Eighteen year-old Zach Curtis has lost everything: his girlfriend, his job and his scholarship. Nothing in the world matters anymore, until he receives a rude awakening from a stranger.
Petite and awkward, Terra Quinn is living the life with her bes...
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– Zach –
"Hey Zach, what do you think?" Terra asks, holding up an A3 paper that is big enough to cover her torso.
Confused, I study the pencil-sketched drawing, cocking my head as I try to make out what it is. "What's that?" I ask slowly.
She beams, "It's a bird."
I clasp a hand over my mouth.
"W-What? Does it look that bad?" she panics, flipping the paper around to face her own drawing. "It's not that bad. Isn't it obvious? It's a bird!"
I don't move my hand, knowing full well the consequences if I do.
"Look, it has nice feathered tail with a cute round beak, and it has wings!" she races to explain, picking apart her apparent masterpiece, trying her best to describe it. "Okay, so maybe the wings look a little potatoes–"
I look away.
"Wait, are you smiling?" she asks, sounding both angry and surprised. "You're secretly laughing at me, aren't you?"
"No." I lie.
"You're lying!" she retorts, getting increasingly mad, but it is contradicting the wide grin on her face. "Zach, you're laughing at me!"
"I'm not, I swear." I lower my hand, managing a reply.
"Is my drawing really that bad?" she frowns, showing it to me once again. I take a quick glance, wondering what to say.
"It looks like a flying fish." I say, and a chuckle escapes.
"What!" she exclaims. "No it doesn't."
"Or a potato bird–" I add.
"A what?!" she looks at me disbelievingly, then she cracks up. "A potato bird, really?"
"It...does look like a potato, with wings." I say.
"You're mean!" she laughs, whacking me with her free hand.
We're sitting by the same corner, occasionally responding to the conversations occurring in the center of the class. Surprisingly, the support group has been peaceful and quiet today, without a frantic student in sight asking for help.
Everyone seems to be busy revising for the upcoming exams or working on their final assignments, then there's Terra, who somehow has some spare time to draw a potato bird.
"I still think it's a masterpiece." She beams satisfyingly. "I'm going to frame it in my room"
"You can frame your assignment too, when you're done." I remind her.
"Ah, I'm just taking a little break." She shrugs dismissively. "Besides, I'm already done with the drafts and the skeleton of it, all that's left to do is adding all the colors and stuff."
"That's difficult too."
"Yes, but I'm sure someone can help?" she glues her hands together tightly, flashing me a toothy grin. I know that look.
