It was all supposed to be a joke, he reminded himself. Just a stupid joke.... And now...Six months earlier.The bell rang, signifying the start of third period. Cursing, Jeffrey ran down the hallway towards his Art class, his battered Converses slamming on the freshly waxed floors, hollow echoes reverberating on the walls. He carried his worn sketchbook under one arm, his Sidekick in the other, and the cans of paint, a box of crayons, and his sketching pencils clinked noisily together, following the rhythm of his feet. Since he was about three, he'd always loved colors and pictures. He'd ask his dad or his mom to draw and paint pictures for him to see, but his dad rarely had the time, and his mother couldn't even draw. Therefore, he'd been forced to learn to draw and paint and color by himself, only referring to the pictures he'd see in his mom's colorful magazines or the colored ads in the daily newspaper that was thrown at their doorstep in the morning. And he'd succeeded. He'd won every single art competition he'd entered. Although he was proud of his work, and himself, he was never cocky, or a showoff, and taught younger kids how to draw on a weekly basis. Sighing with relief, he saw the cherry red swing-door of the art room right in front of him. He could hear all sounds coming from inside ; his teacher's clear-as-crystal voice telling the class about their next assignment. Bracing himself, he pushed the door open. "I'm sorry, Mrs.Craven," he said, stepping inside, "I will never ever be late again!" Silence. He peeked up from under his long eyelashes at his teacher ; she was looking at him with a small smirk on her face. "So. This is the day that Jeffrey Ryans chooses to come late to class. A first, Mr.Ryans," she said, still smirking. Jeffrey bit his lower lip, and scanned the room out of the corner of his eye. Allison, his best friend of six whole years, was there, in her usual seat, his empty seat right beside her ; and she was looking at him with a small i-love-it-when-you-get-told-off-by-your-teacher smile. He shot her a brief it's-no-big-deal look back. "Well, this is your first warning," Mrs.Craven said, "And, as I always say, it's..." "It's three strikes, and you're out," Jeffrey finished for her, with a smirk matching Mrs.Craven's, and turning his back on her, he made his way to his seat beside Allison's. "Phew," he whispered to her, dropping his Sidekick into his pocket, his sketchbook on the table, and his paint-splattered backpack under the table he and Allison shared. "Seriously, Jeffrey. I thought you'd call in sick," Allison whispered back. "You're never late. Ever." She tucked her long, honey-colored hair behind her ears, and tried not to smile. "Well, I was up all night, working on last week's assignment, and I simply couldn't stop. I woke up late this morning," Jeffrey told her. "I didn't even finish the piece I started for our Creative Writing assignment that's due tomorrow. I'm fried." "You knew it was due today, Jeff! What were-" "That's enough, Miss. Kelly," Mrs.Craven cut her off sternly. "Now, as I was saying, before Mr.Ryans so cleverly burst in..." she snickered, " I was saying, I want you to draw - and paint - each other. Using whatever you choose. But as I always say. Be creative. Hand it in next week?" She arched an eyebrow at her students, and all nodded. "Now," she continued, "Last week, I gave you the assignment about animals? You can all bring out your drawings and place them on these easels here." She waved her arm toward the row of easels by the big floor-to-ceiling windows, lining the whole length of the room. Jeffrey opened his A3 sketchbook and brought out his latest piece - a scarlet macaw and a blue-and-gold macaw, both on a perch, but the scarlet macaw was getting ready for flight, his wings outstretched, a rainbow of colours exploding across the page. Jeffrey smiled softly. Yes, this would be his best piece yet. "Jeff, that's beautiful," Allison breathed, as he set up his painting next to hers - a picture of three cute raccoons frolicking around, done in oil. "I've never seen you do anything like this before." "Yeah, well, I decided to try something new. And I kind of like it," he said. "The raccoons are adorable." He ran a finger over one of the raccoons' ears. ************************************** I havent finished this part yet - I haven't had the time. But let me know if you like it.Or if it's a total snore. Please comment. I'll appreciate it. Lots.
