Days Of High School

Chapter Four: The End of the Day

" Today, we're going to put our knowledge to the test and actually make a painting of a landscape. It's your choice what you want to paint but it must be something that has to do with the outdoors. " The art teacher said with a bright smile. Akai smiled brightly as well. Even though she often had to deal with abuse in her art class she still loved it.

" What do I want to do? " She muttered quietly as she went to her assigned easel in the back of the room.

Akai grabbed the little plastic cup from the art kit that the teacher provided for each easel and hurried to the sink. Another student who was also hurrying to the sink pushed her over and sent her to the floor.

" Out of my way, freak! "

Akai grumbled as she picked herself up off the cold tile floor. When she returned with her plastic cup of water, her holo phone buzzed.

Isamu: Hey, can you help me with my Japanese test?

Akai: Do it yourself, you piece of shit.

Isamu: What?

Akai: It's your damn test. You do it yourself.

She couldn't help laughing at her other friend's antics. Isamu was always trying to get her help with things and Akai more often than not made him do it himself. She slipped her holo phone back into the pocket of her blazer and focused on her easel.

***

By the end of the class, Akai had finished a painting of a beautiful rose garden surrounded by a high white fence with a miniature creek behind the fence. Akai looked around at some of the other student's paintings and after a minute of careful deliberation decided to push her easel deeper into the shadows where no one but Shades ever dared to go.

The bell rang and Akai quickly took her art notebook and schoolbag and rushed to her locker. Mya came up beside her wearing her soccer jersey.

" First practice is today! What about the track team? "

" That's tomorrow. Apparently the cheerleaders are using the track for their own practice today instead of the football field. "

" Well that's because the school finally decided to fix the bleachers and the goal posts. "

The two could not help laughing as they headed outside the school doors.

Akai headed to the teacher's parking lot and leaned against the familiar black car that belonged to her closest friend. She and Tyrann had always been close despite the massive gap in their ages though things like that didn't matter much anymore since the world had fallen apart.

Suddenly, she heard the sounds of familiar shouts and noticed Kaine and Tyrann arguing as usual on the way to the car.

" Took you long enough! " She said as they approached.

" Sorry, we were arguing about the details for the Homecoming dance. " Kaine said, glaring at her brother all the while.

" What's the problem? " Akai got in the passenger seat of the car as she spoke. Kaine sighed before reluctantly getting in the back.

" Sunshine thinks that the students should pick the music that plays at the dance and I said that's a terrible idea because then everybody's gonna be dancing to rock music or some annoying pop song that doesn't need an equally annoying dance to go with it. "