Alphabet Girl

Chapter 5

Charlie was an okay guy. He quickly learned Paisley didn't like surprise hugs from behind, not to question Carrie unless she wanted to talk about her, she needed at least one cup of tea in the morning to wake her up, needed to be asleep by ten or else she would be grumpy, had to have her clothes laid out on her bed before taking a shower and dressed in the main room because she felt crowded in bathrooms, her sneakers always had to be near the door, had trouble speaking to people alone, she always ate at the courtyard, he must never touch her sketchbooks without her permission, never touch her without her consent, and she's allergic to pineapple.

Yeah, Paisley was rather picky with a lot of stuff, but he didn't complain. Instead, he nodded at her explanation and swore he would go on a pineapple free diet. She laughed at that.

Three weeks later, Paisley got caught off guard when her art teacher informed her about the final project due in seven days, aka the final day at art camp. She had fun with Charlie for the past few weeks she forgot where she was. But she was bound to leave sooner or later. If only she didn't get too attached to Charlie, she would be able to say goodbye easily. Except she didn't, and it would be her turn to leave.

She set down her brush on the stand to stretch. "Tired already, are we?"

"Hey. I chose to include a background in my project, and those take forever to paint. All those little details, shading. My hand is aching, and I'm barely done." Paisley had to draw a portrait from pure memory with an optional background. Who did she draw? Carrie. They hadn't spoken in a while because Carrie was checking into Ridge and finalizing some papers, so Paisley wanted to surprise her with a portrait.

Charlie, however, wouldn't let Paisley see who he was painting. She assumed his muse was Bianca. Speaking of Bianca, it turned out Bianca and Charlie used to date last year during art camp but broke up because they realized their relationship wouldn't work out; they were now just good friends.

"Um, I'm including a background, too. Bet mine is going to be better, though."

Paisley feigned a gasp. "Excuse me? You think your portrait is gonna be better than mine?"

He raised a brow and smirked. "I don't think. I know."

"Feeling cocky, are we? Wanna make things interesting?"

"Depends on what you mean."

"I have twenty dollars remaining in my bag. If Miss Spikes chooses my portrait to hang at Rhododendron, you give me twenty bucks." Miss Spikes, their art teacher, said she would pick one of the portraits she believed to be the best to hang in the main hall where everyone can see it back at Paisley's school.

"And if Miss Spikes chooses mine, you owe me your twenty and one of your pads full of sketches."

Her eye twitched. All of her sketchpads had at least a few pictures of Carrie and were all Paisley's favorite. Giving up just one pad would be like giving up her memories. Yet she said, "Deal." She returned to her painting.

For the rest of the day, Paisley couldn't help but feel guilty for agreeing to their little bet.

Carrie called when Paisley finished getting changed after her shower. Betrayal clawed at her stomach once she saw the contact name. She didn't want to answer, but she didn't want Carrie to feel like she was ignoring her, either.

Charlie entered the room. No way was she going to talk to Carrie with him in the room. Her phone stopped ringing, but Paisley knew full well her best friend would call her again in a minute. She went to the bathroom to both hang her towel and wait for Carrie to call. With her free hand, Paisley picked up a hang towel to clean the mirror. For some reason, seeing the mirror foggy bothered her.