Alone Together

Another Day

I shuffled down the corridor towards my next classroom, my feet barely leaving the ground as I stared at them habitually. It was the same routine every day. Ignore everyone and they'll ignore you. And life was so much easier when people ignored you. If nobody saw then nobody would ask questions, and if nobody asked questions then nobody would expect answers, and if nobody expected answers then I didn't have to lie. And I couldn't stand lying, not to mention the fact that I was awful at it. So I just hunched my shoulders and walked slowly towards the door, my eyes still fixed on my black converse.

I felt a shoulder barge me out of the way and I stumbled, quickly righting myself and muttering an apology as I looked around me briefly to look for whoever had decided they couldn't wait for a few seconds before getting to their next lesson. Nobody was there, but that hardly surprised me. People seemed to clear off pretty quickly when I was around. God knows why. I hadn't realised that I somehow infected the atmosphere around me with my social anxiety, but maybe that was what it was. Anyway, the shoulder-barger had long gone and if I didn't stop mucking about in the corridor I was going to be late for art. And nothing grabs more attention that arriving late. I could already see that the hallway population was growing sparse, so I hastened my pace and pulled my rucksack further over my shoulder, resuming my staring match with my feet.

After a few more yards, I arrived in art and sat down in my place at the back, completely disregarding the students on either side of me. I took my sketchbook and pencils out of my bag and faced the front, chewing the end of a pencil lightly until Miss Halloway, the art teacher, finally decided to emerge from her chair (which looked like it took a large amount of effort due to her... let's say, oversized behind) and explain our task.

'Today,' She began in a fatigued manner, leaning against her desk and wiping her eyes, although they were evidently dry, 'We shall be starting a topic on portraits..'

A groan erupted simultaneously from the lips of the majority of the class, a few going so far as to slump against the desk dramatically. I just sat and continued looking at Miss Halloway until she interrupted the chorus of complaints.

'Yeah, yeah, okay I get it. You may not find this topic so interesting at the moment, but this activity is sure to get you slightly more excited about it.'

She didn't sound particularly convinced of this, as her voice was practically monotonous the entire time, but drawing was fun and faces were interesting. Even Miss Halloway couldn't ruin this, although I was sure she would make every effort to.

'So,' She said, raising her voice slightly. 'I'd like you to draw the person next to you in as much detail as you can. I want it to be as realistic as possible, okay?'

She didn't wait for an answer before motioning for us to begin, causing another, slightly quieter, round of groans to go around the class. I kept staring forward, slightly annoyed that I was going to have to interact with somebody. Chances are I would muck it up as I seemed so good at doing. I just continued not making eye contact with anyone until I felt a tentative tap on my shoulder.

'Um, excuse me? I'm pretty sure I have to see your face in order to draw you,' a gentle male voice said quietly. I could hear the amusement in his voice as I gritted my teeth, raised my eyebrows and turned round, my eyes focusing on an unfamiliar and very attractive face. And so, as I had predicted only a few moments ago, I did the worst thing I could have done...

I just stared.