Hey, everybody! Well...it's been forever and a day since I've been on this site, let alone POSTED anything. Sorry about that. But anyways, here's what I think is the last chapter for Artist's Rendition. It might be a little rushed, but that's because I suck at ending multi-chapter stories (which I'm sure you already know).
Atty: :D She finally got off her butt and wrote!
Me: Yippee...*sarcastic*
Syrus: Not in a very good mood, eh?
Me: Just tired...Oh! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving, and got to spend time with their family and friends! Anyhoo, enjoy! And reviews are loved!
"Atticus, stop throwing paper airplanes, and, NIKO AND ALYSSA! What the H E double hockey sticks are you doing?!" Niko and Alyssa turned away from the Slifers sitting behind them, and looked guiltily at their art teacher. He stormed up, and started to grab the various cards and loose bills. Niko and Alyssa reached out in protest, and pulled the pile back towards them.
"You can't just take the pile for yourself!" Alyssa said. Niko nodded in agreement, and signaled to the Slifer boy behind her.
"Yeah. You need to make a contribution before you can win anything,"she explained. The Slifer boy behind her pulled out a clipboard with names scrawled on it. He held it out, along with a pen. Niko took them carefully, like she was holding a baby. She turned to the teacher.
"How much are you putting in?" she asked calmly. The teacher's face went from a light red to a burgundy red. Niko thought of the carpet in her living room, looking at his face.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" the teacher screeched. Niko and Alyssa studied him with worried expressions. Syrus, sitting next to Alyssa, pointed at the clipboard in Niko's hands.
"Simple. They're running a pool," he said.
The teacher, now speechless, looked from the calm faces of the Slifers to the Obelisk section. He ran a hand through his hair. Niko tapped her pen on the desk thoughtfully.
"We're betting on how long Chumley can go without eating a grilled cheese sandwich. If you want in, there's still time," she told him. The teacher examined her face, and saw that she was serious. He sighed, and put a hand over his eyes for a moment. He mumbled something, but no one could make out what he said. He took his hand away from his face.
"How many people are in this?" he asked. Alyssa grinned, and pulled a roll of paper from the pocket of her jacket. She unrolled it and let it spill over the desk and onto the floor. It stopped just before it reached the teacher's feet. He gaped down at it. Alyssa squinted as she looked at the paper.
"I think everyone in the Slifer dorm is in, except Chumley, and the Ra dorm is starting to contribute. Oh, and Dorothy and her employees are in it, too. I think Banner's trying to take the high road this time," she added. The teacher watched as Alyssa rolled the paper back up.
"This time?" he said quietly. He shook his head to clear it, and then looked at the two Slifer girls in front of him. "What's the minimum contribution needed?" he asked. Niko counted off on her fingers.
"Well, Jason put in 160 dollars, but we knew he liked to gamble, especially with that deck of his, but the lowest contribution was 20 dollars, I think," she rambled. The teacher pulled out a few bills from his back pocket.
"Do you take twenties?" he asked. Alyssa nodded, and took the twenty he handed to her. Niko wrote down his name. She lifted her head, and watched him expectantly. He gestured over his shoulder.
"Put me down for two hours," he said. Niko smirked, and wrote down the time next to his name. She smacked Jaden's hand away when he tried to grab the clipboard. Jaden held his hand and whimpered.
"OW! What did you do that for?" he whined. Niko ignored him and continued to read the list on the clipboard. She smiled.
"Having a staff member will help. That way we can't really get in trouble. Nothing too serious, anyway," she said quietly. The teacher had walked to the front of the room again and was waiting for the bell. He let out a sigh of relief as it rang.
"Okay, class is started!" he said cheerfully.
A paper airplane tried futilely to spear him in the ear. The teacher glared at it, picked it up from the floor, and held it up. He turned to look at Atticus, who whistled innocently. Zane ignored Atticus, and opened his notes to a clean page.
"Alright class, it's time to turn in your drawings!" the teacher announced. The class groaned, and the teacher's grin widened. "Yes, that drawing of another student. I hope you all did it..." he trailed off, and glanced at Niko, who glared vehemently. The teacher turned to the rest of the class.
