Painting Sky Read Online Free Page A

drinks—the fridge was still full of those. After that, I wandered around town, trying to find the best places to buy new clothes, of which I was in need.
    I ended up not getting much of anything. My parents had given me some money for school supplies and rent for the first couple of months, which I was supposed to give to Keith.
    I didn’t understand why I had to pay Keith and not Cody, the house had been inherited, supposedly, by the both of them, but I never asked. Maybe it was because Keith had stayed here with his grandfather for almost a year before he passed away three years ago.
    I had finished my shopping spree when a beautiful green dress in a shop window caught my eye. It was very simple, strapless, with no embellishments, and it came down to the knee. The price was a little over what I had planned on spending, but the dress would be perfect for my eighteenth birthday, which was in a month.

    When I arrived home, the house was still a mess. I refused to clean and they didn’t bother to do so. The next day, I cleaned the kitchen, because it was starting to get impossible to eat there. I was actually glad that my classes would be starting, because I would have gone crazy if I stayed in this house all day.

    Cody took me to my first class on Monday morning. Before I entered the room, he gave me a sweet kiss that left me lighter and more prepared to face my first day of college.
    My first class was Representational Drawing and Painting. This was one of the most important classes I would be taking and it upset me that almost all stools were taken. I hated to draw on easels, but I guess I had to get used to it.
    I sat in the only stool available, by the window. It was farthest away from the professor’s desk and I hoped she wouldn’t assume I had sat there because I was lazy.
    The professor introduced herself and explained that we would be painting human form throughout the semester. “We will start with simple objects, so I can see the extent of your… talent. Today, we’ll start with this.” She pulled some boxes from a closet and placed them on the table in front of us and I almost laughed. A college professor wanted us to draw boxes? She then threw a cloth over them. Okay, this would be more difficult.
    The rest of the class went by quickly. I kept correcting my drawing and I didn’t get it right until the end of the class.
    Professor Collins stopped next to me and I waited for her to speak. She just shook her head and made a disapproving clicking with her tongue. I blushed bright red when two of the closest students looked at me and leaned back to peek at my drawing. It wasn’t that bad, was it? The texture of the cloth was quite right and the color was fairly accurate. I didn’t understand why she was so displeased.
    I packed my things, still dumbfounded, and headed to the door, when a second clicking froze me midway.
    “What’s your name?” Professor Collins asked without looking up.
    I swallowed before answering, “Jane. Jane Keaton.” I fidgeted with the straps of my backpack and waited for another question. She never glanced up. After a few seconds, I coughed and she looked up, seeming surprised.
    “Do you need something, Miss Keaton?” It was as if I had been the one who had come to her.
    “Did you need anything else, Professor?”
    “No, I just wanted to know your name.” She went back to her papers, so I left. She was a strange woman. I knew she wanted to know my name for the wrong reasons.

    I arrived home, tired, due to the distance from the bus stop and the house. I had never discussed my transportation with Cody or Ryan. It would be really annoying to have to rely on them to drive me around.
    The house was messy, of course. I let myself fall on the gray couch and closed my eyes for a couple of minutes. My first day hadn’t been what I was expecting, but hopefully tomorrow would be different. I was, actually, looking forward to a couple of the classes I had, but the one I struggled