Lenny Mae stared at the blank white canvas in front of her unsure of what to paint. She tilted her head to the side, her black straight hair falling off her shoulder as she tried to envision something, anything that could bring her canvas to life.
She got up from the small wooden stool she sat on and began to pace around the small room. Lenny stopped after a while and took her time to look around her. Different paintings hung on the grey walls, her paintings she had made. Some were old paintings, some were a little bit recent.
One thing Lenny was glad for was this little studio she stood in. She had loved to paint and draw ever since she was in elementary school. It wasn't a hobby to her, it was more of a lifestyle. Lenny had no other interest in anything else except art, especially painting. Her parents, being very supportive, cleared out the old storage room and turned it into a small studio for her. It was the first time Lenny had ever smiled at them.
Being someone who found it hard expressing herself, Lenny brought her feeling to life and her canvas was a medium for that. It was all she could think about, painting. But now, nothing was coming to mind. She paced around some more as she delved deeper into her mind. Lenny paused when she noticed light streaming into the room through the small window. She walked over to the window and gazed outside.
There were no clouds out tonight, only stars, millions and millions of starts flashing brightly on the deep blue sky. The moon was in the midst of the stars, shining just a bright as they were, no even brighter. Lenny's grey coloured eyes twinkled as she gaze dreamily at the night sky.
The door to the studio clicked open and Lenny turned around. Her mother, Evelyn stood at the front door, her arms folded. She was a slim woman in her early fifties, but looked younger than that. Her brown hair was tight up in a messy bun and the beige wool sweater she had on added to her weight.
"Why do you keep drawing in this dimly lit room?" Evelyn asked as she flicked the light switch on and off.
"Its more comfortable that way." Lenny replied and walked back to the stool and sat down on it.
Evelyn sighed and walked into the small room.
"Are you painting again?" She said as she glanced at the empty canvas.
Lenny nodded and stared at the canvas.
"But I don't know what to paint yet." She said, dismayed.
"Why don't you go to bed hm? It's almost 11pm and you need to be up early for school tomorrow. You can finish your painting after school."
Lenny grimaced as she heard the word "school". She sighed and gave her mother a nod.
"Good."
Evelyn walked out of the room. Lenny got up from the stool and walked to the door. She gazed at the canvas one more time before closing the door shut. Maybe she'll get an inspiration when she falls asleep tonight.
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"And then the X in this equation tallies to a total of 45.3. Now if you change the subject formula and...."
Lenny scribbled on her note as the teacher's voice began to fade away from her ears and into the background. Grey. Lenny could only see the world in grey. That was how everything looked to her. The filled up classroom, the students seated at their desks, the teacher's, everything was grey, dull, lacking life.
Nothing seemed to interest her, everything around her was boring and didn't catch her attention. Nothing could splash colour into her grey world. Lenny sighed and continued scribbling away on her book. At least she had painting, the one and only thing that made her feel alive.
Due to her disinterest in everything, Lenny had no friends, not even one. She was in the 11th grade now and still saw no need in making friends with anyone. Everyone around her were strangers and she didn't care to get to know them more. They were all grey. Dull and lacking colour.
Lenny scribbled some more and withdrew her pen from her book. She frowned at the small incomprehensible drawing on the paper. Since last night, she had gotten zero inspiration to draw. It had never happened before and it bothered her greatly.
The bell rang, startling Lenny. She looked up from her book and gazed at the teacher.
"Okay class, read up some more, we'll be having a quiz tomorrow."
The teacher stepped out and classroom began to buzz with noise. Chattering was heard here and there while everyone began to pack up their books. Lenny slid her books off the table and shoved them into her black bag pack.
"Hey, let's stop by the arcade on our way home."
"The new gaming console just dropped a few days ago, have you seen it?"
"The main character of that new show was so hot!"
"Yeah, he broke up with me days ago."
Lenny grimaced. She was sick of hearing the meaningless chatter around her. She swung he bag over her shoulder when she felt a soft tap on her arm.
Lenny flinched and made a sharp turn. A chubby girl with dark skin was standing behind her.
"Mrs Rina is calling for you."
Lenny stared at her blankly. Why would the guidance counsellor want to see her? Did she exhibit some strange behaviour in school? or had she done something wrong?
Lenny just nodded to the girl and breezed to the door. She walked down the corridor filled with students and made a left turn to the stairs. The staff room and all other offices were on the second floor. It wasn't hard to locate her office since her name was written at the top of the door on a steel plate. Lenny knocked on the door softly and a voice beckoned her to come in.
"Lenny, have a seat."
Lenny nodded and took a seat in front of her.
She waited for her to speak while her eyes roamed her mahogany desk. The desk was neat, having a few books at the left side and a laptop in front of her. There was a small vase with a pink flower in it, positioned at the furthest corner of the desk. Lenny kept staring at it, considering whether or not she should draw a flower.
"So, Lenny." Mrs Rina finally said as she pushed her laptop aside.
"I got a complaint from your art teacher a while ago."
She pushed herself back a little and took something out of her drawer. She slid a piece of paper in front of Lenny and grimaced.
"Can you... explain this drawing for me?"