Sketch your inner self (Apollo)

[Shaylee Noto]

A slight breeze swept through the courtyard, a shiver slithered down her spine, it took a minute to shake it off. Shaylee sat quietly, hands in lap, watching the other students pass by going to classes and heading off to do whatever it was they needed to do. Why are people always rushing? What happened to taking a minute to just appreciate the beauty of the world around you? The answer to that, might remain a mystery for eternity, it was question puzzled by most tree-huggers and nature enthusiasts.

She decided to lay on her back, watching the clouds slowly roll by. Her hands rested right behind her head, she took note of how thin her hair really was. A deep inhale, the courtyard smelled of concrete, fresh cut grass, with just a hint of lavender wafting through the air. Against the pale blue sky, puffy white clouds lazily drifted across the endlessly spanning sky. I wonder what it would be like, to walk among the clouds...

An idea seemed to pop into her head, an idea for a new sketch. Directly beside her was her sketch pad, full of numerous sketches and doodles from as early as Year 10. It was always enjoyable to look back and see how much her work had progressed over the years. It took a moment to find a blank page, but she rolled back over onto her stomach and began to sketch. It started out as a girl, but soon the girl grew a pair of wings and soon seemed to have almost a fairy-like appearance. Hmm, a cloud fairy... A breeze brushed her bangs into her eyes, she tossed her mahogany shaded hair over her shoulder.

[Apollo Wazed]

Today Apollo Zakary Wazed had decided to be courteous of his roommate and take his smoking outside. He also was into breathing in that much smoke while he slept, so this choice of action was probably more for himself than his roommate. Nevertheless, he had made his way outside to the courtyard with his cigarettes in hand, and joint in his back pocket. His mind wasn’t made up on whether he would get high or not, it really depended on how he felt that day. Normally, he would get high just for the sake of doing so but usually he was with his friends. It was somewhat uncommon for him to get high on his own though it could happen if his mind started to trail off into painful memories or thoughts.

He leaned against the side of the building and lit up a cigarette. He took a drag and slowly blew the smoke out of his mouth. Smoking was something that seemed to come naturally to him, though he knew that he wanted to give it up someday. He didn’t want to ruin his mouth with all of the stuff that was in the cigarettes. Apollo needed his mouth to impress people, mainly girls and obviously to keep up with his good-kissing reputation. This habit that he had would be a thing of the past by the time he hit twenty-two, he thought. Maybe a little later. Drugs, on the other hand, were something he needed. He needed the drugs to help take away feelings he did not approve of, which were mostly sadness or disappointment sometimes jealousy.

As soon as he finished his cigarette, he stomped on it and looked around at the people in the courtyard. His eyes flickered across it until he saw Shaylee. He was instantly intrigued as to what she was drawing and if it was any good. Being his nosey self, he walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder. He thought her drawing was pretty good, as his mother was also a bit of an artist and had taken him to many art galleries when he was younger. Though, he never really paid too much attention to how things were drawn. Art was stupid to him and he figured that anyone was good at it, considering there are some paintings that are really out there in galleries. “What is that?” He asked, gesturing to her notebook with his chin.

[Shaylee Noto]

Shaylee nearly jumped at the sound of the voice, though its hard to jump with your stomach on laying flat on the ground. A glance over her shoulder, she recognized this boy, though she couldn't place a name to a face. Maybe he was in her French class, though by his appearance, French didn't seem to be his style. It took a few minutes to figure out if he was in any of her classes, but she decided that he had to be in one of her classes! She turned back to her drawing, noticing that his clothes reeked of the scent of cigarettes, her brow furrowed slightly, smoking was one of her pet peeves.

"Oh, its nothing. I'm just doodling." She took a cerulean colored pencil and began to color in her fairy's dress, leaving splotches open for different shades of blue. It wasn't a doodle she was especially proud of, just her imagination running wild as usual. It wasn't a very complicated drawing, just a girl with a dress, some wings, and her take on the heavens above. A sigh escape her lips, maybe she just wasn't trying hard enough, maybe that's why she didn't appreciate her work. Flipping through her sketch pad, she noticed her teacher seemed to pick portrait sketches as her best work.

I could...no, that'd be too weird. I barely know this guy! She rolled back on her back and watched the clouds go by, forgetting he was standing right there next to her. "Sorry, just needed to clear my train of thought." A moment later she wanted to hide in a hole, what kind of thing was that to say?! Well, it was the truth, she wanted to know what to sketch next, but she wanted to rest. For a moment, laying there with her eyes closed, she almost felt weightless, as if there was nothing to weight her down. It was a calming sensation, but it only lasted for a moment.

[Apollo Wazed]

Apollo didn’t recognize her at all. She looked like a complete stranger to him, a fresh face that he had never seen before. He barely paid any attention to his surroundings in any of his classes. Especially French. He had spoken it fluently for the past eleven years of his life, it’s not like this was all new to him. Even if it were new to him, he wouldn’t have cared enough to pay attention. He lived in England and people speak English there. French class was something he took to make his mother happy. It was either French or Art. Apollo quickly decided on French.

“Oh,” He replied, shrugging a bit. He hated when people didn’t answer his questions properly. It made him feel like they weren’t listening to him and he loathed that. Growing up with five other siblings, a lot of times he went unheard. Maybe that was the root of his recent rebellion. Nevertheless, he decided that he no longer cared what she was drawing. It wasn’t like it was useful information to him. He frowned a bit as she turned back around as he took out a cigarette. “Do you mind?” He asked, not waiting for her to answer as he lit it. He honestly wouldn’t have cared if she had said yes or no to his question. He was going to smoke either way. He figured that it was better than smoking inside, so she shouldn’t have a problem with it.

He frowned with confusion as she rolled over and closed her eyes. He thought she was a weird little art kid who always spoke in metaphors or something. He wasn’t sure how much he could handle of that. He preferred not to think all too much. “No, go right ahead,” He said a bit sarcastically to her clearing her thoughts. He stood over her and took a drag. Maybe he would get high today. In a way, it was almost like he was clearing his thoughts by thinking of this.

[Shaylee Noto]

Shaylee could tell this guy either didn't enjoy her as company or just was in a bad mood. Either way, this didn't look like a pretty situation. She continued to sketch, suddenly noticing the smell of smoke flooding her senses, but it took her a moment to realize it was just Apollo. Why do some guys have to be so...frustrating?! It just irked her, like it irked her when people thought she was mute because sometimes she chose not to speak. But the question formed in her head, what should she do now?

She could just get up and leave, but that might seem rude. She could politely tell him she had to go do something, somewhere, far away from here. There were two options after this; make up some completely ludicrous, ridiculous statement like, "Sorry, but I have to go. The Queen of Bermuda is expecting me at her house to come play Twister with her and her pet Velociraptor, Armando." That would most likely stun him for a second wondering, "WTF?!" But, Shaylee wasn't that stupid, she would just politely tell him she had somewhere...normal to be.

Oh, would you look at the time? I promised Stella I'd meet her at her dorm!" Stella was probably off campus doing who knows what, but he would never know that. She gathered all her belongings into her tote bag and quickly rose to her feet, brushing bits of grass off her knees. "Well, it was nice seeing you." Trying not to look like she wanted to get out of there, ASAP, she just made her way out of the courtyard and back to her dorm. Alright, next time, just sketch in your dorm for Pete's sake!


OOC: Haha, that random excuse about the Queen of Bermuda was probably the most fun thing I've gotten to write all day