Riley's Box

Part 66

It really was a good thing that I was now friends with the head boy and his assistant, because it meant that I could be a little late to the school council meetings, without getting into too much trouble over it. 

I had meant what I had said earlier, too. I really did need to catch up with a few friends. 

My legs carried me all the way to the art room and I walked in to find that Susie was busily painting away again. I  should have expected as much from her. She really was an incredible artist. I couldn't believe that my silly envy had held me back from letting her know how talented she was. I was glad I didn't feel so annoyed about that anymore. Yes, Susie was talented, but I was talented, too! As long as that was recognised, I didn't mind Susie having her own talents. 

Susie appeared to be perfectly calm, as she painted away on the canvas in front of her. As I toom a step closer to look at the peace that she was working on, I found that she had been painting a landscape of the forests nearby the school. They had been planted a few years ago and were pretty popular with all of the students. My school at large was pretty big on conservation, but they had become even more so when Susie and I had handed out flyers against climate change in the seventh grade. 

As I glanced towards the work space beside Susie, I found that all of her paints and brushes were perfectly organised, too. 

We definitely worked differently. I tended to have my stationery all around me and searched for an item as and when I needed it. 

Nevertheless, even though Susie and I were different, we could still be great friends. 

"Painting again?" I blurted. 

Of course, she was. 

Susie glanced up at me with a small smile. 

"Yes, I am. What do you think?" she asked me. 

It surprised me, yet warmed my heart, that she cared about my opinion. 

"It's amazing," I said. "You should already know that, though. I'd love to know how to paint like you do." 

"Well, I could teach you some time. My parents have a load of paint supplies at our house because-" 

"You're rich?" I asked. 

"Well not exactly, we just-" 

"Are rich?" I interrupted again. 

Susie just chuckled. 

"Yes. We're rich," she answered. 

"Ha! Knew it," I said with a grin. 

I had almost forgotten what Susie was talking about with my sudden burst of energy, but not completely. 

"That would be cool, Susie. I think that I would like to paint with you," I said. 

"Thank you! It would be good to have someone visit. I don't tend to invite people around much because I worry that...they're only really there because my parents have money. I have money." 

I felt my eyebrows crinkle together at that moment. 

My feet took a step closer to her. 

"Susie, do you honestly think that? People should only want to be around you because you're a kind and amazing person. You're so talented. There's so many reasons why people would want to be your friend, rather than just for your money," I was rambling at this point, but Susie didn't seem to mind. 

Susie's mouth formed a small smile at my words, but I could tell that she was still thinking pretty deeply about the whole friendship thing. 

After a couple of moments, she spoke again. 

"I just want to do well in this class, Riley, and try to make some friends along the way. I sometimes think that getting people to stay would be a better achievement than any academic success could ever be. I've got good grades my whole life; I've never really had a real friend." 

That certainly put things into perspective. 

"You know, the thing is that I'm always thinking about my future and about what I'm going to do once I leave school, but I can never think about who I'm going to hang out with this summer or next weekend," she said. 

"Well, there's a simple solution to that, Susie. You can spend time with me," I said. 

Perhaps she could.

 I wasn't about to make any promises. After all, I had a lot of work to do, as far as getting the last shadow spirit back was concerned. 

I could tell from Susie's expression that she was serious about all of this- about her future and about making new friends. It made me respect her more than I had before. I felt a little guilty for shutting her out. My belief had always been that her life was perfect, but I was beginning to realise that maybe there really wasn't such a thing as 'perfect'. We had all our strengths; we all had things that we struggled with and that was perfectly okay. It was okay to not be perfect all the time. 

"Really?" she asked me, her eyes shining with hope. 

"Of course," I said with a sincere smile. 

Susie wasn't only smart- she was truly wise, too, to know that while academic success had its place in her life, it shouldn't be her sole focus, just as getting head girl shouldn't have been my main focus. I should have been focusing on more important matters- like my best friendship with Jason, and other possible friendships, too. 

"Hey, can I join you for this weekend?" April asked, as she came to sit down nearby. She took her bag off her shoulder and looked towards us with curiosity. "I'm not about to be abandoned, am I?" she asked it in a jokey way, but I had a feeling that this was something that she was genuinely concerned about. 

"You could never be abandoned, April. You'll always have me," I said, with a smile. 

I knew that April was the kind of person that needed someone to rely upon. She needed the support of a friend and I was going to be there for her, too. 

"Me too," Susie said, with kindness behind her voice. 

April's mouth curved into a smile.