FLEX FRIDAY💖. MY PERFECT ARTIST.

 

CHAPTER 3

     Lisa and Caleb stood on Teeny's porch, looking at the rain quietly, wondering when it was fit for Lisa to get her motorbike, she already had the rain coat on.

     The door to Teeny opened behind them and none of them looked back, it wasn't unusual to have the door open and close continuously. "Lisa" A lady called behind them as she came out of Teeny. Lisa and Caleb turned back now. "Mrs Hooke..." Lisa called, she hadn't hoped to see her "...good evening" Lisa greeted, hoping that covered up whatever surprise look was on her face. Moreover, Lisa had to be nice to her, after all, she was her mother's best friend. "Are you heading home?" Mrs Hooke asked with her pleasant smile, revealing her almost white set of teeth between the pink colour of her lips. "Yes ma'am. My bike is in the school compound" Lisa said nodded slowly. "No need for that, I heard your mother's travelling tomorrow morning so I was going to pay her a visit with Flo, I could drop you off at home" Mrs Hooke said. Lisa didn't know what to say, and though she didn't want to go with them, she couldn't say no. Lisa tightened her lips together into a little smile. "Thank you ma" she said quietly. "You won't be needing the coat then" Mrs Hooke smiled.

     As if just noticing, Mrs Hooke turned to Caleb. "Caleb" she called, her smile didn't fade. "Good evening Mrs Hooke" Caleb greeted, uninterested. She walked away from the pouch hurriedly towards her little blue car parked infront of Teeny.

     Lisa took off the rain coat slowly. "Thank you, I won't need this" Lisa said, and handed the coat over to Caleb. "Alright, go on" Caleb said and nodded a little towards the car. "Bye" Lisa said between tight lips and left. Teeny's door opened again, and Florence came out. "You're still here?" Flo asked. Caleb turned to her "I'll leave soon" he replied. Flo nodded "I'll see you in school tomorrow" she said and headed for her mother's car.

      Flo got into the front seat of the car, beside the driver's seat where her mother was. "Mother, we should give Caleb a ride" Flo said. "Doesn't he live nearby?" Mrs Hooke said. "Still, it's raining" Flo put on her seat belt. Mrs Hooke lowered her window a little and hit the horn to get Caleb's attention. "Caleb, we could give you a ride" Mrs Hooke shouted through the rain. "Thank you ma'am, I live nearby, I'll manage" Caleb said. "Take care then" Mrs Hooke gave a little smile and closed the window again. "He's good" Mrs Hooke took a quick glance at her daughter.

     Lisa sat quietly at the back seat of the car, wondering what Caleb was thinking. They have been friends for a long time, and she knew he could get angry at the slightest thing although he never lets it out except in his house. She looked on at Mrs Hooke and her daughter as Mrs Hooke drove to her house.

      Caleb entered the house, a little wet. He was welcomed by his mother who was about to check outside for any sign of him. "You're wet" she remarked as he entered, he had wrapped the raincoat around the bag he was holding to prevent his books from getting wet. After his art works, his books were the next precious thing to him. "Go on in and change, I'll mop after you" his mother said as she laid the umbrella in her hand against the wall. "Thank you mother" he said with a faint smile and headed for the stairs to his room.

     Caleb entered his room and unwrapped the rain coat from his bag. He went into the bathroom and took off his cardigan and shirt which were almost dripping. He put them together with the rain coat into an empty bucket and turned to his mirror. Shirtless, he studied his face. He was angry, buh it didn't show on his face, he wasn't sure if it reflected in his voice. He wasn't sure what he was angry about, buh he remembered "Be angry and do not sin, meditate on your heart in your bed and be still" He was angry, he hadn't sinned,  and he had no plans to. He was still, meditating in his heart although he wasn't on his bed. "Fair enough" he thought.

      A knock came on his room door. He opened the bathroom door and held on to it. "Come in" he said. The bathroom door covered his body and so only his head was visible. Peace opened the door, "Mother called for dinner" She said. "Aren't you going home yet?" Caleb asked out of concern. Peace was two years older than him and helped his mother both at home and at the saloon. "I'll leave soon, the rain's down" Peace said. Caleb nodded "Tell ma I'll be down" Caleb said and Peace closed the door and left. Caleb came out of the bathroom and went to his wardrobe. He opened it and looked through it. He took out his cream coloured cardigan then recalled that it was the colour of cardigan Lisa wore. He replaced it and picked a light blue one instead.

     The drive tp the Obla house was easy. It was clear since only a few cars were around, it was slow because one had to drive carefully in the rain. It was easy because of the street lights that were on. On week nights, Tegavis was usually quiet, everyone respected that students had school work and had to prepare for the next school day. Weekend nights were however usually crowded. There was usually at least a party in meter complex, people waiting turns for photoshoot for an occasion in Ready studio. The most visited place overall in Tegavis was Maximus, owned by Ruth Obla. The downstairs of Maximus was a restaurant serving foods, drinks and pastries, and the upstairs was a market for food commodities only of which it was almost impossible to not get any grocery used in Tegavis.

      For Lisa, the ride home wasn't so quiet. She listened on to Mrs Hooke and her daughter as they chatted all through. Lisa thought it was nice been a car with two people who got along really well. She had no personal love or hatred for either of them, buh she loved their relationship. Lisa thought about Caleb and wondered if he would join the competition. She could join, buh she knew she wouldn't. Caleb was easy to persuade but only usually on few occasions, she hoped this was one of them.

