Drawing Down the Wall

Tears rolled down my face and I hugged my stuffed animals tightly. For they were my float in the sea of sadness and pain. The waves came often threatening to dunk me under the icy cold water's surface. Why did my peers torment me so? What had I done to deserve such pain? It was no fault of mine that the accident had killed my parents and left my eyes walled. They simply don't understand me so they see fit to torment me with their insulting names. I heard the door to my room open. My older sister Kat walked in. Her footsteps came closer to my closet hiding place. She opened the closet door and the sudden light hurt my eyes and briefly as it illuminated my tear stained face.

“Come out of the closet.” She said softly. “They teased you again didn't they? Now stop crying. We'll go watch some TV.” She asked concerned. She helped me to stand and led me along the hall. We went downstairs and sat on the couch. She began to wipe the tears from my eyes. “Come now. How bout a joke? You're a potato Larry.” She joked. I cracked up. “Good now you're happy.” She turned on the TV.

“I wish they hadn't taken Herpy off the show.” I said in a depressed tone as I watched the Friendship Brings Harmony theme sequence. “She was like me even if she was clumsier, but now she's gone.” I added looking at Kat.

“She'll always be alive and well in your heart.” Kat said.

“You always know just what to say.” I replied. I continued to watch the TV until the episode ended. Then I grabbed a sketchpad and found Pendragon laying on his bed. “Hey good boy. I'm gonna draw you. Okay?” I told more than asked him. With a level of grace surprising for his size he rose from the bed. He sat head up. His tail lifted and he froze in that pose as if time had stopped holding him there a picture of great strength and beauty. I set my pencil to the paper of the sketch pad and began to draw the elegantly curving lines that composed him. When I had finished the details I had a rather lifelike drawing of the Great Dane sitting in front of me. I showed him and he gave me an affectionate lick. I hugged him and went to my room to put the finishing touches on the drawing. I used a silver inked pen for the outlines and black colored pencils for the main colors. Unlike most Great Danes he had blue eyes. A bright blue that seemed to pop out against his black fur. I used a special blend of ink I had made using some regular sky blue ink and one teaspoon of blueberry juice to give it a unique shade that made the eyes look alive. I was constantly mixing regular ink and wild plants to better capture the colors and shades of nature. I went to The Armide Gyneth Academy of Visual Arts. Despite the long name that sounded fancy it was inexpensive and much like a regular school. I paced the picture in a spare frame and put it up on the wall. Pendragon walked in to the improvisational gallery that was my bedroom. He made a noise and backed up toward the wall farthest from the one I had hung the pictures on. “What is it boy?” I asked. I backed up with him and saw for myself. There was a pattern to the direction he was and his position . It was like an eight petaled flower. “You guys really can see the bigger picture.” I whispered so fascinated that I forgot to laugh at my own clever pun. I looked at him and he looked at me. “I'm going to guess you did this on purpose to tell me something. I'm not sure what but I'll ask Kat.”I said. I ran over to Kat's room and knocked on the door.

“What is it?” She prompted enthusiastically.

“ I have a question to ask you.” I replied loudly so she could hear me through the door. She opened the object I was speaking past and let me in. I came and sat down on the second bed. She sat on her bed after closing the door. She waved her hand as if to say go on. “What is the meaning of an eight petaled flower?” I asked slightly raising an eyebrow in an inquisitive manner.

“An eight petaled flower. Why in the world would you ask that?” she replied simply. I shot her a look that said just tell me. “Actually it doesn't have a specific meaning. Where did you see it?” she explained with a sigh.

“Follow me and I'll show you.” I told her. We got up and went into my room. We backed up and she saw the pattern too. She stood staring at the pictures for a minute. Then snapped her fingers.

“That dog is smarter than we ever expected. What is it that flowers do at the start of spring?” She said with renewed vigor.

“They bloom. I don't see how this relates.” I responded. She face-palmed and deflated slightly.

