In Love With An Angel (a. butler)

Four.

It was dark and shady and mysterious. I could see the edges tearing apart like something monstrous ripped them. I felt scared and cold. Just by looking at it, the goosebumps began up the side of my left arm.

"Amazing," I said, staring at my partner's pictures. 

We were assigned to capture an ordinary object and use our creativity to make it unordinary. You'd be surprised at how one picture can change a perspective depending on how it was taken. My partner used plastic cups painted black and the wet concrete from the rain as a background. 

"Because you zoomed in so much, I could barely tell they were cups." 

He smiled. "You're just saying that because you're my partner." 

"No, I'm not. I mean, these are good ..better than mine," I said wryly

I handed him two pictures of a rose I found outside. Its tips began darkening, and its surroundings seemed out of place. No other roses were sprouting, so I took a picture but didn't edit or fix them. It took me days to figure out what to do for this assignment, and when I found the rose, it was already too late. 

"It's like a metaphor," he said, examining my lousy pictures.

"What?" 

"Your pictures. It's like a metaphor for how you feel." 

"Matthew, they're just stupid ugly pictures that will get me a C on this assignment," I said, snatching them back from his hands.

Matthew smirked at me. "You know, to be the best student in this class, you sure don't have the best attitude." 

I shrugged. The bell rang, and my teacher collected our pictures before we were dismissed. I handed mine to him quickly without making eye contact. I didn't want to be there when he graded them. Walking through the hall, I felt sick. My stomach was beginning to act up. I'd just had my period, so it shouldn't be cramps. I went to the bathroom and splashed water over my face. I don't know how that would help me, but it woke me up more. I haven't been sleeping well recently, and It's affecting my work ethic. I heard the warning bell ring, telling me I had two minutes to get to French or I would be late.

I made it just before Ms. Dubois closed her room door. Inside, I saw Sabrina, Ellie, Viviana, and Luca. This was another class we shared. I found the empty seat in the back of the room. I saw Luca staring at me from across the class when I sat down. 

This guy is too obvious.

I shrugged at him, wondering what he wanted. He just smiled and looked back at Ms. Dubois. 

"Bonjour les étudiants, nous allons commencer la leçon 2B. Sortez vos livres" she said swiftly.
No one moved but me as I understood exactly what she said. We're going to start lesson 2B and take out our books. It was easy, but I guess not everyone thought so. She sighed and then translated to English. The rest of the class was now aware. She noticed that I was the only one who moved and pointed me out. 

"Rosalina," she said

"Yes?"

"Are you familiar with French?"

"Sort of. I-I took the class at my old school."

"Really? What was your grade average?"

"It was a B." I said slowly 

She smiled. "Très bien" 

I slouched in my seat after that conversation. The majority of the class was now watching me. Of course, I know what they think: "She's better than us" or "She thinks she knows everything."  I honestly don't. I'm just trying to fit in. French is always the last class and the longest class for me. We sit going on and on, trying to understand a completely new language. After a while, your brain gets tired, and mine was.