"I'll walk around the classroom and collect the drawings. If you haven't taken them out of your bags, please do so," he finished. Everyone did as they were told, Atticus having the most trouble. A sweat drop rolled down the side of Zane's head as Atticus dug around in his bag.
"What exactly do you keep in there?" he asked. Atticus shrugged and continued to dig. He winced and pulled his hand out quickly. He had a small cut on this end of his index finger. He sighed, sticking his finger in his mouth.
"What did you get that from?" Zane asked. Atticus looked at him and pulled his finger out slowly to examine it.
"Paper cut," he said casually. They both knew it was a lie, but both decided to let it slide. Zane turned back to his notebook and watched the teacher walking around the room. He noticed that the teacher had started in the back row and was moving his way to the front. Zane looked at Atticus out of the corner of his eye.
"Whatever it is, it might not bite you if you fed it regularly," he suggested. Atticus didn't look up, but let out a small cheer as he pulled out his drawing of Syrus.
Here's the drawing of Syrus (remove the spaces, and copy it into the address bar):
Atticus placed his drawing on the desk in front of him, and dropped his bag back to its spot at his feet. Zane could have sworn he heard a growl. Atticus turned back to him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said in his nonchalant manner. Zane closed his eyes and shook his head. He gestured to Atticus' finger with the eraser tip of his pencil.
"Just don't say I didn't warn you if you get rabies from that," he said. Atticus looked skeptical.
"I doubt I'll get rabies from this," he said. Zane raised an eyebrow. Atticus grinned. "I'm up to date on all my shots!" he said cheerfully. Zane looked at him exasperatedly.
"Drawings, please," they heard the teacher say behind them. Zane handed his over and Atticus did the same, but with a much grander gesture. The teacher gave him a knowing look and moved on. Zane turned back to his notes, but felt his skin crawl. He looked up to see Atticus giving him a toothy grin. He raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he asked simply. Atticus stopped grinning for a moment, only to smirk instead. Zane decided he liked the grin better.
"Oh nothing," Atticus said with a little singsong in his voice. Zane narrowed his eyes. Atticus only talked like that when he had blackmail, or an 'interesting' fact that affected Zane somehow.
"Now I know it's something," Zane said sharply. Had it been blackmail Atticus would have put his hands in his pocket and leaned back in his seat. Atticus, however, continued to doodle in the corner of his notebook. Zane looked at the sorry excuse for a Red Eyes Black Chick.
"You're mutilating that drawing," he said as a sidenote. Atticus glared.
"Hey, I'd like to see your drawing! This is an artist's rendition of a Red Eyes Black Chick," he said defensively. He shifted his eyes to his drawing and pouted. "Realism just isn't my style..." Zane shook his head, trying not to smile at his friend.
"You still haven't told me what you know," he said, redirecting the conversation. Atticus didn't look up, but stuck out his lower lip, continuing to pout.
"Why should I tell you? You've been really mean to me lately," he whined. He studied Zane out of the corner of his eyes. "And besides, why would you want to know who drew you? It's not like you care whether it was a fangirl or anything." Zane took a breath, and managed to keep calm. He knew that Atticus was just trying to get his attention, that was all. But he couldn't let Atticus know it was working.
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" said a female voice in front of them. Zane looked up sharply and saw Alyssa standing in front of them. He raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing up here?" he asked, ignoring her question entirely. Alyssa copied his expression and put her hands in her pockets, casually rocking back and forth on her heels. She had a small grin on her face, but it wasn't large enough to really worry Zane. Besides, he still had Atticus to worry about.
"Well, I just thought I'd come up here and say hi while the teacher was still gathering everyone's drawings," she said cheerfully. Zane moved his focus back to his notes, but realized he didn't have any notes to really look at. Atticus, however, gave her a beaming grin in response to what she said.
"That's sweet of you!" he said. Alyssa's right hand came out of her pocket, and her grin went from a small, gentle one to a rueful smirk. She waited until Zane looked up, curious about the silence between her and Atticus. She held her hand out to Atticus and revealed a twenty dollar bill in her hand.
"Syrus says you won. She actually had the guts to turn it in." Zane frowned slightly, confusion clearly written on his face. He didn't even bother to hide it. Atticus' eyes widened, but he regained control after he thought for a moment.