“He wants you to bloom as an artist. Right now you're a budding artist and he wants you to become a beautiful flower of an artist.” She replied slowly. I shook my head and sighed. Kat left and went to her room. I sat staring at the wall for half an hour when it hit me like, well a wall. I should advocate for myself through my art. I grabbed my sketch pad and pencil. I stared into the blank emptiness that filled any page before it's used and began to think. A manticore stepped into the picture and looked at me. He walked off the picture and came back with a paintbrush and palette. He turned and painted a beautiful forest. Leafy green boughs created a ceiling while the strong brown trunks created walls. The floor was made of shadows cast by the living walls and ceiling. The manticore turned back to me and posed. Paw raised, paintbrush sticking out of the smiling mouth, and palate positioned on his tail. I came out of that world and sketched out the picture. I inked the outlines and colored in the rest. I signed my initials A.L. I hugged the painting tightly and placed it in a frame. I slipped it into my backpack. “Aria! Come to dinner!” Kat called. I went downstairs and had cheeseburgers with fries and Happy Beer.

The next morning my alarm rang at 5:30 as usual. I got up and got ready by 6:00 and had some coffee. I grabbed my school supplies and went to the garage. I jumped on my bike and raced to school. Since I got bullied so much the teachers had given me keys to the school allowing me to come earlier than the other students. I got to school at 6:30 and unlocked the front doors. The other students would be waking up around this time. I hung the picture up in the main hallway and put the books for my afternoon classes in my locker. I went to my homeroom unlocked the door and found my seat. I waited almost 30 minutes when all the students and the teacher walked in. After the normal talk from our somewhat sleep deprived teacher. All the students got up and filed out into the hallway. As I was walking to computer graphics one punk decided to be annoying. I looked around for the picture. Once I had found it I leaned on the wall under it. As the punk drew near I donned a friendly grin. “How are you today?” I asked in a cheerful tone of voice.

“Cut the crap google eyes. You know I don't answer your questions. You can't even keep your eyes straight so how come you don't just shut up and go home to your mommy?” He responded. When he said those last words I stopped leaning on the wall and stood up to my full height of almost six feet and looked down at him.

“Watch what you say mister 'I'm gonna wear my pants so saggy you can see my underwear and wear my hat wrong on purpose.' because believe it or not you look like something that came out of a broken plastic mold. You should think your words over carefully before you say them. There's a reason my eyes are different, but until you get some sense and sympathy for the pain of others you won't know how they got that way. Now if you'll excuse me I'm nearly late for class” I lectured him harshly my voice cutting the air like a knife. Then I turned on my heel and walked to class.

Apparently news travelled fast and no one bothered me that morning. After my last class the punk approached me again. I stood under the picture again and I waited. “Good google eyes. You waited. I'd give you a treat but all I have are words.” He said in that half snicker that made him so annoying.

“Nah I think you should eat your own words. If I hadn't waited I'd be a coward like you and I don't want to stoop that low. Pardon me but could you answer for me the question of how you got into art school?” I commented calmly.

“That's none of your business. Callin' me a coward is rather a fighting statement. You're getting reported.” he warned shaking a finger like a nursemaid does when the kid has done something bad.

“Oh really. What an honor. I'd like you to take a message with your report. You might want to put it in writing. Tell this higher authority that if they want to tell me something they should give it to me in person. If they're really to scared to talk to me then maybe they should learn to be brave. They shouldn't take their own insecurity out on others. The message is not from google eyes, it's from Aria Lance. Bye” I replied in a very serious tone. I grabbed my things and went home. When I got there I sat down and did my homework while listening to Creative Unicorns, IrisSpeed99, and Quest. I finished quickly as usual and waited for Kat to get home. I had my usual single person dance party with Pendragon and my stuffed animals filling the guest list. I had fun listening to IrisSpeed99's 8-bit remakes of Friendship Brings Harmony songs. When Kat got home I paused the 8-bit Destiny Flank Questers' theme. I showed her my finished homework and she approved. She opened up her email and read a note sent by my teachers.

“Aria Lance you really are something special.” she said out of the blue, not taking her eyes off the screen.

“Yeah I know.” I replied not quite paying attention. I went into my room. I grabbed a canvas and sat down. I began to think once more. I drifted in the empty blackness of my mind for a while until I found a new image.

The new creature was a Griffin. Strong, lean, and noble. He waved his tail to make a field of grass and flowers appear. Then he picked up a rose and held it in his beak. He stood tall and kept his head level.

I came out of that world and began to draw. I let those silver lines of graphite flow until I had captured every detail of the scene. I retrieved my colored pencils and allowed a flood of color to fill in the blank spaces between the lines. I put it in a special sleeve where it couldn't be messed up and then placed it in my backpack with a flourish.

