The Garden of Eden || Canis Canem Edit / Bully [ #WATTYS2018 ]

Chapter Fourteen: Aching

A blank canvas. White. A blank white canvas, stood naked in front of her. Eden frowned deeply at it, heavy dull eyes burning the colour into her retinas. Books slammed, chairs scraped, students laughed around her. It was noisy. Too noisy. Eden sighed like a spring breeze, soft and gentle, the exhale lost in the mayhem of the classroom. She loved art, with a passion. She saw it as part of a human's soul, their 'core'. Art is communication, raw unfiltered emotion splayed for all to gawk at. It incites feelings - anger, love, sadness, confusion.

Eden couldn't help but glance fleetingly at the empty seat next to her, her frown deepening. 'Usually Gary would be here beside me, complaining about how useless this class was. We would argue about him trying to flick paint at someone, then laugh about it.'

She eyed Jimmy, who was chatting animatedly to Miss Philips at the front of the room. 'It's quite surprising that Gary convinced Dr Crabblesnitch so easily, to switch timetables with Jimmy. He ate up whatever excuse Gary gave him.'

The wooden chair creaked as the stocky teenager threw himself down next to her. He was sulking, arms crossed over his chest, eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"She doesn't know what happened." He stated.

"Doesn't know what happened with what, exactly?" She asked, dipping her paintbrush into crimson acrylic paint.

"Miss Philips' doesn't know why I suddenly swapped classes."

"It could be that perhaps you were meant to be in this class but they messed up the paperwork?" Her paintbrush swished against the canvas, words rolling smoothly off her tongue.

"It makes no sense. I just know that bitch Gary had something to do with it." Jimmy retorted, angrily jamming his brush against his palette.

"I doubt it."

"Why? It sounds like something that jackass would do." He spat out.

Eden crossed her legs in a ladylike manner, painting on her canvas. Her work was abstract. Angry crimson streaks of seething fury, her hand swishing without rhyme or reason. She didn't like the position she had fallen into - torn between her close friend Jimmy, and the thorn in her back, Gary.

"It would be best to change the subject." The words fluttered from her lips softly.

Jimmy huffed grumpily, splattering gold glitter over his painting. "Don't get your panties in a twist every time I bring him up. Not my fault you two had a thing goin' on."

Eden slammed her palette onto the desk between them. His careless words set her alight, fiery emerald eyes glaring daggers at him.

"You're getting it misconstrued, Jimmy."

"I don't even know what that word means."

She glared at him. "We didn't have a thing going on. I just don't like talking about him constantly."

"But you liked him?"

"That's beside the point."

"Wait, you just admitted it! You like him!" He shouted in a bewildered tone, hopping up from his seat.

A few classmates around the couple looked at them quizzically. Eden's sun-kissed complexion was dyed a dusty pink, a blush speckling her cheeks, a low hiss leaving her lips. She didn't exactly want her entire art class to know of her complex situation.

"Jimmy, quiet down."

"You have feelings for that scumbag!" His voice dropped into a whisper.

"Drop it."