"Either that or she couldn't stand the idea of a failing grade," he uttered as he took the bill from Alyssa, who pretended to think about what Atticus said.
"It's the last one, more than likely," she agreed. She started to walk back toward her seat, but turned briefly, and held her hand up in goodbye.
"See you guys after class!" she said, ignoring one or two glares from some nameless Obelisks. Zane turned to Atticus and gave him a pointed look. Atticus knew what his question was going to be.
"Syrus and I just had a little bet, that's all," he explained indistinctly. Zane narrowed his eyes automatically.
"It was stupid of me to ask, wasn't it?" he muttered darkly. Atticus looked at Zane briefly, giving him a sheepish grin.
"Hey, you said it, not me."
Niko slumped against one of the small statues in front of the school, groaning softly. Her left arm was lying on her stomach like a limp rag. Jaden yawned loudly, stretching his arms wide. He turned to spot Niko, and snickered quietly. Niko decided she was too exhausted to shoot him a dirty look. She gestured to Benji, who almost clapped his hands, er, wings in delight.
Benji stood up to his full height, and stared at Jaden, who squirmed. Benji then began to walk toward Jaden his hand on the hilt of his sword. Jaden let out a girlish squeal and lept up to run, only to crash into Atticus and Zane. Syrus shook his head, and Alyssa smirked.
"Now that's funny," Niko stated, earning a harmless glare from Jaden. Niko pushed herself off of the statue, and stood up to stretch again. Syrus looked at her.
"Why have you been stretching so much lately? You're acting like Pharaoh when his catnap was too long," he said. Niko let the air in her lungs exit with a big woosh, but it wasn't a sigh. She shrugged.
"I've been having growth spurts lately, and I haven't been sleeping as well as I'd like," she explained. Two Obelisks walked by and one winked at her and Alyssa.
"I'm sure you'll sleep better if you stay with me," he suggested. He and his friend left before Niko and Alyssa could say anything. Niko raised her hand to give him the old-fashioned bird, but Syrus let out a yelp and grabbed her hand before she could. Niko tried to protest, but was shushed by Alyssa.
"It isn't worth it. I mean, what are you going to do? They're Obelisks," she muttered. Zane and Atticus stared at her. She waved a hand by her face.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean you guys were like that," she said, feigning innocence. Zane closed his eyes. Niko almost laughed at his expression.
"Aww, Zane! Don't be mad. We like it when you talk to us," she cooed. Syrus' eyes widened, as did Atticus'. But Atticus had a grin that began to spread across his entire face. Alyssa coughed to try and hide her laugh, but Jaden turned to Syrus.
"Hey, Syrus, when is that test on equip spells?" he asked. "Next week, right?" Syrus' eyes nearly popped out of his head. He put his hands on either side of his head.
"Next week?! Jay, that test is tomorrow!" he all but yelled. Everyone there turned to look at the two, Zane being more than a little grateful to have the attention switched away from him. Niko and Alyssa shared wary glances, and watched as Syrus started to yank on his hair. Niko wondered idly if he was going to pull some of it out.
"What do you think we've been studying for the past week, Jaden?" Alyssa asked. Niko raised her finger, considering whether or not she should add to this particular conversation. Her gaze turned to Zane, and she dropped her hand. Zane fought the urge to fidget slightly when he saw the look on her face.
"Neh, I bet Zane will help you study, Jaden!" Niko said. Syrus slapped both hands over his mouth to hide his smile and any laughs that might escape. A tiny squeak of amusement leaked out anyway. Zane turned to Syrus and stared at him for a moment before turning back to Niko.
"That's very funny," he said darkly. Niko grinned childishly, and looked more than a little like Atticus for a moment.
"Thank you! But..." she paused, clasped her hands together and, rocking back and forth on her heels. "I was serious!" Syrus, in his poor attempt not to laugh, finally gave in to failure. He fell to his knees, all but sobbing with laughter. Niko could see Crowler fast approaching and knew it was only a matter of time before she and Jaden, and maybe Atty if he worked at it, would be sent to the detention office. She turned her attention back to Zane, who continued to glare at her.
"I'd rather tutor Atticus," he told her. Niko's eyes widened and she faced Atticus, who grinned back at her. He threw an arm around Zane's shoulder.
