The Human Experiment (bxbxb)

A Little Light In The Darkness

(Uploaded the unedited chapters by mistake for 1-3. Just fixed them, highly suggest going back through them before reading this one :3) 

Rolland was in a daze for the next several days as he dragged himself about doing his chores and going to school. His mind only ever seemed to wake up when he stepped into his sixth period art class. It was his last class of the day but always the best. The teacher couldn't have been nicer and often brought him a new colored marker for his board or gave him spare sketchbook paper from her supplies to take home. It probably wasn't much to most kids, but each time he got a new color, he couldn't help but get excited. Half the time, he stayed up way too late drawing and got yelled at by Mrs. Spryfield. It was totally worth it, though, because the next day he came to school with his drawing and showed it to Ms. West. She always loved what he did, even if it was just basic outlines or playing around with the colors he had.

His smile stretched across his face for the first time in almost a week as he took his seat in the front of the class. Ms. West stepped out of the back room and smiled at him, waving as she made her way to the front of the room. There was a big white plastic bag in her left hand that she quickly tucked behind her desk before turning to the settling class.

"Alright, class, today we will be drawing your choice of a fantasy creature. It can be anything from an elf, to a dragon, to an alien. They are due at the end of the period so don't worry about backgrounds or a ton of detail, I just want to see the basics for this assignment. We will elaborate on them in the next class."

Everyone began working except for Rolland, who sat quietly until Ms. West walked over with a small dry erase board to let him know the assignment.

"Good afternoon, Rolland. Your assignment is to draw a fantasy creature. Anything that comes to mind is fine. There is no background for this assignment, and it can be a general outline. Whatever you get done by the end of class is fine."

He nodded and quickly got up to fetch himself a piece of sketch paper. When he returned to his seat, he got busy on the assignment, forgetting about everything else for the next hour. This was his time to just relax in school and have fun, and he intended to do just that. He had a thing for dragons so that's what he decided to draw. It was a huge one that was flying toward you through a thunderstorm. He knew she said a background wasn't necessary, but she always let him get away with stretching the assignment a little.

After about fifty minutes, Rolland noticed several students beginning to get up and turn in their drawings so they could pack up to go home. He was never in a rush to leave art, though, so he worked through the last ten minutes before finally putting his pencil away and getting up. By then most of the kids were gone, though he noticed a couple came in, he supposed to ask the teacher something, but since they were standing farther back, he assumed he was fine to go show Ms. West his work so he could leave.

With an excited smile, he nearly ran up to Ms. West's desk and offered her his drawing. She took it with a grin and held it out so she could see. The enthusiasm that lit up her face made Rolland giddy with excitement. He loved it when she liked his stuff. Mrs. Spryfield never bothered to comment besides the basic it's okay or good job, but Ms. West always gave him amazing critiques and ideas to get better. When she set his drawing down on her desk and grabbed her writing board, he anxiously waited for her to write.

"That was gorgeous, Rolland! The lighting was much better than your last try. Proportions for the head and front arms were great but be sure to check the back ones. Look up a reference if needed to double check the distance. Also, I have something for you."

Huh? For me?

He smiled again, bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly as he watched her turn around and grab that big bag she'd brought from the back room earlier. His gaze followed as she set it on her desk, then carefully pulled out something big and offered it to him.