Stranger's Spell

Chapter 2

I guess I ended up dozing off cause I wake up to the sound of my alarm letting me know it is time to get up. I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I made sure to get up early to avoid people in the bathroom. My outfit for the day is a pair of jeans and a plain black tee-shirt. I dabble on just a tad bit concealer on the dark circles and add a little of mascara to accompany my blue eyes. I tie my hair up into a quick ponytail and start to head out. I'm so nervous I almost forget my backpack and jacket. Once I grab them I head outside. This will be my first time taking the subway but yesterday I tripled check on what station I want to get off at so I arrive in front of the school and not down by the Statue of Liberty. I jog down the steps and wait for my ride to appear. The subway station is a very unique spot. There are many people bustling in and out of the train. I spot homeless people sitting there hoping someone will drop some change. It's a very overwhelming feeling. I slide onto the subway and instantly feel trapped by all the people surrounding me. Within minutes later I manage to hear the voice over the intercom saying my stop is coming up. I steer towards the sliding door. My fear of being stuck on the subway is kicking in as I start to think of all the possibilities that could go wrong. The doors open and I rush out and jog quickly up the stairs. Fresh air floods my lungs as I take a deep breath.

My eyes scan the huge building in front of me that reads Hunter College. I start reading signs to guide me to my first class of the day. My schedule isn't too booked up during the week. My first class today is "Intro to Art Beginnings" and then after that I have a class at 1. I look for the Art Foyer which holds the lecture halls and classrooms for the Art major. Room 203 comes quicker than I expect, if I wasn't looking at the room numbers I would've missed it completely. The classroom is tucked away in the back of a hallway. The room has the lights turned on but I don't see anyone in there. This class doesn't have any individual desks. There is a bunch of big tables with chairs all around them. The walls are brightly colored with a bunch of different art work on them. I see a stack of easls in the back of the class. I'm itching to start painting in here.

I walk in and sit at one of the round tables towards the middle of everything. I slide my sketchbook out and start to draw. My hand begins to flow across the page. I'm not really thinking about what to draw it just happens. My mind takes the lead and within the next moment the page is covered in cosmos. They are one of my favorite flowers because when I was a little girl my grandma use to grow a garden in her backyard. One day when I showed up she told me she had a surprise for me. She told me that she found a new flower to plant. She brought out an orange looking flower and I thought it was the prettiest thing I've ever seen. That was the first orange color in her backyard so it instantly became my favorite.  She would always let me go outside and pick out however many I wanted.  After my hands were too full to carry anymore I would bring them in and set them in the vase she had out already. Ever since that day those flowers have became my favorite. I'm so consumed with drawing that I don't even notice someone is sitting next to me until they say something.

"Hello!" a young woman who looks around my age says to me. She has light brown skin. Her hair is a curly tornado. She is extremely pretty. She continues to smile at me. Her smile never falters. Her brown eyes watch me, waiting for a response. I suppose I take to long to respond because in the next moment she is speaking again. 

"I'm Ida Rodwell," she adds and then extends her hand out towards me. I realize that she's waiting for a handshake. So I bring my hand to hers and find out she has a firm handshake. She is the first girl that has said something to me since I have arrived here. I smile back at her and introduce myself.

"Hi, I'm Valerie Gallo," I answer back. She nods while smiling continuing to look at me. Now I'm getting creeped out. I guess she senses how I'm feeling because she starts to talk to clear the awkwardness in the air.