Prep School

Chapter 6

We walked into the class and you could tell that the room was home to a true artist and not just your run-of-the-mill art teacher.There weren't many pictures of classic paintings, most were original pieces signed by the artist (Rose Nayes) or they were pieces that were bought off of Etsy or other online stores.
Awesome! This is gonna be fun!
I chose a seat close to the teacher's desk and Gianna sat next to me.
"You're really excited, aren't you?" She asked.
"Yep!" I was bouncing up and down with excitement.
Our new teacher walked out of the back room, carrying some clay in her arms. She had fire red hair tied up in a messy bun and paint splattered jeans.
"Hey guys!" she said as she walked up to her desk.
"I'm Mrs.Nayes and I'm gonna be your art teacher. Obviously. Anyway, you all already know the rules, all your other teachers probably already mentioned them. A couple hundred times,"she said, winking.
"Now I just wanna see what you guys can do. So I'm gonna give you some clay and you're gonna make the first thing that comes to mind. You can sketch it out first if you want."
New favorite teacher, I thought to myself.
She passed out the clay, and I got started. Art is the one thing I don't zone out on, or training. But that's for later.
I dug my fingers into the clay and started shaping out the base of my subject.
I pulled my sketchbook out my stack of textbooks and sketched out the base of a tree. I added the texture of the bark and all the ridges.
I did the same on my sculpture.
Next, I sketched out the leaves and the veins.
I took chunks of clay and shaped them into leaves. Using my pencil, I indented the texture of the leaves. Then, I attached them to the branches of my tree, creating sheets of leaves, making a canopy.
I heard someone whistle appreciatively behind me.
I turned around, and there was Zane (again) leaning against the radiator.
"You did a really good job."
For once, I smiled at him. "Thanks."
This time, he just smiled, no grinning or smirking. He pushed off from where he was leaning and walked back to where he was working.
I looked at what he was making and it didn't look like he was getting anywhere. I giggled at the sight of him with his tongue sticking out and the clay smudged on his face.
He looked up and grinned. I quickly frowned then turned around to keep working.
Now, I just gotta get these branches right....
Mrs. Nayes came over to where Gianna and I were working, and watched us for a bit.
"Great job on the base Gianna!" She said. "Try to add some more texture."
She came to me.
"Wow! This is great! You should think about coming to my after-school sessions, you could work on some more sculptures," she said to me.
"Yeah, ok! I'll think about it, do I need a slip for it?"
"No, you can just show up."
"Ok, cool!" I said eagerly.
"Ok, class. Time to wrap up! The bell's about to ring!" Mrs.Nayes announced. "You can leave your sculptures on the racks in the back room!"
After we put our sculptures away, the bell rung and we all rushed out of the classroom.
"Aria?" Mrs. Nayes called.
"Yes?"
"Think about coming after school, 'Kay?"
"Yeah, ok!"
I walked out of the classroom and to my locker with Gianna.
"Hey, I never got your number!" I said to Gianna.
"Oh yeah! Here's my phone to put yours in."
We gave each other our numbers.
As I walked to the front door, my phone buzzed. Mom.
"Hey."
"Honey, I'm out back, you ready for training?"
"Yeah, I'm coming."
I went out the side door into the parking lot where my mom was waiting for me.
I plopped into the passenger seat and turned on the radio.
"So how was your first day?" My mom asked.
I gave her a quick overview of my day. Complete with what I thought of my teachers. I left out Zane, so she couldn't make any mom comments about it.
I looked at her after I had finished. I mostly look like my dad, with his dark hair, but I have my mom's gray eyes.
Her brown hair glistened in the sun, like she had just taken a shower.
"Hey mom? There are these after-school art sessions, so could I go?"
"What days are they on?"
"Ummmm..... I think they're everyday.... I'm not really sure."
"If they're not on training days, I think you could go."
"Ok..." I sigh.
"Honey, you know how import-"
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
I looked outside; we were home.
A townhouse with 3 floors was my home.
I bounded up the stairs and dumped my school stuff in my room.
I quickly changed into training clothes and pulled my hair into a bun, the way Ms. Elliyot likes it.
I grabbed my duffel bag and got into the car.
"Ready to go, Mom."