Cipher

Chapter 31: Paint

That Friday morning, Cipher, Joslyn, and Isaac sat in their English classroom waiting for the bell to ring. At least, Cipher and Joslyn were waiting. Isaac was frantically trying to finish a worksheet that was due at the start of class.

"Have you ever been to the paint walls?" Joslyn asked randomly, looking toward Cipher.

He turned in his seat to face her. "I do not believe so. What are the 'paint walls'?"

"It's these walls where their sole purpose is to be graffitied."

Cipher's brow scrunched. "Why?"

"It was some weird thing the city tried." Joslyn waved her hand dismissively. "I guess they thought that if they gave people a place to paint without getting in trouble then they wouldn't vandalize everywhere else."

"Did that actually work?" He asked, doubting something that would really deter people.

"Who knows." She shrugged. "But it is cool to look at, and now that I'm legally old enough to buy spray paint I can add to it."

"There is an age restriction on spray paint?"

Joslyn rolled her eyes, "It's dumb."

"It sounds interesting," he admitted. "The paint walls, not the age restrictions."

"I was wondering if you would like to come with me tomorrow." The sides of her mouth quirking up into a hesitant half-smile. "I thought that after traumatizing you at the mall, maybe I owed you a fun outing."

Cipher was slightly surprised by the offer. "I would like that, but you do not owe me anything."

Her head tilted side to side, "Either way... Are you in?"

Cipher's chin tilted up, "It sounds like it could be fun. I do not have a way to get there myself, though." he didn't want to be an inconvenience.

Joslyn's smile grew, "I'll pick you up at three, okay?"

"I look forward to it."

***

As it turned out, the paint walls were only a few miles away from the Johnstons' house. Several large concrete slabs stood as walls staggered along an otherwise empty lot, creating an almost maze-like structure. As the two exited Joslyn's truck, Cipher's eyes widened at the array of colors and variety of skills displayed. He briefly wondered if it looked even more impressive to the human eye.

"It is beautiful."

Joslyn seemed to breathe a small sigh of relief, "I'm glad you like it." She hitched her bag higher up on her shoulder, paint cans clanking, as they made their way toward the walls.

"Is there any blank space left?" They ventured into the maze. Every wall seemed to be covered in layers upon layers of paint.

"Well," one shoulder came up in a half shrug. "Not all the stuff here is a masterpiece."

That was certainly true. There were definitely some less than nice things on the walls he would not mind covering up.

"Where would you like to start?" She smirked, a can in each hand.

The two searched for a blank spot or something that was really worth painting over. They ended up finding a crude swastika, that Joslyn was 90% sure had been painted backwards, hiding near the back of the lot. She immediately covered it with a base color and went from there. Cipher picked the colors for the petals as a flower grew in its place until there was no evidence of the ugliness that had been there before.

Joslyn examined her work thoughtfully, "I never would have put the colors together that way."

"I am sor-"

"What?" She cut him off before the apology could escape. "No, it's amazing."

"It is?" Cipher's voice betrayed his disbelief. "It does not look wrong?"

"Cipher," she met his gaze. "It's beautiful."