"I think something could be worked out!" he said brightly. Zane sighed quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose. He opened his eyes after a moment and glanced at Syrus, who was trying to control his laughter, but ended up coughing. Alyssa gave him a couple of pats on the back, which seemed to help.
"What exactly are you doing to bother my Academy's top student?!" Everyone turned at the sound of the shrill screech. Niko narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. She stood up to her full height, getting rid of the regular slouch in her back.
"Whose school?" she asked. Crowler stopped. Watching his eyes, Niko could see he was backtracking as quickly as he could. He stuttered as he came up with something to say.
"I don't know what you think you heard, Slifer," he spat, satisfied with his reply. Zane raised eyebrow, studying the tense atmosphere between the student and the teacher, but said nothing. Crowler turned to him, and gave him a worried look.
"Zane, I'm sorry you had to deal with these Slifers. I'll get rid of them immediately," he said. Niko and Alyssa exchanged glances. Alyssa put her hands in her pockets.
"What are you, his butler?" she quipped quiety. Crowler turned to her, but Atticus jumped in. Not literally. Zane might have objected to that.
"We were all just talking and joking," Atticus elaborated. "I made a bad joke and Zane didn't really like it. That's all," he said quickly. Niko looked at him, and mouthed 'thank you.' Syrus let out a sigh of relief. He tugged on Alyssa's sleeve. She nodded to him, and pulled Jaden toward the rest of them.
"Sorry, but we have to go study, and Banner wanted us to fix up some things around the Slifer dorm!" Syrus said frantically. He ran off toward the dorm, followed by Alyssa and Niko, who was pushing Jaden along as well. Jaden turned back to look at Zane.
He called over his shoulder, "So, would next Tuesday work as a study date?"
"Good morning, class!" The door to the classroom slammed loudly behind the art teacher. He dropped his bag on the desk at the front of the classroom. He looked over to the Slifer section and saw Niko sitting next to Jaden. They both had their heads on the desk and Jaden could be heard snoring quietly.
"Class today is mostly going to involve reviewing work, more specifically, the portraits you drew!" the teacher said cheerfully. He saw that Niko and Jaden were still asleep. He frowned. He grabbed a rubber ball from his desk. He studied it, taking in the bright red and dull gray swirls in the material. He took a few steps forward, and bounced it on the floor a couple of times. He looked at Niko and Jaden again. Syrus and Alyssa whispered frantically toward them, trying to wake both of them, knowing what was coming. The had no luck.
The teacher threw the ball squarely between Jaden and Niko, where it hit the desk, and ricocheted off the front of the desk behind them to shoot back at the teacher, who caught it neatly. Niko and Jaden jolted awake, eyes wide and backs stiff as they sat up in their chairs. The teacher grinned.
"Nice of you to join us," he said. Niko turned and stared stupidly at a skid mark on the desk where the ball had hit. It reminded her vaguely of the marks left on a road when a car tries to stop too fast and the tires skid. Jaden reached out and started trying to rub it off the desk. Syrus sent Niko a look.
"You usually don't fall asleep in class," he whispered. Niko shrugged. Alyssa poked Syrus, who turned around quickly to look at her. Alyssa smirked at Niko, who shook her head.
"You didn't ask her what she and Jaden were doing last night," she started. Syrus started to open his mouth, but Jaden reached over quickly to cover it with his hand. Niko narrowed her eyes.
"You make it sound like a love tryst or something!" she whispered accusingly. Alyssa nodded.
"That's right," she said, as if considering the possibility. "You like Zane after all." Niko tried to reach over the desk, but Jaden stopped her by giving her the stiff arm. Niko took a deep breath and sat back down, folding her arms. Syrus slumped in his seat, a weary expression on his face.
"Drama queen," he muttered, grateful Niko didn't hear him. Niko looked ahead and saw the teacher inserting a flash drive into the computer at the front of the room. While the computer was loading he grabbed a remote and turned on the overhead projector that hung from the ceiling. He then tried to pull the projection screen down, but found he couldn't jump high enough. He gestured to Niko, who stood lazily.
She walked to the front of the room while the teacher went back to the computer. He smirked as he looked through the portraits, making sure that the files were in working order.
