Oh, look, another chapter. 1,234 words this time. So it's short but not miniature, which is... good?
*shrug*
Have fun!
She spends the twenty minutes before her first class out in the parking lot, watching students from both schools arrive as she shivers and scratches out a rough sketch of the Middle School building. The real-world version is decent looking while her drawing is ugly, lumpy where it should be straight, and lopsided. She realizes, with a long sigh, that she'll never be very good at drawing inanimate things. She can barely draw a bowl of fruit; the first thing most Art teachers use as a model. They think it's easy, she thinks it's bullshit.
Of course, she's not at all surprised to see Steve's car roll in and after parking, spew out five excited kids who all yell 'thanks' to him before running away. She watches him watch them. Catches him smiling at them. She smiles at his smile. It's so different from before. It used to seem like a snooty, I'm-better-than-you smile, but now it's not. It's the same smile, but different. She flips the page of her notebook and gets as much of that smile down as possible before he walks away.
Five minutes after that the bell rings. She packs up her things and walks towards the High School as she tells herself to 'look on the brightside', because she /really/ doesn't want to go in there today.
The 'bright side' being the fact that she doesn't have to spend any time around her shitty excuse of a guardian for at least eight hours.
First period ends up being a boring lecture on sculpting with no actual work involved, so he falls asleep half way through it and wakes up to a drool-covered forearm by the end of class. Nobody seems to notice, thank God, but he still feels a little embarrassed.
Great, he thinks bitterly, Fucking great...
. . .
Except she's watching, and has to stifle a laugh with her hand to hide that fact.
She notices the spot on his sleeve where the drool soaked in, and watches his face go red when he also sees it. It's a great moment. Then she thinks, suddenly, maybe this is getting creepy. Maybe she should stop watching him. Maybe next time she sees him, she should just turn away and not look, or run away. She's being creepy by watching him everyday, and it has to stop.
No, nevermind. Steve is just too funny to stop watching him. He's pretty much her only source of entertainment nowadays, too. Why would she stop all of a sudden?
Nothing exciting happens after first period.
Second is Math and she sucks with numbers, so she basically pouts her way through the entire class until the bell rings.
Third period is Science, which isn't too bad. They do more experiments in the last two grades so she's not completely bored. But the first thirty minutes where the old man explains how to do everything? That is one of the most unbearable thirty minutes windows of the entire day.
Then lunch happens. The best part of her day. She hides in the Dark Room, drawing while she nibbles on something she brought from home, but she mostly just draws and ends up forgetting that she even brought food. The red light they have to use in that room makes her sketches look neat. It's distracting.
When lunch ends, she ends up having to go to P.E. She's pretty down about it until she feels that horrible twisting pain in her gut and remembers the universal 'Get Out of Gym Free' card that all girls get when they're older. She uses it to spend time in the Nurse's Office. The woman who works in there loves her, so she's not upset when the teen walks in and sits down. They even talk for a bit. And when the bell rings she gifts the kind lady a portrait of herself sitting at her desk.
Maybe it's becoming a habit of hers to give people sketches she's done of them...
The next two classes are pretty easy.
She's forced into Home Ec Class, where she has to bake and stuff because she's female and school's are sexist, but at least what she learns there makes her 'Mother' less cranky. Plus, it'll be good to know for when she's on her own. And sometimes she gets to eat whatever she made, so, bonus.
And the last one of the day is History. People killing each other because of petty squabbles and bad rumors that got out of hand. She can understand wanting to kill someone because of a betrayal, like a lot of the people in her text book, but she would never actually do it. Sometimes the human race astounds her with their stupidity. Then again, peace isn't simple, and humans are prone to destroying anything 'good' that they can get their hands on. Whether they mean to or not.
Instead of listening to the stupid lecture, she spends that last class trying her artistic skill at something a little different than usual.
She draws a dragon, with it's tail looped over it's own body and it's wings wide as it soars through some fluffy clouds. It's got two rows of spikes down it's back and giant sharp-looking claws on it's feet, along with a small fire ball in the middle of being launched from it's open maw full of tiny fangs. When it's done she inspects it closely, thinking oh wow, I can draw something decent that isn't a real person. Decent, not great. It's her first attempt at anything mythical.
She folds it twice into a nice little square, then writes a note on what should be the backside of the page.
When he opens his locker after the last bell of the day, a piece of paper a lot like the one from last Friday falls out. It even has a note on it like the last one! He excitedly picks it up off the floor, opening it without reading the back.
It's... a dragon?
He flips it over.
You totally thought it would be you again, didn't you? Ha! Jokes on you, Harrington.
I've heard the kids you drive around talking about that fantasy game... 'Dungeons and Dragons' I think. It sounds pretty wicked.
Anyways, I figured you could give them this.
I'm sure they would love you even if you did, but I'm also pretty sure they love you too much already.
Just...
maybe erase my rambling before you hand it over, okay?
-L
P.S. If you're good, maybe I'll send another one of you.
Look forward to it!
He doesn't really register it at that moment, but his heart skips a beat. Just one.
This girl is so weird and stressful and talented and secretive, and she seems to like picking on him in a sort of nice way; with great drawings and cheeky notes.
And he will definitely be erasing that message before he give it to the kids, because he really doesn't need those little shitheads -especially Dustin- teasing him if they see it.
Don't you worry, the story will pick up next chapter. I have things planned...
*evil finger-tapping-pyramid thingy comic villains do when plotting*
Just you wait... :D
Bye! *waves*