The Artist | #3✓

Chapter 3

The last day of school was comparably busy to the other days coming up to it at the last week of the school year. The hallways were clogged, teachers were talking to students and parents that had tagged along alike, and students that weren't seniors were picking up their results. Most seniors had to wait a bit seeing as they took an out of school exam, while others might have already gotten theirs since they took the exam earlier in the year. Most seniors I saw moving from class to class seemed happy — they were joking about and laughing, but I could sense the tension in some. It was obvious that some of them were afraid of failing.

Throughout the day I had to remind myself to drop into the art room to tell Mr. Dave that I'd be free to help out during summer. The day went by slowly, with checks on our lockers, and the student council trying to get people to take part in organizing the prom night and graduation or providing donations. I wasn't really interested, and spent most of my time at the back end corner of any room I was in to avoid being seen and confronted.

Sometime in the afternoon, I decided that it was time to head to the art room. I slipped into the room through the two end wooden door, a little surprised to find the place rowdy, until I realized that some people from the student council were having what looked like a meeting at the corner, while Mr. Steve was helping some of them make what looked like decorations at the design bench.

I looked around the room for a bit, feeling my face grow warm when I turned to find Toby giving me a smile. The feeling gave me second thoughts. Maybe I can't actually survive three more months around him.

"Caleb!" I blinked at the sound of my name, turning to the side to find Mr. Dave approaching me with a wave and a small smile. He looked stressed despite the smile he had on. It was understandable. The end of the year events was a strain on the small art department the school had.

"I thought you wouldn't come to give me your answer," he said, making me give him a small smile. I stayed quiet for a bit, not wanting to say anything, and let the noise from the nearby students fill the awkward silence I'd created.

"So?" Mr. Dave said when I didn't say anything. I blinked, muttering a string of apologies under my breath.

"Sorry," I muttered, watching as he waved it off.

"It's okay," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Well?"

"I can help out during the summer lessons. I don't really have anything doing this summer and I've already submitted my portfolio to the art college I'm going to, so that has been taken care of," I said, watching as he smiled.

"That's great, so you just have to talk to Toby and figure out your schedules. I'll mail you the school's information on payment and the rest—"

"I..." I trailed, cutting him off when what he said registered in my mind. I didn't say anything afterward, which made him give me a confused frown. I muttered an apology under my breath before asking him to continue.

"So you'll be discussing schedules and the like with him. I think you should do that now, or at least get started," he said, giving me an encouraging pat on my shoulder before walking towards the crowd of students at the design bench. I let my gaze move to Toby, and I could already feel my chest ache from nervousness, and the small thumping sound of what I suppose was my heart filled my ears in the midst of all the noise in the room. He soon looked up from his computer, giving me a friendly smile when he noticed that I was looking his way. I looked away from him, taking a couple of breaths before making to sit on the chair beside his table. It's been a while I've been on the chair — sitting next to him.

"Thanks for agreeing to help," he said, his voice soft as he continued to type into his laptop. "I'm drawing up the schedule now, you can suggest changes if you like."