Children of the Elements: Prey to Him

Chapter Six: Failure is Never Easy

Chapter Six: Failure is Never Easy

The school was quiet by the time Eva had managed to get there. She’d originally asked Chris to drive her, but Georgea was still angry from whatever Ash said to her, so she wouldn’t let them borrow her car. Chris and Ash had gone their separate ways, leaving Eva to walk to school. Because of this, she was late. She really didn’t want to be late, but she considered that to be honest, she didn’t really have to mind because it wasn’t the lessons she was really there for, it was the people.

Still, she headed towards her first lesson: Art. She’d always been an artist, drawing on the walls when she was a child, and always asking for new stationary for her birthdays. She never got any, though on her 11th birthday, she had stolen some of her mother’s money and bought herself a new art sketch pad, which she was very proud of. That was why she was so devastated when her mother burned it upon discovering Eva had stolen her money. She didn’t know if she wanted to be an artist, but Crystal had once told her that she had a talent, so she had taken it anyway. She seemed to be doing alright in the subject though, unlike the rest of her A levels. She just prayed that this drama with Nathan would calm down before she completely flunked them.

She checked her phone as she reached the door to the art room. She was 20 minutes late. She needed an excuse… Um… home life? Nah, that’s pretty lame. Um… … … Oh just wing it.

She opened the door, and all 6 people in the room turned around. She spotted Jordan straight away: her hair was now completely black with royal blue ends and a streak of purple down her parting, her fringe cut half way down her eyes, making her look even more mysterious than normal.

“Ah, Eva, nice of you to join us. Would you like to tell us where you’ve been?” Mr Kraven always had been gentle with his students, so she wasn’t especially worried about her non-existent excuse.

“Sorry sir. I just lost track of time.”

For a minute, he looked as though he was going to delve deeper, but instead, he just dipped his head and Eva sat herself down next to Jordan.

“Well, Eva, we were just discussing the next piece of coursework. We’re focussing on nature at the moment, and the task will be to completely a 3D sculpture of your interpretation of nature using a variety of textures. You will be required to show me regular weekly updates of how you are doing, just to check that you’re actually doing things. You have access to anything in this classroom and the rest of the art department throughout the school day, but it must include at least 4 different mediums, not just paint or pencils. Understood?”

Eva nodded, whilst Jordan next to her just scoffed gently. To be honest, Eva hadn’t been listening especially attentively. She was ticking over her questions to ask around. Unfortunately for her, Nathan was the priority, and she understood that.

As soon as the other 5 students were up and talking to each other about the task, grabbing different paintbrushes and scrap paper to scrawl their ideas down, Eva leaned towards Jordan. “Hey” she whispered. Jordan looked up at her through her long fringe.

“Where’ve you been? It’s been months.” Her friend’s tone was almost cold.

“It’s been one month, Jordan.”

“Sure.” Jordan folded her arms grumpily on the desk and rested her head in them. However she still faced Eva.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve just been very preoccupied.”

Jordan scoffed. “Sure. That’s what they all say.”

“Can I just ask you something?”

At Eva’s serious tone, Jordan lifted her head up and eyed her. “OK…” she hesitated nervously, as though she was nervous as to what Eva was going to say.