The Art of Finding Jasmine Rose Peters

14

'They say stars can't be counted, but why can he only see her shining under the blazing moon?'

~JRP

The loud chatters of the students filled the hallways as Hayden made her way to her first class of the day -- Creative Arts. She was in a rather pleasant mood that day; she had gotten off work the day before earlier than usual and woke up with even lesser nausea, dizziness, and headache than the past week, this morning.

So, she had made her way to school with no problem. Hayden was proud of herself. She didn't take any pills that day, and she didn't plan on doing so. She was trying hard to get away from them, to separate herself from their clutches. But every time she got free, they spread out their evil hands and pulled her back, no remorse on their menacing faces.

Hayden got into the classroom earlier than she had ever been. She had been happily learning her way around the large school. So far, she could get to most of her classes without too many issues.

She sat down in her seat. Her partner hadn't arrived, and apart from some few people, the classroom was otherwise empty.

Hayden sighed, brought out her notepad, and started scribbling down random stuff. She had planned to write the other night but was too busy watching movies with Lyra. The freckled tomboy had said they deserved a break and Hayden couldn't agree more.

"Hey," a husky voice said. Calvin sat down beside her, a grin on his face when she looked at him. They had been on good terms, surprisingly. Even planning some other things for their novel. She smiled back and continued scribbling. "What are you doing?" he asked, curiosity evident from his voice.

"Nothing." She ignored him after that.

She didn't raise her head till she heard the classroom door open. Wren came in with a handful of books in her hands. She adjusted her glasses, dropped the books on her desk, and took a long breath. The Asian girl finally sat down in front of them.

She turned around. "Calvin, Hayden, what's up?" A grin was on her face as she spoke to them. Hayden gave her a slight wave and tuned out while Calvin gave her a reply Hayden didn't care to hear.

They had become quite close after what had happened in the restroom. It was safe to say Wren had moved from a mere friend to something much more. Perhaps her best friend — Hayden's first close friend in a long while.

She continued to ignore them until the teacher came into the class. She didn't feel like talking today. Mrs. Miller greeted the students, and some of them greeted back. Hayden didn't.

Mason barged open the door, a dishevelled look about him. "Morning, Mrs. M." A lazy grin filled his face as he found his seat next to Wren, and kissed his girlfriend. Hayden looked away instantly. She didn't want to get caught staring at their intimate moment.

Upon sitting, he turned around and gave Calvin some sort of handshake, then finally faced the board. Hayden didn't mind being ignored by him but was secretly glad as Mrs. Miller shook her head, a stern look, on her face.

"Right. Before we begin, by the end of this week, I will need each of your weekly submissions, whether it be your pictures, your sketches, or your chapter, whatever it is, I need it by the end of this week. It shall serve as your test." A round of applause was heard.

"Today, we're taking a fresh approach. There'll be no notes as each of you will use the entire period to discuss with your partner." Another round was heard. "You can brainstorm ideas with other groups, but do so quietly. You may begin."

"An entire period to ourselves, I think I'm just gonna sleep," Hayden heard Mason say to his partner. Wren smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"No, we will use this period to get some work done. I brought the camera, we're going to edit some pictures," Wren said.

"What do you think we should do?" Calvin asked, breaking her out of her stream of consciousness. Hayden shrugged. What should they do? "What are we naming the book?" he asked.

"I guess I've never thought about it. We can find a name as we go," she mumbled, still writing. "Have you even written something?" she asked, finally looking into his handsome smiling face.

"No, but I'll write something soon. Besides, what are we going to submit?" he asked. "Do we have an outline or something?" Hayden shook her head. She didn't normally plan her books. They all represented her life in a way, so she didn't see the need to outline.

"We can give her the piece where Jaz's father dies," he suggested, playing with her pencil case. She wanted to snatch it from his hands but refrained from doing so. "It's interesting. It can be our first chapter, then we can build up from that."

Hayden nodded, thinking about ways to improve the first chapter. "You'll edit it," she whispered, already checking through her notepad to give him the copy. Once she saw where she wrote it, he took a picture and she continued her doodling.

"Are you free tomorrow?" he asked, trying to smile as his hands played with Hayden's pencil case nervously. "There's something I want to show you, we can make it a chapter or something. You'll like it, I promise," he said, his eyebrows knit in determination.

Hayden sighed, thinking of what her answer would be. Her attempt of speaking was caught off by Mason and Wren both turning their chairs to face them. Wren kept forcing him to scoot over until they were directly opposite Calvin and Hayden.

"What are you guys going to do?" Wren asked. "Mason and I are going around town and taking pictures of everything. Each day, we visit a new place. Look at the ones we have so far." She showed them her camera.

The pictures were beyond amazing. There was one where an old man was smiling, ruffled dirty clothes on him as Mason handed him some money. Hayden wasn't sure why she liked it best. Maybe because she saw another side of Mason that proved he wasn't all he tried to be.

"These are very good," Calvin murmured, his gaze lingering on the camera. Everyone agreed. They really knew what they were doing. "I wish my pictures would be half as good as yours, honestly."

"Eh, I try." Wren grinned.

"What about you guys?" Mason spoke for the first time since he came. He looked at Hayden and Calvin.

"Well," Calvin said, "Hayden has started a very good book, and we're going to finish it together. It's right here." He tried to collect Hayden's notepad as she continued scribbling nonsense.

"Uh, no. It's not complete," she said hastily, trying to stop Calvin from giving them her book. She didn't want them to see her writing. Sure, she had shown Calvin, but it was only because he was her partner.

"Oh, c'mon don't tell me you're shy," Calvin teased. Taking three deep breaths, Hayden finally gave Calvin her notepad. He showed it to them. They all squeezed themselves trying to read it. Even Mason, surprisingly.

"Wow, Hayden, I simply love it," Wren said, beaming. Hayden smiled slightly. Even Mason said he liked it. Hayden could only stare at him as she regulated her heartbeat.

"We should hang out sometime," Wren suggested. "Today sounds good," she offered, looking at her pictures. The other two agreed, apart from Hayden.

"You should come too, Hayden," Calvin said, giving her his special smile.

"I have work," she mumbled. The others sighed. They had all forgotten about that, seeing as they didn't have jobs of their own to worry about. "You should go without me," she whispered.

Mason attempted to say yes, but Wren elbowed him and spoke up instead, "No, how about we wait for you at Cakes & Coffees? We can all hang out there after you're done with your shift." Hayden, not having any option now, nodded. The others all agreed.

As if on cue, the bell rang, and the small group that had been formed dispersed. Each went to carry his stuff and leave for the next class. Hayden did the same.

"Will you go?" Calvin breathed next to her, his voice all low and husky. She glanced at him. Enormous grey eyes widened in confusion, and forehead squeezed. "The thing I wanted to show you," he said. Her mouth formed an o. She had completely forgotten about it.

She stopped playing with her hoodie and looked at him, sighing lowly. "Is it about the project?" she asked, her voice lower than his could ever be. He nodded, grin widening. "Okay," she said.

"I'll text you the details," he said.