Chapter 13
School has been extremely painful the past couple days. I could barely concentrate because of the lack of sleep I've been getting, which was only making me regret coming to this school. I was worried my grades were going to start dropping after I've done so well with online schooling.
Maybe I should just go back to online schooling once I'm done this semester. I tried to get better and I just wasn't, so online schooling might be the best option for now. I was sure my parents wouldn't be against it, especially since I was the one who told them I wanted to try going to public school. They never forced any of those decisions on me.
After school, I was at my locker putting my books away and grabbing the ones I would need for homework when someone suddenly tapped my shoulder. I did jump a bit before turning around to see Jerome. "Don't sneak up on me like that," I said.
"Sorry," Jerome said. "So... I have something for you." He handed me an envelope.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I took it from him. "What's this?"
"It's a letter from the mayor," Jerome said as I started to open the envelope.
I stopped opening it. "Why would the mayor send me a letter? Does she even know me?"
"Just read it."
I tore open the enveloped before pulling the letter out. Once it was unfolded, I began to read the letter from the mayor, still curious as to why she would even give me of all people a letter to begin with.
I only had to read the first few sentences to figure out why I got sent the letter and once I did, I looked at Jerome. "Is this for real?"
"It is," Jerome said. "She's the one that gave me the letter to give to you."
"But... How did she even know that painting was mine?" I asked.
"She had a notice posted up in the building, asking if anyone knew the artist of the galaxy painting. I was there yesterday, by the way. Anyway, I went to the city hall to tell her and she asked me to give you that letter. So...?"
I didn't reply. I just read the rest of the letter before looking back at Jerome. "I mean... It sounds great..."
"But...?" Jerome asked, knowing there was one coming.
There was actually a few coming.
"But what if she doesn't like the idea I come up with?" I asked. "Or if she doesn't like the final result? Or if nobody likes the final result? A-and it says right here to give her secretary a call and I hate calling people."
"Nolan, you're an extremely talented artist," Jerome said. "The mayor wouldn't have wanted you to paint a mural for her if she didn't like your art style. And you don't have to do it if you don't want to. It's just something the mayor wants to see if you're interested in doing."
I hesitated, staring at the letter and reading the first sentence over and over again. Finally, I looked back at Jerome. "She really thinks I'm talented?"
"Yeah, she does," Jeromes said. "She even told me when I went to go tell her I knew who the artist was. She said, and I quote, 'Your friend is one of the most talented artists I've ever seen'."
"Well... If I do this, there's still the issue of having to call the secretary," I said. "I know that sounds like a minor issue and I should really learn how to call people but... Yeah..."
"I could call the secretary for you," Jerome said. "After all, they already love me at the city hall."
"Really?"
"Okay, so they don't really love me but they know me well enough. If you really want to give the mural a try, I'll call the secretary for you."
I gave it a bit more thought, trying to decide if this was something I should do. Of course, this seemed like an amazing opportunity and it would help me feel some sort of purpose, which was something I really needed right now. But... I didn't know if I'd be able to actually go through with all the painting, only because I felt so exhausted all the time.
I still didn't want to pass up this opportunity. And maybe the mayor wouldn't give me a deadline for it, which would help me not feel stressed to finish it. There was no reason why I couldn't just give it a shot, right?
"I... I think that I want to do it," I said.
Jerome smiled softly as he tapped my nose. "You'll do great. I can call the secretary right now if you want." I nodded. "Let's go outside to make the call because you know how loud the hallways get after school. It's like people think they can do whatever they want."
"Don't you think that?"
Jerome opened his mouth to object, but no words came out when he soon realized I was right. "Let's just go outside to make the call."
"I just have to finish grabbing my stuff."
As I was taking the books I needed out of my locker, Jerome's friends decided to walk over. And not just one or two of them. All of them. All the ones that were in detention with him.
Thankfully, they just completely ignored me. They were too concerned on talking to Jerome.
"What have you been up to these past couple weeks?" Anita asked.
"What do you mean?" Jerome asked.
"Well, there was missing Anita's party," April said. "And the field trip to the beach. And when just us wanted to go to the beach."
"Don't forget the school dance," Dirk said.
"Right, there's that too," April said.
"There was also the movies, the concert, karaoke night at the diner, oh and mini golf," Cheryl said.
"I've been busy," Jerome said. "Work and stuff."
Nobody could reply and even though my back was facing everyone as I grabbed what I needed from my locker, I could feel their eyes on me as if I was the reason Jerome had missed all those plans.
Well... I could have been a slight reason. The main reason was because he was getting tired of them trying to get him to hook up with Anita, but he was normally hanging out with me when he missed those plans.
"Why are you talking to him?" Anita asked. "Isn't he, like, a sophomore?"
