"Okay, class, let's do a fun exercise. Pick any animal to draw, then write a couple sentences on how this animal has impacted for history."
"I'm gonna draw a cow," Riley chimed in from the nearby desk.
Riley had given Maya an idea. Disregarding the assignment, Maya smiled to herself as she got to work. She leaned away from the side of her desk to shield her paper from her neighbor, Lucas, as she started her masterpiece. While most of the class finished their drawings fairly quickly, Maya spent every second making sure it was perfectly detailed, capturing the essence of the "mammal" itself. As she engrossed herself in her work, she laughed dryly at how her subject related to the assignment. Lucas glanced at her quizzically, but she shook her head and kept her drawing shielded from view.
"Don't forget to write how this animal has helped history. For example, if it was a horse, you could say that they were used to transport people in carriages," Mr. Matthews reminded them. She stopped drawing, remembering that this was supposed to be a school assignment. Shit, she muttered to herself. She hoped Mr. Matthews' would let her sense of humor slide, and instead decided to describe how the animal had impacted history.
Mr. Matthews called for the class to turn in their work. Maya sunk into her seat and hoped he wouldn't ask her about it-she would be beyond mortified if he did. She flipped her drawing over and put it in the pile in the back. As she set her drawing down, she saw Lucas staring at her. She purposely bumped into him, and he clung to his drawing "Hey, watch were you're going, Clutterbucket. You could ruin my precious drawing." "Oh, sorry, I wouldn't want your drawing of Bucky McBoingBoing to be completely ruined from my shoulder rubbing on it." He shook his head, laughing, and set the drawing down. He had shielded his drawing from her sight so suddenly, almost as if he was hiding something, Maya thought.
Mr. Matthews lay in his classroom, the bell having rung hours ago. He had just finished cleaning the classroom and he wanted to start on grading the drawing activity the students had done earlier. He glanced at the skinny little stick figures and shook his head in amusement. He chuckled when he saw Riley's cow, with a missing leg, and resembling more of a zebra than anything else.
He lifted the next paper, which was backwards, and flipped it over. It theoretically qualified as a mammal. It was beautifully drawn, the blue in the eyes captured to the exact tone, the perfectly smooth skin, and the hair so carefully drawn to perfection. Mr. Matthews was amazed at the artwork, but it was the description that made him decide to give it an A. "I drew this animal because it means a lot to me. It has impacted history by being kind even when people treated it weirdly, and it has defended people in need before. It is an animal that helps protect its people and it is always there for them. Its name is Ranger Rick." Mr. Matthews smiled wryly. Leave it to Maya to not follow the exact instructions, but still make the assignment meaningful. She sure was a smart kid-a smart kid, with a crush.
He sifted through some other drawings nonchalantly, pausing to pore over Farkle's bird with a paragraph-long description. Finally, he stopped at the last drawing. It was a picture of a bucket, surrounded by random, scattered objects. He realized that the random objects were apparently supposed to be baby chicks, but he still wasn't sure why there was a bucket in the middle. He recognized the familiar handwriting of Lucas, "Chickens are important because they help lay eggs, which are an important part of our diets. In addition, baby chicks are also important because they are adorable and they never stop cheeping, and even though it annoys you, you still love the sound of it."
What a cute description, Mr. Matthews thought. But he didn't understand why the chickens were all cluttered around the bucket. He continued to ponder over the meaning until it hit him-May Clutterbucket. He shook his head in amusement. Looks like this class had a pair of lovebirds.
a/n: i know this is kind of different than the rest, i just had this idea and i just really wanted to write it through. kinda strange and quirky, i know, i promise the rest will go back to their witty banters.
a/n: by the way, i apologize for posting chapter 6 then deleting it. i realized that i wanted the chapter to turn into an actual longer story, so i gave it its own fic and removed it from history class drabbles. you can check it out on my profile, its called A Midsummers Nightmare. yes, it is lucaya. sorry for the notification confusion.