Hush

Chapter 1

Hush

"SHIT" I yell to myself. I can't find my socks. The rest of my uniform is on and I'm rushing throughout my apartment to find them. I'm running late for my first day. If I miss my bus, I'm screwed.
    I shuffle throughout my small studio apartment looking everywhere. I moved in yesterday coming from across the country. The HS I go to is REALLY prestigious. It's a private art school and I only barely made it in for the scholarship.
    Finally! I find my socks... In my fridge? (How did they even get there)  never mind that, as soon as I get my shoes on I fly (metaphorically) out the door and rush to my bus stop about 3 blocks away.
    When I get there someone is boarding the bus. He's tall and handsome, looks to be about my age.  I pat all of my pockets in search for my bus pass and the driver looks like he's loosing patience. I apologize and the person who boarded before me says " It's hanging out of your bag" and he points to my lanyard hanging from my satchel. He has an accent. Maybe Korean? It's very faint as if he's been speaking English for years. I say thank you and quickly show the bus driver my pass, I quickly move through the isle and find a pole to hold onto.
"You seem to  be in a rush" the good looking man says. His eyes are a dark chestnut and he wears a heavy black coat with a maroon scarf. His hair has a slight wave to it and it's a deep black, his skin is very light and his eyes smile.  I give a very exhausted laugh.  "You could say that" I make eye contact with him and immediately regret it. His gaze is piercing. I look away quickly.  My face is warm. Shit.
     "My name is Nathan." He holds out his hand for me to shake.
" my friends call me hush..." I shake his hand.
"Hush?" I nod.
"It's a long story"
"So, are you a freshmen?" He asks surveying my uniform.
"Uhm yeah hah...you?" I answer.
"Freshmen" he answers pausing abruptly and then looks at me curiously. " if it's okay for me to ask" he pauses "when is your birthday?" The question puzzles me.
"February 3rd, why?" I say confused.
"Ah, so you're and Aquarius.." He says to himself. "Mine is April 3rd, Aries" he says and he smirks.  "Oh.." I say confused. "I'm not really into astrology but it's always intrigued me." I say looking up at him.
" you really should, it's fun" he says looking straight ahead out the window.
The rest of the bus ride is quiet.  When we board I start walking. It's about 20 minutes of walking from the station. "Ah-" I say to Nathan. He looks back at me and stops walking "yeah?"
"Do- do you mind if I walk with you?"
"Not at all." I run to catch up with him and we walk together. I mainly asked because it would be weird if I was just walking behind him the whole time. We make small talk and he teaches me about Astrology and my sign. Shockingly.. It was accurate.  He told me his major was in photography. And showed me his camera. It was retro and takes amazing pictures. When we got to campus we parted ways and went to class. 
   My first class was art history and was is a lecture. The room can fit about 100 people and all of them were filled. I sat toward the back next to a blonde haired girl with a pixie do.she introduced herself as Natalie. She was smart and kind and we clicked immediately. We had about 10 minutes before class so we chatted . Apparently she was top of her class in high school (unlike me).  When class started everyone became quiet and focused. I did my best to take notes but the professor was extremely fast at talking and only spent a few minutes on each segment barely elaborating at all. The lecture lasted about 2 hours. In the end, I didn't take very many notes. The professor assigned a 10 page essay and to read half of a text book in a week.
    " hey," Natalie said standing up while gathering her things. "What's your next class?"
"Figure painting" I say putting my things in my bag. "Oh, really?" She said smiling. "Me too, we should walk there together. "
"Sure" I'm really glad to be making friends already.
   We walk to the art studio across campus. Since we were one of the last people there we ended up getting shitty seats in the back. But, because if it, no one can judge my art behind me. Everyone is quiet and begins drawing as soon as they get their supplies. I put In My headphones and begin my sketch.  There is a thin girl in the middle of the room. She is naked (of course) and her pose is simple. One arm resting at her side while her other hand holds her shoulder. One of her knees are bent. Her head facing toward her right side and tilted down slightly. Her hair is a brown and her face isn't that remarkable but that's a part of the aesthetic.
