Try
Great
"Fuck I hate this place."I said glumly as Gerard and I walked round to the art classroom.
"I know exactly how you feel. At least you only just started here though. Fucking sucks."Gerard sighed.
"I know. You have my sympathy my man."I squeezed his hand slightly as we reached the classroom.
"Hey guys."Mr Stump said as we walked in.
"Stumpy."Gerard grumbled as he walked to his desk.
"Mr Stump."I muttered and followed Gerard. We both hated to be back at school. After everything we've been through, it all had to happen over the school holidays. Not during school. Senior year was going to fucking sweet. Gerard and I had the same timetables. Music. Art. English. That was it. We hadnt bother putting our names down for other classes and they hadn't bothered giving us any. We had just scraped thorugh english last year though so if we were going to pass this year we had to actually pay attention.
The rest of the class slowly filled up and Mr Stump got on with the lesson. Gerard wasn't painting his Mum anymore. In fact I had barely seen him do anything. He was in the middle of a sketch but he had kept it secret from me so I was desperate to see what it was. Mr Stump hadn't given us an actual assignment but apparently if you wanted to pass art this year you had 4 units and 4 pieces to complete for each unit.
I watched but didnt listen as Mr Stump rambled on about something. He was standing next to an end table with shit on it covered with a blanket. I stared at the art on the walls. It had all been changed. Gone were the many painting's of Gerards Mum. They had been replaced with actual pictures of sculptures. I looked closely at a set of 3 and decided I was going to fail art class. There was a fucking tinfoil sculpture in the first 1. It was just a stump but even from here I could see a few lines of definition somehow. The second one was the full tree. Branches, leaves and everything. It was amazing. In the last one it had been painted. Whoever made it was fucking amazing.
"Frank,"Gerard nudged my shoulder,"Pay attention. He's talking about the assignments."
"Sorry."I said and looked at Mr Stump.
"So. The first unit is still life."He whisked the blanket off the table to reveal a vase of flowers next to a plate of crackers and a jug of milk. Oh joy.
"You need a charcoal piece of this, a painting and a sketch. Enjoy."Mr Stump went back his desk and started working on something. I looked at Gerard who already had a fresh piece of paper and had started sketching the outline.
"This is gonna be a piece of fucking cake."Gerard smiled at his paper.
"For you maybe. Check out that tinfoil sculpture of the tree."I pointed to the photos.
Gerard stared at the wall for a second before bursting out with,"Where the fuck have my painting's gone?!"
"Gerard shut up they'll be-"
"Stumpy! What the hell did you do with my paintings? I want them back if they're not on the wall."Gerard said as he got up and marched up to a startled Mr Stump.
Our class was small. It only had about 8 people including Gerard and I in it. Every single one of them was watching Gerard warily. Word had gotten around that he'd gone to juvie for 'killing' Dean. Regardless whether it had been proved that he was actually innocent. People liked to spread rumors. I would quite happily bet my right fucking arm I knew who it was.
"Gerard they're out back okay? I didn't ruin them, I took them down carefully and put them all in a folder carefully. Its fine. They're fine."Mr Stump said in a bored tone. He must have known this would happen. Ha.
"I want them back. Now. I let you put the up there on that one condition. You better not have broken your promise."Gerard said quietly. Mr Stump nodded and got up. He went into the back room and returned with a huge assed folder full of crisp papers.
"Oh. I didnt even think about how big it would be. Uhh... Wanna hold onto it for the day?"Gerard smiled sheepishly. I shook my head and went back to my blank paper with a grin on my face.
"For goodness sake."Mr Stump sighed. He shuffled back and Gerard rejoined me.
"Frank can we go? I've got the basics down so you can copy them from me. We can finish this later tonight."Gerard sighed.
"Yeah sure. Where do you wanna go?"
"I just want to see Miss Bellato. At the staffroom."It sounded like he added the last bit. I nodded and packed up my shit.
"Bye Stumpy!"Gerard hollered as we left. I smiled at him apologetically and followed Gerard.
"Why do you need to see Miss Bellato?"I asked casually. Something was up and I was going to find out what.
"Oh just about something she said in my report is all."Gerard waved his hand at me. Oh. I was stupid.
"Ooh what'd she say? I havent bothered reading mine yet."I smiled at him.
"Just that- my voice was a little scratchy or something."Gerard muttered. He was angry about it.
"Oh. Well I dont think so- I mean last night it was but that sounded good like- it didnt sound bad it worked with the song."I rushed to assure him.
"I know I- that sounds vain. I just want to know what she meant."Gerard sighed as we reached the corridor. Up ahead there were two doors. I halted and stared at Gerard's back.
