Fan Fiction ❯ Angel's Art ❯ Chapter 6
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Katrina Kadabra 
Angel is devasted when her father suggests pulling her from the class to study at a university. Perhaps she can express her feelings in her final assignment.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.18.2005 | Updated On: 07.18.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 302 | Status: Completed
Angel is devasted when her father suggests pulling her from the class to study at a university. Perhaps she can express her feelings in her final assignment.
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Sci-fi | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.18.2005 | Updated On: 07.18.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 302 | Status: Completed
Angel's Art by Katrina Kadabra
/katrinasforest.com/
The next day, Angel woke up a little later than usual. Strangely, she had gotten into a routine of literally waking up like clockwork, but today... well, today, was a little different. Groggily she sat up and brushed out her hair, working into her two characteristic braids, just as her mother showed her to do.
Her father spend the majority of the morning on the phone with T University while Angel typed up her paper from the previous night. Or rather, read the words to herself and watched as they appeared in the word processing program open in front of her. When her paper was printed and ready, she slipped it into her backpack delicately so no one could see it by accident. If Ms. Portrait followed her normal routine, she would end up reading to the class or at least to a partner, but until then, she preferred for it to stay personal. Homework completed and her father still not having announced anything about visiting schools or interviews today, Angel entertained herself with the dictionary. This time, just to make it a little more interesting, she tried using the words in sentences every time, rather than just flat-out memorizing them. The problem was whenever she made a sentence, she started thinking about how she might use it in her next theme... only to realize this one was probably her last.
"I see," said Ms. Portrait sadly. "Well, we will all miss you very much, Angel."
"I'll miss you," Angel said quietly, resisting the urge to cry. No, more like resisting the urge to throw herself into Ms. Portrait's arms and start bawling like a tiny child. It was bad enough that these stupid "abilities" of hers had taken away her ability to think normal, to be creative. Now that she had finally started getting that back, she was losing it again.
"Do you want me to tell the class?" Ms. Portrait asked. "Or shall I just wait for you to read your theme to them?"
"Just wait," said Angel, taking the paper back again. "I'd rather tell them myself anyways. But I'd rather go last, so I don't mess anyone else up, if that's okay."
"Of course it is," said Ms. Portrait quietly.
With that, the bell to begin the class sounded, and everyone took a seat. Ms. Portrait stood up in front and announced that today they would be having sharing time first to allow everyone the time to work on their themes from last night. Angel wasn't sure why, but she had the sense that this wasn't Ms. Portrait's original plan, but nevertheless she appreciated it. And true to her word, she was the last one Ms. Portrait called to share her work. Nervously, the small girl got up and approached the front of the classroom, relinquishing her grip on the paper tucked firmly in her backpack.
"Why I want to stay in this class," Angel began. A bit of murmur circulated around the room, but Ms. Portrait nodded for her to continue. "I want to stay in this class, because I have a really good time here. I think I learn a lot. Not just facts and numbers like I'm used to learning. I'm learning how to think for myself, how to express what I mean to say in a variety of different ways. I'm learning to make friends, by listening to what they say. And I'm learning that... that I can still find ways to be the same, even though I'm so different." "But I know I can't change anything about whether or not I go to college, so I just want to say thank you to everyone, for the days I spent here. I enjoyed them so very much and I hope to bring this experience with me wherever I go."
When Angel lowered, the paper, she felt sure she was going to cry. But before she got the chance to, one of the students' hands shot up. Charlie.
"That's not a real essay, right?" he asked. "I mean, you just made it up, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid not," said Ms. Portrait, shaking her head. "Staring tomorrow, Angel will be getting ready to go a university, where much older students go."
"But you can't be leaving!" Leslie objected. The students surrounding her murmured their agreement.
"Now, now," said Ms. Portrait calmly. She hadn't meant for this to turn into a debating session. "If that's what Angel's parents decide is best for her, then you shouldn't argue..."
The tactic was unsuccessful. "Angel knows what's best for her!" Leslie said. "And she wants to stay with us!" The other students all nodded their heads in agreement.
"I've got an idea!" Charlie called out. "Why don't we start a... a what's it called? Thing where everyone signs stuff?"
"Autograph?" someone offered.
"Petition," said Angel.
"Yeah, that's it!" Charlie said, snapping his fingers and pointing to her. "A petition."
"As helpful as petitions can be for changing something about the school or the way a company is run, they really don't have a place is people's personal decisions." Inwardly, Ms. Portrait cursed at the neutrality of the teacher. She didn't want Angel leaving the class anymore than anyone else did; yet she was supposed to act like she completely agreed with everything the parents did. It was ridiculous, she concluded when she broke it down to its core. Completely ridiculous.
However, the students were under no restrictions of emotions, and they were taking full advantage of it.
"Maybe we could have a boycott," came another suggestion.
"You boycott a store or something. You can't boycott a person."
"Sure you can. You say you'll never talk to them again until they let Angel stay in our class."
"That doesn't work. We never talked to them anyway."
"Maybe..." said Leslie quietly. "If Angel reads her essay to her parents like she read it to us, they'll understand why she loves the class and they'll let her stay."
