Forget Me (Adore You Pt. 2)

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

When I left rec, I went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Usually, my hour with Robbie left my hair messy, and despite his assurances that I looked fine, I liked to re-do my hair and make sure my clothes were straight.

I left early today to hand in the last few forms Lana and I needed to turn in for the Fall Gala. It was two weeks from now, and I was already dreading all of the work we would have to do to get it ready.

When I finished turning in the papers, I decided to just go to art and wait for class to start. When I walked in, the teacher was working on a mixed media statue in the middle room.

"Cecilia," she said, giving me a warm smile, "how's that project coming along?"

I winced, "I think it got lost somewhere."

She laughed, "Cecilia, you stress too much; I see it on your face. Remember, not everything has to be perfect," she said, climbing down the ladder and taking a few steps back to look at her work.

"What do you think?" She asked.

I looked at it, not really knowing what to say. Objectively, I knew it was nice. I had seen enough abstract art to know what had been given societal value.

"It looks nice," I said, finally.

"That's it?" She asked, with some humor in her voice.

"I don't know. I'm more drawn to two-dimensional art, I guess."

"What do you feel when you look at it?"

I looked at her and then back to her statue. I didn't know what she wanted me to say. I didn't like being asked questions that had no definite answers, "confused."

She let out a laugh, "hmm, I do feel confused these days. I just turned thirty; it's a bit strange, you know."

"Well, there you go," I said. Ms. Harris always had a way of making me feel awkward. Usually, teachers made me feel calm; they all liked me and considered me a model student. Ms. Harris always looked at me as if she expected me to do something I wouldn't normally do.

"Are you staying after school today with Noah? He told me you were going to work with him."

"Probably," I answered and then wondered how she even knew.

"That's good. He needs good friends," she said. Despite usually being able to keep a neutral expression, I must have made a strange face because she giggled softly and grabbed my hand, "I've known him since he was a baby almost. I was a babysitter before I became a teacher. He's a good kid, maybe attracted to trouble just a bit too strongly."

"A bit?" I asked.

"He feels a lot, you know, and is very bad at expressing it. I think art is good for him."

"Well, he's very good at art."

"He's very talented. I'm glad you agree. You should tell him he doesn't believe me when I say it. I think he thinks I just say it because I'm paid to do so."

"I do tell him," I said, feeling a little strange.

Truth is, I had barely spoken to Noah this week. He had been a little bit strange. Normally, he was really talkative, but he just seemed like he wanted to get away from me this whole week. That is until this morning when he sat with Robbie and me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him when he got to class. He walked straight to his seat and started prepping his canvas.

"Everything is fine," he said, almost looking confused that I was asking him the question in the first place.