Three Years Later | ✓

08 | Clumsy Injuries

THE WEIGHT ON my shoulders grew heavier with each step as I dragged my feet along the white tile floor, inching closer to Intro to Art.

All week, I sat at my desk in my room, staring frustratedly at a blank piece of paper for hours, hoping that any idea would come to mind. But to my dismay, I came up with nothing. This project was hopeless.

But later on however, I managed to sketch a poorly-drawn picture of a girl swinging from a tree in silhouette form as she watched the sunset, using it as a measly excuse for an "idea" and explained that the girl represented myself "looking out into the bright future ahead."

"You going in, or are you just gonna stare at the door and wait for it to magically open for you?" I heard from behind after realizing that I was blocking the doorway. 

Muttering an apology and feeling my cheeks warm-up, I twisted the knob and pulled the door open, holding the door behind me as I glanced up to see who it was.

"Oh, it's just you." A small smile that I couldn't help wiggled onto my face when I saw Milo standing behind me.

After shuffling between desks to our seats and settling in, Milo whipped out his sketchbook and began flipping through the first few pages, deciding which sketch to show to Professor Hyatt. My mood plummeted even more as I pulled out my sketchbook, hugging it closely to my chest as I was embarrassed that I only had one page filled whilst everyone else had tons of doodles and sketches.

"What are you going to draw?" Milo asked from beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts as he leaned over and attempted to peek over at my sketchbook. I hugged the pad closer to my chest, which resulted in a frown from Milo.

"Sorry, I just...don't feel comfortable sharing what I drew," I admitted quietly, shoulders slumped.

"It's cool," he shrugged as he moved back into his seat, giving me a soft smile.

"I know I'm going to sound like a total hypocrite but...can I see what you drew?" I asked. But because I sometimes become an awkward mess around Milo, I suggested with a short chuckle, "Unless you don't want to show me. That's cool too."

His lips rolled in, considering whether or not he was going to show me his sketch. Then, a mischievous smirk curled upon his lips. "Mmm, maybe not now, but eventually. I'll show it to you once I'm done."

"But you have tons of things drawn out in your book. Besides, we just needed to sketch out some ideas, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll choose that one, right?" I said.

"Nope, I've already decided. I think this one is the best picture-worthy moment from my life," Milo shrugged happily with a cute smile on his face, causing the deep dimples on his face to appear. His infectious smile traveled like wildfire, and I found myself mirroring his smile.

"Okay," I sang incredulously as Professor Hyatt entered, eyebrows raised.

"How about we make a deal?" I suddenly sprouted. Milo stayed quiet and waited for me to continue, "We'll show each other our pictures when we're done. Deal?"

"Deal," Milo smiled happily.

For the rest of class, I tried to peek over and catch a glimpse of Milo's drawing, but he always caught me and shook his head with a smile, concealing the image with another blank piece of paper.

Professor Hyatt eventually made her way to our table and looked at each of our drawings individually. When she saw Milo's, a glimmer sparkled in her eyes as she adored it, which only made me want to see it even more.

∞

"SO, DO YOU KNOW what you're going to wear tonight?" Ava asked excitedly, taking a bite out of her sandwich she bought as we sat in the cafeteria. Throughout our entire lunch break, Ava talked non-stop about tonight. It was as if she was the one who was going out with James, not me.