"Angel?" A woman's unfamiliar voice interrepted the class' strategic debate. Unfamilar, that was, the everyone except Ms. Portrait and Angel, who glanced up to see her mother and father standing in the doorway. Normally she was happy to see both of them there to pick her up, but on this day, her large blue eyes filled with tears at the sight.
"Why did you come early?" she demanded. "It's my last day."
"I know, but we were going to go visit the campus today..." her father began, but Angel wasn't interested in hearing explanations. For once in her recent life, she felt passionate, and she certainly wasn't going to suppress it now.
"I want to stay!" Angel insisted. "Please let me stay! I can still go to college and go to this class too. It won't be a problem at all, I promise."
Angel's mother looked confused at first, but as Ms. Portrait watched, it appeared at if her confusion was finally settling into a connection with her daughter. A connection that perhaps they had not made for five long years.
"You really want to stay that bad?" she asked. The little girl nodded adamantly. "Angel, we just want you to be happy," her mother explained, kneeling down to eye-level as she gently rubbed her daughter's cheek. "We thought that being able to go college would be exciting for you; you're always so bored at home."
"That's 'cause you just have me do interviews and tests and things," said Angel. "Let me do stuff like I do in this class. That way when I go to college, I can study art instead of math." Angel's father didn't look like he was so keen on that idea until Ms. Portrait commented,
"If someone wants to be an artist, they can go to art school," cleverly thanking herself for remembering his quote from earlier. The man shook his head.
"I just lost an argument with an elementary school teacher," he sighed with a smile. Angel cheered out and ran over to gave her father a hug. Actually, it was more like grabbing him at the waist and swinging herself around. She couldn't say what possessed her to do it; only it seemed comfortable; familiar. And he, in turn, picked her up and whirled her little body around in the air. Yes, something in her mind remembered this; like a dream from a long time ago.
"You used to swing me like that when I was little," she said. A look of shock and a proud smile affirmed it. It was the first time since five years, three weeks, and six days ago since she had any memories of her life before the accident. Her father's smile remained even as he set her back down. "I guess we have to go now?" she asked, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.
"In a bit; let's wait until your class is over. T University will still be there when we're ready." The End.
Author's Notes: Well, that's it. What did everyone think? I thought when I wrote this story it was a bit more childish than some of my other ones, but it still had potential. For a while, I had teh first chapter written and didn't do anything else with it for months. The Sci-Fi award from MediaMiner was totally unexpected and I was thrilled to receive it. Angel's a fun character and I hope to work more with her in possibly future stories. For this last chapter, I also added some of the first drawings I did of Angel to my fan art section. They're not meant to be good or anything, they were mostly just me getting ideas. The next story I post will probably be A Roomate's Story, an original fic about two girls with *very* different views trying to get along. Thanks for reading and reviewing - it means a lot to me. -Katrina
/katrinasforest.com/
The next day, Angel woke up a little later than usual. Strangely, she had gotten into a routine of literally waking up like clockwork, but today... well, today, was a little different. Groggily she sat up and brushed out her hair, working into her two characteristic braids, just as her mother showed her to do.
Her father spend the majority of the morning on the phone with T University while Angel typed up her paper from the previous night. Or rather, read the words to herself and watched as they appeared in the word processing program open in front of her. When her paper was printed and ready, she slipped it into her backpack delicately so no one could see it by accident. If Ms. Portrait followed her normal routine, she would end up reading to the class or at least to a partner, but until then, she preferred for it to stay personal. Homework completed and her father still not having announced anything about visiting schools or interviews today, Angel entertained herself with the dictionary. This time, just to make it a little more interesting, she tried using the words in sentences every time, rather than just flat-out memorizing them. The problem was whenever she made a sentence, she started thinking about how she might use it in her next theme... only to realize this one was probably her last.
"I see," said Ms. Portrait sadly. "Well, we will all miss you very much, Angel."
"I'll miss you," Angel said quietly, resisting the urge to cry. No, more like resisting the urge to throw herself into Ms. Portrait's arms and start bawling like a tiny child. It was bad enough that these stupid "abilities" of hers had taken away her ability to think normal, to be creative. Now that she had finally started getting that back, she was losing it again.
"Do you want me to tell the class?" Ms. Portrait asked. "Or shall I just wait for you to read your theme to them?"
"Just wait," said Angel, taking the paper back again. "I'd rather tell them myself anyways. But I'd rather go last, so I don't mess anyone else up, if that's okay."
"Of course it is," said Ms. Portrait quietly.
With that, the bell to begin the class sounded, and everyone took a seat. Ms. Portrait stood up in front and announced that today they would be having sharing time first to allow everyone the time to work on their themes from last night. Angel wasn't sure why, but she had the sense that this wasn't Ms. Portrait's original plan, but nevertheless she appreciated it. And true to her word, she was the last one Ms. Portrait called to share her work. Nervously, the small girl got up and approached the front of the classroom, relinquishing her grip on the paper tucked firmly in her backpack.
