angel baby (heavy editing)

7.0

Kathy held Chris close as they walked the hallway of the school together the next day. Chris had refused to stay at home no matter how much Lia insisted he did. Kathy had promised herself she wouldn't let him out of her sight unless she had to. Stares and murmurings followed them and some students even pointed at them whispering among themselves. Kathy rolled her eyes. They were all losers, all of them.
Barkis saw them from afar and hurried to catch up to them. With sober eyes, she started to say,
"Chris, I'm so sorry. I heard what happened yesterday. I already left, I'm so sorry"
"Can you please stay away from him?" Kathy interrupted. "You all have caused enough trouble, just leave him be"
Chris on the other hand smiled at Barkis and gave her a hug and not wanting to vex her more, he followed Kathy.
Unfortunately, Kathy had to be separated from Chris when class began. She wanted to skip class but knew she would get into trouble if she did.
Chris was nervous to enter his classroom. His social anxiety was kicking in big time at this moment. Class started a few seconds ago and his teacher detested lateness. Maybe his mother was right, he shouldn't have come back here. The door suddenly opened and teacher Drew stood there and stared down at the boy.
"Chris, nice of you to join us"
Chris gulped nervously.
"Come on"
Drew pulled him in gently and stood him in front of the class.
"Listen and listen well, especially the two of you Jacob and Oliver"
Chris looked around the class and saw the guy who punched him yesterday seated at the back of the class.
He withdrew but also felt the need to glare but he didn't. He didn't want to get punched again.
I don't like Oliver.
"Chris right here is a special student"
Jacob snorted rather loudly.
"Jacob, do you want me to inform your father how you've been slacking in your classes four days into resumption cause I will"
Jacob frowned but kept quiet. Oliver rolled his eyes. Nothing today can ruin his mood. He and Paul were on good terms.
"If you bully Chris or make him feel intimidated", Drew continued. "You might just get expelled"
Murmurings started among the students.
"Who is he?"
"What family is he from?"
"Is he that important?"
"Uh oh, Oliver is in trouble"
"Shut up, Kai Oliver cannot get in trouble. His mother owns this school"
To be honest, Drew didn't know what was so special about Chris and he didn't care. He was only delivering the message the owner of the school told him to deliver.
"Ok, that is that on that. Take your seat son"
Chris hurriedly walked to his seat near Barkis.
"Are you OK? You look kind of pale"
Chris shook his head, "I want the ground to swallow me. Everybody is so mean"
Barkis expression turned to worry. She quickly squeezed his hand in hers. Chris offered her a smile and pulled his hand out of hers. Barkis was confused but didn't dwell on it. They turned to face Drew afterwards.
Oliver watched from where he sat at the new student. He frowned. What was so special about him that his mother gave him such special treatment?
First period was soon over and Chris made his way to his next class. He didn't have the best sense of direction but was determined to find it on his own and eventually he did.
Advanced Fine Art.
Slowly, he pushed the door open and walked in and heaved a sight of relief when he realised the teacher wasn't there yet. There were a handful of students who all looked up and looked at him but looked away the next second. He also realised he was probably the youngest in the class.
"Chris"
He was surprised someone knew who he was. He looked up and saw the person waving trying to get his attention.
Jonah, the senior who showed him around on his first day of school, he walked in and quickly rushed to take a seat beside him.
"Nice to see you again, Chris. The whole school is talking about you"
Chris did notice the stares of people when he walked. It still bothered him and sometimes he felt he would throw up, but over the years, he's learned to try and overcome his anxiety. It wasn't easy.
"Remember what I said, if anybody is giving you an hard time, come to me, I'll handle it", Jonah said to him.
Chris smiled and nodded at him.
"Thank you"
Jonah eyes slightly widened finally hearing him speak.
"Your voice is nice. You should speak more unless there's a reason you don't want to and I totally respect that"
Chris was about to say something but the class door opened and young female teacher entered.