I told Kat about the day and she was highly amused by my spunk. I ate a good dinner that night. I couldn't stop smiling that night. I went to bed in a very good mood. The next morning.

I woke up and jumped out of bed. I threw on a new outfit and ran into the hall. I was going so fast I nearly fell down the stairs. I ate breakfast very quickly grabbed all my stuff got on my bike and rode to school. I locked up the bike and ran into school. I made a quick stop at the cafeteria to put up the painting before going to homeroom.

I slowed down when I got there. I noticed I had put on my coolest clothes. I was waiting for nearly half an hour when the teacher had returned and the students came in after. I was having a good day. I grinned when I saw the gang. At the sight of me the leader’s face paled to an ashen white and he led the gang in avoiding me. I began laughing to myself and went to color and stroke types class.

The teacher was glad to see me in a good mood for the second day in a row. When the punk went pale again the teacher sent him to the nurse for evaluation. I walked to lunch before the other students and sat down at the cool kids table. Apparently the punk had warned them about me so they let me stay and picked a different table. One of the cool guys named Indiana looked at the painting and me sitting beneath it and ventured a closer look at the former. He smiled after a few minutes of examining the painting he smiled. He sat down. “ So how'd your eyes get like that?” He prompted sounding genuinely curious. I froze for a minute. No one had ever asked me why my eyes were like that. They just assumed I was born with a defect or something. I swallowed my mashed potatoes.

“There was a bad accident.” I replied in a deeper voice than I normally use. He seemed to understand that it was a touchy subject and just nodded.

“You seem pretty cool. I can't figure out why the others don't like you.” he said with a smile obviously trying to get my mind off the accident. I nearly choked on a french fry. I composed myself and looked at him. Was he joking? I was struggling on what to say when he spoke again. “If you don't mind I'd like to be your friend.” he suggested .

“Um..... I don't mind.” I replied a little shakily my thoughts racing. Just as I was thinking I'd never find a way out of this situation the bell rang. I picked up my things and went to my first afternoon class. When I got home I sat down on the couch and gave a long drawn out breath. My head was spinning and I didn't know what to do. I blacked out. When I woke up Kat was sitting there kind of worried looking. I looked back at her and began to study my surroundings in more detail. I propped myself up on the arm of the couch. “Dude what happened?” I asked with my signature raised eyebrow. She looked at me. Sighing she said.

“You passed out on the couch. I thought you were funny enough then you pass out on the couch. Oh what will you do next great master of hilarity.” she started seriously then started laughing. I hugged her and started cracking up myself.

“Well I think I am steady now and I have a plan for a grand finale to blow the other students' minds.” I stated with an air of confidence. I once again ascended the stairs and walked down the hallway. I entered and sat in the very familiar chair. I picked up my sketchbook . I looked into the witness that pervaded the page and began to think. I flew past what seemed like miles and miles of pure blackness. Then I suddenly stopped. There was a giant wall made of a canvas and then it all disappeared. I opened my eyes and thought on where a canvas might be. I ran down to the garage and pulled a giant sheet off one of the walls. There was the a giant canvas. I tried to pick it up but it was too heavy. I went over to the opposite wall and grabbed some sturdy rope. I found the pulley Kat had attached to the ceiling on a twisting rail system and threw one end of the rope over it. I pulled that end down and pulled the pulley close to the canvas. I pushed the canvas enough for me to get behind it. I tied the rope to the back of the canvas and pushed it back against the wall. I went to the end of the pulley before realizing I couldn't lift this by myself even with a pulley. I didn't want Kat to know so I just decided I would try. I grabbed the rope and pulled. I managed to get it an inch above the ground so I moved it into the center of the room. I began to let the canvas down. I did it slowly so it wouldn't make a loud bang when it dropped to the floor. I wiped my brow to clear it of the salty drops that pervaded it.

Now that I had laid the canvas down to rest I began once again to imagine. The blackness rushed past faster this time but after about a minute it stopped. The blackness became whiteness. Then a black dragon came. This dragon had on a navy blue suit and pants. There was a white button up shirt under the navy blue blazer. A light blue bow tie seemed to bloom from the collar of the shirt. A top hat of the same color as the pants and blazer materialized on its head. It stood with one front leg up while the other remained down. I came back into reality and saw it was around 5:00. I knew I would be painting over the picture's original design so I grabbed a gold and silver paints as well as my navy blue and light blue paints. I dug into the dreaded corner piled high with stuff until I found some black paint. When I pulled it out a jade green and a half light half dark gray came out as well. I hauled my paints over to the canvas, found a pencil and paintbrushes, and began to draw the outlines. Lines flowed from the tip of my pencil.

