Coloured Me Grey (Book Two)

Chapter 10

I pulled down the t-shirt over my head and found the painter boy sneering stupidly at me. I wanted to wipe that smirk right off his face. It's not like he did not have a dad-bod under those fancy clothes.

What's with the body-shaming, Riyaaz?

"How did you know I take sculpting classes?" I tried to keep the frown away as I got the comb out of my bag.

"You wouldn't have a hammer and a chisel in your bag unless you have some twisted plots on your mind to murder someone and not sculpt wooden figures. Woah, do you lug around the entire house in your bag? You seem to have everything in it!"

"Just the essentials."

What a talker. Do you ever shut up? In any case, sneaking up on a half-naked boy isn't the most polite thing to do even if you're of the same gender, much less the best way to trying to get him talk when he's late to class.

I took a last look at the mirror as I finished making myself look presentable in class.

"Coming straight from the bed, are we?" he said in a tone that mad me want to smash that pretty face. Nonetheless, I nodded in a civil way.

"Spicy night with girls, eh?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "The only spicy thing I do with girls is to have Schezwan at Chinese restaurants with them."

As soon as I said that, I realised what he would think. I take girls out on dates for Schezwan at Chinese restaurants.

"I mean, girls aren't my forte." I was quick to clarify. "Just slept in late."

Enough with the chitchat. Good to see that you are an annoying little brat. "Are you coming? Or you might go on wondering about how I spent my night, I don't mind."

He laughed and walked outside. The clear, ringing laughter. 

But he is so annoying, unlike - No, stop. Stop comparing everyone you come across to Ishan.

"What class do you have now?" I asked him as we walked down the corridor.

He squinted to look at me. "Doesn't everyone have History of Indian Art in the first period?"

Right. Sorry. Error 069 Small Talk Failure.

"Why haven't I ever seen you there before?"

He laughed again. "It's hard to find me there. I mean, just look at me! I'm small and almost tiny, compared to our other classmates. It's like, trying to find a needle in hay. But you sure did find me where nobody has."

There was something wistful in his voice. No, he is annoying. Just my mistake of comparing everyone -

"Why do you sit alone in the first bench, Riyaaz?"

I was taken aback by surprise. "How do you know my name?"

"You're not the only stalker. Maybe I'm not as skilled as you but I sure can follow the roll call and raising of hands," he winked. 

"Anyway," he said once we reached the door of the classroom. "Come to visit me in the abandoned studio after the classes. I kind of miss the looming presence at the window."

***

"Those who are done with carving, may start painting it as well. Remember, however intricate your carving might be, the colours would always draw a customer's attention first, and then the handiwork. Customers always tend to judge a book by its cover, quite unlike the old saying."

I looked at the carving I'd made on the bamboo pole. Not bad, huh? I was done. Having a corner of the studio to myself was an added bonus.

Triangular eyes, thick angular brows, upturned mouth, thin lips, diverging strips on either cheeks - the tribal mask gave off angry vibes. What to colour it?

Okay, I'll decide on the colour later. Let me get done with the primer.

I took out the mixture of white paint and adhesive I had prepared myself. With a flat brush, I started covering the wood in white.

"That's the actual way to do it." I had not even realised when Pramila Ma'am had just flopped down beside me.

"It is the primary thing for painting on wood and -"

"Look around you. I've got morons for students this year."

True enough, people around me had completely forgotten about applying a proper base before starting to paint the wood. One guy was about to do it, but his two companions ridiculed him for being "too tidy" and he shied away from using his primer colour.

Now that's another way to be bullied.

"When you paint it, make sure you highlight the eyes, the cheekbones and the lips. Mask-making is like applying make-up. If you start off with a good base, you are already owning it."

"Yes ma'am," I applied the last coating of white and left it to dry.

"What other subjects do you have?"

"History of Indian Art, World Art History, Business in Arts, Installation Basics and Sculpting."

"Most of them are theory-based. Interesting. You don't seem to be someone who'd prefer theory over practical."

I wanted to tell her the truth, that I didn't enjoy the theory classes. I only took them to have a better idea of what to do after completing education in art from here. Studying in an art college was a dream come true but what about jobs, salaries, bills and settlements?

"It's nice to have someone like you in my class once in a while. I know I'm being partial, but I can't help it because none of these guys take Sculpting lessons seriously. It's more like a free period for them. Keep it up, boy."

Even though Pramila Ma'am was younger than the rest of her colleagues, she already had dark patches under her eyes and fine lines had started becoming prominent on her forehead. She looked so sad and beautiful at the same time.

Soon enough, somewhere down the corridor outside, the bell rang. The day was over. I began to pack my things when the teacher called, "Stay back for a moment, Riyaaz."

I nodded and sat back with my bag on my lap, waiting for her to dismiss the class. She disappeared into her office, and came back with a book in her hands.

"Found this book on Ramkinkar Baij while cleaning my office. It's a good read for students like you. You can have it for the weekend."

Holy fuck. Am I the teacher's pet, now?

THAT IS SO COOL.

"Okay, then," she said as i stuffed the book inside my bag. "See you next week."

I nodded and exited the studio.

Now to resume my mystery date with the mysterious painter-boy.

Fuck, I don't even know his name!

Hey ya'll!! It's so good to be back. Hope you're having fun and enjoying as well! So a lot of things happened over the last few months and apparently Game of Thrones got over, I'm in a relationship with my best friend for 8 months now, actually have a couple of friends beside him, and the university has become a lot more homely. 😄 Somewhere down the line, I'd lost all hopes for my writing. I hated everything I wrote, in fact, that had driven me to stop writing altogether, I'd just write the answers for exams and that'd be it. That just doubled my frustration though. I'm getting better now. I'm trying to write and see the good side of it, and rectify the errors to improve it instead of damning myself for being a failure. Even though I have my moments of breakdown, even though the ongoing end-semester exams are fucking me up, LIFE IS GOOD. Me likes. 

Did I tell you that I'm into anime now? My favourite anime is One Piece. That's the picture above. It's beautiful. But it's well over 900 episodes and ongoing, and I'm at 746. But it's nice.

Tell me about your days too, okay? It's been a while I've had a good, hearty conversation with my Wattpad fam. I'd love to hear it. Love you and miss you all.