chapter 3

Next was math with Mrs. Lesley and my favorite class really. Well I loved the subject not the class actually. I went to my regular seat, in the back, while zee went to the teacher who, luckily, didn’t make her stand in front of the class. Instead she just sent her to take a seat. Which, she decided to take the one to the left of me. She smiled at me and I returned the same smile. But when I looked to the front of the class my smile disappeared as crystal and her gang walked in. Just the thought of her made my blood boil.

Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes to calm myself. But as soon as I looked up my blood ran warm again but not out of rage but of something else. Ulrich walked in and our eyes met, there in that look a lightning spark ran through his eyes. There was always an emotion in those eyes when I looked at them I could never decipher. Quickly I looked away as crystal came by him and pulled him along by the arm. No matter what I felt for anyone it could never be, I knew that and yet I still held hope in my heart to someday find happiness just as I promised mom.

Class began much as it always did and it went by as fast as always. Zee seemed to also have problems in math. Since she kept asking for help every chance she could. Either that or she just wanted to talk. Soon the bell rang and I repeated the same process of watching people leave then leaving myself. But this time at the door we were met by crystal and her gang. Doesn’t she ever go anywhere without them?

“Hey you’re Zedekiah, right?” she addressed zee in her sickly sweet voice. I could tell zee was ready to run for the hills. Crystal could do that to people and it was always probably better to do so then get involved with her.

“Yes that’s me” she was trying to be strong and I could tell crystal saw the fear anyway. She was like a predator if you showed any fear she would see you as weak and pounce. Not while I was around.

“Well I was wondering, what you were doing with” she paused to give me one of her looks which I in turned looked straight at her and raised a brow. “This girl if she’s a cast away. Never could fit in could you Adel?” I crossed my arms over my chest and around my journal I had started to write in again.

“Didn’t want to, if it meant ending up like you, crystal” I answered dryly, her face turned into a scowl as her hate for me grew another degree, if possible.

“Well I felt it only fair I warn you that she’s only trouble and you’re better off hanging around someone else. You don’t want to be the laughing stock of the school for hanging out with her do you?” my blood was boiling and I was on the break of losing it.

“You know what you can do whatever you want. Follow me or don’t I don’t care but once this scrounger backstabs you don’t bother crying to me. I have enough to deal with.” With that I turned and walked away. I heard crystal say ‘see’ in her smug voice and the rest was all blocked as I turned a corner and ran out the building. My eyes stung but I didn’t allow the tears to fall. No! I wouldn’t be weak, not again. Once outside in the courtyard I fell down before the great oak tree that was in the center. For years this tree has been my sanctuary. That couldn’t last and I knew it but it went by too fast. But I knew that crystal didn’t like the girl and would do something to her.

I could worry about that later right now I had to calm down and figure out an excuse for Mrs. Rodriguez. But why did I even care, she surely didn’t. taking a deep breath, I let my mind go blank as I leaned my head against the bark. For as long as I can remember I have always found peace and serenity in the confines of nature. Sitting there I lost myself in thought and lost track of time all together. So lost was I that I didn’t notice the presence of someone watching me from nearby. Who was it and why were they watching? Did it matter?

I missed 3^rd period but that was nothing new, I always liked 4^th period art better any way. The smell of drying clay and fresh paint mixed with the sweat of concentration and talent welcomed me as I walked into the art room. It wasn’t very big in size but it was enormous in our eyes. As artists we saw potential, possibility and we saw what others didn’t.

Mr. Richard was a great man. He had a natural talent to teach and to make beautiful art. Many rumors say that he once could have been as famous as Picasso and had had one of his paintings in the national museum of art in Washington. But why he ended up here no one knew.

“Good morning Adel” I smiled at him as I walked by his desk to my area.

“Good morning Mr. Richard. What are we doing today?” I felt free here, well as free as I dared to be. Mr. Richard smirked which I knew meant we were in for a hard one, one as in project.

“We are going to be painting and/or sculpting what comes to your mind when you hear the word beauty.” This got me thinking, Mr. Richard smirked knowing I was already hard at work and watching the painting I would do come to life in my mind. ‘You are a very bright and talented student but there is something that keeps you from exerting your full potential. There is something in your life that makes you close yourself off from the rest of the world’ is what Mr. Richard tells me sometimes. He has no idea how close he is to the truth.

Once the final bell rang and the assignment was given I began to work creating my master piece. Many students in the class would stop and wander over to admire my work. It was an artist’s nature to admire good work or in this case beautiful work. I knew my work was extra ordinary but it’s not like I let it go to my head. If I hated false modesty then why should I use it?

So far I had the background set in my mind and only a quarter of it done. Feeling refreshed and calmer then when I had come to class I headed to lunch. I didn’t get in the lunch line, never did. All they served was globs of mutant, radioactive, crap. Yuck! No thank you I’d like to live to a ripe old age and die of natural cause not of food poisoning, if you can call that food.

The cafeteria was just a big white room with tables. In the morning the tables would be lined up and the chairs distributed evenly. But by now the different ‘clicks’ had already pulled tables together and away from other group of tables. It was weird, like in those movies of high schools. Like that movie mean girls, almost everything was the same here. Everyone had a label and every label had a section of the cafeteria, they weren’t allowed anywhere else. Now if you were like me and had no label that fit with everyone else’s then you were instantly an outsider and didn’t belong anywhere. Well I could live with that, I didn’t want to be part of any group anyway.

Instead I spent my lunch time enjoying the company of my truest friend, the great oak tree in the court yard. I passed crystal’s group and saw zee sitting there with the rest of them. She didn’t belong there, that was not her label. It was easy to spot her because she stood out from that crowd. As I walked by crystal place an arm around zee’s shoulders and whispered something to her. Crystal broke into a fit of laughter while zee seemed to feel uncomfortable. Who wouldn’t in that cobra’s embrace?

I walked on and ignored that anyone existed, besides I warned her so if anything happens she will have no one to blame but herself.