Art Class: Fun or Bust

[CrimsonAngelofShadow]

In a dark vacant room, the front door swung open, immediately filling a square of light on the floor followed by a flicked "click" of a light switch which illuminated the rest. Jiji, a female Hunter wearing a rather casual set of clothes consisting of a red t-shirt, blue jeans torn just above the knees, black condver shoes, a silver arrowhead necklace, and a black hooded jacket tied around her waist by the sleeves. She was carrying two moderately large brown cardboard boxes in her arms as she carefully stepped into the class, gently pulled the door behind her with her left foot and pushed it shut with a nudge of her hip. Finally, she trudged over to an empty table and placed the boxes there with a sigh.

She placed a clawed hand on a chair and leaned against it before making counting and calculating gestures with her other hand. "Alright... art supplies, check... teacher desk top on..." She then went over to her desk and turned the computer on with a simple press of a button. "Check... Attendance list, check-a-roo~... assignments, keys, set up. Yup, check, on it..." She went over to a shelf and pulled out a handful of large paper before laying them out by fours on each of the tables. "Set up, got it......... students...." Her mouth quietly curved into a slight frown before her blank white eyes looked up towards the door and lightly narrowed. ".... Students...."

I Don't know why, but there're just something different about today, but what? The art teacher thought, .... It's not like it's the first day of school, no, I know my students well enough. What has it been? A few months now? .... Wait.... Ooooh yeeaaaaaah! That's right, Of course! It's half way through the school year! That means some of my students might go and some new ones might come in, right... But what's to worry about that? I've dealt with enough different kind of kids to know what to do with them... even that sadly spoiled kid, Trent, and that split-personalty student, Smog.... Hmm....

Jiji mused as she then took a seat at one of the tables. She had left her son Tyler at daycare prior to walking to L4MS for her job. She didn't really trust the daycare to care for her kid while she worked. She always had her suspicions there SOMETHING was bound to go wrong. And sure, the first week Tyler managed to "Hunter stealth" his way out of daycare and into the streets, half the time he would sniff his way after his mother and straight to L4MS. Jiji was only grateful she hadn't been fired yet for the curious mischief he caused in that... Now a days, they've been doing better keeping an eye on him. Then what is it? She couldn't put her clawed finger on it. Well, whatever it was, Tyler's welfare, new students, all she could tell was that something interesting was going to happen today whether it was going to be for the better or worse. It was then her watch started ringing.

"Oh shoot! The kids are going to be here any minute! I better write the assignment on the board right away..." And without wasting any more time, she made her way to her dry erase board and started writing on it.

[TenderFoot]

A small witch girl clad in purple walked calmly down the hallway to her next class. She was never one you would see hurrying to her destination. Sally took pride in the fact that she was well organized and planned accordingly. Right now she had art class, and since the new semester had just started it was the first time she would be attending the class. It was her upmost priority to make a good impression on her new teacher; so Sally even decided to show up a few minutes early.

She didn’t know what to bring so she decided to carry what she believed would be art class appropriate; some pencils, pens, and a blank notebook. Sally would prefer one without the college ruled lines, but she hoped her new art teacher wouldn’t mind too much. After all, these kinds were the only ones she kept extras of in her locker. Sally arrived at the art classroom and peeked inside, she saw the teacher writing on the dry erase board in the front. She quietly pushed open the door, not wanting to make a huge disturbance, and then walked over to a table relatively near the front of the classroom. She didn’t want to be associated with the hooligans who never showed classroom etiquette, luckily they all sat in the back AWAY from her. Sally thought about saying something to the teacher, like maybe a hello or introduce herself, but her timidness was in full force now and she felt like anything she said would just end up embarrassing her. So she just sat there with her sleeves up to her face and waited for class to begin.

[CrimsonAngelofShadow]

Jiji paused for a split second in her writing when she heard the door gently creak open and the quiet pat of shoes walk into the room behind her. Normally these sounds would be too quiet for people to hear, but naturally with her keen sense of awareness developed during the apocalypse days as a Huntress, the presence of a new student would not go unnoticed. Out of amusement, a good-natured grin curved her lip before she suddenly spoke up.

"Well, that's interesting. You're rather early, aren't you?" She said without turning her head around away from the board or stopping from her writing. A chuckle with an oddly intimidating cackle-like quality slipped from Jiji's mouth before she continued. "I barely remember I was quite the early-bird myself back in the day. When one class was over, I would walk straight to the next using my backpack as my locker; with the necessary occasional pit-stops at the drinking fountain, of course." After finally finishing her writing on the dry-erase board, she playfully bapped the lid back on her marker before turning around to take a gander of who her new student was.

"Welcome to Art 1, I'm Miss Jiji, but just call me Jiji since that's actually my first name and I don't recall my real last name. That, and I'm your your art teacher here for the rest of the school year, obviously. As for how work works here," The Huntress promptly took a seat on top of her desk with crossed legs and briefly gestured to the board with a clawed hand. The writing read as follows,

"Today's Lesson & Assignment: The Language of Colors - After the class discussion over colors, draw a picture of your "dream life" or "What you plan your lifestyle to be like when you grow up" or "What you want to be doing after graduating" using color to express your artwork. When you're done, write an explanation of your art on the back of your drawing explaining what the drawing is and how the colors you chose to use express the drawing. When everyone is done with their drawing, each student will share and talk about their drawing to the class. Have fun, I look forward to seeing everyone's completed drawings".

"Everyday I write the daily assignment on the board telling exactly what's the biz. However for the first week or so, we're going to be covering the basics first. But I like to pamper my students. We're going to jump a few lessons for today and do something fun. Only for today though." She smiled with a wink. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." Jiji then stretched her arms out a bit before sighing feeling more relaxed.

"Soooo, what's your name?" She finally took a good look at the little infected girl; though it was hard to tell with the blank but anything-but-soulless eyes the teacher had, she was studiously looking Sally over with a surprisingly thorough sense of observation and perception. The first thing she noticed was her purple little dress with long sleeves. The soft sagging of her sleeves proved they were over-sized compared to the girl's actual thickness of her arms. This meant she had small arms with large "hands" since she could see the shape of her pointy fingers under the fabric if they were not poking out of the sleeves... pointed? Make that "large claws". She could see the timid shy look in her eyes even if the smell of fear from this child didn't make it obvious. The fact she was wearing a dress, and a purple at that told Jiji a handful of things.

