“Is there anything else we need to do?” He asked as he logged off of his account and turned off the computer to leave it just as we had found it.

I was just about to answer when that Camille girl walked in with the other boy who I had seen at the office.

“Oh great here comes my brother.” Michael muttered as for the first time since I had met him his smile disappeared.

I looked from this boy back to him and noticed the difference in skin tone immediately but saw that they had some of the same features but the other boy’s eyes were a cold blue almost as icy as mine when he saw Michael.

“Oh great it’s the love child.” The other boy muttered as Camille led him over to the computer next to me.

Love child? I thought as I looked back in forth between the two of them.

“Nice to see you too Brock.” Michael said somewhat weakly.

“Yeah whatever you little b***** brat, go play with your scary little friend.” Brock said as if he wasn’t insulting anybody.

Michael was about to say something when I beat him to it.

“Brock, was it?” I asked innocently with my hair covering my eyes.

“Yeah what the hell do you want?” He said as his gaze went from my face in the downward direction.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” I said moving my hair behind my ears so my entire face was visible. “I’m Jessica Stape, and if you ever insult me or Michael at school again then I’ll make sure you’ll have to eat through a straw.” I let him see my eyes and my cool composure and he instantly freaked and backed away as fast as he could.

Michael just sat there dumbfounded.

“Come on were going to class now.” I said grabbing Michael by the sleeve and leading him out of the library with Miss Muex watching us as we went.

It was minutes before we talked again, but of course it was Michael who broke the silence.

“How in the hell did you do that?!” He asked with a huge smile on his face. “That was amazing! I wish I could do that!”

I found myself stifling a small laugh, “I just don’t like hearing words like that, actually I just don’t like anything that brands people as different, it’s just a thing I have.”

He just smiled at me and for once I actually returned his smile, but it quickly went away as the bell for second hour chimed. Even though it was my favorite subject of my day I never looked forward to the actual class. Mainly because most people only took the class to get an easy A while I actually did something; this had been going on for the entire length of my high school attendance.

“What class do you have next?” Michael asked.

“We have art next.” I said grimly. “We have all of our classes together except for one, but that’s just because I have a free period then.”

“Cool that means I get to hang out with you a lot.” He said cheerfully.

Yeah cool…………

The halls had begun to fill as I grabbed onto his sleeve once more and held onto him as I sifted through the rough crowds. I noticed how many of the girls were taking double takes on Michael and sneering at me at the same time but I knew for some reason that Michael was only staring at me.



*


*


*

“Alright today class all I expect from you is to not destroy the classroom.” The art teacher said with gloom and depression. “That’s all, and try not to disturb me.” With that she left us as she retreated to her office to go and sleep off her hangover that was so apparent everyday that I was surprised she hadn’t been fired a long time ago.

After her door shut with a click and we all heard the lock turn with a squeak everyone went crazy over Michael, all the girls that is. I sat in a corner drawing an abstract for no real reason. I could see Michael’s pleading looks and oddly enough I decided to help him. I went over to him and parted through the sea of girls and dragged him back to where I sat where the girls would have to face me first if they wanted to talk to Michael.

“Thanks Jess,” He breathed as girls glared at me with all their might.

“No prob.” I said going back to my drawing.

“Hey can I look at your drawings?” He asked.

I sighed and handed him the book, and to my surprise he actually gave one to me in return. Looking at him he smiled.

“Don’t think I took this class just for an easy A.” He said.

I nodded dumbfounded and flipped to the first page. A sea of colors reached me. A landscape of the ocean at sunset was laid out before me; beautiful hues of yellows, reds, and oranges could be found and I was in total awe as I flipped the page. Next was a bird which looked so real even though it was only drawn in charcoal and not in color. I flipped the page again eager to see what else he had done. The next was somewhat more of an abstract; it was a portrait a woman who was facing side ways with long black curly hair, and behind her a background of life underneath the sea could be seen.

I couldn’t stop staring at this picture but I didn’t know why, just the beauty of it I think held me captive. Before I knew it 10 minutes had passed and Michael had gone through my entire notebook and I was still on page four. I gave his notebook back reluctantly and mad at myself to have been stalled.

“I think the ones of you are great.” Michael said with a smile.

I looked at him in wonder, and flipped to one of the pages I drawn myself on. It was a self portrait of when I was about four and I had just drawn it from a picture I had found of me.

“Which one are you talking about? There are quite a few.” I said wondering how he could’ve seen the resemblance between me and the pictures because I had made sure they didn’t look like me.

