Muse

Muse - 1

(c) All Rights Reserved. This is a novel by sunbathh, pen name Caroline Leigh. For personal reasons, my name shall remain anonymous, but you can either call me sunbathh, Caroline, or Caroline Leigh. I hope you enjoy, and please tell me if any of my work is redistributed without my consent. Thank you, Caroline Leigh. 

Chapter One.

                I stared at the canvas before me, setting my pallet down on the small, wooden table to my right. A small smile made its way onto my lips as I admired my own work. It had taken me weeks to get it just right, the curves of the face, the pain in the eyes, the makeup streaks. As I stared at the painting, though, it was like I was seeing a reflection of me. You couldn’t tell if the girl looked like me or not, but she showed the pain that I held inside.

                Suddenly, my alarm starting ringing, signaling that it was time to start getting ready for school. Reluctantly, I stood from my rickety stool, turning off my alarm and taking my brushes to the sink. I washed them off, making sure to clean them as thoroughly as I could in a rush; I knew I needed to get ready, but I would rather be late for school than mess up the professional brushes that I had worked so hard to get.

                After making sure that all of the paint was out of the bristles, I put my brushes away and made my way out of my so-called studio. In reality, it was just the attic in my house. I had fixed it up a bit but nothing huge. The light from the hallway caused my eyes to squint as they adjusted to the newfound brightness after I reached the bottom step from the dark room.

                Once I reached my room at the end of the hall, I slid out of my worn Yankees t-shirt. It had been a gift from my dad. The Yankees were his favorite team, and he had taken me to countless games, telling me he was glad I wasn’t a prissy girl that wouldn’t go to a good ball game with her old dad. I’d just laugh at him, knowing that I would pick a Yankees ball game with my dad over shopping any day of the week. By now, the shirt had tears in various places, and paint was splattered all over it.

                Slipping off my matching paint-stained blue skinny jeans, I opened my closet, searching through my clothes to decide what to wear. I settled on a black V-neck, skinny jeans, and my gray vans. Today I was dreading school more than usual, and I just wanted to keep it simple. Checking the time, I knew I needed to be leaving soon; I was already pushing it as it was. Throwing my long, dark brown hair into a messy bun, I quickly applied light mascara.

                Grabbing my nude leather jacket and corduroy bag off of my desk chair, I hustled out of my room. I was cutting it close with the time as I bound down the stairs.

                Yelling to let my mom know I was leaving, I said, “I’m off to school, see you later, Mom!”

                I didn’t have time to wait for her response as I slammed the door shut behind me. Sliding into my sleek black BMW, I raced down the street to the school. Lorde was playing through the stereo as I reached the parking lot, which had various cars piling into its spaces. Looks like I wasn’t the only one that was running late.

                It didn’t take long to find a spot in the lot, luckily. Unplugging my iPhone from the connector to the stereo, I leaped out of my car as quickly as I could.

                “Devyn!” I heard a familiar, sheepish voice call to my right.

                Spotting my best friend, Natalie’s, heart-shaped, freckled face, a smile spread across my face with ease. She was probably the only person I was really comfortable with; the only one that knew exactly what I was thinking even before I did.