Fan Fiction ❯ Angel's Art ❯ Chapter 2

Angel's Art - Chapter 2

 

Before the class began, Ms. Portrait announced that she wanted to have an interview with Angel. That was nothing new or different; she had experienced interviews many times. Only this one was a little different, in that Ms. Portrait wanted to meet in their perspective classroom as opposed to an office or meeting room. The place was very colorful, Angel observed, as she sat there fingering the white-blonde tips of hair in one of her braids. She wondered how long it would take her to estimate IDs for all these colors, between the posters along the wall and the various paintings pinned to the strip of cork that bordered the room.

It took about two minutes and thirty-five seconds for Ms. Portrait to arrive. Angel had to admit, it was the first time she really got a good look at her; the first meeting she had been paying more attention to the wall. She observed that Ms. Portrait had that teacher kind of look to her. Dark brown hair that ended at her shoulders, the tips curling under and tickling her neck. Her ears were pierced, jade-colored stones to match her green turtleneck. A pair of small spectacles topped her nose and she carried herself with a confident air, like she knew anything and all you had to was ask to find out.

"So," said Ms. Portrait, sitting down. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself Angel?" The girl looked at her perplexed.

"You already know about me," she said.

"I know a little bit. But I want to hear what you have to say about yourself."

The young girl looked down at her feet, still years away from touching the floor, swinging them back and forth a bit. "Won't that be redundant?" she questioned.

"Okay, first rule of my class, we're not going to worry about things being redundant or impractical. All artists go through a ton of impractical and redundant things before they achieve what they want."

That seemed like a reasonable enough explanation to Angel. "Very well. When I was three years old, my Mommy and Daddy and I... we got in a bad car accident. They were okay, but my head was hurt. Severe brain trauma. If I were to recover without anything other than regular intervention, I wouldn't be able to talk, walk, or even feed myself. So, my parents allowed a special doctor to try an experiment on me. They took the parts of my brain that were damaged and replaced it with a computer version. They also gave me this..." She indicated to the inferred sensor embedded into her skin just above the eyebrows. At first glance, it looked like a small oval-shaped jewel. "My eyes are better too. So... I suppose that would make me a cyborg."

Ms. Portrait listened to Angel's story with fascination. Her vocabulary was astounding for a child so small, yet her emotions were just like any child. And when she talked about an event that changed her life so much, it was clear from the way her small rounded face tensed up that it made her uncomfortable. "Do you want to be called that?" Ms. Portrait asked. Angel shook her head sharply, sending her two braids whipping to the sides. It was probably the most emotional thing she done so far.

"No, I don't. I want to be a normal girl. I want to think like normal girls think."

"Tell me how you think that's different."

"I think in numbers. Always. Everything has to make sense in my mind. And usually since I don't need explanations on things, I get bored. So I'll just do calculations in my head."

"I see," said Ms. Portrait. "Well, hopefully you'll be doing a lot more than calculations in our class. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"Likewise," Angel replied, standing up and gathering her belongs. She reached out and shook her teacher's hand politely before heading out. Just like parents had told her to, it was yet one more thing she would never forget. At least until instructed to.

That afternoon, Ms. Portrait sat in the teacher's lounge, tapping her pen on her clipboard. She always had to do to get her thoughts going, even though she knew it probably could be a nuisance to her peers. The good news was that the only other person in the room right now was Miss Helene Brian, one of the fifth grade teachers, and if she was bothered by the noise, she didn't indicate as such. But no matter. There were more important things at hand.

"Is there an IEP for a kid who thinks like a computer?" Ms. Portrait pondered aloud. Her co-worker looked at like her head had popped off.

"Um... I believe we called that gifted," she said, not quite sure how else to respond.

"No, I mean it. I've got a student in my class whose mind equates everything to logic. She can't comprehend artistic endeavors, creativity, only a few things even drive her emotions at all."

Helene looked thoughtful for a moment, apparently figuring that she might as well humor her friend as best she could. "I'd do what I do with all my students then."

"And what's that?"

"Use her strengths to help her overcome her weakness."

Ms. Portrait sat back in her desk and pondered it for a moment. "Of course, why didn't I think of that?" she muttered to herself.

Ms. Portrait spent the rest of the night trying to think of a helpful way to get her new student involved and interacting with the class. Her co-worker's suggestion was certainly a valid one. The problem with Angel was that she didn't see her strengths as "her own." She was them as an after-effect of her surgery. So it was basically the computer in the mind that was the genius, not her. At least, that's the impression she seemed to give during their interview.

Come on, think! Ms. Portrait demanded of herself. Angel was a perfectly normal girl before the accident. And every child had strengths and weaknesses. There had to be something there she was strong at that still remained now. At first, Ms. Portrait thought of consulting Angel's parents for help, but considering how their first interview went, perhaps that wasn't the best way to go about things. At least, she would have to prove to them that the class was doing some good for Angel before she went and sought information.