The Colour Within

Chapter 3

Robyn

I crouch down on the floor and pull off the floor board, listening for any sign of movement on the stairs. Paintbrushes, pencils, pens, notepads, sketchbooks- everything I'm not allowed. It gives me a rush to see all of this, to know that no matterhow hard they try, art will always be with me...always....

The silence is comforting as it fills my ears, it screams the truth of this world. I close my eyes and let the sound feed my thoughts sketches of excitement and joy; and my pencil moves. Slowly, at first, then quickly. A flurry of lines flow from my body, almost glowing on the paper. Creating an image of a...girl?

I move back from the sketchbook. That's not quite what I had in mind...

I shrug and continue, spacing out slightly as I let my hands take over, adding colourful markers in every shade needed. I gave her a pastel blend of clothing, and soft, curly hair the colour of the ocean's waves when they hit the sunlight. I watched as her once white eyes turned to a dark obsidian, her skin becoming a tanned brown, smooth all over except for on her face: where freckles were stars, weaving constellations across her nose and cheeks. Clutched in her dainty arms was a book covered in black and white geometric shapes. I sigh as I watch her, still and unmoving.

Suddenly, I hear the echo of footsteps marching up the stairs. Sh*t! I shove everything back under the floorboards and place the carpet over them. The soft thumping edges closer. I look at the clock: 05:45. There's a creaking sound as try the door opens, and I jump into bed just as a head appears from behind the wooden rectangle.

I pretend to be sleeping, and the dark figure edges closer, settling down next to me on the bed. They pat me gently and mumble something, I can't quite make out what though. After a few moments they sigh and leave, their steps fading in the distance. I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. Dad needs to stop doing that. That's 3 times this week he's almost walked in on me drawing and it's only Thursday!

A bell rings - my alarm, time to wake up and go to another life draining location. I roll out of bed, for the second time this morning, and crawl to the bathroom. I look at the plain face staring back at me as I brush my teeth. Then I comb my thick, onyx hair. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have bright purple locks, short and manageable... I guess I'll never know.

Shuffling towards the wardrobe, I hum a little tune to myself, picking out a plain white collar shirt, a black pair of trousers, and a black ribbon to tie a bow with. The key is to wear simple clothes, stay under the radar, and then you'll never get noticed. Which is exactly what I need right now. I grab my school bag, filled to the brim with books and homework, and slowly move down the stairs. My whole body aches and its now 7:00. Grabbing a small plastic bag containing my lunch, I step soundlessly outside and breathe in the cool air. I let it wash over me as the sun hits the horizon and the world seems just that little bit less sh*tty. My watch now reads 7:05. The bus should be here any minute now.

Out of nowhere, a flash of cobalt blue crosses my vision and now I'm somehow on the floor.
"Oh my god I am so sorry, " a weight lifts off me and the small voice continues. "I am so clumsy... Ugh!" my head spins and I look up, dazed, and see a girl, around my age, clutching her head in her hands as she looks at me. She offers a hand to me, and I take it, not really knowing what else to do. As I stand I see the bus arrive to our left and she continues to apologise.
"-it's okay, you don't have to keep saying sorry you know, it happened, so... Let's move on." I say, cutting her off.
"I...Okay..." she nods and follows me onto the bus sitting down next to me. I want to be mad at her but she's so sweet, it's impossible to hate her. "I'm Taylor," she says, her dark eyes staring up into mine. I smile back at her and shake her hand, "I'm Robyn."

The bus suddenly jogs, shoving me onto her chest. Blushing furiously, I move backwards and scratch the back of my neck.

"I...uh...sorry," I mutter. DAMN IT! SHE PROBABLY THINKS IM A PERVERT NOW!!! I think, avoiding any and all eye contact with the flowery girl. I hear a faint laughter and look at Taylor.

"It's quite alright," she giggles, her face a light rose colour. She looks into my eyes and I find myself lost in the dark woods they contain...NO! I turn away from her and look out the window. No Robyn, you can't like anybody remember? Emotions lead to pain and pain leads to death. I slap my face a bit and smile awkwardly at Taylor, hoping she doesn't think I'm mental. She smiles back and then starts reading a book called 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' and I squeal. She gives me a funny look and I turn my squeal into a cough and laugh a bit.
"Something caught in my throat." I look up at her and she giggles.
"You're a Potterhead I take it?" She asks.
"I, uh...." I pause for a second, trying to gather my thoughts, and smile. "Only one of the biggest!"
Now she squeals and I laugh a bit.

We spend the rest of the ride to school laughing and talking about Harry Potter.

In a strange way, she kind of reminds me of the drawing I did earlier, just less airy and her hair seems more of an electrifying colour as opposed to the turquoise ocean shade.

Maybe I'm just talking crazy...but yeah...that's me I guess...