    The teacher weaves in between people giving them tips. She talks about technique and proportions. Once my sketch of the girls figure is done I begin adding a background and clothes. I draw for a while occasionally glancing at other peoples work. I always see proportional issues with other people's art, it's funny to be quite honest. I look at other peoples art only to look at mine and find all of the minor mistakes I've made. I turn my canvas upside down and stare at it for a few minutes, find a mistake, erase it and redraw it. Then repeat. Once I'm completely done tweaking all of the other artists are farther ahead of me. While I only have my sketch, everyone else is either doing line art or painting.  Fuck.
"What have you been doing this whole time?" My professor asks.
"Drawing" I say sheepishly.
"No you haven't." She says aggressively. " all you have is a sketch."
"I promise you that I've been drawing... It just takes me a while to get a sketch down"
"No excuses!" She snaps " you're going to stay after class and clean this whole room spotless."
I'm in disbelief. Did that just happen? All of the students are looking at me. Judging, insulting in their heads. I want to climb into a small hole and never come out. 
    When everyone is out of the room I begin cleaning.  Natalie ignored me after that incident. That teacher is totally unreasonable. 
This room is filthy.
One of the students 'accidentally' dumped pain't on the floor and left it there. By the end of class it was completely dry.
    I hear footsteps down the hall and they stop right outside the classroom door. I look over to see a photographer taking my photo. I can't see their face but by the vintage style I can tell its Nathan.
"Hey. " he says shooting a smile my way. " why are you still here?"
"Uhm, well" I'm hesitant to tell him since I barely know him but I might as well since I'm already getting hated for such a small thing. "The teacher yelled at me so I have to clean the whole class and everyone laughed at me"  I laugh nervously
"Why" Nathan gives me a puzzled look. 
"Because I can't draw fast enough..." I rub my neck and look at the ground.
"Well, that's shitty. " he walks over to me "let me help you. " he grabs a broom and starts sweeping.
    There was a crumpled up piece of paper on a stray desk. I uncrumpled it and read the messy handwriting on it "what a slow asshole. No wonder you have to clean." I was shocked. No doubt they were talking about me. It was my first day too. I haven't done anything and I'm already getting hate.
All I can do is look at the note. I must've looked at it for a while because Nathan came over. "what's that?" He takes the paper out of my hand and reads it. "That's bullshit" he states as if it were actually factual. "You barely know me-" he cuts me off.
"Neither do they." His gaze punctures my skin. I sit there, somewhat puzzled. "Well," I finally say. "It doesn't matter anyway..." I avert eye contact almost as if I'm trying to convince myself more so than him.
   We go back to cleaning. The sun is setting leaving a warm yellow haze over the class. I look over to Nathan who is minding himself. I observe him as if he were a perfect specimen. His shoulders broad, his neck thin. Skin clear and he is thin. His skin is clear and almost unblemished accept for a small freckle that rests right under his jowl. It's endearing.he is wearing a long sleeve black shirt and black pants with navy converse on.  He is truly a handsome man.
    I continue cleaning. There are desks strewn across the room in a messy manor. Almost aesthetic. I begin hearing a pitter patter on the Windows. It begins slowly and becomes heavier by the minute. I didn't bring an umbrella in my rush this morning and it's biting me in the ass for it.
"Shit" Nathan says looking out the window holding a broom.
"Yeah." I chuckle. "I forgot my umbrella." I give him a sweet smile.
He smiles back. So genuine. "Me too."
   Once we finished up cleaning we gathered up our things and leave. The hallways were dark and all of the classroom doors locked. The rain has gotten heavier once we are finally outside or maybe it was like this before and I just didn't notice? Who knows...
    Nathan looks at me and says excitedly "are you ready?" It must've been a rhetorical question because before I could reply he grabbed my arm and started running.  We ran the whole way to the bus stop while he held my wrist. I didn't mind. It was nice.
    By the time we got to the bus stop my clothes were soaked. A mixture of sweat and rain dripping down my face but, I was too exhausted to care much. Nathan turns to me "I'll be right back" he's completely out of breath but it's kind of endearing. He ran away only to come back about 5 minutes later with 2 steaming cups of cocoa. This is exactly what I need. I take a sip and hold it with both of my hands. As the warm cocoa travels to my stomach it warms me up. I smile. Not the kind of smile that's big and cheery. It was more like the kind of smile that someone would mistake for love. 
    We stand In silence for about 7 more minutes when the bus arrives. We board and sit in the back. He sits closest to the window and leans on it. I sit beside him and give him as much space as I can while still being close. Before I know it I'm asleep.
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