Already from her quick observation of a mere few seconds, this is what the Huntress had gathered: From the long baggy sleeves, timid eyes, and the way she held her hands to her face, she was obviously shy and insecure. The dress said she was feminine to some sort of extent if she wore it casually. The fact she wore purple, and you would be surprised how what color a person wears can influence and reflect a person's personality, she was very likely very secretive and obviously mysterious, perhaps even a bit quirky, so to speak. Jiji could already tell by now she was a witch, and not just because of her glowing yellow eyes and grey hair which now a days any infected could have and not all witches had said qualities. Finally, from the fact this student arrived so early and was sitting at the front of class with such well-behaved mannerism said she was a good girl perhaps unlikely to break rules. The neat tidy appearance of her supplies said she was an organized one. The teacher smiled at Sally, already she could tell she was going to enjoy having her as a student.

[Stich]

Greg was not enthusiastic about his next class. He was more of a...scientific thinker than artistic. He had his usual pale blue shirt with a yellow bar and a pair of shorts. Nothing that really sticks out. He likes blending in, keeps suspicion off him. He had a notebook and pencils for class and was gnawing on one of his long claws with a mild frown. His facade was hard to keep when he loathed the class.

He walked to the back without a word and adjusted his glasses. He looked at the board and his lips twitched in annoyance. He didn't understand anything on the board. Express an idea using colors? What did that even MEAN? Colors don't express anything. They just inform you what light waves the surface you're currently looking at reflects. This whole class was pointless and made his aggravated gnawing more noticeable. Why did "creative classes" have to be required?

[TenderFoot]

The small witch girl clad in purple sank further and further into herself as the teacher continued to speak. Oh gosh, talk about overwhelming. At first she had jumped a little when the teacher had spoken to her, without even turning from the chalkboard! Sally’s claws were growing closer and closer to her face, unaware that she was actually trying to hide herself from the teacher. The huntress adult mentioned that she would write the assignments on the board. Sally’s eyes glanced over a little to read what Miss Jiji had written.

Sally had to admit that the concept was a brilliant idea so none of the students would stray too far from the assignment without having an excuse. And it was simple enough. Sally was never really good at art because her long claws hindered her abilities to make precise and accurate lines with writing utensils. However, using paints was always easy and fun for her. Sally’s eyes snapped back to Miss Jiji when she was asked a question. “Oh uh…uh… okay…” Her eyebrows tilted up and she looked slightly more panicked. Her sleeves were held up to her chin and her small shoulders were hunched up. “Uhh…uh…” She squeaked, whipping her head over to notice that a new student had also entered the class room. He looked like another witch. Anyway, she turned back to Miss Jiji, still trying to choke out her name without having a nervous breakdown. “Uh…um… S-Sally…” She just barely said above a whisper. The small girl then covered her reddening face with her sleeves, completely embarrassed.

[Zen]

There was a brisk thumping sound in the hallway. Clearly, the platform boots weren’t giving her any speed advantage at all! ‘Why didn’t I stick with the flats? Smooth move April, now you’re late!’

It was officially the start of the second semester the minute her phone rang as the student council secretary called in sick. ‘It’s just some circulation letters, an announcement to post on the bulletin board, and club signup lists. No big deal,’ or so she thought.

She planned to arrive at school thirty minutes early to post the darn things and circulate the letters during lunch. However her unexpected tug of war with her younger twin, May, ate up the extra minutes. It was already the middle of the year and May was still not ready to go outside their house. That was made clear by May’s determined grip on the bed’s railings as April pulled her by the ankles.

‘Hopefully she’ll come out on her own.’ April mused, sticking the last signup sheet on the cork board. She was about to calmly walk to her Art class when she broke into a dash as the bell rang. She ran and made sharp turns at corners, then abruptly stopped and walked when a teacher’s around, then sprinted when the coast is clear. When the Art classroom door was in sight, April stomped her right foot on the ground as a break and caught the door’s frame with her right hand. Hopefully no claw marks embedded on the walls.

“...sorry. I had to…post things, and…” she said between pants as she rummaged her bag for the circulation letters. She brought them out, clean, without a crease in sight and handed them to the teacher standing in front. “…circulations. New students are invited to join clubs. They can sign up at the bulletin board and…yeah. I’ll just take a seat.”

With the morning tasks done, April seated herself by the window at the front row. She sprawled her arms on the desk and stretched her legs and back. She didn’t bother to look at the board or around the classroom for new faces. She can do that later when she can feel her legs again.

[CrimsonAngelofShadow]

Jiji smiled and couldn't help but make a quiet "evil" but friendly cackle when see witnessed how Sally's face turned red like an apple from being so flustered, an exaggeration of course. None the less, it was too adorable.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to get in your face all talkative and intimidate ya like that, sweety. Just relax and make yourself at home. I don't bite... often." She chuckled again before hearing the next student come in and immediately turned a straight observant face when she read the less optimistic vibes she got from this kid.

It was another witch obviously, but male this time. From what she could tell, the dull blue shirt and frown said he was likely the mentally reserved sort, not that he may not be very social or have any friends, but he probably wasn't too optimistically talkative either. Glasses, thick glasses said he liked to spend his time reading, whether it's in front of many books, a computer screen, a tv or some other device that would consume your time and tended to be in your face. There was a good chance he may be pretty smart too, didn't have to mean math as stereotism would take you to believe, it just meant whatever it is that he's delving his interest into, he must know his stuff. The fact they were thick glasses implied he likely isn't self conscious enough to be intently concerned of his looks. His short-sleeved shirt, short khaki pants and long hair suggested he was self-secure enough not to care what others thought of him. He didn't appear to have much with him other than a notebook and some pencils... more than one pencil... either he liked to write or even sketch things in his spare time or he had a knack for misplacing things... either way, it said he had some sort of sense of preparation and was definitely a thinker. And he was sitting in the back... Not that it means he's a bad kid... but it certainly meant he had some sort of level of secrecy and personal issues and was probably not going to be a very open child. Now this doesn't mean only kids with issues sat on in the back, though it may only be a small gesture, where you tend to sit in a room of people, front, middle, sides, or back, can be a hint of what kind of personal issues one had.

