"Shut up, Mor-Am!"
"You have to tell me."
"Only two. Now why don't you go jump into the phantom zone where you belong and that's the truth."
"Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or is that one of the things you broke?"
Lois stomped her foot, causing him to vibrate.
"Okay! I'm going!" Mor-Am shouted.
She got her art helmet out of the locker but before she could shut it, she heard, "Lois, wait for me!"
Lois rolled her eyes. It was one of only 2 people in school who didn't tease her and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. His father was a famous scientist that wanted to study her. That's why he kept inviting her over to his house. It was the same reason why his little cousin, the second person, was nice to her.
"Kal-El, what do you want now?"
"Nothing, Lois. I just want to walk to art class with you. That's my elective this semester too"
"I didn't choose art. The school didn't think it was a good idea for me to take self defense. I could study it without being a hazard. It would just be for fun but they refused like they do every term. I'm glad this is the last term ever for me and then I'm free from school to do whatever."
"If I was in charge, I'd let you. Can I carry your helmet?"
"I am perfectly capable of carrying my own things. The only reason I'm letting you walk to class with me is because we both have to go to the same place."
Kal-El smiled and continued to walk beside her even though it caused him to vibrate a little. Everyone gave them plenty of room in the hallway.
Lois sighed when Kal-El sat in the desk beside her. He did that in every class they had together. At least it was better than having a jerk, who asked her embarrassing questions on the Day of Truth. Nobody dared to tease her when Kal-El or Kara Zor-El were around because they were popular and it made them mad to hear her teased. They were obviously trying their hardest to keep her happy and buttered up, so she would eventually feel grateful enough to come over. She wasn't going to fall for it.
"Hi, young ones! For those of you who don't know, I'm Sora Nal-Et. I absolutely love art. You'll find some of my art work in the Mind-Art Center. The first day of this class won't be too bad. I just want you to put on your helmets and create a stunning image to share and explain to the class. Start now!"
This red-headed woman was too excited about art. It was annoying. The way she dressed was outrageous. Her clothes were laced in gold. While gold had a certain prettiness about it, it was worthless. The Gold Volcano erupted gold out like crazy. She could've used a valuable metal like boradium but then she probably couldn't afford it on her salary.
"Do you need help, dear?" Sora asked.
She turned red. Everybody else had their helmet on, while she had been studying the teacher. It was true that she needed helmets that transmitted information at a slower pace because of her alien brain but she wasn't a complete idiot.
"No!"
Lois put her helmet on. She was mad. She knew the woman was only trying to be helpful but it wasn't as if she didn't already stick out like a sore thumb. She was way too mad to create a picture in her mind, so her subconscious took over. She took the helmet off without even looking at the image. She became angrier, when she saw that everyone had been waiting on her.
"Lois, would you like to go first?" the teacher said sweetly.
Lois grabbed her helmet and stalked to the front, causing everyone's desks to bounce. The kids were all laughing except for Kal-El and the teacher, who was visibly restraining herself.
Lois pushed the button on her helmet that projected her image on the wall.
It was a weird picture of the outdoors. The sun was yellow. The plants were even more unusual. The flower had a yellow center and white petals. The tree trunk was brown with green leaves. On the strange tree was a bird that had never been seen before. It was a bright red with a back mask and a strange creature that looked sort of like a dog with pointed ears looked up at it hungrily. What kind of things were hidden in her subconscious?
"That's interesting. Would you care to explain?" Sora asked.
"Uh…yeah. I don't really know what this is. I pulled it up from my subconscious."
"Art is about purposeful creation. I'm sorry but I can't give you a passing grade on this assignment. Furthermore, I find it disturbing that the bird is about to be eaten. You know birds are sacred and only die natural deaths. To think you would create something to kill it and eat it!"
"I think it's creative," Kal-El spoke up. "We should rethink what is familiar to us. Art is about exploring and expressing through the artist's eyes."
"Yeah, he's right!" Lois added. "What do you expect, when you're supposed to pull up great artwork in a second. If you had to put more thought and time into it and use the physical world, art might turn out better."
"I'm the art teacher here, you two! Art is about using technology and proven methods. The way science has taken over our culture, we're lucky to even have it in this form. Kal-El, since you're so knowledgeable about art, why don't you go next?"
Lois sat back down. She was glad this was the last class of the day.
Kal-El's image had two people in it and that was it. One of them was him and the other was the shadow of a woman.
Some of the males in the class whistled at the woman's outline. How immature could they be?
"That's interesting. Explain," said Sora.
Is that all she had to say?
"This is me, of course and this is the woman of my dreams--"
More whistles.
"She doesn't even know I exist and she won't let me make a complete picture of her by getting to know more about her. In the end though it doesn't matter because we only have arranged marriages. She will eventually be nothing but a shadow of the past and what might have been."
Kal-El was such a romantic. He should've been born on another world. Sora gave him a barely passing grade. Probably because he was challenging the rules of Krypton and because he had stuck up for her.
She didn't really pay attention to class after that. It was too boring and close to the end of the day.
When class got out, Kal-El caught up with her.
"Come study at my house. Kara's going to be there. We can have a little study group."
"Oh, yeah right! You know I would only slow you guys down."
"We would enjoy your company."
"It's the Day of Truth, remember?"
"I'm telling the truth."
"I'm sure you are. See you tomorrow, Kal-El."
"Bye, Lois!"
Lois shook her head, as if saying 'the nerve of some people' and headed for her airship.
TBC