"Hi, class, sorry I'm late. I was held up at the office. This is our first class this school semester and I am so excited. We have a new student, is he here? Right he is"
The teacher focused her attention on Chris fought the urge to squirm at the presence of the ever smiling teacher.
"Class, this is Chris. Chris I am your Advanced Fine Arts teacher Evelyn. Call me Evelyn, I don't do formalities and I know Chris might be a bit younger than all of us but I expect you all to treat him well"
The class didn't say anything so she continued,
"Okay, everyone step in front of your canvasses. Chris you can use mine today and we'll get yours in the storage room after class. Since it's our first class, I won't go overboard on you"
Chris stood up proceeding to walk towards Evelyn.
"You'll be alright on your own?" Jonah asked before he could leave.
Chris turned to face him again and nodded. Jonah smiled waving him off.
Evelyn led Chris to her canvass at the right side corner of the class. She smiled at him and addressed the class again,
"Ok, right let's begin. I want you guys to paint the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word 'beauty'. It could be a person, an object, a situation, a scenery, anything really. So little ones, start painting, you have 40 minutes"
The class made a sound of disagreement.
"Hey chill, chill, your scores today doesn't reflect in your semester's final scores. Just paint. 39 minutes left"
Chris quickly put on his apron and held his painting brush. He already knew what to draw. He always knew what to draw.
Painting had always been easy to Chris. It was one of the few things that kept him calm. Nights when he couldn't sleep, he would sketch in his sketch book. He had many ideas. He could draw or paint for hours without feeling bored.
"You have five minutes left" he heard Evelyn say. He was lost in his painting that he hadn't realised so much time had passed. He looked at his canvas satisfied at the outcome. He had limited time but it still came out good.
"Oh Chris you're done", she walked towards him but stopped, "wait, I want to be surprised"
Chris didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything.
Five minutes later,
"Ok, brushes up, time's up little ones"
They all obeyed and dropped their brushes. Evelyn started going round the class inspecting their paintings.
"Mia, your painting is splendid. I love how you make your art entirely you", Evelyn complimented a girl who drew a phoenix. Mia smiled.
Evelyn moved to the next student complimenting them as she went and correcting those who needed correction.
"My class is so gifted. So much talent in one class is making me dizzy. I love you all", she then turned to face Chris smiling at him.
Chris noticed she was an ever smiling teacher. He didn't know how to feel about it.
"Chris, my new student, I haven't seen your painting yet but I know I will be pleasantly surprised"
She walked and stood beside him glancing at his painting. The smile on her face immediately vanished.
The students who weren't used to Evelyn not smiling immediately focused their attention on their teacher murmuring between themselves.
"Y-you drew t-this? In forty minutes?" she asked.
Chris nodded anxious to what her comment will be keeping his head down and biting his thumbnails.
Would she praise or criticise him? He didn't know. He wanted to cry.
Evelyn couldn't believe her eyes. She knew the owner of the school would have seen something before offering him a scholarship and admonishing the teachers to give him special treatment but she wasn't expecting this. The art in front of her left her speechless.
It wasn't even his idea of what beauty was; it was just the silhouette of a girl, with a big smile who was also waving, it was the way he mixed colours and how precise and neat it was. Only professionals who had spent years mastering art could make a painting so perfect in less than an hour.
Evelyn exhaled before turning to address the class,
"Class, I think we just discovered modern times Picasso"
She turned the canvass so that the class could see. Gasps went through out the class as their murmuring got louder. They all stood up trying to get a closer look.
"Jonah, come quickly, assist me in putting this little one's painting by the notice board. The whole school has to see. We have a rare talent in our hands"
Jonah stood immediately and got to it. He offered Chris a big smile before carrying the canvass carefully and walking out of the classroom with Evelyn. Chris' classmates came to him all smiling and complimenting him of his drawing. He felt his anxiety kick in but he fought it back. He was tired of being a freak.
"Welcome to our class", Mia, the girl who painted a phoenix said with a smile.
Chris offered a small smile of his own then blushed looking down.
He heard few of the girls coo making his face even shades redder.