She noticed the way he absentmindedly bit at his own claws... very likely the sort of habit a withdrawn person would have when preoccupied in their own thoughts as a subconscious means of making themselves comfortable... she knew she had a similar habit. Her own habit was lightly tapping either her foot, claws, pencil or whatever she was holding while thinking. Now that the art teacher thought about it, she realized she was lightly tapping her foot in the air as she was still sitting down on top of her desk.

Anyway, it had only been a few seconds before the bell suddenly rang and another student came walking in through the open door. He was a Smoker with brown skin, black short hair with styled long bangs and fire-like highlights all along around the ends of his hair. He wore a gray t-shirt covered in dirt as if he had been outside rolling in the ground, a black vest also somewhat dirty, green baggy cargo pants with large pockets on the sides, and brown army boots coated in dry dirt. He walked in with a straight back, hands in his pockets and a lollipop in the side of his slightly frowning mouth below a pair of vivid emerald eyes with an unpleasant starkly stern gaze. His name was Ray.

"Present". he said simply in a callous tone as he passed Jiji. He seemed to glare at Sally and Greg as he saw them before taking a quick glance at the writing on the board. In the next moment, he made a darkly sour expression as if detesting what he had read before taking a seat in the table in front of Greg’s table. (By the way, Jiji doesn't use desks in her classroom, she has tables instead. Four students can sit at one table. There’s about 5 tables in Jiji’s room). He sat back and brought his booted feet up on top of the table before crossing his arms in front of himself without another word.

Jiji lightly frowned upon seeing Ray put his shoes up on the table, especially seeing as he was getting chunks of crumbly dry dirt on her table now. Before she was about to speak up until another student came rushing in. This girl, yet another witch appeared to be the busy bee… She was dressed pretty nicely with some style which said she cared about her image at some sort of good level.

“That’s alright, we’re not counting absences for this week since it’s understandable the average student will need time adjusting to their new schedules if any. So, you’re safe! Welcome to art class, take a seat where ever you like, you’re practically on time, dear.” She smiled warmly before narrowing her eyes towards Ray’s direction. “And before we begin class… I’d have everyone know I like my desks clean… without dirt… or shoes. That means you too, young man.” Jiji said with a slightly irritated but patient tone with an obvious gesture towards the Smoker boy. Ray slightly glared a bit, not saying anything.

“Can you please put your feet down on the floor where they belong, Misterrrrr….?”

“Emerson. Address me as ‘Ray’, Ms. Jiji”. Ray answered coldly before sliding his feet back on the floor.

“Thank you, Ray. Everyone is in their seat now, yes? Great!” She clasped her clawed hands together with a cheerful smile.

“I believe I already put large paper on each and everyone’s table for each of you, now, before I begin the lesson, does anyone have any questions they’d like to ask?” Jiji slid off the top of her desk before glancing around at the students. From what she gathered so far, class with these students was either going to be fun, chaos, or both.

[Stich]

Greg managed to stop gnawing on his claw and instead picked up a pencil, aggrievedly tapping the desk with it. He had figured out ways to hold pencils with relative ease regardless of his large claws. he simply stuck the pencil between his ring and middle finger with the end between his thumb and index finger. His remaining fingers are folded flat on his palm. It still felt a little awkward but it works.
When the teacher asked if anyone has questions his pencil tapping sped up slightly. A few thoughts zipped through his head-why do such a pointless task, why must a useless class be mandatory, can I leave now, etc. During his tapping he dropped his pencil, his grip not being very tight at the time. He scowled and reached to grab it when he noticed the other children who arrived after him. Another Witch and a Smoker.
He placed his pencil back on his desk and tried to stop performing any of his nervous habits. They disgusted him but he couldn't help performing them. He barely noticed them and had to focus to stop. A few others included adjusting his glasses constantly, tapping his claws, and grinding his teeth. He just wanted this class to be over...

[TenderFoot]

Sally just covered her face even more and rubbed her sleeves over her cheeks, which had felt much warmer than they had only seconds before. She was glad that the teacher was friendly, however she did feel like she was being silly in front of her peers. Silently, Sally tried to calm herself. The pale witch slowly lowered her arms from her face and looked around the room, biting her lip when she noticed that there were more witches than other types of infected. She heard her little heart thump nervously in her ribcage; more witches would mean…a more quiet and working environment…right? The blonde glanced over at the other witch girl who seated herself at the same table she was sitting in. Well…she actually didn’t look like a quiet witch to Sally, with the way she burst into the classroom earlier. She had mentioned something about clubs as well...although Sally was not a new student she was a little curious about them. Also the witch girl had very interesting shoes that Sally couldn’t help but tilt her head at inquisitively.

Then she noticed the smoker boy who had chosen to sit at one of the back tables with the male witch. She instantly wrinkled her small nose a little, knowing that feeling she got when she saw a troublemaker. His feet were up on the desk! Her orange pupil-less eyes were wide, completely appalled at how he would even think of doing such a thing…and in front of Miss Jiji! Yes….staying away from him… she thought meekly, turning back to the large white paper in front of her. She didn’t even notice it before, how careless of her. Sally moved her notebook and pencils to her right, giving her plenty of elbow room. She then looked up and around the room to see where the art supplies were. She looked worried for a second when she couldn’t locate them from her position and just decided to ask the teacher. She raised her sleeve into the air gently, speaking once the huntress looked at her, “Um…” her voice was as quiet as a mouse’s; she tried to keep her eyes from shifting over to her classmates, “…what kind of material can we use for the colors…? Are there specific requirements?” She wanted to make sure she did everything correctly.

[Zen]

“…you’re practically on time, dear.” That’s what Ms. Jiji said. Thank God it’s the first day.

