Cecile's New School

'Cecile the Art Critic' ('Cecile the Idiot')

Chapter Twenty-One

Cecile's eyes quickly darted to the clock. Sweat stabbed at her back. She could still make it! She only had thirty pages left!

Her eyes looked back at the book and scanned the pages in a rush.

"Cecile let's go! We have to leave now so you're not late." Her mother called from downstairs.

Cecile couldn't leave the book alone from the moment she picked it up that morning. She started it when she was waiting for the bus, but she was so consumed in that she let the bus pass without even climbing aboard.

The book had 150 pages and she wanted to finish it in one go. She couldn't put it down.

Cecile read as she put her book sack on. She read as she clomped down the stairs. She read as she sat in the car.

"I can't believe you missed the bus for a book! You better be glad I'm able to drive you to school, CeCe!" Her mother scolded and she climbed into the car. Her mother tucked a stray hair that had fallen out of her bun behind her ear.

"I'm sorry." Cecile apologized.  It was the first time she got her nose out of the book.  Her mother couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, at least you're reading and not doing something worse, but no more of this. You're getting older and need to be more responsible.

"For example, getting a job because I'm not buying anymore of those. I told you that before." She added and pointed to the book Cecile was holding.

Cecile nodded. "I understand.  Can I get a job at The ALPS?" She asked.

Her mother shook her head. "Nope.   That's too easy.  You have to go get a job on your own." She noted without taking her eyes off of the road.

Cecile leaned back into her chair with a huff.  "But why can't it be easy?"  She pouted.  Her mother shook her head.  "Life's not easy, CeCe."

She started waving her right hand while her left kept control of the wheel.  "Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to like hold your tongue and kiss ass to get where you're going, but that proves the strength of the person.  It proves how kind he or she is and how that person doesn't buckle under pressure.  Those are the people that are satisfied and happy in the long run.  That's all that matters until death." She smiled sweetly.

Cecile simply blinked. "Yeah..." She sunk lower in her seat and tried not to think too deeply about what her mother said. She returned to her book to distract herself.

👀

Cecile walked into school reading her book. The first period bell already rang, so she walked throughout the empty hallways with her head still stuck in that book. She didn't notice the coldness of isolation due to her imagination acting as company.

Her eyes slowly read the last page to savor the ending. Her fingers crinkled the pages. "Yay! Finished!" She exclaimed and hugged the book to her chest. A door opened to the side of her.

Penny, the rooster's little sister, came face to face with Cecile. She looked at Cecile's book then at her. They stared at each other, assessing each other and waiting for the other to speak.

Cecile decided to speak up first. "Penny? I didn't know you came to school here..." She drifted off when she saw that the girl had a gray streak of paint on her cheek.

"You have a little." Cecile tried to tell her. Cecile motioned to her own cheek.

Penny felt the caked gray mark on her skin then put her hand down. "It's artistic expression." Penny excused.