Niko sighed, and in one smooth motion, reached up with both of her feet firmly on the ground, grabbed the string, and pulled down the screen. She pulled it again slightly to lock it into place. The art teacher nodded approvingly.
"Maybe I'll put in a good word for you the next time you get detention," he said with a mocking smirk. Niko folded her hands behind her head in a casual gesture, walking back to her seat, deciding to ignore him. "Suit yourself," he said after her.
"Hey, Zane, doesn't it suck for you that the teacher decided to show the images alphabetically by first name?" Atticus asked teasingly. He had liked the drawing of him, seeing that the Alyssa had done a rather good job drawing him.
Zane decided to ignore him for the moment, but found himself dreading this stupid drawing thing. It wasn't that he cared; it was that once that everyone saw the drawing of him, then people would talk, and would bother him when he would rather be studying. Atticus seemed to read his mind.
"Don't worry about it, Zane. I've seen the drawing, and it's not like a fangirl drawing or anything. Well, there was the naked chest part..." he said. Zane whirled to give him a sharp look, but Atticus held his hands up in defense. "Kidding, kidding. Would it ease your nerves if you knew who drew it?" he asked.
Zane shrugged. If it was a girl of any kind, then people would start spreading rumors, and that was the last thing he wanted. Atticus tapped him on the shoulder so he'd face him.
"It's Niko," he said. Zane remained expressionless, but Atticus could see the wheels turning in his head. Zane sat back in his chair and folded his arms, deep in contemplation. Atticus smiled brightly.
"I take it you like that?" Atticus asked. Zane shrugged, surprising Atticus.
"Heh, you couldn't wait to get out of that class, could you, Niko?" Jaden ribbed. Niko shifted the strap of her book bag higher up on her shoulder and tried to ignore him. "Atticus texted me and said we all should meet him out by the entrance of the school. He said something about fried shrimp," Jaden added, drooling a little at the thought. Alyssa laughed, and Syrus chuckled. Alyssa held a finger up in the air, making a point.
"Wherever Atty is Zane is sure to be dragged along," she said. Niko giggled despite herself.
"Hey, there they are! The Stellar Slifers!" they heard someone shout. Syrus raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't the phrase 'Stellar Slifer' an oxymoron?" he asked. Niko walked up and high-fived Atticus, much to his amusement.
"Someone's in a good mood!" he joked. Niko groaned and began fumbling for her iPod, which was buried somewhere in her book bag.
"I'm just glad to have that beast of an assignment over with. I'd rather have listed every single Trap Card in creation than do that assignment again," she grumbled. The corners of Zane's mouth twitched slightly as he listened to the conversation between two of his friends.
"Hey, Atty! You said something about fried shrimp!" Jaden shouted loudly. Atticus whipped around, his hair continuing the motion when he stopped moving. His eyes shifted back and forth nervously, and he seemed to be struggling with an answer.
"No I didn't! You must have imagined it!" he shot back. Jaden stepped closer to Atticus.
"I want fried shrimp! Duel me for it!" he demanded. Atticus stood his ground for a moment, before taking off down the steps of the school. "Get back here!" Jaden yelled.
"NEVER!" Atticus screamed back. Syrus and Alyssa followed quickly, leaving Niko and Zane behind. Both were more than a little dumbfounded at what had just happened. Zane shifted his weight from one foot to the other before turning to Niko.
"I saw your drawing," he said. Niko looked at him carefully, then shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing.
"I was sure you would. It's not like you can miss it when it's plastered across the entire length of a wall," she said. Zane smiled, but quickly hid it, trying to appear serious. He looked down before looking back at Niko. She was confused by his hesitance.
"I liked it," he finished. Niko paused. He liked it? She felt a smile spreading across her face, and Zane saw it in to her eyes. He decided he liked it when she smiled.
So, there you go! Sappy, crappy, and lame just about sums up the ending, I suppose.
Thank you so much to all the people who faved and watched! (I'm making it sound like this is the last story I'll ever write...which isn't true by the way.)
Keep an eye out for my other stories, and the new ones in the future!
Zane: You're a very corny person aren't you?
Me: ...maybe. So what?
Syrus: :) He likes to point out the obvious. It makes him feel smart.