With her face planted on the table, April steadied her breathing. She constantly reminded herself that pants and platform shoes will never be her speed buddies – as do three-inch stilettos. But what’s a girl to do? The boots looked pretty and badass.

When she was sure she regained her composure, she sat up straight, and scanned the blackboard. ‘What do I want to do after graduation, huh? Well there’s that stroll in the park I promised Al-‘April’s face immediately heated up and turned pink. How could a walk spent with her childhood friend make her react like that? It’s no big deal. It’s supposed to be.

She blinked and shook her head softly to diminish the thought. No luck; it was still there, that constant pounding against her ribcage. She continuously told herself ‘it’s not like that’ but it didn’t seem to work either. Running out of calmer options, she dealt with it by taking out whatever art supplies she had with her from her bag while hiding her face altogether.

Taking out different colored brush-pens, one after the other seemed to calm her down. At least it steered her mind away from that embarrassing thought. While she was at it, she could hear grunts of impatience from the back. She could also smell bits of dirt and sugar. It was only a mild scent, but a stronger one could have stirred the classroom.

Then she noticed a pair of curious eyes looking at her feet, but when she looked up the little witch girl, who sat beside her, had raised an arm to ask a question. “Um…” she said all too meekly.
“…what kind of material can we use for the colors…? Are there specific requirements?”
April admitted that she too was curious, so she sat up straight again and listened.

[CrimsonAngelofShadow]

Jiji smiled towards Sally at her question before briskly remembering to pin that circulation poster on her pin board behind her desk.

"I let my students use any type of art media they like. All the supplies are in that large cabinet on the left near the door". She pointed a claw briefly at said cabinet that was more like a closet in the form of a cabinet with large double doors.

"We have pencils, colored pencils, prisma colored pencils, charcoal, chalk, pastel, oil pastel, water colored paints, acrylic paints, oil paints, spray paint, ink, and a whole bunch of other stuff of the sort. You can even use multiple different medias together, which would then be called 'mixed media'. For those who just arrived, I write the daily assignment on the dry erase board over there" she points to the mentioned board. Personally, she didn't mind repeating herself.

"Does that answer your question, Sally?" Jiji smiled warmly to the shy little witch girl.

Ray frowned in his seat, bringing his shoes up on his table again before rudely interrupting, not even raising his hand.

"I fail to conceive the critical importance of art. As far as I can comprehend, art and the imagination is nothing more but decor. And unessential "add-on" to any genuinely beneficial concept. In other words it's mere use is nothing more than to give product a more appealing appearance to the eyes. Is this not so?" Ray said in a stern surprisingly formal tone of voice, but none the less completely unenthusiastic towards the idea of art. Jiji couldn't help but give a dark glare towards Ray before playing on a poker face of a grin.

"Ignorance is such a blissful... terrible... curse..." She then sat down in her chair behind her desk, putting her elbows on her desk and supporting her jaw under her claws.

"Art is far more than just something pretty to look at, sweet cheeks. Try looking at it this way... as long as the ability to see, hear, feel, taste, and smell exist, there will always be thought. As long as anything has the ability to think, there will always be imagination. As long as imagination exists, there will always be ideas, and as long as there are ideas, there will be art. Art is everything. Everything from a simple drawing on a piece of paper to the blueprints of the next skyscraper to the creation of food and music to even the craftmanship of inventions to even the biological beauty of how the body works to maintain itself to the chemistry of converting elements into new elements to even the very fabric of how the universe works and functions. In short, Imagination is the potential to be created, and art is how the creation is produced. Does that answer your question, Ray?" She raised an eyebrow with a small frown at him.

Ray only stared at Jiji as if he just realized she was insane.

".... I have no comments..." He then pulled his feet back down and crossed his arms to himself rather uncomfortably with an expression on his face that could easily say "what the h***?".

Jiji then smiled awkwardly to the class as if attempting to hide her annoyance. When she finally sighed, she looked genuinely calmed down.

"Thank you for removing your feet from the table. For being such a good sport, I'll let you keep your candy-on-a-stick until further notice... Before we move on, are there any more questions?"

[FrancisELF]

Standing in front of a certain room filled with different mixtures of scents, from wood to metal, and a variety of chemicals that composes a lot of distinctive aromas. Jabez can identify the room he is facing as the Art's room where he would be taking his first class. He can also identify familiar scents of living beings inside the room. As he stands in front of the door, he tries to guess what types are lingering inside the classroom. A Witch, a Smoker, and a Hunter... these were the distinct scents he can smell. Jabez chuckles mischievously, knowing that his nose has never failed him... yet. He firmly grips his older brother's hand and looks up at him with a wide grin in his silly face.

"There are at least three witches inside there, a smoker, and a hunter!"

The red-head receives a good ol' pat in the head from his brother, as he replies with a gentle voice, "That's right, you won the game little brother!"

Jabez blushes, as he smiles in total satisfaction. "Thanks, Bart!"

These are the things that the young Tank's life revolves in. A game of life, with his loving brother Bart. It's his first day of school after a long time of being home schooled. The energetic boy is excited, and cannot wait to actually be in a school, and actually participate in it as a student! His face is plastered with glee as he swings his gigantic arms.

"I'm gonna make a masterpiece and I'll show it to you when it's done Bart! I'll make a sculpture out of you! Art class will be the bomb!"

Jabez receives a moment of silence from his older brother, as Bart slowly bends down to his knees to face him. "Are you sure you want to take this class?" His brother replies with a worried tone. The red-head's energy was then drained immediately, as he loses his glow.

"Don't.........." He started to croak, "I don't need your pity... I wanna take this class..."

Yes, Jabez is blind, and he is very much aware of it. He wasn't born blind, so he knows what certain things look like. He keeps the memory inside his head, so he won't forget what it looks like. His blindness is his biggest insecurity, and he doesn't like people pointing it out in front of his face. He would usually go on a rampage by now and cause mayhem... but it was his brother Bart, and he is an exemption.

"Ok then," Bart stands up, stretching his long legs, "I'll pick you up after school."

