Hey guys, sorry about the short chapters. I just started getting use to school again from Spring Break and haven't had a lot of writing time. Anyway, I want to thank you all for reading this and for all the reviews so far. I didn't expect it to be this popular (it isn't, really) but am thrilled at how supportive you all are. Thank you so much. Also, if any of you want to use my characters feel free and send me a review if you use one so I can read your story.

Lots of love,

Kat

The next day I rushed to art class. I was super excited because our teacher, Ms. Peeno, was going to start a new project. I got to the art room and hurried inside, sliding into a seat and dropping my bag next to my feet. I had decided to let Oliver rest today-he deserved it.

"Hi, class. So, today I'm going to let your inspiration flourish, but before we begin our new chapter, I have a question. Why do we make artwork?"

"To show our true selves," a girl named Ashley said.

"So we can be somewhere else," a boy said. I looked around the room curiously as more and more answers spilled out.

"To let ourselves think."

"So we can get our emotions on a canvas."

"To disappear into colors."

"To give others something enjoyable."

"To give ourselves something enjoyable."

"So we can express ourselves without being judged by others." The last answer was mine. Some people looked at me with curiosity and I shrunk in my seat as more pairs of eyes settled on me. Ms. Peeno swung off her desk and smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Thank you…"

"Aiden," I said in a whisper. She nodded and stepped behind her desk.

"Well, our new unit is about painting. You will choose a sport or activity that you play or do and paint it. But," she said, looking over at me, "these will be abstract. And what I mean by this is that these aren't a classical theme. You will be painting with loud colors and have different shapes and sizes. They won't look perfect. That's what makes them beautiful." I bounced up and down excitedly in my seat. I loved abstract!

"Now, go and choose a topic if you haven't already. You may use the computers in the back to browse. If you have your topic in mind, please step forward and grab your palette and paint." I got up and walked to her desk. She handed me a huge palette filled with tons of different colors of paints, and an even bigger canvas.

I settled by a window and pulled a pencil out of my pocket and began sketching. Out came four legs, a barrel, a tail, then a neck and a gentle face. The horse's mane was windblown and it stood in a field with trees in the back. I finished some small detail and began labeling all the colors. Lots of people didn't do this, but I didn't want to forget any colors between today and tomorrow.

"Very beautiful, Aiden." I turned around on my stood and looked up at Ms. Peeno. Her blonde hair was up in messy bun, and a pencil stuck through it.

"Thank you," I said.

"Keep up the good work." She turned and walked away as I began to paint. I painted the horse a light yellow and streaked his mane with blue and green. Next, I applied some light pink for his socks and blaze. I used white to make his coat shine in the setting sun and began to paint the sky a bright orange and pink. Soon I finished that and painted pink around the clouds where the sun hit them. I moved on to the grass and made ripples with my pencil. Leaning back, I surveyed my work.

"Good work, class! I'll see you tomorrow!" Ms. Peeno called. I groaned and stood up, following the trickle of students out into the hallway.

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"So how was art class?" Mandi asked as I met up with her. She had just gotten out of tech class. I grinned.

"Awesome. We're doing abstract paintings and mine is coming along pretty well. How about tech?"

"It's so cool! We have this assignment where we have to make videos and I was wondering if you would help me with mine."

"Sure!" We walked into the caf and got in line. The smell of sweet potato fries made my stomach rumble appreciatively.

"I'm just going to film you riding and then setting it to music, but there are a ton of cool things we can do. Like, I can get a side shot of Oliver's legs leaving the ground at a jump, or show him going through a dressage move." I grabbed a tray and piled steaming fries on it with a bit of sloppy joe and ketchup. We each grabbed a Cherry Coke Zero and headed to a booth.

"Okay. We both have the day off today because Mr. Conner is out of town, but whenever works for us," I said before shoving fries in my mouth. Mandi burst out laughing.

"What? I'mshohurngry!" I mumbled behind a mouthful of fries.

"Oh, God!" she laughed, almost choking on her soda. I swallowed my food and took a refreshing gulp of Coke. Ah.

"Ooh! I found out why Mr. Conner is out of town!" Mandi said. I looked up expectantly as I dipped a fry in ketchup. "There's a horse that he's bringing from Maine today whose rider is, like, from the A circuit."

"Cool," I said, ripping my sandwich in half with my slender fingers. Meat dropped on my tray and I made a face. "Ew."

"Ohmygod, hide me!" I looked up just in time to see my bestie duck under the table and pull her backpack in front of her, hiding her from the rest of the room.

"What? Mandi," I said. She shoved my leg and mouthed Shut up at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my head around and saw who Mandi was hiding from.

"You're hiding from Jake?" I asked.

"How do you know him?" she whispered.

"Math and science. He's really nice, you don't have to hide from him." I said. He disappeared behind the lunch line and Mandi slid back on the booth seat, smoothing down her pink blouse.

"Sorry." We finished our lunches and I threw my tray away, grabbed my bag, and headed to *creepy shivers* Utz's class. I wanted to go jump in a hole and pull the dirt over me rather than go to math.