the school. I was wondering if you’d want to participate.”
I pause and set my brush down. “Why me?”
Mrs. Liu scoffs. “You’re joking, right?” Then she starts looking at the walls. “You’re one of my best students.”
I look at my paintings, but all I really see is how they don’t hold up to the ones around them. I don’t know any of Mrs. Liu’s other students, besides a few of the freshmen in the other room.
But I do know for certain that they’re better artists than me. The portraits and the landscapes, the abstract concepts, the sculptures. I doubt I could ever really pull that stuff off the way they do.
“It won’t be until May, but I like to plan early. Just think about it, okay?”
I nod.
“Thanks, I’ll let you get back to work.”
And I do; I get so lost in it, each stroke of my brushes. I have to make sure the yellows won’t blend together in some mess of color, so I move from one end of the canvas to the other, letting things dry a bit before I get to work on the smaller details.
“Ben?” I see Thomas out of the corner of my eye, walking down the short hallway between the rooms.
“Here.” I wave without looking at him.
“Almost done?”
“Almost.” I glance at my phone. Holy shit. It’s past five. “Sorry, didn’t realize it was so late.”
“No, it’s cool. I was just getting next week’s test ready.” Thomas walks to a spot behind me, seeing the painting in all its yellowish glory. “Oh.”
Thomas stops short, and I watch his face.
“That’s Nathan.” He points to the canvas.
“Yeah.” I stare at the nearly finished thing, eyeing the spots I’ve missed, or where I think I’ve used the wrong shade. “I’m not done yet, but I can quit for today.”
“Hannah wants us home. Apparently she’s cooking dinner tonight.”
I grab my paints and brushes and start rinsing them off in the sink. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something close to the right shade tomorrow. When I look over my shoulder, Thomas is still staring at the painting.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
“No, just looking,” Thomas says with a smile. “I like the yellows. For some reason,” he starts to say, but then he pauses. “I don’t know, it just screams Nathan.”
“That was kind of the idea.” I put my brushes on the drying rack and rinse off my hands.
“Ready to go?” Thomas grabs my bag for me.
“Yeah,” I say, taking one last look at the painting before I turn the lights off.
“Did y’all hear about the party Steph’s having on Friday?” Sophie asks. We’re back in the cafeteria, which was wild enough before the Spring Fling game, but with only a few days left until spring break, everyone’s “give a shit” levels are at an all-time low. Even the teachers don’t care, which has led to Mrs. Liu calling me to her room during other classes to “help out with a project.”
Which really just ends up being code for letting me finish my painting of Nathan. I still don’t know exactly how or when I’m going to tell him about it. I’ve gone through about a dozen different ways in my head and none of them seem quite right.
“Why on earth would we want to go to a party at Steph’s place?” Meleika props her head on her hands.
Nathan sips some bright red sports drink. “The girl’s been wound tight the last few weeks, she deserves a break.”
“It’s technically for spring break,” Sophie adds. “But it’s not like she needs a reason.”
“All she gets is PBR and vodka. Not even the good kind of vodka,” Meleika says.
Nathan laughs. “This one is BYOB apparently. Maybe she heard the complaints.”
“Great, so the only way we get something good is if we bring it ourselves?” Meleika rolls her eyes. “No, thank you.”
“I heard Todd’s going,” Sophie says.
“Oh, never mind, count me in.” Meleika chuckles to herself. “He always brings something good. Like, flat-out-wasted-in-three-sips good stuff.”
“Todd’s a dick,” Nathan says.
“Yeah, but a dick with a dad who doesn’t keep an eye on his liquor cabinet,” Sophie sings.
Nathan nudges me. “You want to go?”
“Where?”
He’s still smiling. “To the party.”
“I wasn’t invited?”
“You’re so cute, Ben.” Sophie types something into her phone, and my face gets hot.
“Come on, you didn’t dress up for Spirit Week.” Meleika counts off. “You didn’t go to the game, or the dance after. You should at least come to a party. Unwind a little bit, let yourself get loose.”
“You don’t really have to be