The tank nods. Moments after the conversation between brothers, Bart knocks on the door, and opening it after. He makes eye-contact with the teacher, and smiles, pushing his little brother Jabez inside the classroom.

"Hi, I'm his big brother, Bart, and I'm actually the new librarian here. This is my little brother Jabez, and he'll be attending this class." He bows his head slightly, "I'm sorry for bringing my brother in late. He is actually a new student here." Bart looks at his watch, "Oh! I have to go, please take care of my brother." Bart leaves immediately.

The moment Bart's scent and presence leave the room, Jabez then seated himself in the far end of the room. Because of his size, Jabez already occupied one whole table, and he can sense that no one would probably seat beside him. One way to ruin my first day of school.... thanks a lot Bart. He loves his brother, but there are things that even a brother shouldn't mention to a kid who just wanted to enjoy his first day of school.

He takes out his PSP and started playing...

In here... I can be whoever I want to be... In this world that is better than reality.

[Zen]

April stared blankly at the board for a moment. She had a very critical conflict to deal with right now: what color palette should I use? Although it’s trivial for most people, April was fully aware of how analytical Ms. Jiji was.

If she used cool colors to portray her picnic under a calm blue sky with her sister then it might just do the trick of concealing what she really wanted. Then again, Ms Jiji might be clever enough to see right through her. A picnic after graduation may seem believable for someone as busy as her but its quite shallow and doesn’t amount to how huge a graduation reward usually is – especially if it’s a gift you’re giving yourself.

On the other hand, if she were to use warm colors, that would portray a romantic walk in the park – pretty and obvious.

“Hmm…” she hummed, cradling her jaw in her arms as she slumped on the table.

She closed her eyes to ponder again. ‘This is going to be tough, concealing that kind of thing. I could do other things after graduation but what I really want is-’

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a few cracks at the door. She turned in her seat to see a small redhead tank, bulldozing the doorframe with outmost care. ‘Well if I did leave claw marks, least it wouldn’t be so obvious with this guy adding a few touches of his own. ’

The tank was accompanied by a tall, slender, man, and by the looks of it, he too was a witch. The man said a few things about how he and the tank were related, that this was his first day, and all that biz. Then he walked out, leaving the poor thing to seat himself at the farthest back.

April’s eyes trailed on the young tank, she didn’t want to have the fresh meat spoiled right on the first day by seating himself with the bad eggs. ‘He seems docile enough,’ April thought, she wanted the tank to at least have a chance.

She was about to speak up and invite the redhead up front when he pulled out his PSP.
“He wouldn’t,” she whispered.
Unfortunately, fate wanted to play with April’s tolerance that day. Her abdomen hurt just when the device started up.
“Yeah I’ve got a question, Ms. Jiji.” She called the hunter’s attention. “Are we allowed to play PSP in class?”

[FrancisELF]

Jabez can immediately sense that someone is watching him... probably a student inside the class who is concerned... they all are. He ignores it at first and continues to play with his PSP, as the obvious pressing of buttons, and the noisy soundtrack of the game he is playing, plus the extra sounds of slashing and voices of the characters in his game... was indeed a big distraction of whatever they were doing before he interrupted the class with his brother Bart. Tapping aimlessly at his PSP.

As he drifts away in his gaming reality... Jabez soon closes all his senses to the world, and focuses on the game. Nothing like a good time playing games!

Innocence is a bliss, and it doesn't even have any relations to Jabez and his PSP whatsoever! The class has started, and it seems that no one else is paying him any attention. Even thought they probably looked at him for being big, or maybe he even scared some of them. Heck! With his size and look, who wouldn't be intimidated? He is not a bully though, and he get along with his classmates before his infection. But there are some things that a man... or a boy, have when it comes to their pride. Especially for his age. The red-head ignores the whole class and continues to busy himself with his current game... when suddenly...

“Yeah I’ve got a question, Ms. Jiji..........Are we allowed to play PSP in class?”

Jabez who doesn't want to deal with grown ups at that time, suddenly looks at the girl who is obviously gonna put him in a lot of trouble... even though he is the one at fault... snarled at her, and stands up from his seat.

"Mind your own business!" the young boy slams his right hand to the floor to intimidate his enemy. he just doesn't want to handle any problem right now, especially after his brother being such a good big brother to him just awhile ago... NOT! Oh how young and full of energy he is, and not to mention a big problem ahead of him.

[Stich]

Oh wonderful, a few more morons. Greg started grinding his teeth as this whole class seemed to drag by as students asked questions and complained. He tapped his claws on his desk, wishing time would just move faster so he could leave. This was all pointless, only math and sciences were what mattered. Who cares if you could draw something like a butterfly.
((Sorry is short, lost my old post and just wanna advance this derp <w>))

[TenderFoot]

Sally almost jumped five feet in the air when the new tank student slammed his fist down on his table. Luckily he was a different table than herself, she was sure being squished into a table with the tank wouldn’t be good for her nerves. She was hiding halfway under the table when she peeked out and looked around. It seemed that the other witch girl she was sitting with was trying to make the teacher aware that the other student was playing video games in class. Sally glanced over to the tank again and saw that he had a small electronic playstation thing in his hands. The purple clad witch girl didn’t want to get on anyone’s bad side, but she did agree with the other girl. No one should be playing video games in the middle of the class. That’s just rude!

After frowning at the tank, she edged away from her seat. She quietly tried to ignore the uprising conflict that was broiling between the two infected students and made her way over to the supplies cabinet. It was about time to get started on her assignment! If she wasted anymore time, she might not even finish it before the end of class. Gently hooking her thumb and index finger around the handle she pulled it open. She then let her mouth gape open slightly at the sheer amount of art supplies that were lined amongst the shelves. The small witch didn’t even need to think before she grabbed two pints of tempura paints; purple and pink. She turned around, holding each of the jars close to her body. Then she started to get nervous, Ah goodness, it’s always hard being the pioneer…. She kept her head down so the other’s wouldn’t see her face which was heating up. Sally had been the first one to actually get up and try to start the assignment, it was always hard for her to start something when others were usually supposed to follow.

