Oakwood Saplings

Chapter 3:Art with Artem

Nathaniel Ryan Dexter ^^ (people call him his middle name)

Rowan' POV

"Ms Artem,Famous Artist and the most prestigious Art teacher"
Oh a new teacher?
I wonder if she will be as full of herself as every other teacher not to mention standards because I am no Picasso and I don't possess any artistic skills at all.
I look at Lucinda who is looking anxiously at the door and avoiding the hundreds of eyes on her
"Don't worry lu,it's just because you're new"I try to encourage her "it's the welcome they give every new kid"
She returned the smile,her beautiful eyes looking directly at mine,full of gratitude. Yet she didn't speak
"Yeah,I doubt she wants to talk to a loser like you"I guess all good things must come to an end (like peace from jerks)
"Agreed,if your own blood abandoned you then you must be trash"
"The bin is there"
A guy twice my height with broad shoulders visibly strong headed my way
I recognise him immediately as the school playa and bad boy and instantly know why he's there;to dump me (non-love)
"Trash goes in the bin,red"his eyes are glimmering maliciously and he has an evil grin on his face

But then...

"Don't you dare,jerk!"Lucinda is in front of me her elbows bent in front of her and fists clenched ready to punch him or block him.
"Who said that?"Ryan pretending not to see her .
The class laughs.why is he mocking her height?she's quite short but clearly visible.
"Down here"she gets on her tiptoes "and Rowan is my friend so don't you dare even touch her!"
"Oh hey goldilocks"he laughs at her"I was just putting this garbage (pointing at me)in the bin"
"Very funny but wrong girl.so tell me What do you see when you you look at people?"her eyes piercing him with steel knives
"With her I see a red Dalmatian dumped at the foster system..and with you a naive,innocent blonde who is too tiny to fight"
"Tell that to my 6 siblings"
"Holy moly this girl's parents need birth control"a strange voice gasps
"Allow me to explain a few simple things to you,sir"lu continues "the foster system is a longer form of babysitting. A family cares for another family's child(ren) while the parents sort out whatever is stopping them from being parents whether that's financial,mental or physical issue or a job or relationship that's their business and they just need help."
There is simply silence.No one has moved either
"And no matter how you label everyone here you are very much mistaken.No one here is worthless or unloved we just have different backgrounds,bodies,personalities,strengths and weaknesses but everyone here no matter how they show them has feelings and deserves to be respected as a fellow human being."
"Wow the new girl stood up to Ryan"
Lucinda looked at me terrified "Ro what did I do?"she mouthed blushing at the stares
I laugh relieved that I am not covered in garbage today "something too brilliant for words"

"Good day class"a musical yet firm voice calls from behind me
"Well darned fudge it's the teacher"a voice says from the back of the line
"Thank you for that assessment Master Julian Mathews"she says with a slight smile"However I would very much like to start the lesson because otherwise you won't get your creative opportunity and I won't get paid,so come in please"
We all follow her in.
"Thoughts"she says "what are your thoughts about thoughts"
We all look at her confused but Sophia Andrews raises her hand
"A thought is an idea,picture or opinion that occurs while thinking and is often translated into words and actions"
Teacher's pet alert
"Spot on"Sophia beamed at her success "today we will be adding shapes and colours to your thoughts because you will be putting paint to canvas-"
"Excuse me Ms Artem, but isn't this activity also a form of meditation?"
"Yes"
Ok so...
I looked around and saw many sets of 2 easels
"I will be pairing you up but work individually"
So my partner is
Ryan!