|
|
It was all supposed to be a joke, he reminded himself. Just a stupid joke.... And now...Six months earlier.The bell rang, signifying the start of third period. Cursing, Jeffrey ran down the hallway towards his Art class, his battered Converses slamming on the freshly waxed floors, hollow echoes reverberating on the walls. He carried his worn sketchbook under one arm, his Sidekick in the other, and the cans of paint, a box of crayons, and his sketching pencils clinked noisily together, following the rhythm of his feet. Since he was about three, he'd always loved colors and pictures. He'd ask his dad or his mom to draw and paint pictures for him to see, but his dad rarely had the time, and his mother couldn't even draw. Therefore, he'd been forced to learn to draw and paint and color by himself, only referring to the pictures he'd see in his mom's colorful magazines or the colored ads in the daily newspaper that was thrown at their doorstep in the morning. And he'd succeeded. He'd won every single art competition he'd entered. Although he was proud of his work, and himself, he was never cocky, or a showoff, and taught younger kids how to draw on a weekly basis. Sighing with relief, he saw the cherry red swing-door of the art room right in front of him. He could hear all sounds coming from inside ; his teacher's clear-as-crystal voice telling the class about their next assignment. Bracing himself, he pushed the door open. "I'm sorry, Mrs.Craven," he said, stepping inside, "I will never ever be late again!" Silence. He peeked up from under his long eyelashes at his teacher ; she was looking at him with a small smirk on her face. "So. This is the day that Jeffrey Ryans chooses to come late to class. A first, Mr.Ryans," she said, still smirking. Jeffrey bit his lower lip, and scanned the room out of the corner of his eye. Allison, his best friend of six whole years, was there, in her usual seat, his empty seat right beside her ; and she was looking at him with a small i-love-it-when-you-get-told-off-by-your-teacher smile. He shot her a brief it's-no-big-deal look back. "Well, this is your first warning," Mrs.Craven said, "And, as I always say, it's..." "It's three strikes, and you're out," Jeffrey finished for her, with a smirk matching Mrs.Craven's, and turning his back on her, he made his way to his seat beside Allison's. "Phew," he whispered to her, dropping his Sidekick into his pocket, his sketchbook on the table, and his paint-splattered backpack under the table he and Allison shared. "Seriously, Jeffrey. I thought you'd call in sick," Allison whispered back. "You're never late. Ever." She tucked her long, honey-colored hair behind her ears, and tried not to smile. "Well, I was up all night, working on last week's assignment, and I simply couldn't stop. I woke up late this morning," Jeffrey told her. "I didn't even finish the piece I started for our Creative Writing assignment that's due tomorrow. I'm fried." "You knew it was due today, Jeff! What were-" "That's enough, Miss. Kelly," Mrs.Craven cut her off sternly. "Now, as I was saying, before Mr.Ryans so cleverly burst in..." she snickered, " I was saying, I want you to draw - and paint - each other. Using whatever you choose. But as I always say. Be creative. Hand it in next week?" She arched an eyebrow at her students, and all nodded. "Now," she continued, "Last week, I gave you the assignment about animals? You can all bring out your drawings and place them on these easels here." She waved her arm toward the row of easels by the big floor-to-ceiling windows, lining the whole length of the room. Jeffrey opened his A3 sketchbook and brought out his latest piece - a scarlet macaw and a blue-and-gold macaw, both on a perch, but the scarlet macaw was getting ready for flight, his wings outstretched, a rainbow of colours exploding across the page. Jeffrey smiled softly. Yes, this would be his best piece yet. "Jeff, that's beautiful," Allison breathed, as he set up his painting next to hers - a picture of three cute raccoons frolicking around, done in oil. "I've never seen you do anything like this before." "Yeah, well, I decided to try something new. And I kind of like it," he said. "The raccoons are adorable." He ran a finger over one of the raccoons' ears. ************************************** I havent finished this part yet - I haven't had the time. But let me know if you like it.Or if it's a total snore. Please comment. I'll appreciate it. Lots.
|
|
|
|
|