"You two seem awfully cozy. Josh, you're exceptionally chatty today or might that have something to do with your guilt. You know you can't replace one person for the other." Mason points the end of his pencil in-between Josh and me. "What's going on?"
I could see the wheels turning in Masons head.
Josh snorts. "Nothing."
I look at the two of them uncomfortably. They locked eyes with each other and had a conversation between the two of them. It was awkward and private and made me feel like somehow I was disturbing them.
I look over at Wesley half-expecting him to butt in any time soon.
I wasn't surprised to see him bent over his sketchbook furiously drawing with short and abrupt strokes. There was a liveliness and enthusiasm about him that invited me in but I didn't dare interrupt him.
There was no impulse in me to experiment for modern and groundbreaking innovation that was forward-looking and original. I was jealous that he could loose himself in such mania without staying in touch with the people around him. A part of me wanted to wait until he was finished and then let him deal with the aftermath.
I was going to ask Chanel about it. She was the people person and I was the lone wolf. I didn't have many guy friends to talk to but if that was normal behavior then I wanted no part in it. I didn't even hang out with girls my age.
Sometime afterward Wesley puts his sketch book face down on the desk.
"Done." Wesley looks up and smiles but that expression didn't last for long.
For the first time he noticed a weird vibe between Mason and Josh. They had both stopped talking a while ago and were now in the premiss of silent discontent with the other.
"Everything good?" Wesley probes Mason with his eyes.
"Yeah." Mason says finally acknowledging his friend. "Nothing to worry about. I've got it covered." he tells Wesley though he was glaring at Josh the entire time.
Wesley takes a quick glance over to Josh to see if he was okay.
Josh was leaning on his elbow making it a point to look any where but at either of us.
"Okay then." Wesley shrugged his shoulders and looked at me.
"Whatever. They're the ones with the problem. Let them deal with it." he whispers to me. I couldn't agree more.
Wesley grins. "We should trade our portraits before Mr. Honeycott comes over." he had a good point.
Wesley trades his for mine. During our exchange I become embarrassed knowing that mine didn't match Wesley in strength and artistry. I hoped he wouldn't hate it. I blocked out the chatter and tried not to obsess.
But still...it was kinda hard not to when I had Wesley as my critique.
I gripped Wesleys' sketch pad in my hands and steadied it on the table overwhelmed and surprised in a good way. The entirety of it was shaded in pencil. My hair was down and framed in straight locks around my cheeks. There was a braid wrapped around the side of my head and a sunflower on top. I looked...so....
"Wow. That's how you see me?" Sweet. He got the birthmarks right.
"I hope you don't mind." he says looking away. Like me he signed his tiny initials in the corner.
I didn't know how to start off with but the truth...."I like it." I give it back to him smiling. I could see my initials on his paper.
"Seriously, though. Ever think about turning pro?" I gave him five points because I thought it was the best.
Wesley shrugs and wraps the leather string around his sketch book tying it at the end. I wondered what he thought about mine. Certainly a three wasn't terrible if I thought I'd deserved it.
"Its just for fun." he says indifferently.
I took the hint and didn't say anything about how wonderful it was or how nice he was being about all of this.
When Mr. Honeycott comes to our table we each put our look books in the basket to be graded. Tomorrow there would be marks on my paper with helpful comments that I wouldn't be able to fulfill.
Once the bell rings I get up from my seat and side glance at Josh's retreating form out of the corner of my eye.
"Hey." Wesley calls.
I smile tentatively.
"Want to walk with us?" Wesley asks out of nowhere.
I guess he wasn't mad after all. I sling my backpack strap over my shoulder and nod.
I didn't have a problem with mason. "Sure. Lets go." The three of us walk out together as a group.
No comments:
Post a Comment