated from college, so it’s their gift to me.”

I winced. “Congrats on graduation, but sorry you didn’t get to hang with your friends. Probably would’ve been better, right?”