Hurrying back to her seat, she placed the jars of paint near the side of her white piece of paper and then sat down. After about a minute of struggling to get the paints uncapped, she succeeded and returned them to the tabletops. Softly, she raised her head to glance at the other students, wondering if they were going to get their own supplies and start the assignment already.

[Zen]

April saw the tank boy’s impulsive reaction coming. However it wasn’t the same for everyone else as she noticed her table-mate flinch in surprise. The little witch girl tried to calm herself, then stood up, and walked to the supplies cabinet. ‘Well, at least there’s someone here I could probably get along with – probably.’

With that in mind, her eyes followed the little witch girl as she walked her way back to her table. When the girl walked by the teacher’s desk her gaze stopped at Ms. Jiji. The teacher was silent, probably pondering what to do.

While she waited, April started to doodle shapes onto her paper with her brush pens. Her claws make it difficult to use ordinary writing supplies, but the brush pens make it somehow bearable. She continued drawing one stroke after another until she completed the lines that would be filed later. Then she looked up, Ms. Jiji still hasn’t said anything. ‘I guess I’ll take the iniative.’

So without a word, she got up and walked to where the tank is. She plugged in her earphones on his PSP – completely eliminating the loud noise, and gently positioned them around his head. “It is my business, okay?” She finished off by placing them on his ears and going back to her seat to complete the assignment.

[FrancisELF]

Jabez analyzes his surroundings like an animal, cautious of the things around him that he is new with. Yes, he is a new INFECTED student inside an INFECTED school. He did well before his infection in his old school... he was actually a model student who has lots of friends! But everything changed dramatically when he got infected... and that he lost his sight... which really affected the him. He started to grow a deep insecurity with his looks, knowing how ugly he might look since he is a Tank. If only he was a Witch or a Hunter... and he might probably see... and look better than his disgusting--He feels a sudden movement by the front where the accusing voice comes from. But it didn't come from the same person... it had the same similar scent of a witch, but the presence was different. He can feel another negative aura coming from this classmate that seems to give him the same impression of the other witch. They both disagree with him playing his PSP, the only time he can escape from his insecurities. But the timid presence seems to do no harm to him... he was simply ignored.

Ignored.

Was he taking his insecurities like he's the only kid with a problem? He is in a school---a whole city filled with infected people dealing with all kinds of problems. He is still a kid, and kid's should enjoy their life to the fullest. Sulking about his insecurities is a draaaag! And would only keep him from having fun! The presence just gave him a calm submissive feel... that started to calm him down a bit. Well.... not for long that is.

Another presence, a negative one, near him... a male student. A negative energy that made him feel like he IS an idiot making stupid dilemmas in the middle of Art Class. He felt stupid, and it only made him angry. Annoyance... that's the word that this presence is giving off. Jabez gets back to rejecting himself... back to his insecurities.

His fists tighten in anger... this day was just getting worst for the red headed Tank.

Until the confident witch starts to walk towards him. The tank was ready to pound her if she remains a threat. Jabez is about to roar at the approaching threat, when suddenly... something else happened. The confident witch suddenly inserted something in his PSP and then inserting a pair of earphones in his ears. The soft touch made him blush, as he felt his heart beat uncontrollably, unable to move for a few seconds... and then... his anger just disappeared. “It is my business, okay?” He remained silent after a few more seconds as the confident presence disappeared...................yeah, he was being a spoiled brat.... of course they would mind, he was making a lot of noise! He sits back down calmly this time.

His mind is now calm and at ease, as he looks at what seems to be a window, where the gentle warm breeze caress his face. He remained quiet. If only he listened to his brother about attending Art Class. Who was he kidding? He can't freaking see! The sound of movements, probably art materials being used, are giving him an idea that they are suppose to do something. He loved drawing before... he'd make doodles of his teachers and classmates, and all his friends would love it! But that was before his blindness.

He remained silent... facing the window beside him.

[Stich]

"Finally..." Greg mumbled as the purple clad witch stepped up to get supplies. His habits instantly stopped as his attention became focused like a laser on getting this cursed assignment done with. He couldn't help but notice it was suddenly...quieter? How strange, his tooth grinding must have made him miss what ever disturbance was put to an end.

Greg pushed his seat back and strode over to the cabinet, he already knew what he intended to do. He poked around the cabinet with his long claws until he found his prize, a red marker. Yes, this would be all he needed. He planned to use "modern art" as his "muse" and take out his anger of this class by turning a white paper red in a way that DIDN'T involve...well, unpleasant circumstances at the expense of others. He wouldn't be willing to cut HIMSELF obviously.

He sat back down at his table in the back and came face to face with one of his many enemies. So we meet again marker cap he mused with a smirk. He had a feeling he'd get weird looks at what he was about to do but his claws made it necessary. He popped the capped end of the marker in his mouth and pulled the cap off with his teeth before spitting it out on the desk. He then proceed to enact his plan starting from the top right corner of his page.

[CrimsonAngelofShadow]

Backtracking a little here since apparently I wasn't quick enough to posting for most of ya'lls tastes >.<; ]


Jiji Smiled when she noticed the Witch drop off another student.

"Nice to meet you, the Name's Jiji. And it's all right. It's the beginning of the second semester, we're not counting tardies until next week. Alright then, see ya! You go ahead and take a seat, Jabez." Though she couldn't really tell at first, after observing how he walked towards his chosen table and took a seat, the way he carried himself very self consciously and seemed to use his nose and hands to find his way in a very subtle manner, she could tell right then he was blind. She then somewhat frowned when she noticed him pick out his PSP and start playing it like nothing else existed. It was then she heard April's question.

strangely, she didn't answer. Not that she was ignoring her, and certainly not that she didn't hear her either, she was thinking the situation over... Unlike most people, well, at least with kids, she knew better than to embarrass and humiliate a child and knew it would only put a negative impact on Jabez if she simply answered and said

"Yes, There is a rule about playing video games in class. Now will you please hand me that device? I'll have a word with you after class."