I stopped at 6:00 and grabbed some dinner. I came back with my plate and began to work again. The lines made rivers that traversed the canvass. I would stop and eat every once in a while but the rest of my focus remained on those black as night rivers running across a snowy white background. Once I finished the basic outline I began the detail. I began erasing some lines while others were made. I added a pin to the jacket that was to be gold with a small bit of silver. The pin was a trinity celtic knot with The initials A.L were inside the knot’s center. These initials would be silver. I worked on the individual creases and folds of the bow tie. The collar had a curve which lay on top of the bow tie. The buttons on the shirt would be jade and the threads would be white. I focused very closely on the eye with all the different parts so that it would look real. I grabbed a medium sized paint can with a lid and mixed some light blue, a few drops of navy blue, and some of the gray to get a rich blue gray color that was perfect for the eyes. I was very careful with the curves of the wing and the webbing. Then I stood back to admire the pencil version.

After a few minutes of that I opened up the rest of the paints and began on the small things. I painted the pin and the eye. Then I focused on the suit and pants. Next I spent time on the buttons and minute facial features. I completed the face and began the tail. After finishing the last tip of the tail I completed the feet. Lastly I completed the wings. When I finally looked up from the piece after painting the background it was around 1:00 am. It was Friday so I went to bed. I slept most of saturday waking up at noon then going back to sleep at 7:00 after doing my homework. Sunday Indiana came. He asked if he could see the garage because he loved looking at, and drawing, places where people work on big projects. I agreed but told him I wanted to do something in there first. I put the painting up on the wall using the pulley and covered it with the sheet. I put all my paints in an orderly arrangement, put my paintbrushes in the utility sink, pulled the rope down, and hung it on the wall. I opened the garage door and invited him in. Kat came in as well. I had them stand facing the sheet. Pendragon slipped in while I was closing the door but I didn’t make him leave. I walked over to the sheet and grabbed a corner. Pendragon joined Indiana and Kat. “This is my latest piece designed to blow all the other students’ socks off. Not literally.” I said.

“Come on then Aria the suspense is killing me.” Kat said. I laughed. Then I pulled the sheet off with a flourish allowing it to float down slowly as if suspended by the shock of the onlookers. The picture stood in it’s full glory and a heavenly light seemed to illuminate it. The background was made of words like acceptance, harmony, and respect. Pendragon let out a howl and the other two started clapping.

“I wanna put it up in the gallery at school but I can’t move it out of here by myself.” I said. Pendragon went over to the corner and dug out a work harness built for a Bernese Mountain Dog of his size. He came over and dropped it at my feet. “Alright you can help. How are we gonna pull it though?” I asked with a chuckle.

“I have a cart meant for hauling large museum artifacts. Let’s just say my dad’s had a lot of different jobs.” Indiana said. Pendragon grabbed the rope off the wall.

“Alright then. Indiana and Kat you grab the museum cart, Pendragon and I will get ready for you here.” I outlined. Kat and Indiana left to get the cart. I did the same thing with the pulley as I did to get it off the wall but didn’t pull the rope. I put the harness on Pendragon. Indiana and Kat came back with the cart. “Kat would you help me with this? I can only get it an inch above the ground.” I said. We lifted it onto the cart and covered it with the sheet. I ran upstairs quickly and grabbed a harness built for a person of my size. This was meant for pulling loads. I grabbed a second rope and Kat attached the ropes to the harnesses and the cart. Pendragon and I began to pull and the cart came behind us. We pulled hard and reached the school in an hour. Then Kat went ahead and opened the doors to the school. We pulled it to the gallery and through the archway. My architectural design teacher saw us coming in and gave us a weird look. I asked where the largest open space for a painting was. He pointed to an empty wall. We pulled the cart over there. After I took the harnesses off both Pendragon and myself I looked at the cart and the wall. “ Does this cart have any ability to go vertical?” I asked Indiana.