Lucinda POV:

I was still red and flushed from that impulsive protection of a bff or whatever you are supposed to call it (I don't know the official name) but I honestly just remember doing it not the second guessing part, sort of like a reflex I guess.
Anyway focus, Ms Artem has given us a task ok you can do this
Remember her name Lu come on, my partner is someone called Lilith..but why do we need partners if it's our thoughts?
Should I ask? No! Don't be crazy Cindy you've already drawn enough attention to yourself
Ok let's back up a wee bit..ok..Who here is Lilith?
Darn first days
Uhh! I don't know and I am not gonna ask.Worst situation ever
No people are dying literally physically dead not just having a mental break down
"Hey beautiful,are you Lucinda?"
I froze
My heart jumped
Round of applause for being embarrassingly jumpy
"Aww sorry I made you jump"she had a pretty voice..is this Lilith?
Oh no I'm heating up,kinda shaking probably red
Ok Girl pull yourself together She is a human like you (or am I?..later) I just touched and talked with one,remember Ro?
"Not much of a talker eh?"she raised one eyebrow then laughed"don't worry cutie I like mysterious"
Way to draw attention to yourself 'ms not getting bullied again,gonna fit in' My mouth has a mind of its own
"I can tell you're slightly nervous but you have a warm aura"she picked up both our brushes and handed mine
"That means you're friendly" smiling she opened my clammy fist (habit) and placed it in there "I am all bark no bite trust me Cinderella"she winked at me
I wanted to say even 2 letters just so she didn't find me rude
"They say silence is a sign of wisdom"
we were painting now.Everywhere there was chatter.I guess Lilith's a lot better at this fitting in thing
"What's your full name?"I pointed to my bag (the school rule is to have your bag labelled with your full name)
She rolled her eyes remembering "on 3 I look at your name and you mine"
"1..2..3" Lilith Ivy Luna Veinus
"Lucinda Gemma Sophie Reign, Light ,gems/jewels, wisdom and a royal surname to top it all off"
"My name means strong warrior of the night,a weed that conceals secrets,the moon and a dwarf planet although spelt like a blood circulation system."
"Why..are you chatting with me of all people..you're time is better spent with your friends"OMG I spoke
"First they have no control over me,second it's not wasting if I am talking to a genuinely sweet and interesting person besides I count you as my friend even if I am not yours.And now that I have heard you're melodic voice I am addicted......by the way melodic means beautiful to listen to"
We painted
Mine a black background with some light (yellow dots) to represent hope then I realised I always had my imagination (That means I am weird not creative) so I painted an ajar door with coloured spirals behind it
I sneaked a look at Lilith's art hers was very abstract it was a black starry and red splattered on top
She smiled at me
"Stunning.What do you think of mine?"
"Well it's very abstract with the red..and you made night..kind of like your name"
"Thanks you sound genuine.To most I am just a pretty face"
"Well no offence but they're are kinda stupid.You have a soul"
She laughed "I like you"
"Mutual..That sounded weird sorry..so you maybe possibly want to consider being my friend?"
"Cinderella,weird is cool and unique.And I would love to be your friend"
I didn't want to explode in excitement like I did last time I trusted 3 out of 49 other people here (yes I trust ms Artem)
"You're smile is beautiful.Lights up your face"
"Thanks....can't remember last time I was complimented"
I glanced at Rowan

Ryan's POV

I was paired with Ginnerva Weasely
Jk
Obviously she is called something else
I think it's palm or something tree type
Anyhow we have a mutual feeling between us
What is it? I hear you ask,Love?
No I despise her with great passion
Why? Just because of reasons no one else gets (especially the nosy ones)
Moving on
Right now We basically are meditating
Trying to match shape and colour to our thoughts and put that on canvas
Stupid right? No one in the universe cares what we are thinking !

I think of me a lot so how to paint that ....
Some see me as the seductive bad boy
Others see me as a mysterious handsome bully
I honestly don't care about anyone's opinion

I just realised if we are good students then we would be thinking about painting! Dude I am a genius

And I am good looking, the most attractive male in the school and Lilith is the most attractive female

She's paired with the new girl..the short, tiny-voiced Goldilocks that stopped me from my litter duty.

Ms Artem's POV

They seem to be getting on well.The students I mean.
Despite the sign I have only ever done private tutor sessions for preteens so this is new to me
However one of my works (a painting of the northern lights from the holiday) became popular it was my 10th painting
My normal scene is sketching and photography but sometimes with visitors I sculpt.I only paint when I hear my calling.
Don't get me wrong I love art, how it's all about embracing patterns,themes,colours,imperfections and differences not to mention you can turn any memory into an object with just a little creativity.

It's the end of the lesson now so I believe they have break then history