Words

Seven

"Done," Kyle muttered before placing the notebook face down on the table.

My body relaxed and I laid back in my chair. Tentatively reaching past him, I asked, "Can I see?"

He quickly pushed the notebook from my grasp and glared at me. "No! You can see it when you're finished. I haven't finished it completely―it's just a sketch."

"But I just wanna take a peek-"

"No." Curiosity almost got the better of me, but any thought of disobeying him vanished after I noticed the way his hands trembled. His steady gaze reminded me of Dad when he was mad that his recent news story wasn't working out well.

I sat back and sighed, giving up. I would see it eventually. "All right." My notebook laid in my lap when my back shivered. He had no problem drawing me in almost thirty minutes, but what would happen if I attempted to? Would my work live only to be eaten by my inviting mouth? I didn't know, I didn't even want to know, but I had to. I had to at least try, even if my efforts were in vain. My words were one thing; was art going to be taken from me as well?

I glanced at Kyle's notebook. It was worn out as if he had used it every day, sketching and erasing each crafted line to match his vivid imagination. I had never taken the time to learn of his interests, but it looked like drawing was one of them. I was glad that he was following his dreams. While I... Could I dare to dream? My thoughts and wishes couldn't be written on paper anymore. So how would anyone even know I had any? Speaking is one thing, but I personally enjoyed writing to some degree. Yet this curse had to take it from my grasp.

A rather loud cough snatched me from my thoughts. Kyle was watching me and tapping his finger on the table out of impatience. He stretched his arms upwards and sighed when he noticed my confused gaze. "Well?"

"Well what?"

He made a clicking sound of annoyance with his tongue. "You gonna draw me or what? We don't have much time left."

"Ah...sorry. I forgot." I fumbled to pick up the pencil and notebook that was assigned to me in the beginning of the school year and focused on him when he posed once more after fully gaining my attention.

First outlining the shapes of his head, neck and shoulder, I studied the shading and structure of the muscles and bones that I could see. Afterwards, I traced his features delicately, making sure to fully capture the depths of his sharp jaw bone and the wideness of his hazel eyes. His mop of curly brown hair was difficult to draw, so I decided to simply outline it and save the shading for the next day.

When I sporadically looked up to observe part of his body, the features of which I had forgotten, I was mesmerized by a solid gaze. He blankly stared at me with only a flash of curiosity illuminating his features every once in awhile. There was complete silence between us, in contrast to the talkative groups that I briefly wondered what Sophie would have drawn me like.

No one but my parents had ever seen my drawings, yet it was only fair to show him once the portrait was complete. I always looked at who I was speaking to with uncertainty and confusion, as if my words would break them if I spoke too intelligently. I wasn't sure why the kids here were so easily offended by my indifference to their lack of knowledge. Maybe I sounded narcissistic when I wasn't trying to be.

I placed the notebook face down once it was break time. Though I was afraid of seeing the results, I was also relieved that I could finally rest my hands.

"Hah." Kyle sighed, rotating his arms and legs to get his blood flowing. "Done yet?"

I shook my head lightly and held the notebook close to my chest. "No; just a few more touches and I'll be done for today."