Memories

Princess - Jayden

Two hours. You have got to be kidding me. Plugging my headphones into my Remixer, I start sketching out my ideas and feel a calling for a specific idea, so I start detailing the idea. Most people are looking at pictures, but I accidentally glanced at some of them when I came into the school and they're all pretty much the same. I want to draw out one of the biggest casino cities, which has a ton of monuments from around the world, and add in a few skyscrapers, a cool bridge I remember from my childhood, and maybe a few other little elements.

Starting with the foreground, I draw the Notre Dame, a few skyscrapers, a few trees, and the beautiful copper bridge I remember from when I was little. Working towards the back, I start to envision the whole thing in three dimensions, drawing each part with intricate detail. After going through four layers of buildings and adding in tiny details—such as little people; trees; roads; and butterflies, my favorite things to make—I look at the clock and see the timer has a half hour left. I spray some setting spray on the drawing and get to work on building.

Gardner's disease is not going to be easy to work with. I can literally feel the pain coursing through my veins when I try to build larger sculptures, but I'll have to push through it. Envisioning the whole drawing in three dimensions, I build piece by piece, ensuring that I'm not going to be in too much pain after each part. Sadly, there's fifteen parts, so I can't spend too long on any one building.

With five minutes left, I feel like I'm about to collapse from pain, but I'm finished. My stomach isn't enjoying the ride either, but I can rest during lunch. This better be worth it. I am not going through this whole thing to not qualify for something. It's just too much pain.

"Competitors, stop building. Please head to the end of the row where your volunteer is and they will lead you to the cafeteria for lunch and a break prior to the private judging." Thank the goddesses above. Standing up from my spot on the floor, I feel a bit dizzy and the pain isn't all gone, but it's more manageable now than it was five minutes ago. But, of course, now I have to walk to the opposite end of the gym. Great, just great.

"Yours was amazing." Jaxx comes up next to me and, weirdly, I start feeling a lot better.

"I'm just happy it's over," I admit and flip to the page in my sketchbook where I drew it all out. "I was hoping to get more to this level of detail, but it's okay." Around a few of the buildings, there are pretty little butterflies of all sorts of different colors, or at least that's how I imagined it since it's all in black and white, along with a few people on top of the romantic Eiffel tower.

"It had almost the same amount of detail. Everything in the drawing was in that." It was? Well, maybe I did better than I thought I did. Maybe I added them subconsciously when I was creating the buildings.

"Oh." This was so much easier when I was eight years old. "From what I remember, yours looked pretty cool too."

Jaxx's had so much detail it almost looked real and the buildings themselves were stunning. There were roughly ten buildings, all with their own designs, logos, and it's as if each building held its own story. Like they all had life built into them that isn't easy to do for anyone. I wish I could put that much effort into any of my creations anymore.

"Please, yours looked way better," Jaxx argues playfully, and I just roll my eyes, finally reaching the 17-3-1 square where the rest of the group is. Maxton isn't in this group, but I'm sure I'll talk to him whenever we reach the cafeteria. A few PAs sound as we walk to the cafeteria, but all of us ignore them, since they specifically state we don't have to listen to them. It's mostly for the parents and letting them know when they can take pictures, so we wouldn't care much.

"Alright, competitors. Since we look to be the first ones here, grab some food and sit anywhere you like." Meria hands us back our phones after collecting them just before the start of the building. I kept my Remixer, but it is one of the models that is explicitly stated as allowed during building. I quickly text Maxton to meet me at our usual table, which is where we've eaten together for the last three years. "At one fifteen, walk to the hallway with the label '600F-750F'. It's down that set of stairs and just to the left when you get to the lower floor. Ask around if you can't find it. Please be there at one thirty or it delays the whole competition." After grabbing plenty of food, I head to the table farthest from the gymnasium, but a lot closer to the classrooms.