Jerome wasn't the one who said anything to Anita's question. He was about to, but Brandon beat him to it. "Yes, he totally can't talk to anyone else just because he's a senior." Brandon snorted. "He could talk to whoever he wants, Anita. Weren't you talking to a freshman at lunch?"
"Yes, because she bumped into me and I was trying to get her to apologize," Anita said. "Anyway, Jerome, we're planning on going to the beach. Care to join us? Especially since you didn't join us last time?"
"Can't," Jerome said. "Plans."
"Okay..." Anita said. "How about Friday night? I'm throwing another party to celebrate the start of spring break."
"I'll have to check," Jerome said. "I might be working that night."
"Dude, you can't miss another party," Dirk said. "You already missed the last one and you love parties."
Jerome sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Fine, I'll be there."
"Great!" Anita said. "You're going to have a lot of fun." She walked over to Jerome and kissed his cheek before walking off, followed by everyone else except Brandon.
I felt a tiny ping of jealousy inside me when Anita kissed Jerome's cheek, even though I knew there was nothing to be jealous about. Jerome told me himself that he didn't like Anita. That he couldn't like Anita.
That didn't stop the jealousy.
"You know, you don't have to go to the party," Brandon said.
"Yeah, and then I'll hear everyone complain about it again," Jerome said. "It's best to get it done and over with. I'll just avoid everyone there..."
He muttered the last sentence, but Brandon was still able to hear what he said. "You're trying to avoid everyone because of everyone trying to hook you up with Anita, right?"
Jerome sighed. "Is it that obvious?"
"To me, yes. To the others, nope. But they're dumbasses. I've been trying to tell the others to let it happen on its own terms, if it ever does. They won't listen."
"Yeah, I could see that. I'll just continue avoiding them."
Brandon chuckled. "Good luck with that." He patted Jerome's shoulder before walking off.
"Now you could see why I'm avoiding my friends," Jerome said to me. "Well, at least most of them. Brandon is the only smart one. You still want me to call the mayor's secretary?"
I nodded as I zipped up my backpack before closing my locker. We went outside and found a bench to sit on as Jerome made the call to the secretary. He had the call on speaker phone the whole time so I could hear the entire conversation and not just Jerome's part.
The secretary said that the mayor actually had free time right now for about an hour to meet with me and discuss the moral. I told Jerome to agree to it and once he did, the call was hung up.
"Would you be able to take me there?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course," Jerome said.
Before we headed there, I just sent Ryder a quick text message to tell him I was going somewhere with Jerome so he didn't have to wait for me to meet him at the car. I knew he wasn't going to be too happy about me still hanging around Jerome, but I stopped listening to him about it.
As Jerome was driving us to the city hall, I did get a reply from Ryder. It was just a simple whatever, so I guessed he gave up trying to get me to stay away from Jerome.
I was feeling a bit anxious when Jerome pulled into the parking lot of the city hall, but I really think I should try to take this opportunity. It would give me something to do. Something to distract me from everything else.
Jerome and I walked into the city hall and he did all the talking for me.
Thankfully. I was also so nervous and stuttered a lot talking to people I didn't know.
The mayor, Tamala, came out of her office to talk to me and when she walked over, she held out her hand. I shook it as she said, "It's nice to meet you, Nolan."
"Y-you too," I said.
"So I'm sure Jerome told you the gist of everything," Tamala said. "I saw your artwork at the abandoned house and thought that your style will be perfect for a mural I want painted in here. I don't have a deadline I want it done by because I know it's never a good idea to rush art. If you agree to it, you can take however long you want."
"That will definitely help," I said. "With school... and stuff."
"Is there anyway I can see any of your other artwork?" Tamala asked. "Not just painting. It can be drawings, sketches, anything."
"Y-yeah," I said, opening my backpack and taking out my sketchbook. I had my newest one with me, so I didn't have to worry about showing her any of the drawings I did while I was going through the very dark part of my life.
I couldn't tell what Tamala was thinking as she flipped through the sketchbook, but from what I could see, she looked impressed. I mean, I hoped she did.
"Wow," Tamala said as she handed the sketchbook back to me. "That's definitely the kind of art style for the mural I want. So do you want to do it?"
Before I could back down, I said, "Yeah, I would. A-and it will help that there's no deadline."
Tamala smiled. "Perfect. Follow me, I'll show you where I want the mural to be."
Jerome and I followed Tamala to what seemed like an area for relaxing in the office. There were chairs, a couch, a table, and a bookshelf, along with a few items of decor on the bookshelf.
Tamala tapped the wall of the area. "This is where I want it to be. From window to window. Do you think you can do this size?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I can. What do you want the mural to be about?"
