My Dreams

Chapter 2

My art teacher said our drawing had to have a meaning or represent something. I didn't know what to draw, so I did a paw print with some flowers to represent my dog. It's not the best idea I've had, but It's also not the worst. I looked over to see what Chris was drawing, but I couldn't quite make out what it was. I think it's a girl, so maybe it's his mom or another relative. Whoever the drawing's for, is going to be impressed because, sheesh, this drawing looks detailed. I know for sure that he's getting an A+. I don't think I will, but my grade is an A, so I honestly don't care! Plus, I have straight A's so it's not like I'll get in trouble. I look up and snap out of my thoughts when I see Chris looking at my work. "That's a really good drawing, is it for your dog?" I smiled, "Yea, how'd you know?" He laughs and god he looks so cut- no Valerie, stay focused. "I just had a hunch. Has drawing always come this easy for you?" Way to make me use my brain, Chris, gah. "Not always. I used to practice my drawing hoping I would get better and thankfully I did. I don't plain on going into a career in art, but I love art as it gives me a chance to forget my problems and just focus on something relaxing, you know?" He pauses for a minute, and it looks like he's thinking. I can't get a read on him, but he looks sad almost. Finally, he speaks up, "I know what you mean. As a kid, I always had something going on, whether it was football or babysitting family members. Art gave me a chance to forget what I had going on later or the next day." When he finished speaking, I felt a sharp pain in my heart. I felt bad, I truly did, but I didn't know what to say. I decided to just comfort him, "I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you know I'm here for you and always will be, no matter what." He smiled warmly and then the bell rang.

It was finally my lunch period and thank god because I am starving. I have a later lunch period than some of my friends, so I wasn't sure who I'd find. Thankfully, I saw Astrid violently waving from across the lunchroom. What would I do without her? I walked over to her table and said hi. That's when I noticed Chris sitting by himself. "Hold on, Astrid, I see someone I recognize sitting alone." I got up and walked over to Chris, trying not to scare him. I failed, but hey, at least he sees me now. "Jesus, Val, you scared me!" I giggled, "Sorry, I saw you sitting alone and wondered if you wanted to come sit with me and my friend Astrid?" He smiled, "Yeah, sure, thanks!" I got up and showed him where we were sitting.

The whole period was spent laughing and having fun. It looked like Chris was having fun as well, but I couldn't tell. He's hard to get a read on, but I think that makes him kind of cool. After the bell rang, I walked to my biology class. Today in biology, we had a sub so luckily, I got to go on my phone for the entire period. I ended up going on Instagram, where I scrolled through my friend's accounts to see what they were up to and where they had been. I ended up stumbling across Chris's Instagram, so I followed him. A few minutes later, he requested to follow me back. I accepted and swiped out of the app to do something when I noticed he had sent me a message. I clicked on the notification to see he had replied to my story, which I had kind of forgotten I had posted on. The picture I had posted was of me and Astrid running in the park near my house. Chris's comment said that "I looked happy here." I smiled and set my phone down. The bell then rang, so I grabbed my stuff and started walking to my last class of the day.