Uche finally made it to where I was."You could have texted me if you wanted to talk. Now I've gotta make something up to tell Nick and Kim when I return to the table." Uche grumbled.
"You can tell them we were talking about us," I told him and heard him snort.
"I'm serious. I'm gonna tell my aunt about me and you when she returns from work today. Nick's gonna find out, and I guess so will everyone." I shrugged with a sigh.
"You changed your mind about telling others? For real?" He got excited.
"Not really, but my aunt's been really stressed about that day at the principal's office. And then, she also caught Nick with these candy pills..." I paused when I remembered I was gonna ask him.
"Uche, do you take those drugs with Nick?" I asked and expected he would stutter when answering but his answer was quick and honest.
"Yeah," I heard him and honestly couldn't comprehend why I was shocked. I knew that answer would come. If Nick was in on something, he definitely was. And vice versa.
"It's actually Nick taking the drugs with me, and not the other way arou..."
"Are you serious right now?" I interrupted him with a hiss. I don't know but knowing and confirming he was doing drugs with Nick made me think of my mum and her addiction and it got me pissed.
Without another word to him, I stormed over to where Casey sat and joined her. He didn't come after me but I could feel his apologizing stare from his table.
He's probably not sure why I'm mad. He just doesn't want me mad at him at all I guess.
***
Art and crafts period. I walked into the class and saw Casey waving from where she sat. She had come early to make sure we sat next to each other. I sighed and went to join her, not really sure if I enjoyed her presence now or If I was still tired of dealing with her.
Either way, I guess I've gotten used to having her around. If I wanted to push her away, I would have done so when I was just new here and she was still trying to get close. But I found out that everyone was already pushing her away. I may not like people much but I'm no monster.
"Do you know what we're doing today?" I asked her once I sat next to her.
"I hope we don't have to do hand crafts, I'd rather paint." She replied.
"Good afternoon class," the arts instructor walked in and greeted simultaneously."We're going to be painting today..."
"Yes!" Casey rejoiced amidst the murmuring of the others.
"Be quiet please!" The instructor called for silence and the noise went down."This class will be different from the others. Instead of providing you with a colourless artwork to design with your paintbrushes, you all will be expected to draw your own artwork..."
Another chorus of murmurs filled the class after the instructor's words. He waited for the noise to die down before he talked again.
"And also, I'll be rearranging you all today. I'm sure you're all seated next to your buddies. Well, that could be a distraction during your drawing so I'll change you all..." Another group of low grumbling murmurs came.
"If I point to you, I want you to get up and relocate to where I want you to. You come over here and take a drawing pad and return to your seats afterwards. Any questions?"
"No," the few who had no objections with his announcement chorused.
"Good, let's start..."
All rearrangements were done in ten minutes and somehow, unfortunately, Kim was seated next to me. Apparently, the instructor noticed how we don't talk much to each other and thought it best we sat next to each other.
Kim had this stupid smile on since he was asked to sit next to me. Uche was placed next to a guy I didn't know.
"Young man," We all heard the instructor address Kim."You're smiling too much, shows you like to sit next to her, and that is a big distraction for you both. Go switch seats with Uche. Uche, join..." the instructor snapped his fingers at me to say my name.
"Julie," I helped him out.
"Julie. Come sit with Julie, Uche."
Uche came and sat next to me. We didn't smile or make any form of contact. Not because of the instructor might change one of us to another position but because I left him angrily after our conversation earlier at the cafeteria.
"What are you mad about, Julie?" He finally asked.
"Really? You can't tell?" I turned to him.
"The pills are prescribed," He licked his lips,"Well, kinda..."
I shook my head and faced my drawing board to try and help myself out with drawing something.
"They're supposed to reduce my anxiety," I heard him say again."It gets excessive sometimes." He added and got me to look at him again, but I had no words.
"My dad doesn't think I need help to control my anxiety so he cancelled my appointments to the therapist. I had to..." He paused and blinked. He seemed ashamed to be telling me what he was.
I noticed how he started to do the drumming thing with his fingers again, but he stopped himself when he noticed I had my eyes on his fingers drumming on his drawing board without making a sound.
"I pay the pharmacist who lives around the block to prescribe and sell me those pills." He finally said.
"What?" I couldn't believe him. He was paying a licensed pharmacist to do that?
"Well, he's still at intern where he works but he finds a way to get me those pills. At first, they were just meant for my anxiety but then Nick and Kim started to take them too so I get extra for them when I meet up with the pharmacist."
I scratched my head, lost of words to say after all he was telling me."My aunt didn't tell your dad about it yet," I decided to let him know since he might be worried about that."She couldn't reach his phone. The principal has been trying to reach him too, that's how I know."
I just said and returned to my drawing, but he asked."You still mad at me?"
I turned to him again to meet those eyes of his waiting for my answer like a puppy waiting for a treat. Was he really concerned about my anger after what I just told him? I shook my head in response and looked back at my drawing board. I was terrible at drawing. Terrible was an understatement for what I had drawn on the sheet on my drawing board.
A smile blessed his beautiful lips. It was a light smile but it was enough to make my heart warm. He turned to his drawing board and started to draw. I stopped drawing and watched him draw on his sheet.
At first, all I saw on his drawing sheet were just shades of his different pencils but then they started to turn into someone's hair. He was drawing a face. I looked back at my horrible drawing of palm and chuckled at how scary it looked. Then I looked back at his and saw what he was drawing all this while.
"Where did you learn to draw, Uche?" I asked, amazed.
"One of my cousins taught me over a holiday, but I've learnt some other things on my own. It's fun." He lifted the sheets carefully and quietly so as not to get attention to us, then he took away my horrible drawing and replaced it with his.
He had made a sketch of me with a flower in my hair. I just sat staring at the picture blankly. How did I not know he could draw this good?
I bit my lips, still surprised, then I turned to him only to meet him turning my drawing of a palm into one holding a fruit.
He was still on it when the art instructor appeared out of nowhere."Julie," he called ever so lovingly but I knew i was probably in trouble,"You've been watching Uche draw instead of drawing yo..." He stopped talking when he saw the drawing on my drawing board.
"Oh, I see you're done drawing." He looked on at the drawing for a while before picking the sheet up to look at it more.
"You drew yourself, huh?" He asked but I just smiled weirdly. I felt like he could tell I didn't draw that. It was so beautiful.