I entered Janine's room feeling nervous. Would she talk to me or would she be just as mad? Would I get annoyed with her and yell at her all over again? I knocked on the doorframe lightly, half hoping she wouldn't hear me and I'd be off the hook. Janine was thoroughly engrossed in something on her computer. She keep typing, completely unaware that I was standing there. I knocked a little louder. Janine looked up from the screen and turned around.

"Claudia" she said surprised, "Hi."

"Hi." I said. Suddenly I had completely forgotten why I was there or what I wanted to say. "Um, how's it going?" I asked.

Janine looked a little surprised. "Things are going well, although I have a massive Chemistry lab due on Monday that is consuming a great deal of my time."

"Chemistry? During the second week of school? Wow that must suck."

Janine smiled a tiny smile. "Well, suck as it may, I am assured that my work in AP Chemistry will be rewarded."

"Uh huh. Well, um, Janine I guess you're wondering why I'm suddenly talking to you after 4 days."

Janine nodded. "Well yes, I am a bit perplexed."

I interrupted Janine. "Well I want to talk to you. As you probably know, I was hurt by what you said to me. You said that Art wasn't as hard as Math. I felt like you were dissing what I liked."

Janine looked at the floor. "Claudia, I."

"Wait Janine, I'm not done. I know how much you like math and physics or whatever, but I love art. To me, art is interesting and I'll have you know what I work very hard at it. As hard as you work at math. I guess that's what I had to say."

Janine shook her head. "Claudia, I never thought that Art was easy or that you didn't work at it. I know I said that, but I didn't mean it."

"But why would you even say it if you didn't think it. We weren't even really fighting."

Janine shrugged. " I guess sometimes, I'm sort of jealous of you."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. "You're jealous of ME?"

"Well, yes. I mean you are so talented at your art. It comes so easily to you. Me, I can't even draw a few simple boxes. Everyone expects me to excel in school, but sometimes I wish I was good at something else. Something like art."

"Janine I never knew you felt that way."

Janine smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about me. For instance, I've been thinking about switching from Art to Photography. I've always found the camera arts fascinating"

"I guess so. But Janine, don't switch classes. I think it could be kind of fun having art together."

Janine paused. "Well on one condition."

"What's that?"

"That you help me with my art."

"Deal. After all, you always help me with math. And science, and English."

Janine smiled. "But what about photography? I am still interested in that."

Hmm. This was a harder one. "Well, I.". Then it came to me. "Janine- you could take it at the Art Center! I'm talking a Ceramics class there on Saturday mornings, and I happen to know they have a Beginning Photography class at the same time."

Janine thought. "But what about my studying, the weekends usually."

"Janine. You just said you wanted to do something besides studying. Don't you think Photography would be a nice stress relief from all your AP classes?"

"Well, yes it would." Janine smiled at me. "Thanks Claud."

"No prob." I smiled back.

Janine opened her mini-refrigerator that she'd bought over the summer (telling my parents she'd needed it for school purposes and pulled out two cans of Cola.

"Want one?" she asked me, holding a can.

I smiled even bigger. "Duh!" I said.

Janine and I spent the next hour talking and eating junk food. I even brought in a few art books and started talking about some principles of design with her. It was nice. Then I went back to my own room to call Stacey and tell her about everything that happened.