"Gerard..."I waited for him to look at me.
"What? Frank come on. I wanna be done talking to her before lunch."Gerard stared at me impateintly. Maybe he really did want to see Miss Bellato.
I jogged up to him and hesitantly started walking with him again. We reached the two doors opposite each other. One read 'staffroom' and the other read 'health clinic' in shiny gold letters. I was about to take a step back when Gerard sensed my intentions and grabbed my arm before I could.
"You've gotta talk to her sooner or later Frank. You cant avoid her forever."Gerard said quietly as I tried to get out of his grip and failed.
"Yes- but why- does it have to be- n- now."I spluttered as I continued pulling.
"Frank you're gonna rip your jacket if you keep pulling. Just come inside and talk with me."Linda was watching us from the doorway. Immediately I stopped tugging and stared at her. She still looked the same compared to the last time I had seen her. The only difference was that her hair was longer.
Gerard took advantage and dragged me into the room. I couldnt put up a fight. Last time I had been mad over Gerard using me in the beginning. Now, after everything that had happened, it seemed the one thing I was craving was a hug from my mum. Gerard pushed me into a seat and sat next to me. Linda took her seat at her desk and stared at us both silently. I looked back at her, trying to find the words to say. I didnt even know what I wanted to say.
"Someone say something this is horrible."Gerard burst out. I looked at him and sniggered. Linda let out a small giggle and just like that the ice between us shattered into a million pieces.
"I dont know, I sorta like being the most awkward silence ever."Linda relaxed into her seat and smiled at us.
"Oh yeah. They're just the best thing. That awful thickness in the air. Love it."I smiled back.
"I have a confession to make."Linda looked down at her hands. Gerard and I waited as she started wringing the corner of her cardigan in her hands.
"Well spit it out."Gerard said after a longer silence than necessary.
"Sorry I just- I know how much she means to you and- I probably should have talked to you first but I didn't know if you would even see me but when you left me to entertain her..."Linda trailed off and darted her eyes about the room, avoiding mine.
I didnt even need her to tell me. I had already worked it out.
"You're Claire's new friend. You had her over for a sleepover. What happened? She refused to tell me anything about it and I dont know why. God I swear I am going to gut Mrs Macy."I babbled.
"Hold the fuck up. Linda do you want to adopt Claire?"Gerard looked from me to Linda with the cutest look of confusion ever.
"Yes. I had to entertain her for a little bit and she was just- it was- fuck. She is the greatest. I can see why you;re so attached to her."Linda stopped playing with her cardigan, wiped her hands on her jeans and folded her arms,"She is such a bright little thing and you can just tell she is going to be the next femal Brian May."
"Yeah that she is. I plan on teaching her when she turns 5."I smiled sadly as a pang of nostalgia hit me. I wanted to play with Claire. Badly.
"But anyway I know I should have talked to you and I'm sorry I didnt. And I'm sorry I told Claire not to tell you anything about me but- I wanted to talk to you myself than have you hear it from a 4 year old. And I never said sorry properly for getting Gerard to- yeah so I'm sorry about that I really am but- you gotta say, you're both glad I did arent you?"She smiled at our linked hands smugly.
"Damn right."Gerard kissed my cheek and made my smile widen.
"And- I think I said this already but I'm saying it again. I'm sorry for leaving you. I did what I thought was best. I wanted to get you safe from Him."She wasnt looking at us anymore and she was back to wringing her cardigan.
"You dont need to apologise for that. I dont- the only thing I can remember of Him is that night. When he hit you. Its the only one I have and I just want to forget it."
"I dont blame you..."She sighed and rubbed her face.
We sat in silence again for a moment before I stood up and walked over to her. I hadnt made any conscious decision to do this but it felt like I should. I grabbed her sweaty hands and pulled her to her feet. I looked at her seriously before breaking out into a smile and pulling her into a hug. I was hugging my mum. I was hugging my actual Mum. She was- fuck she was hugging me back. We stayed hugging each other for what felt like an eternity but was probably only about 3 minutes.
We finally let go of each other and I saw that she had tear tracks on her face as well.
"You know, 17 years I've wanted to know who you are. And now- fuck this is just surreal."I smiled and wiped the tears away.
"I know exactly what you mean. I've been dying to find out who you are. What your favourite cookie is, the music you like, your favourite colour, everything. I had to practically chain myself home to stop from going to see you when I wasn't better."
"Who cares. You're all better now. Claire seems to love you. Gerard is innocent. We might be getting signed- fuck, everything is great."I grinned at her. Everything really was great.