"Why I want to stay in this class," Angel began. A bit of murmur circulated around the room, but Ms. Portrait nodded for her to continue. "I want to stay in this class, because I have a really good time here. I think I learn a lot. Not just facts and numbers like I'm used to learning. I'm learning how to think for myself, how to express what I mean to say in a variety of different ways. I'm learning to make friends, by listening to what they say. And I'm learning that... that I can still find ways to be the same, even though I'm so different." "But I know I can't change anything about whether or not I go to college, so I just want to say thank you to everyone, for the days I spent here. I enjoyed them so very much and I hope to bring this experience with me wherever I go."
When Angel lowered, the paper, she felt sure she was going to cry. But before she got the chance to, one of the students' hands shot up. Charlie.
"That's not a real essay, right?" he asked. "I mean, you just made it up, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid not," said Ms. Portrait, shaking her head. "Staring tomorrow, Angel will be getting ready to go a university, where much older students go."
"But you can't be leaving!" Leslie objected. The students surrounding her murmured their agreement.
"Now, now," said Ms. Portrait calmly. She hadn't meant for this to turn into a debating session. "If that's what Angel's parents decide is best for her, then you shouldn't argue..."
The tactic was unsuccessful. "Angel knows what's best for her!" Leslie said. "And she wants to stay with us!" The other students all nodded their heads in agreement.
"I've got an idea!" Charlie called out. "Why don't we start a... a what's it called? Thing where everyone signs stuff?"
"Autograph?" someone offered.
"Petition," said Angel.
"Yeah, that's it!" Charlie said, snapping his fingers and pointing to her. "A petition."
"As helpful as petitions can be for changing something about the school or the way a company is run, they really don't have a place is people's personal decisions." Inwardly, Ms. Portrait cursed at the neutrality of the teacher. She didn't want Angel leaving the class anymore than anyone else did; yet she was supposed to act like she completely agreed with everything the parents did. It was ridiculous, she concluded when she broke it down to its core. Completely ridiculous.
However, the students were under no restrictions of emotions, and they were taking full advantage of it.
"Maybe we could have a boycott," came another suggestion.
"You boycott a store or something. You can't boycott a person."
"Sure you can. You say you'll never talk to them again until they let Angel stay in our class."
"That doesn't work. We never talked to them anyway."
"Maybe..." said Leslie quietly. "If Angel reads her essay to her parents like she read it to us, they'll understand why she loves the class and they'll let her stay."
"Angel?" A woman's unfamiliar voice interrepted the class' strategic debate. Unfamilar, that was, the everyone except Ms. Portrait and Angel, who glanced up to see her mother and father standing in the doorway. Normally she was happy to see both of them there to pick her up, but on this day, her large blue eyes filled with tears at the sight.
"Why did you come early?" she demanded. "It's my last day."
"I know, but we were going to go visit the campus today..." her father began, but Angel wasn't interested in hearing explanations. For once in her recent life, she felt passionate, and she certainly wasn't going to suppress it now.
"I want to stay!" Angel insisted. "Please let me stay! I can still go to college and go to this class too. It won't be a problem at all, I promise."
Angel's mother looked confused at first, but as Ms. Portrait watched, it appeared at if her confusion was finally settling into a connection with her daughter. A connection that perhaps they had not made for five long years.
"You really want to stay that bad?" she asked. The little girl nodded adamantly. "Angel, we just want you to be happy," her mother explained, kneeling down to eye-level as she gently rubbed her daughter's cheek. "We thought that being able to go college would be exciting for you; you're always so bored at home."
"That's 'cause you just have me do interviews and tests and things," said Angel. "Let me do stuff like I do in this class. That way when I go to college, I can study art instead of math." Angel's father didn't look like he was so keen on that idea until Ms. Portrait commented,
"If someone wants to be an artist, they can go to art school," cleverly thanking herself for remembering his quote from earlier. The man shook his head.
"I just lost an argument with an elementary school teacher," he sighed with a smile. Angel cheered out and ran over to gave her father a hug. Actually, it was more like grabbing him at the waist and swinging herself around. She couldn't say what possessed her to do it; only it seemed comfortable; familiar. And he, in turn, picked her up and whirled her little body around in the air. Yes, something in her mind remembered this; like a dream from a long time ago.
"You used to swing me like that when I was little," she said. A look of shock and a proud smile affirmed it. It was the first time since five years, three weeks, and six days ago since she had any memories of her life before the accident. Her father's smile remained even as he set her back down. "I guess we have to go now?" she asked, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.
"In a bit; let's wait until your class is over. T University will still be there when we're ready." The End.
Author's Notes: Well, that's it. What did everyone think? I thought when I wrote this story it was a bit more childish than some of my other ones, but it still had potential. For a while, I had teh first chapter written and didn't do anything else with it for months. The Sci-Fi award from MediaMiner was totally unexpected and I was thrilled to receive it. Angel's a fun character and I hope to work more with her in possibly future stories. For this last chapter, I also added some of the first drawings I did of Angel to my fan art section. They're not meant to be good or anything, they were mostly just me getting ideas. The next story I post will probably be A Roomate's Story, an original fic about two girls with *very* different views trying to get along. Thanks for reading and reviewing - it means a lot to me. -Katrina