The Perfect Gift

Chapter Nine

Sarah

"It's sooo cold," Ems says shivering slightly.

Her arms are over her body as she hugs herself tightly. I agree, the weather is cold which isn't surprising at this part of the state.

I have on my purple head warmer and the thickest cardigan I could find but I still quake. It's early winter.

"Have you gotten any good one?" I ask. Ems has a class project on landscape photography so we're out in the woods on Westmore grounds.

We've been there for almost an hour with Ems snapping everything and anything.

At my question, she pauses and looks at the shots she has taken, "I think so." Thank God. I sigh, "Okay, let's get to class."

As we leave, I can't help but think about the guy I bumped into. I haven't seen him since the day in the hallway but there's been a lot of talk about him.

Mackenzie and her friends have been going on and on about him.

Apparently, she thinks he's super hot and as much as I hate to admit it, she's right.

His jet black hair was semi-curly and long, reaching his neck. It looked tousled a little, which just added to his I-don't-care demeanour.

And his eyes. They were grey in color and beautiful. They showed so much raw emotions- like he had been through a lot.

His jaw was chiseled and his teeth, which I noticed when he spoke, pearly white.

He looked taller than me and I felt strong and callous hands when he helped me up. His skin is a little tan which tells me he's not from here.

He was dressed in a simple sweatshirt and jean trousers but yet still looked handsome.

To be honest, I can't stop thinking about him. Neither can half the school.

I don't think he's been back since the first time we met. I wonder if he's a transfer student. I hope he comes back, I definitely want to see him again.

I hear his name is Ashton. I think about his life, it must have been bad for him to have such a forlorn look in his eyes. And at that moment, I pray for him.

"You have Art class now, Sarah. " Ems words cut into my thoughts, bringing me back to the present.

Today is Friday, my best day of the school week. I have a double-period Art class which I usually spend painting with other students while Ms Graham inspects our work.

After school, I get to go to Christian Teen Fellowship with some of the Christians in school.

To say CTF is cool would be a serious understatement. We get learn about God and His word every Friday.

My faith has gotten stronger after joining them three months ago. We meet in the Art class room which Ms Graham graciously offered to let us use for our meetings.

After saying our goodbyes and promising to meet back in two hours for CTF, we depart to our different classes.

I'm practically dancing into the class. God, I've missed being here. Students are already seated and I take a seat beside Claudia Jenkins, my friend.

We talk about our summer break while we await Ms Graham's arrival. Turns out she went on an art retreat in New York. Our quiet chat is cut short when we see our teacher.

"Good day, everyone." We all answer in chorus and she begins to brief us on our assignment for today.

"Today, we'll be painting inanimate objects, anything that comes to mind," she says. "Hum...like a cup?" someone asks. Everyone laughs, even Ms Graham. "Think bigger, Miss Adams."

We all get to work soon after. I decide on an ocean. I pull out my phone, plug in my earphones and play a song by Hillsong United, my favourite Christian music group. The song title is Oceans Where Feet May Fail. This is one of my best songs, I relax as the words fill my ears.

This is the only class where the teacher let's us use our phones. Anything that gives us inspiration to paint is allowed in class.

In this moment, I block off every other things besides the music and paint to my heart's content.

A/N:

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to vote and/or comment cos that's the only way I know you're reading!!!