"I'm hoping from something along the theme of equality," Tamala said. "Race equality, gender equality, LGBTQ+ equality. I want everyone to feel like they feel welcomed here. Whatever it looks like is up to you. I won't have any input. The only thing I want is to see a sketch of the mural before you start painting. Is all that okay?"
"Yeah, definitely," I said.
Tamala smiled. "Great. Oh, one more thing. You'll get paid for it, of course. How does fifty dollars per hour sound?"
"P-per hour?" I asked. I didn't even expect to get paid for this. I just agreed to it because it sounded like something I should do.
"Yes, of course," Tamala said. "You're an artist and should be paid and treated as such. Do you have anymore questions about it?"
I shook my head. "N-no. I think I'm all good. I can probably get a sketch done by Friday."
"Sounds good," Tamala said. "But if you don't have a sketch by then, that's okay. Again, no deadlines. I don't want to rush you. Well, if that's everything, I'll leave you to it."
"T-thank you," I said. "For the opportunity."
"Well, thank you for agreeing to do it," Tamala said. "Whenever you need anything regarding the mural, feel free to come down here or call my secretary at any time."
After Tamala walked off, Jerome gently nudged my side. "Look at you, getting your first official job as an artist."
"I didn't even think I was going to get paid for it," I said. "I just wanted to do it to give me something to do. I already have a bunch of ideas running through my mind."
"You're going to do great at it," Jerome said. "Want me to take you home so you can start sketching your ideas?"
"Yes, please," I said, so we left the city hall and went to his car so he could drive me home.
I still couldn't believe I got this opportunity all of a sudden. All because Jerome took me to that place to paint. Because Jerome saw the notice and went to talk to the mayor.
Once we got to my home, Jerome got out of the car as well to talk me to my door. "Thanks, by the way," I said, not going inside so I could talk to him first. "For technically getting this for me."
"Hey, your talent got it for you," Jerome said.
"But you're the one who took me to that place to paint," I said. "If you didn't, I wouldn't have painted there and the mayor wouldn't have even seen my artwork. So thank you."
"Well, then you're welcome," Jerome said.
"Would it... Would it be too much for me to ask if you're at the office every time I paint there?" I asked. "I just... I wouldn't want to be alone. I mean, I-I technically wouldn't but... You know..."
"I'll definitely be there every time you paint," Jerome said with a smile.
I smiled back, my heart beating out of my chest for some reason. Well, I knew the reason. I just didn't know why it never beat this fast every time I was around Jerome. Maybe it was because something was changing.
And... Something did change.
Neither Jerome nor I replied to each other. We didn't have to. I was just looking into his eyes and before it, we were leaning towards each other. Jerome had to lean down to get to my height, our lips getting closer. And closer. And closer until they were just a few centimetres apart. I was waiting for our lips to just touch.
They didn't.
Because the front door to my house suddenly opened.
Jerome and I pulled away, but I didn't think we pulled away quick enough for the person opening the door not to see that Jerome and I were about to kiss.
I looked over, seeing my mom standing there and judging by the slight amount of shock on her face, she saw.
I wasn't ready for anyone to know yet. Why didn't I just pull away?
"There you are," Mom said. "Ryder didn't tell me where you went. He just said you were out. Though by his anger, I should have guessed you went somewhere with Jerome."
"Y-yeah," I said. I looked at Jerome. "I'll... see you later." I walked inside my house before anyone could say anything else.
As I was heading up the stairs, Mom closed the door and said, "Nolan."
I didn't want to stop. I just wanted to head to my room and stay there for the rest of the day, but I did stop to look at my mom. "...Yeah?"
"Just know that if you like Jerome, that's okay," Mom said.
"Of course I like him," I said. "He's my friend."
"You know that's not what I meant," Mom said.
"So... You... You did see that?" I asked.
"I did," Mom said. "And it's okay. There's nothing wrong with it. He clearly makes you happy, and that's all that matters."
I could feel a bit of tears, happy tears, flow around my eyes as I went back to my mom and gave her a hug. "Thank you... I needed to hear that."
"Of course," Mom said. "All I want from my kids is for them to be happy. If a guy makes you happy, there's no reason for me to be mad at it."
This just took a bunch of weight off my shoulder. Not much, but some.
But also still not enough for me to tell anyone else.
"Can... Can you not tell anyone else?" I asked. "Even... Even Dad?'
"Hey, it's your choice to tell people," Mom said. "Not mine. Just tell them when you're ready."
I smiled. "Thank you."
_________________
we stan poppy.
i mean, you guys better stan poppy or you can LEAVE. lol jk jk.
but oof we got an almost kiss. and yes, i had to use a gif because i love using gifs midchapter lol