"I know exactly how you feel. At least you only just started here though. Fucking sucks."Gerard sighed.
"I know. You have my sympathy my man."I squeezed his hand slightly as we reached the classroom.
"Hey guys."Mr Stump said as we walked in.
"Stumpy."Gerard grumbled as he walked to his desk.
"Mr Stump."I muttered and followed Gerard. We both hated to be back at school. After everything we've been through, it all had to happen over the school holidays. Not during school. Senior year was going to fucking sweet. Gerard and I had the same timetables. Music. Art. English. That was it. We hadnt bother putting our names down for other classes and they hadn't bothered giving us any. We had just scraped thorugh english last year though so if we were going to pass this year we had to actually pay attention.
The rest of the class slowly filled up and Mr Stump got on with the lesson. Gerard wasn't painting his Mum anymore. In fact I had barely seen him do anything. He was in the middle of a sketch but he had kept it secret from me so I was desperate to see what it was. Mr Stump hadn't given us an actual assignment but apparently if you wanted to pass art this year you had 4 units and 4 pieces to complete for each unit.
I watched but didnt listen as Mr Stump rambled on about something. He was standing next to an end table with shit on it covered with a blanket. I stared at the art on the walls. It had all been changed. Gone were the many painting's of Gerards Mum. They had been replaced with actual pictures of sculptures. I looked closely at a set of 3 and decided I was going to fail art class. There was a fucking tinfoil sculpture in the first 1. It was just a stump but even from here I could see a few lines of definition somehow. The second one was the full tree. Branches, leaves and everything. It was amazing. In the last one it had been painted. Whoever made it was fucking amazing.
"Frank,"Gerard nudged my shoulder,"Pay attention. He's talking about the assignments."
"Sorry."I said and looked at Mr Stump.
"So. The first unit is still life."He whisked the blanket off the table to reveal a vase of flowers next to a plate of crackers and a jug of milk. Oh joy.
"You need a charcoal piece of this, a painting and a sketch. Enjoy."Mr Stump went back his desk and started working on something. I looked at Gerard who already had a fresh piece of paper and had started sketching the outline.
"This is gonna be a piece of fucking cake."Gerard smiled at his paper.
"For you maybe. Check out that tinfoil sculpture of the tree."I pointed to the photos.
Gerard stared at the wall for a second before bursting out with,"Where the fuck have my painting's gone?!"
"Gerard shut up they'll be-"
"Stumpy! What the hell did you do with my paintings? I want them back if they're not on the wall."Gerard said as he got up and marched up to a startled Mr Stump.
Our class was small. It only had about 8 people including Gerard and I in it. Every single one of them was watching Gerard warily. Word had gotten around that he'd gone to juvie for 'killing' Dean. Regardless whether it had been proved that he was actually innocent. People liked to spread rumors. I would quite happily bet my right fucking arm I knew who it was.
"Gerard they're out back okay? I didn't ruin them, I took them down carefully and put them all in a folder carefully. Its fine. They're fine."Mr Stump said in a bored tone. He must have known this would happen. Ha.
"I want them back. Now. I let you put the up there on that one condition. You better not have broken your promise."Gerard said quietly. Mr Stump nodded and got up. He went into the back room and returned with a huge assed folder full of crisp papers.
"Oh. I didnt even think about how big it would be. Uhh... Wanna hold onto it for the day?"Gerard smiled sheepishly. I shook my head and went back to my blank paper with a grin on my face.
"For goodness sake."Mr Stump sighed. He shuffled back and Gerard rejoined me.
"Frank can we go? I've got the basics down so you can copy them from me. We can finish this later tonight."Gerard sighed.
"Yeah sure. Where do you wanna go?"
"I just want to see Miss Bellato. At the staffroom."It sounded like he added the last bit. I nodded and packed up my shit.
"Bye Stumpy!"Gerard hollered as we left. I smiled at him apologetically and followed Gerard.
"Why do you need to see Miss Bellato?"I asked casually. Something was up and I was going to find out what.
"Oh just about something she said in my report is all."Gerard waved his hand at me. Oh. I was stupid.
"Ooh what'd she say? I havent bothered reading mine yet."I smiled at him.
"Just that- my voice was a little scratchy or something."Gerard muttered. He was angry about it.
"Oh. Well I dont think so- I mean last night it was but that sounded good like- it didnt sound bad it worked with the song."I rushed to assure him.
"I know I- that sounds vain. I just want to know what she meant."Gerard sighed as we reached the corridor. Up ahead there were two doors. I halted and stared at Gerard's back.
"Gerard..."I waited for him to look at me.