No, she didn't want to do that. But nor was she going to ignore the situation. She just believed in handling such things with delicacy. First off, this was a tank child, but that was the least of her worries. She was confident in dealing with such. What concerned her most was why he was playing video games so openly. One may assume it was because he didn't care for the class and was simply trying to pass the time. But that couldn't be it, she had overheard the conversation the boy had with his older brother earlier. Not that she intended to eavesdrop, she just happened to be in hearing range. Such was one of the many blessing and curse of the Hunter.

But the uneasy expression Jiji keenly noticed the tank child holding told her another story... he was under some sort of heavy stress... was it because he was blind or having some social problems as a new student here? The way he was huddling in on himself by himself and how strongly absorbed he appeared with his game and seemingly entirely oblivious to the world suggested this was his comfort zone... his little safe haven... and she could sense a strong threatening atmosphere emitting off him. The kind she was very familiar with back in the apocalypse days. Infected gave off this sort of intense air when they were threatening others to go away or getting aggressive tempted for a fight.

She then watched as April confronted Jabez and gave him a pair of earphones. That was then she noticed Jabez was calmed down a bit. She finally took the opportunity to approach him and as politely as possible remove one of his earphones to speak to him.

"I believe you were planning on making a masterpiece for your brother today, right? Let's get you started. Sit tight." Her voice was very sweet and calming, she had mentally prepared herself into this friendly gentle mood before confronting her student. She walked over to the cabinet and opened it, grinning at the sudden thought that Sally, April, and even Greg had already come here and took their media of choice. There were art supplies of all kinds and they were all organized very neatly. Though ironically she was quite the mess bug herself when she was working on a project, she knew how to tidy up things well.

She suddenly recalled a memory of her mother telling her a story of a blind woman she knew back in college. They were both majoring in music and were working for a degree in teaching music. Her blind friend, despite her blindness was a talented pianist. She was even one of the top students in her class. She had done all the requirements for her degree and even took the practice teaching class where she actually taught a music class as their teacher for a day and she did well. But by the end of the year when they would review the collage students and confirm whether they earned their degree or not... the blind woman was denied... all because they didn't think she was capable to teach as a full time music teacher because she was blind... Jiji's mother had seen her blind friend come out of that review room bawling in tears as then they both talked... (True story btw).

After a short pause, Jiji shook her head at the flashback and brought herself back to the present. She believed anyone was capable of doing art, regardless of whether you couldn't see or hear or even feel. She could tell Jabez had a good nose, and if he could smell that good, he would practically be able to "see" smells like the scent version of sonar. She browsed the shelves of supplies and pulled out some special markers that were faintly scented. They didn't smell strong, for as a huntress, she couldn't stand those. So these barely smelled at all and would do just fine with Jabez hopefully.

"We may not do sculpting today, but I'm sure you can draw a piece of work with these." She walked over to Jabez and handed him the faintly scented markers.

"These smell just like they look. Green may smell like plants, red like spice that makes you feel lively and energetic, brown like dirt, purple will smell rather strangely intriguing. Pink will smell sweet and fluffy, blue will smell calm and relaxing like water, orange will smell kinda appetizing and wholesome, yellow will smell bright and perky, grey will smell dull and old, white will smell almost like nothing blankness, and black will smell strong and intense. These don't smell strongly, so I'm sure they won't bother your nose. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. You can play your game when you've finished your art work." She smiled before walking back to the front of the classroom. She wasn't trying to mock him or show pity by giving him these scented markers, she was simply giving him an opportunity to take advantage of his other senses. You don't need eyes to draw as long as you could use your other senses, Jiji believed. The huntress then started off with a good-tempered voice towards the class as she clasped her claws together.

"Alright, for those who don't know yet, my name is Ms. Jiji, just call me Jiji though, and obviously I'm your art teacher for the remainder of the school year. I write the daily assignment on the dry erase board over there to my left, the wall opposite from the art cabinet. Next to the cabinet there's a rack were you put your finished work, it's especially a great place to put your painting to dry off. Just be sure not to put each others' artwork directly on top of each others' work. One year someone had the misfortune of having another student's picture glued on top of their painting. I'm sure you get the idea. Next to the dry erase board is a cabinet with a bunch of drawer tubs in it where you'll choose one to put your art stuff in. You may begin working on your art projects as most of you already are. The assignment is to draw what you hope or expect to be doing in life probably about 10 years from now, basically either your "dream job" or "dream life" or something like that using colors to express the ideas behind that. In the meantime, we will also discuss and talk about the lesson." She then sat herself on top of the front of her desk, getting comfortable as a sign that this was going to be a long talk.

"So, the language of colors. Though typically it may not be considered a written language like the text in your books or hieroglyphics, but, believe it or not, it is actually one of the most universal languages in the universe. So universal, you may not be even aware that your minds subconsciously already know how to read it. Color is part of a highly complex language we naturally learn. Lines, shapes, shading, texture, and how they are all combined and used are also part of this language. Also, believe it or not, the elements I just listed such as color and shapes, are not exclusive to the "visual" language. They are all used in the language of 6 general forms, sight, hearing, touch, taste, scent, and atmospheric. Imagine the color 'red', in words, it can be described as dangerous, exciting, thrilling, energetic, lively, wild. In sound, you may recognize this color in lively metal rock music, or an intense scream of excitement. In Taste, you may recognize this color as spicy or hot or very juicy meat. in touch, you might recognize the color as pain, or adrenaline, or something that makes your muscles tense and energetic. In scent, it may smell very vivid, like something that would cause you to be unable to stay in one place for every long, something that puts your mind into a rush. Anyway, I'm sure the lot of you get the idea by now. Now for some facts you may not have noticed. When you're old enough to get your own car, you'll notice yellow cars are very rare. Why? Because this color is usually used for important vehicles like taxi cabs, buses, construction vehicles, and other such vehicles because yellow stands out more than any color and, combined with black, expresses the message of "caution" or "look out". You may even notice the traffic lights are yellow. you may also notice the combination of red and white are pretty exclusive to things like fire trucks, ambulances, stop signs and other things because this color combo best communicates "Emergency". Also, most police cars are colored black and white because this color combo communicates "balance" or "law". kind of like "yin yang". When you look at toys or things they make for infants, you'll notice often times they use very light tints. This is because tint colors most easily express "young" "innocent" or "safe". Color can influence our behavior, believe it or not. Mostly subconsciously. It can even express who you are. Look at the color of your clothes and ask yourself why you were those colors, what kind of colors wouldn't you wear and why. People who like to wear light clothes like red, orange, and yellow tend to be more energetic or outgoing. People who like to wear dark clothes like blue, green, purple, and black tend to be more socially reserved and think alot and do solo activities like playing video games, reading books, writing, drawing, or stuff like that. People who tend to like to wear bright colors tend to be more positive-minded. People who tend to wear dark clothes tend to be more mature-minded to some extent. Brown tends to communicate down-to-earth-yness or means you know who you are. The list goes on. Though I'm not saying it's guaranteed, I'm just saying that's how it tends to be in general." Jiji continued on for several minutes until at one point,

