Enchanted

Chapter 11

Sabrina

"Sabrina, how many times must I tell you to take off your shoes before coming in?"

"Sabrina Chen! Keep those Barbie dolls in the box now!"

"Sabrina, what is wrong with you? You can't even master A to Z!"

I put my paintbrush back into a jar filled with water and got up from my seat for a stretch. Silence can be your best friend but sometimes it can be your enemy too.

Everyone kept their heads down the entire time, busy painting their childhood into the blank piece of paper. An abstract title- childhood.

I couldn't think of anything from mine, maybe because I chose to forget them. To forget the bad ones but instead, the good ones slipped away without any notice. The fragment of sentences still lived rent-free in my mind, finding its opportunity to repeat like a record player. The stories still hid in the shadows of the light, finding the right time to creep up on me like thick vines.

I shivered at the thought. Two hours of art class never felt so dreadful.

As soon as the bell rang, I shoved my dry art pallet and poster colour set into my bag. My stomach was rumbling and I can't wait to devour Tuesday's cafeteria menu- a chicken sandwich with fruit salad.

"How was chemistry?" I asked as I placed my food tray on the table and took a seat opposite Nicolette. "It was fine, we'll be doing experiments next week," she replied. "Hmm hmm, learn anything new about Cedric?" I asked while chewing the succulent chicken meat.

"Actually, I thought of another plan last night." She said, "You can invite him to chess club this coming Thursday and get to know him yourself."

"I like this idea but how am I going to invite him? Like what is the best way to approach him?" I asked for further advice and she could tell my voice was filled with thrill.

"Okay, two methods. Write a letter and throw it into his locker but you can't guarantee whether or not he will read it or... ask him now face-to-face."

"I prefer the second one but don't you think it's awkward if I just go over to his table and all of his friends stare at me like I'm some sort of pervert?" I spoke so fast that I don't think I knew what I was saying either.

"Um... yeah," Nicolette replied between chuckles. "We have gym class tomorrow, that should be fine as well."

School ended at 2 pm and I took the bus back to my aunt's. I had to do a few chores to clean away the dust that kept appearing on corners so I listened to my favourite podcast while mopping the floor, tuning out from the world.

I was dreading my art homework because I have no idea what to paint. I could fake it and draw an imaginary family having a picnic on sandy beaches, strolling down the park when the spring flowers bloom or a girl in a dress hugging a teddy bear and playing with her siblings. But art is something inspired by your life, not just random stuff you search online and dump on a white sheet of paper.

If I could not think of something on my own, I guess I could use a little help from Nicolette.

"Hi, Sab. You need anything?" she picked up the call on the third ring. "Yes, I need a spark of inkling," I answered. "Okay? Tell me what is it for." I heard the shifting of a chair from the other side of the phone.

"I have this art project with the title Childhood and you basically have to draw your family or yourself in the past," I explained. I didn't like how I was back then, a girl who switched from a smile to a frown all the time.

There was a long pause before she said, "You want me to give you a photo of my family so you can draw it?" Nicolette's voice was cautious as she knew family was a sensitive topic to me.

"No, I don't mean it that way. I just thought maybe you could tell me what you did in your childhood. With your parents. With your sister." I wasn't sure whether or not I should bring up her sister but I recalled the pictures in frames hanging on the walls in her house and the ones decorated with stickers in her room. Most of the pictures have Madeleine in them.

They are considered as a form of memories in physical form, Nicolette's mum referred to a picture of them 4 in a zoo, where a snake was hung on Madeleine's neck and mini Nicolette's shocking expression was priceless.

Those may be motionless 2D images but they meant the world to the Evergreens.

"Ok, I get what you mean. So um... Mads used to cycle me to a nearby ice cream shop because I liked to try out the flavour of the month. She also taught me how to ride a bike and ice skate. I remember we would sing or probably shout to the lyrics while the music from her record player play in the background. We dance around in her room with combs in our hands as mic like the movie MamaMia until mum knocks on the door and asks us to turn down the volume." Nicolette stopped and swallowed a lump of saliva stuck in her throat. I could hear soft sniffling from the end of the line like she was sobbing because of all the throwbacks.

"I'm sorry, Nicolette. I didn't mean to-"

"No, I'm fine, really. I can send the pictures to you. Soft copy." she cut me off.

"You don't have to do that, Colette," I said sincerely because it sounded rude to invade other people's privacy.

"They're pending. Check your emails, alright? I can't wait to see the masterpiece." Nicolette ignored what I said earlier.

"Will do. Thanks a lot, Colette." "Bye, see ya!"

The weather forecast mentioned it will be raining late in the evening but the weather decided not to go with the odds.

I took the images Nicolette sent as a reference and painted throughout the entire night. I painted the ice cream runs on the top part of the vertical paper, a vision of singing with her sister while jumping on the bed on the left side and a family road trip to their grandparent's house on the right side. I also added a section where a girl fell off her bike in the centre of the paper because childhood is not flawless. I wanted to make it raw and real, something that will speak on its own because a picture is worth a thousand words.

By the time I clean up my messy desk, it was half past midnight. I thought about Cedric and did a mock-up conversation in front of the mirror before my eyelids shut after a day of physical and mental overwork.

Life suddenly felt extremely slow in the heat waves.