The Art World

Chapter 3

I returned home, knocking at the door. I knew Alexandra was there and going to work later that night. She pulled the door open, her serious expression already giving away how ready she was to criticize me.

"I thought you had Art Club," she said.

"It's canceled this week," I responded, entering the house.

"Of course you had to join the most unorganized club in the whole school." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It's a matter of what interests me," I argued, "and the club has had great turnouts, thank you very much."

"Got homework?" She raised her eyebrow at me. "Just get it out of the way now."

"Can I just relax?" I sassed her. "I just got home and you don't even welcome me home. You tear into me right away."

"Whatever," she shrugged, "Mom and Dad will tell you the same thing."

I rolled my eyes and went to my room. I shut the door, not even caring to discuss my day with Alexandra because she would judge not only what I did, but she would judge the people I hung around with. She was so judgemental over any and every aspect of my life, especially because my parents told her to attempt to reach out to me and help me to succeed as she did. As flattering as that was to her, she was so overly critical to such a point where I wanted to tune her out and do my own thing. I was not as academically gifted, and even when I was trying my hardest I could not manage to earn the brilliant grades Alexandra did even when she hardly tried at all. She was the success story to our family, the one who would gain positive attention from not only our parents but our entire community as a whole. She would one day save lives or discover new medical treatments if not cures for diseases.

I, however, was meant for either art or death.

In my room, I pulled my sketchbook out of my backpack and took a good look at Keira's birthday present. I was pretty impressed with the job I did this time and I hoped she would appreciate the effort I put into it and the times I had to sneakily add details to it in class. Most of my teachers called me out before the class, embarrassing me so badly that I had to hide my sketchbook in my backpack. I was grateful that none of the teachers had ever walked by and snatched it, as I had heard stories from Elizabeth about how her teachers did that, whether they took her or another student's drawing away.

I scanned the picture into my computer, editing it just so it transferred onto the website properly. Before I posted it, I privately messaged it to Keira; I wanted her to see it first. I awaited a response, seeing that she prioritized her studies above all else and was probably doing homework. I decided to draw a digital picture on my tablet to destress from my school day, even though my parents and my sister desperately wished for me to work on my homework the moment I walked through the door. As much as I wanted the homework out of my way, I could not properly work on it with everything about my school day running through my mind. I managed to get a picture of myself with Derek started before I heard a knock at my door. I quickly saved my sketch on my tablet, hiding the tablet so it would not be taken away. The door opened, revealing Alexandra.

"You don't even wait for me to answer?" I gasped dramatically, raising my eyebrows. "For all you know, I could have been naked."

"And just why would you be naked?" Alexandra stared at me with a blank face.

"I dunno," I shrugged, "I could have been getting ready to take a shower. Or to sneak out."

"Sneaking out under my watch is out of the question," she said, "and you undress in the bathroom to take a shower. I shouldn't have to argue with you over something so childish. Are you doing your homework?"