“Yes it does. It’s from an art museum and meant for this sort of thing.” He said. Then he walked over to the cart and showed me the levers for doing that. I maneuvered the cart into place and used the vertical setting to set the painting up. I made sure it caught on the stabilizing hooks and kept the sheet draped over it. The teacher came over.

“That’s a pretty big painting. Nice job getting it here.” He commented.

“Thanks. Could I schedule to unveil it tomorrow? It’s really important.” I asked.

“Actually the other teachers and staff will be here any minute. We were discussing what to do with that space and now we have a solution. Maybe you’d like to unveil it for us briefly?” He replied. Sure enough the other teachers walked in as he finished this sentence. They looked at us and gave him a questioning look. “Colleagues Aria has just solved our problem of what to do with that empty wall.” He said. The other teachers smiled. We pushed the cart away from the painting and stood in front of it.

“I thought maybe I could unveil this tomorrow. I could show it to you beforehand if you’d like.” I announced rubbing a hand on the back of my neck, a habitual fidget when I’m nervous. They collectively nodded. I once again pulled the sheet off and heard the awe filled gasps of my mentors. They told me that we would have an unveiling tomorrow morning and that I could include Kat and the others. Indiana stayed at my house till after dinner. We had breakfast for dinner.

The next day I woke up early and got Kat up. I went back into my room and put on a white collared shirt and my black bow tie. Then I put on some black pants and a black blazer. I put a white doggie blazer and white bow tie collar on Pendragon topping it off with his white top hat. Kat, Pendragon, and I met Indiana at the school he had on a tucked in blue collared shirt and khakis with a black belt. Kat had a t-shirt and jeans. We walked in and went to the gallery the teachers had a podium set up on wheels. The other students came later and grabbed seats in the chairs that had been set up. Some were confused to see Pendragon and Kat. Even more were confused that Indiana was hanging out with me. Most weren’t paying attention. The theater teacher, for he was the most eloquent of them all, stepped up to the podium. He tapped the microphone and cleared his throat calling all the students to attention. “You have all been gathered in the gallery for the unveiling of a new magnificent piece. It shows as much creativity and grandeur as any of the paintings we have studied this year. The people up here with me are the artist and the people who helped transport the painting. For their efforts not only does the piece earn a place in the gallery but they will receive their respective awards after it is unveiled.” He announced. The four of us, including Pendragon, grabbed the sheet corner and pulled. The sheet fell and after a few moments of silence someone started crying. Everyone turned. It was one of the resident art critics who helped the teachers to grade our work. Someone asked her why she was crying.

“I’m crying because this is one of the most beautiful pieces I have seen in my entire career.” she replied wiping away a tear with her handkerchief. Everyone cegan clapping until there was a roaring boom of applause. The theater teacher beckoned for us to come back over. He motioned for silence and the applause stopped.

“The artist is Aria Lance.” I stepped up and bowed. “Her crew consists of Indiana Terre Haute, Kat Lance, and her dog Pendragon Lance.” they stepped up accordingly. ”To the artist go the following awards and medals. The Art for Peace award and medal, the Advocation through Art award, and the Best in School award and medal. All the crew get the Participation in Making a Masterpiece award and medal and the Perseverance medal.” He announced hanging our medals around our necks. At the beginning the school had brought in cameras for everyone and now all of them were flashing. The assembly ended and Kat and Pendragon were invited to stay. We were followed through the hallways by admiring students and I came face to face with the supposed big boss. She bowed and smiled nervously.

“ Hi the name’s Greer. Sorry I was such a jerk about your eyes. If it’s not too much trouble could I get a picture with you?” she asked shakily obviously new to the emotion of admiration.

“Sure no hard feelings. You seem pretty alright when you aren’t expressing your feelings in the wrong way.” I replied. Kat took our picture four times. Twice with just the two or us and twice she had someone else take it with the five of us, counting Pendragon.

Life at school got easier now that I had won the admiration and acceptance of my peers. The story showed up in the paper, unsurprising considering how the press can find out pretty much anything they want to know, announcing me as the youngest winner of the art for peace award. During my following years at the Armide Gyneth Academy of Visual Arts I continued to use my art to advocate for the less fortunate. Indiana continued to stand by me and support my decisions. I made new friends and graduated with a full scholarship to the most advanced art school in the country. The end.