A Change in the Weather-Chapter 2: A First Name Basis

Meeting Jason had put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.  He was very charming, but there was also a very mysterious auora about him.  Usually, I could tell what a person is like by their facial expression or by looking them in the eye.  He was not an open book; quite unreadable, actually.  I hoped I would have the chance to see him again.  It didn’t look like we had any classes together, but, there was art.  A class I hadn’t had today, but would tomorrow.  If we had art together, I would possibly be able to see another side of him.  Maybe the pages of a not so open book could turn, and I’d be able to read them.

The next day was no different from the first.  I still had no friends, minus Jason, and that same group of three girls bothered me.  I learned the leader’s name was Amanda, and the other two were Christina and Haley.  They were going to be a pain, but I could easily ignore them.  At lunch, I sat alone, but not for long.  Jason spotted me, and came to sit down at my table.  Amanda saw, and commenced to throw me dirty looks.  Not that I cared.  Once again, I felt like I was in my own perfect world with him.  And nothing could change that.  At least, I hoped.

“And how are you today, Angela?” Jason smiled at me.  I’m sure I blushed.

“F-fine, and you?” I stammered.  He was just too amazing for words, and I’d only known him for two days.

“Well, today was horrible, until now,” he said, a playful look taking over his sweet face.

“Funny.  I was just about to say the same thing.”

We walked together to my next class, which was, art.  Thankfully, it was the one and only class we had together for the semester.  Fortunately, we were also assigned to sit next to each other.

“Good morning class, my name is Ms. Morgan.”  Our new teacher then began to prattle on and on about how we would discover the true artist within ourselves that year, blah blah blah, the usual first class of the year speech.  I couldn’t help but notice that Jason was trying to sit closer to me.  Minute by minute, he would edge the stool a little bit closer to mine.  Not that I minded, on any level.

“Today, we will be starting off with something simple,” Ms. Morgan continued.  “I want you all to draw a self portrait of yourself.  You can use anything, but I would prefer you all to start off in pencil and then trace over it...”  

Her voice quickly faded out again as I picked up a fresh pencil and got to work.  In a matter of five minutes, I already had three fourths of my face sketched.  Oddly enough, Jason only had his eyes and hair done. 

“I like to work slowly, in detail,” he explained after I’d thrown him a questioning glance.  “It helps me to focus.”

“Oh, no problem, I’m not that great of an artist anyways,” I mumbled lamely in response.

“Can’t argue there,” he said critically, “this picture hardly does your beautiful face justice.”

Yep. I most certainly blushed again.

“Um, thank you,” I smiled.  I hoped it didn’t look like a grimace.

“Hey, anytime, I can’t sketch to save a life,” he laughed.

“That’s entirely false!” I exclaimed.  So far, his portrait was miraculously identical to his true self.

“Ms. Barrett and Mr. Wood, is there something you wish to share with the class?” Ms. Morgan inquired in a disparaging tone.  All eyes were on us.  Amanda threw me a dirty look, and winked at Jason.  Much to my dismay, he returned a smile to her.

“No, Ms. Morgan,” I mumbled.  The second day of school, and I was already making a spectacle of myself.

“Very well then.  I trust there will be no more interruptions.  You’ve taken the students’ right to learn!” she stated blatantly.  I shrugged it off and went back to my sketch.

Throughout the rest of the morning, the incident in art class stayed fresh in my mind, for two reasons.  The first was how the teached had publicly reprimanded me, which was a shock, since I was often too quiet to be noticed by anyone, let alone a teacher.  The second being Jason’s and Amanda’s connection.  Why did she wink?  Why did he smile back?  Were they dating, and I had not known all along?  Something in the back of my mind told me to stay out of this entire situation, and to just mind my own business all together.

I had no intention of listening.