A Million Ways To Spend Our Time

Part 2: Art Class, A Friend and Pandemonium

I sat in my art class deeply absorbed in an oil painting. I had become fascinated with blues and purples it seemed, along with purple ink and red ink. My art teacher, Mr. Roy, was cool enough that he played music to help influence our work. My watercolors were coming out more happy and pastel, while the oil paintings were more dark, raw and textured. Mr. Roy was busy making coffee, offering it out to anyone who also wanted some. "Just don't drink your turpentine by mistake," he joked. He was smart with a few sly tricks up his sleeve. He was an older guy with glasses and primarily black hair, which had an increasing potential for becoming salt-and-pepper all over. Nevertheless, he still tried to be hip and relate to each one of us.

Currently, we were being subjected to him walking around examining our work. He had a way of being gentle to our feelings, yet pushing us in the right direction constructively. This was much needed as an artist, since the same piece of art could be viewed in five different ways by five different people. I stopped for a moment to get up and get some coffee, noticing a beautiful painting by Aurora, the girl sitting next to me. It looked like what was going to be white irises over a purple and black background, complete with light and shaded areas. "That looks phenomenal," I said to her. "Thanks." She smiled, her long, brown hair falling down around her shoulders. "I have a thing for flowers." I smiled back and went to get my cup of coffee. Once I had finished, I proceeded to show her my painting. "Oh, that's lovely." She came over to look at my painting, which was composed to be a sunrise over Venice Beach from the view of a hotel balcony, complete with nearby palm trees. "Thank you." I settled back into my seat and we all continued working. After art class was over, Aurora and I exchanged numbers. We believed that we could be positive artistic influences for each other, and I was excited to have finally made a new college friend.

We decided to go to see Cool Hand Luke the next evening for something fun and different to do. On the way home from the drive-in, we stopped to get some ice cream as a treat since we both had a sweet tooth. I parked the car, and upon stepping out I heard someone incoherently shouting. I looked around to see what was going on, and eventually saw Jim Morrison barreling down the street with two other men walking behind him. "Jim!" He made sure to get as far ahead of them as he could and began climbing up an escape ladder. "Jim Morrison, don't you dare!" Jim chuckled and kept climbing. "Jim! Come on man, I was just kidding around. Jim!" Nah, Frank, you said I couldn't do it and I'm gonna do it!" Everyone stopped and watched as Jim began to walk across a very narrow ledge between two buildings, as if it were a tightrope. "Jim, please! You're going to kill yourself!"Jim wouldn't listen and even acted like he was going to fall to the ground on purpose just to scare the onlookers. With impeccable balance and precision, he recollected himself and made it across. He climbed down the other escape ladder while everyone clapped. "I  told you," Jim smirked, looking right into the eyes of the two men who had followed him. Frank scoffed. "You can do something like that drunk as a skunk? How does he do it, Babe?" "No idea," Babe replied, shrugging his shoulders returning Frank's gaze. Everyone around Jim was in utter disbelief. Jim smirked,basking in the attention. I was mesmerized, trying not to make it look obvious. I had never seen somebody so careless for their own safety and eager for attention, yet so...empty inside. "Who is that guy? He must be crazy or on something." Aurora had a surprised look on her face, yet hid it as we began to get closer to the crowd. "I don't know. Must be," I lied as I tried to act as I would normally. We were just about to enter the doors of the ice cream parlor when I heard a man's voice call out to me. "Hey!"I turned around, making eye contact with Jim without freezing this time. "Yes?" "Haven't I seen you before?" His speech was slightly slurred, but not enough to disguise his words."Uh, no. I don't think so." I lied, trying to keep my face from blushing. "Yes, I think I have." He cocked his head and looked up for a moment as he tried to decipher just where he had seen me. "Wait....you're that girl....that waitress...."Aurora looked at me. "What is he talking about?, she whispered."I'll explain later," I said under my breath. "Yeah....from that Mexican restaurant. You doing any better this week?" A couple of guys snickered. "Yes, actually I am." "That's good. I was wondering if I wouldn't see you in there anymore after that last time that we went." My face was definitely red at this point. "I"m managing just fine, thanks." My lips tightened along with my tone. "Well, that's good. I'll be back in there to observe you probably next week." He grinned largely.I was not amused. I simply turned around and entered the ice cream parlor door like he did not exist. Our "audience" booed. I tried to no longer care. "What happened?" Aurora asked with a concerned tone. I began to explain the details of just how I had already met The Doors.