Work of Art

Chapter 12

Unfortunately for Nick, Carlisle was gifted with heightened senses from his vampire state. So, as he approached his office door after retiring from a patient room, he immediately noticed the small spot of paint. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to how it would have gotten there. Glancing around, he didn't see anyone in the halls. Before he could look for more clues of who the culprit may be, he was paged once more. Deciding the bit of paint was inconsequential, he pushed the thoughts from his mind and spun on his heel, returning to another patient room.

The days continued to pass, and Nick was relieved that she had yet to be confronted about the splotch of blue. She knew she was being ridiculous, but thoughts of approaching the doctor made her stomach flip in nervousness. It was an odd sensation really, she'd never been one for stage fright, but she imagined that it would feel rather similar to the way her stomach lurched when considering the doctor.

Not a particular fan of the feeling, she avoided thoughts of Carlisle Cullen to the best of her abilities. So, when painting class arrived and the perfect project to distract her was presented, Nick jumped at the opportunity.

"Nick," Mrs. Cottan greeted pleasantly.

"Cottan!" Nick chirped. While some teachers may view the single last name title as a sign of disrespect, Cottan smiled at the comfort her students expressed around her.

The teacher slid onto an empty stool across from Nick and Maggie.

"Would you want to take point with set design this year for the fall play?" she asked.

Nick nodded vigorously, which brought another smile to the teacher's face.

Nick had helped with designing and building sets since her freshman year, but it had always been an older senior who had been in control.

"Auditions are next week, so if you want to start assembling a team and brainstorming, that would be fantastic."

Nick grinned widely before turning to Maggie, who rolled her eyes at her excited friend. "Fine I'll help," she conceded before Nick even had the opportunity to ask.

"I'd offer you help building a team, but it seems to me you've got it covered," Cottan laughed. "I'' tell Mr. Doulton that you said yes."

"Thank you!" Nick practically sang. She knew she'd be busy with both the mural and set design, but she knew it would be well worth it, especially if she had all of her friends help.

She wasted no time in trying to find the rest of her team. Nick asked Jonah next period in drawing, who also agreed, although he also shared that he was planning to audition, too.

Next came Henry and Nora during lunch. Nora jumped at the opportunity, but Henry complained about having no time with prepping for the ACT. While Nick understood, she had never concerned herself much with standardized testing, she much preferred letting her knowledge and skill be known in more practical ways. Eventually, he agreed to help with smaller tasks whenever he had time. No one could ever say no to Nick for long.

Once the lunch table had all agreed, Nick scouted across the lunch room for other students who would make strong additions. She started by approaching a few others who were in her art classes. As she approached them, she realized that it would likely have made more sense to ask them for assistance during their class periods, but in her excitement all thoughts of practicality left Nick's brain. Instead, the excitement forced her to approach a series of other students. Some agreed, while others apologized saying that they were too busy or that they just weren't interested.

After collecting four more art students to help and making sure she had all of their numbers, ick returned to her table.

"The number's up to nine, but I feel like ten would be better," she complained. Although, she was only dissatisfied for a second and she grinned as her eyes fell on Alice.

"I'll be right back again," she informed the group as she quickly stood up and made her way over to the Cullen's table across the room.

"Alice," she greeted happily.

"Nick," Alice looked up surprised, "hey!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes and Emmett gently nudged her side. Jasper narrowed his eyes, slightly annoyed with the sheer amount of excitement emanating off of the girl.

After a moment's pause, Nick presented her case. "Would you want to help with set design for the fall play?" she asked.

Alice looked skeptical, shooting a look over to her siblings.

Rosalue looked completely against the idea, but Jasper just shrugged. It's up to you, he almost seemed to say.

Nick continued to plead her case. "I really enjoyed working with you in ceramics," she urged. "Plus, we know we can design some really cool things." Nick smiled unnaturally wide, an almost comical expression that caused Alice's lip to twitch.

"Okay," Alice caved, "I'll help."

Nick clapped her hands and jumped. "Great! I'll text you details later!" After getting Alice's acceptance, she virtually skipped away back towards her table of friends.

"Let me guess," Nora laughed, "she accepted."

"How'd you know?" Nick grinned.

The table exchanged a look. Most of the time, their friend was almost laughably easy to read.

Although, the exchange at the other table lacked the excitement of Nick and her friends.

Rosalie glared at Alice.

"What?" the pixie asked incredulously.

"I don't know why you keep associating yourself with that girl," Rosalie sighed.

"Come on Rosie, I'm just trying to make some new friends." the pixie slung her arm around the sulking girl's shoulder.

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Rosie," Edward suddenly stated. "You know nothing good can come from interacting with humans."

Alice grunted, annoyed with her family's opinions. "Carlisle works with humans everyday and he's perfectly fine," she countered.

"But that's different," Emmett disagreed.

Alice raised a challenging eyebrow, urging her siblings to continue to try to keep her from helping with set design for the play. "I'll just be behind the scenes anyways," she shrugged.

The other four siblings exchanged an uneasy glance.

"At least look into the future and see if anything bad happens," Edward proposed.

With a sigh, Alice attempted to look into the future. It was difficult to look into the general future, she found it much easier to look into a single person's decisions. Plus, the visions were always clearer when they occurred randomly. It was mainly flashes of images: sitting around a table designing in sketchbooks, laughing and walking down art supply store aisles, lots of cutting and painting. Nothing really seemed to stand out; there was nothing truly out of the ordinary.

Wanting to make sure she appeased her siblings, Alice concentrated a little deeper, looking all the way out towards the performance. That far into the future was hazy-- it was mainly vague shapes and colors, but one thing stood out clearly: a pair of golden eyes floating in a sea of bodies that made up the audience.