"rainbows, though of course now a days with ya kids means 'gay', it actually communicates 'happiness', 'peace', 'promise', 'without worry or conflict', or even 'certainty of better days'. And the pantsless bandit had escaped from jail. oh, the crimes he committed without his pants, the lives he scarred forever with the unsightliness of his underwear and unforgettable scene of him running down the streets with his malicious psychotic laugh without pants."

Ray had been doing nothing but sleeping on his table, but he immediately lifted his head with a twisted face of confusion that could easily say "what the crap, where did that come from??" when he heard Jiji mention something about an insane thief with no pants. He wasn't fond of art class... He would rather be in history class or science right now. Even math was okay.

"How the blazes did this nut case ever receive employment here?" He thought with a grimace. Then again, this was a cruddy school, he thought. He put his head back down on the table and commenced his nap.

[Stich]

Greg didn't bother listening to the teacher. he had his plan, he had his tools, and he already started. He had no reason not to tune his surroundings out as he focused on this dreadful task
Ablublu, short again, just cuz I have to fix post order apparently <3>))

[TenderFoot]

Sally looked up from her struggle with the paint cap to the teacher. Oh my…she sounds like she’s saying some pretty important things… This seemed like the perfect opportunity to start taking notes. Sally was never one to daydream or pass up a chance to record seemingly important information. The small witch gently placed down the paint jar next to her clean white sheet of paper and reached for her notebook and pencil. Flipping to a new page, she immediately started writing down detailed bullet points of the different meanings of each color Miss Jiji described.

Since Sally was a witch, she had to hold her pencil awkwardly in order to keep her claws from interfering with her ability to write. It helped that she was born a witch, because of that she had grown up and adapted to holding her pencil like this. Her actual handwriting was still very neat and cursive just like any other star student’s would be. She felt confident that he they ever had a test in art class about colors, she would pass…well… with flying colors! Oh ho ho ho! …..Sally really needed to work on her humor. Nevertheless, she continued to take notes happily until Miss Jiji exhausted herself. The witch girl would worry about her art page later once she was sure she documented every fact.

[Zen]

‘I guess this’ll do.’
April leaned back on her seat to have an overview of her work. It was a pretty simple picture of a meadow covered in cherry blossom trees in bloom. In the middle of the grass field was a checkered blanket where she and her sister were having a picnic.

The colors were in pastel shades, she liked pastels, and they were easy on the eyes. The picture was made up of a clear blue sky, pink blossoms, pastel lime for the grass, cherry color on the blanket, and their long blonde hair making gold baroque-like swirls, curves, and scribbles among the grass.

‘No sign of Al here, yep it’ll do.’ She mused, forcing herself not to blush.

But how honest can one’s body be? It was no use to deny it by your will power alone so April decided to distract herself with something else. She looked at the little witch girl beside her. The little thing was so focused on her work that April found her quite adorable.

April decided to watch her instead. After all, that little girl’s skill with a pencil is admirable, in contrast to her dependence on brush pens

[FrancisELF]

A heartfelt warmth overwhelmed the tank as he holds his tears back from crying. The huntress really touched him. Never did he felt that way from a stranger, it was always negative for him when people outside his house would feel pity for him and his blindness... or disgust from his physical form. He held on the art materials that smelled exactly what his teacher said it would.

Slowly did his mind create a mental picture of what he wanted to make. He placed the piece of paper in front of him and starts to draw. Unlike other beings, his mental picture is as clear as reality. This is probably because of his blindness that he can focus more than most people. His brain makes the picture, and his hands transfers it on picture. He will never know if it's as clear as what he pictured it to be... but, whatever. It might even be better to not see it than seeing how far off his art might be from what he was thinking. Something he thinks is better for him, and makes him feel a lot better about his blindness.

He finishes it with all the colors matching his mind, and how the red-tank perceives it. The colored drawing that he made was probably a detailed sketch of his brother having a little dare with his art teacher, not knowing if she does look like how she picture her.

What Jabez will not know is he actually made a semi-realistic portrait of his brother Bart and his teacher Jiji on a date inside the ice cream store his brother promised to bring him later, JJ Scoops.

Amazing.

[Rigner]

(Heh, DAMN you're all good writers! )


Rigner crept slowly down the halls to his first class, knowing he would be late but not really caring. He didn't want t be in a large, for lack of anything better to call it, learning crowd anyways. They'd call him names or yell at him or... he could even get bullied by a tank! Oh, the horrid though...

He had tried arguing with his mother about not going, but all she said was "You need to learn how to be a better witch if you expect to do ANYTHING right!" and left it at that. So really, no point arguing. But the young witch boy was very afraid to walk down the halls, only barely shuffling along and making sure to check every space available. Who knew where someone might hide for him. He was new.. he was shy.. and he cried a lot. Especially in large crowds of people. a VERY easy target.

Thankfully, noone harassed him on his way to his first class. Noticing that, of course, class had started without him, Rigner tried scrunching up as small as possible while moving through the classroom, a much failed attempt at being "invisible". When finally he had gotten to a somewhat dark corner, the young witch curled himself into a a ball-like state with his knees to his chin and his arm wrapped around then, rocking himself slowly for comfort. Mom said he had to go to his classes.. she never said he had to pay attention in them.

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