Paper Thin

• 7: Stupid Yellow •

Melody

I walked into the art room and put my things down at my spot before turning to Ms. Foster. She was reading a book, but looked up when I walked in.

"Is it okay if I work on something other than my project?"

"Anything you want," Ms. Foster smiled.

I ripped a blank piece of paper out of my sketchbook and set it on the table. I grabbed some paint and water and set it down in front of me. My hand reached for the red paint and I didn't fight it. If I had a colour to describe what I was feeling, red would be it. I was angry. No, I was pissed. Seriously pissed, and I wasn't even sure why.

Red paint was smeared in different directions across the page. I added a little bit of orange and paused as I reached to the yellow.

The yellow reminded me of Rose's stupid hair and I pulled away from it. Stupid yellow. It reminded me of everyone with I knew blonde hair, and everyone with blonde hair I knew was stupid. Rose was stupid, the twins were stupid, and Margot and Mia were stupid. My dad was the most stupid for marrying the devil's mistress and bringing her evil spawn into our home.

I grabbed the black paint and added some in the corners, creeping towards the centre of the page. Everything was abstract and weird, and I didn't care.

Suddenly aware of my surroundings, I pushed the paper away from me and took a deep breath before looking at my teacher. She was still reading her book, but she looked too concentrated on it. I had a feeling she'd been watching me this entire time.

I looked back to my work and blushed. It definitely personified anger. I couldn't believe I was really that angry. I mean I had a right to dislike Rose, but not because she was talking to Carson. I was barely even friends with him.

"Can I see?" Ms. Foster's voice made me jump. I nodded sheepishly. She walked over and looked at it. She sucked in a breath as she stood beside me.

"I was just... fooling around. I don't know. I'll probably just throw it away or stuff it in my sketchbook when it's dry," I rambled quietly.

"Throw it away?! Melody this is amazing!" She exclaimed. In surprise, I looked up at her, analyzing her face for any give away of a lie. "Really! The emotions on here are so intense and raw. This is perfect!" I blushed and looked back at my painting. I guess it was more than just an angry mess.

"Thanks," I mumbled. I reached into my backpack and pulled out my water bottle.

"We'll let it dry up there," Ms. Foster said, tucking her pretty hair behind her ear before she picked it up and moved it to a counter by her desk. "I'm excited to see your project!" She added. I smiled at that. I liked coming to this room. I felt safe. Ms. Foster was so sweet and caring to her students. I felt better here than at home, and while that wasn't saying much, it meant a lot.

As Ms. Foster sat down at her desk, I took a few long swigs of water, letting it fill my stomach. I rested it on my table and my stomach suddenly grumbled in response. I shifted to get my project quickly, trying to pretend it didn't happen. My face heated but I took my pencil, hunched over my desk and focused on drawing. I snuck a glance over at Ms. Foster, who was back to reading her book, and was glad she didn't hear me.

The class started filing in after minutes filled with comfortable quiet. My desk mates all sat down, the blonde guy making eye contact with no one. I found out people called him Diesel, though I was sure that wasn't his name. I thought that was the oddest nickname but wasn't going to ask where it came from.

There were four other people at my table. One of them, was Alani's friend – the one with the red hair. Now that I sat closer, I noticed she had a shiny nose ring too. I finally remembered that her name was Emma. The girl next to her was Alice who had shorter cut, caramel coloured hair. She seemed nice and hard working. Then there was Julia and Ben, who I was positive were dating, but not a hundred percent sure as they seemed kind of off and on.