Paint by Numbers -0- Fill in the Empty Spaces of My Heart

Chapter One: I’m not being Melodramatic when I say the world is coming to an End, just ask my refrigerator.

Joey, please come to my room after school for a special meeting.

-Mrs. Albion

The note had been inside my sketch book when Mrs. Albion gave it back to me today at the end of AP Independent Art. I was a little worried to meet with my teacher after school for two reasons:

First off, Mrs. Albion is completely crazy. She’s been my teacher for the past four years, is one of the only reasons I made it into the National Art Honors Society, but the damn woman is unstable. She’ll go on for hours over absolutely nothing and manages to forget absolutely everything.

And secondly, if a student does a good job in class she tells them in class, if a student is a complete prick she tells them in class, so her setting up this “special meeting” is very “Abby Normal”. For all I know she could be planning on jumping me or setting me up to clean something.

I waved goodbye to my friends and started walking the plank to my art room. The door was unlocked so I slipped in and took a seat on top of one of the high wooden tables, unzipping my Obey 8 Track Asylum hoodie. It may only be April but it was already heating up quickly in the small Southern California town, Gomez, I had been born and raised in.

I leaned back on the table, propping myself up with my palms, and crossing my legs as I waited for Mrs. Albion to show up. There was a small noise behind me as I heard the door being open and shut, I turned around expecting it to be my psychopathic teacher but it ended up being someone worse, far worse.

Jase Burns: the fucker from hell, bane of my existence, my own personal mortal enemy. I only took solace in the fact that I caused him greater than or equal to the amount of pain that he inflicted on me.

“Well, fuck my face, don’t you look whorish today, skank face,” Jase complimented mockingly, a pained fake smile plastered over his lips.

“Wow, dick wad, and those jeans you stole from the last girl you raped really make your ass look even larger than usual. I honestly didn’t think it was possible, but, really, congratulations,” I smiled back venomously, as I watched him amble lazily around the room, not choosing to sit anywhere.

“It’s almost unsettling at how much you choose to focus on my dick and ass. If I didn’t know you any better I would think that you have the hots for me,” he smirked, obviously proud of his retort.

“I would call you stupid and a complete fuck up but, hey, I just figured something’s were just too evident to even need to be expressed. I overestimated again I guess,” I sighed turning away from him.

“Oh good, you both are here! Wonderful!” Mrs. Albion stumbled into the room, a stack of mounted canvases of various sizes in her hands. I rolled my eyes and glanced up at the clock. School had officially been out for 45 minutes and she just showed up to the “special meeting” now. Another one of Mrs. Albion’s quirks is her ability to be late for everything.

Wait, why is Jase here for the “special meeting”? What does anything about me ever have to do with him?

My stomach flipped as I got that sinking feeling like the world was just about to end.

“Well, I got this e-mail today from the mayor, and guess what it said?” she paused for dramatic effect; either that or she really expected us to guess. “She wants a small group of students here to go around town to predetermined spots and create original pieces of beautiful artwork. Well, immediately I knew my two Honor Society students would have to be two of them, and the other two students I’ll figure out soon, but you two will be starting on brainstorming ideas for the first mural tonight and show them to me tomorrow. I should be able to narrow down the other candidates by then anyway,” Mrs. Albion rambled on busily, telling us that the first mural would be put up on the side of a small coffee shop that I’m personally very familiar with. Before most of the information could really be processed I was unconsciously pushed out of the room as Mrs. Albion finished talking, my feet leading me to my car whilst my mind wrapped itself around the formation of my new hell on earth.

The rest of my school year, my weekends, my art finals, my summer art projects, in the blink of an eye, were just tied into the one person who would give up a body part to have me dead. I guess my stomach was right; the world did just come to an end. As I slipped into the driver’s side seat I turned on the radio, blaring “Bullet For My Valentine”, and rested my head on the steering wheel, trying not to puke. After gaining my bearings I pulled out of the parking lot and started on my way home, a street away from my house my cell phone started to vibrate in my pocket. Not bothering to check the number, I slid it open and held it up to my ear.

“So, what did Crazy want?” I sighed upon hearing the voice of my resident best friend, aka one of the only girls that I could stand and that could stand me for extended lengths of time. Slowly I reviewed the horrendous news that Mrs. Albion has given me, still not having all of the information totally sinking in yet. “Okay, so, basically to graduate with all honors still intact, and to do something, otherwise completely amazing, you have to work with Jase Burns?” Mimi Utada summarized slowly.

“Not only work with that demon, but get along with it! I can’t do it! I’ll kill myself if he doesn’t manage to kill me first! We...we…have to exchanged numbers!” I cried as I paced in my kitchen, somewhere during my retelling of the meeting having made it home.

“You’re making too big of a deal out of this, Jojo. I’m sure you two can calm down long enough to not rip each other’s throats out,” Mimi was laughing at my whining now and I was starting to question our friendship.

“You think I’m just being prissy, don’t you?! I swear on your Asian ass, I’m not being melodramatic when I say the world is coming to an end, just ask the refrigerator!” I cried gesturing uselessly towards my fridge.

“You’ve stopped making sense, Joey, so I’m going to hang up now. Don’t forget to pick me up tomorrow, shit face. Love you.” I just grunted and hung up on my phone.

I really don’t see this getting any better. I thought to myself as I leaned against my kitchen counter. But then again, how can it get any worse?