"What? Frank come on. I wanna be done talking to her before lunch."Gerard stared at me impateintly. Maybe he really did want to see Miss Bellato.
I jogged up to him and hesitantly started walking with him again. We reached the two doors opposite each other. One read 'staffroom' and the other read 'health clinic' in shiny gold letters. I was about to take a step back when Gerard sensed my intentions and grabbed my arm before I could.
"You've gotta talk to her sooner or later Frank. You cant avoid her forever."Gerard said quietly as I tried to get out of his grip and failed.
"Yes- but why- does it have to be- n- now."I spluttered as I continued pulling.
"Frank you're gonna rip your jacket if you keep pulling. Just come inside and talk with me."Linda was watching us from the doorway. Immediately I stopped tugging and stared at her. She still looked the same compared to the last time I had seen her. The only difference was that her hair was longer.
Gerard took advantage and dragged me into the room. I couldnt put up a fight. Last time I had been mad over Gerard using me in the beginning. Now, after everything that had happened, it seemed the one thing I was craving was a hug from my mum. Gerard pushed me into a seat and sat next to me. Linda took her seat at her desk and stared at us both silently. I looked back at her, trying to find the words to say. I didnt even know what I wanted to say.
"Someone say something this is horrible."Gerard burst out. I looked at him and sniggered. Linda let out a small giggle and just like that the ice between us shattered into a million pieces.
"I dont know, I sorta like being the most awkward silence ever."Linda relaxed into her seat and smiled at us.
"Oh yeah. They're just the best thing. That awful thickness in the air. Love it."I smiled back.
"I have a confession to make."Linda looked down at her hands. Gerard and I waited as she started wringing the corner of her cardigan in her hands.
"Well spit it out."Gerard said after a longer silence than necessary.
"Sorry I just- I know how much she means to you and- I probably should have talked to you first but I didn't know if you would even see me but when you left me to entertain her..."Linda trailed off and darted her eyes about the room, avoiding mine.
I didnt even need her to tell me. I had already worked it out.
"You're Claire's new friend. You had her over for a sleepover. What happened? She refused to tell me anything about it and I dont know why. God I swear I am going to gut Mrs Macy."I babbled.
"Hold the fuck up. Linda do you want to adopt Claire?"Gerard looked from me to Linda with the cutest look of confusion ever.
"Yes. I had to entertain her for a little bit and she was just- it was- fuck. She is the greatest. I can see why you;re so attached to her."Linda stopped playing with her cardigan, wiped her hands on her jeans and folded her arms,"She is such a bright little thing and you can just tell she is going to be the next femal Brian May."
"Yeah that she is. I plan on teaching her when she turns 5."I smiled sadly as a pang of nostalgia hit me. I wanted to play with Claire. Badly.
"But anyway I know I should have talked to you and I'm sorry I didnt. And I'm sorry I told Claire not to tell you anything about me but- I wanted to talk to you myself than have you hear it from a 4 year old. And I never said sorry properly for getting Gerard to- yeah so I'm sorry about that I really am but- you gotta say, you're both glad I did arent you?"She smiled at our linked hands smugly.
"Damn right."Gerard kissed my cheek and made my smile widen.
"And- I think I said this already but I'm saying it again. I'm sorry for leaving you. I did what I thought was best. I wanted to get you safe from Him."She wasnt looking at us anymore and she was back to wringing her cardigan.
"You dont need to apologise for that. I dont- the only thing I can remember of Him is that night. When he hit you. Its the only one I have and I just want to forget it."
"I dont blame you..."She sighed and rubbed her face.
We sat in silence again for a moment before I stood up and walked over to her. I hadnt made any conscious decision to do this but it felt like I should. I grabbed her sweaty hands and pulled her to her feet. I looked at her seriously before breaking out into a smile and pulling her into a hug. I was hugging my mum. I was hugging my actual Mum. She was- fuck she was hugging me back. We stayed hugging each other for what felt like an eternity but was probably only about 3 minutes.
We finally let go of each other and I saw that she had tear tracks on her face as well.
"You know, 17 years I've wanted to know who you are. And now- fuck this is just surreal."I smiled and wiped the tears away.
"I know exactly what you mean. I've been dying to find out who you are. What your favourite cookie is, the music you like, your favourite colour, everything. I had to practically chain myself home to stop from going to see you when I wasn't better."
"Who cares. You're all better now. Claire seems to love you. Gerard is innocent. We might be getting signed- fuck, everything is great."I grinned at her. Everything really was great.
Been spendung the past two days reading this. I love it. It’s amazing. Thank you
10/26/18