He motioned for the book. I handed it back to him and he instantly opened it to the page he had wanted. He held it up to me in comparison and I looked at him in wonder. Laughing he gave it back to me and I saw which one it was.

“Oh.” I said.

He just kept smiling; the picture of me of one that had been drawn recently and was one of my proudest. It was a picture of me without any make up on and it wasn’t in color all except for one feature. My eyes could actually be seen and I had colored them green naturally but there was some purple that could be found in there as well. This was back when my hair was long and un-dyed so the picture itself had an innocence about it.

“I don’t know why I like this one the most.” He admitted, “Probably because it shows the actual person inside of you the most.”

A part of me felt like I should have been insulted, but for some reason I was left completely unfazed. Oddly enough I found myself smiling widely with my teeth showing and everything. I was surprised with myself that his words had given me so much happiness.

“Thank you.” I said showing him my smile.

He nodded dumbfounded as he flipped through his notebook toward the back and looked down and back up at me.

“Listen this is going to sound stalklerish but would you let me draw you?” Michael asked.

I was taken aback with his sudden question but found myself nodding all the same. He smiled at me and began sketching without looking down at the paper. I stayed perfectly still as he did this and within a few minutes he began to look down and up frantically.

I can’t believe I’m letting him do this! I screamed at myself. I had only spent a little over an hour with him and I was already letting him draw me in art class. Some of the people here had known me since I was in kindergarten and the only contact I had had with them was glaring and critiquing my fashion sense. I couldn’t deny that this wasn’t only something I normally wouldn’t do but something I normally never thought possible.

“Hold on Jess, I’m almost done.” He claimed sticking his tongue out in concentration.

I stifled a giggle at that, no matter what I couldn’t help but see him as a little kid. I also came to the conclusion that he and concentration just wasn’t a good pair.

“And……….done.” He said with a smile as he put his pencil down on the nearest surface. “I’ll probably add some color to it tonight of something. It just doesn’t look that right in only pencil.”

“Can I see?” I asked relaxing my face muscles.

He smiled and nodded holding up the sketchbook for my taking. I was surprised at how eagerly I wanted to see how he saw me. I looked at the picture and it was just like the one on page four; I actually couldn’t believe that was me even though the pictures features were exactly the same. I refused to believe this was me. She had a nice smile and had light shining down on her from the windows that were to my left. Her eyes were warm and her hair was flowing with life instead of being dry and dead from routinely straitening it. In other words all I saw on this page was someone who was beautiful, someone who I did not see in the mirror.

I handed the book back to him smiling, “it’s beautiful, but it’s not me.” I said with a sad smile.

“No I’m pretty sure this is you, because this is how I see you.” He claimed as if he had anticipated I would say this.

I was about to say something when one of the girls that was all over him earlier ventured over completely ignoring me.

“You draw too?” She purred as she attempted to sit on his lap. “May I see?” She didn’t really ask because she more like took the book from his hands and looked at the picture of me. “Oh look at you, you can even make the monster girl look pretty. Can you draw me?”

I was steaming, but the girl’s full attention was on Michael.

“Um I actually can’t.” Michael claimed as he slid her off his lap.

She began to pout, “Why?!” She demanded.

He looked at me, “I can only draw things that are beautiful, and I can’t really draw anything ugly.”

The girl was dumbfounded, as was I but I still couldn’t help but smile.

“That means go away.” I offered as a confirmation to her questionable look.

The girl glared at me and then stored off, I couldn’t help but laugh. But then again I couldn’t really believe Michael had really just said that. I looked back at him with a smile and also a new look of wonder. I couldn’t believe there was a side like this of him…

“Thanks by the way.” He said. “I didn’t think she got the message; or she was just in to much shock to realize what I had actually said.”

I nodded shyly in agreement, with my head down I asked, “When you said you could only draw beautiful things, I have to know why you drew me then?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “you have a really big complexity don’t you?”

I just sat there hanging on his every word.

“Jess I want you to listen to my next words very carefully.” He ordered as he came closer to me and began to whisper in my ear. “Eres heromsa.”

He backed away and I was left with a questionable look on my face.

“What does that mean?!”


“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“What but that’s not fair!” I exclaimed.

“Perhaps, but when is life ever fair?” He asked his natural smile still on his face just like normal.

I sighed giving up; I went back to my notebook and turned to a new page. There were a few smudges on the page but it was still cleaner than all the others as my drawing began to take form.