CHAPTER 4

     Caleb came out of the changing room in mufti with few other classmates and they all chatted as they headed to their class. It was Friday, and the last school activity for the day which was sports had just ended. Caleb had reluctantly joined his class' football team in his 4th year, and having been there a year, he still wasn't good, he only stuck around because of Luke.

     The boys entered the class and Caleb went to his desk. Lisa's desk was two desks away from his and her head was on the table, she was still in her green basketball outfit. Caleb packed his little books into his bag and thought for a while before going to meet Lisa. He knocked twice quietly on her table. Lisa opened her eyes slowly, a frown on her face, she didn't like the sound of the knock. She raised her head slowly. "It's closing hour" Caleb said. "I know" Lisa mumbled. "What are you doing then?" He asked. Lisa looked a little lost, she shrugged "Sitting" she replied as a matter of fact. Caleb sighed a little "Why are you here? You should be on your way home I guess" Caleb said.

Lisa sat up, leaning her back against her chair "I don't feel like going yet" she said and rubbed her palms against her arms.

"Put your cardigan on, it's cold" Caleb said and turned to leave.

"Caleb" 

Caleb faced her again.

"Why were you late to school today?" She asked soberly which caught his attention but he refused to comment on it.

Caleb smiled sheepishly. "Boy stuff" he said as a mimick to her usual response of "Girl stuff".

Lisa smirked " Really?"

"I went to register for the competition" 

Lisa's smile came quickly "So you're in it now?" 

"Yes" He nodded slowly.

Lisa stood from her seat, "Don't worry, I'll be there to cheer you up" she said and picked up her black coat  from the table by her left.

"Where are you going now?" 

Lisa put on the coat and picked up her school bag by her table. "Maximus, I'm hungry. See you tomorrow" She said with a smile and left the class.

      Mrs West entered Caleb's room. He was standing by his reading table - the only table in his room, putting a few books into his shoulder bag. "Are you going out?" Mrs West asked. "To the library" Caleb replied. "You don't usually go on Fridays" Mrs West said. Caleb closed the bag and faced his mother. "I'll be at the competition tomorrow,  and the library doesn't open on Sundays, so I have to do my home works today" Caleb said. Mrs West nodded. "Isn't my boy really smart?" She asked with a smile. Caleb smiled too. "Here, there's a letter for you" Mrs West said. "It's about the competition" she added. "They said they were going to have it delivered to my address since I had to go to school" Caleb said as he took the envelope from her. "Thank you ma" he said. "I'm glad you're joining the competition" Mrs West said. "I didn't want to" Caleb shrugged. Mrs West smiled more "Whatever, do your best" she said. Caleb nodded "Yes ma" he said. "And don't stay out too long, it's a lot of cold these days"

     Lisa opened the door out of her room. Her room was the only one downstairs, right beside the dining room and the opposite door separated by the dining room was the kitchen door. She was wearing a greyish tank top and a loosed faded purple trousers she had worn to sleep the night before. Her black relaxed hair were loosed from the bun she had packed them in before bed. From the dining, she could hear the frying of eggs from the kitchen. Lisa walked to the dining table, she turned one of the two mugs on the little tray over and poured water into it. It only filled half way as there was not enough water in the jug. Lisa frowned and walked to the Kitchen's door.

     From the door, she could see her brother's back, facing the stove where he was frying. "Good morning" Lisa greeted. Julius took a quick glance at her "You're up. Good morning" he replied. "What are we having for breakfast?" Lisa asked, leaning against the door way. Julius put off the stove "Bread and egg" he said. The frown that was leaving Lisa's face returned. She liked been wearied on waking up. "There's no water in the jug" Lisa mumbled. "Fill it then" Julius said, picking to small plates from the shelf.

        Lisa sighed a little. "Will you please drop me off at the government office?" Lisa asked. "For the competition?" Julius faced her. Lisa nodded. "If you want me to" he said. Lisa cheered a little "Yes, please,  I want you to" she said and turned to leave. "I'll get ready" she said and walked towards her room. She remembered that she was supposed to fill the jug, but she didn't bother. It was her brother's order, and unlike her mother,  he didn't refer to past incidences.

       The scheduled arting competition took place in a hall of the government office. The mayor had had an earlier plan of building a central hall for the town of Tegavis but was advised against it, as the people would claim too busy for any event. The competition was to start by 11:00am, and there was a total of 18 contestants, a lot more than the mayor had imagined would participate.

       When Florence entered the hall by few minutes past 11am, she wasn't surprised that the hall wasn't at all crowded. It was expected. The people of Tegavis loved their jobs more than entertainments. Most people around were youths and it was easy for her to sight Lisa in the middle row. The blue striped hair band on her shiny black hair was one of the things that gave her away. Florence walked over to Lisa's side quickly,  trying not to call attention to herself. The seats beside Lisa were unoccupied,  and so Flo sat by her left.

      "Hey" Flo said in a loud whisper. Lisa turned to her, she had seen her walk up to her. "You came" Lisa said, uninterested. "Have you seen Caleb? I wasn't able to go back stage since the competition started already" Flo said. "Is he all you think about?" Lisa teased. Flo chuckled. "You're the one who thinks about him always" Flo eyed Lisa. She knew to ignore Lisa's comments, but she loved to reply her sometimes since she felt that was the only memory of Lisa she would have as Lisa was unwilling to be her friend. Sometimes,  Flo wondered if they would have been good friends if their mothers weren't so close. "I haven't seen him either" Lisa said and faced the stage. George Sandford was on the stage. And Flo thought Lisa was pretty from her profile.

      When John Taylor annoyed Caleb West as the winner, neither Flo nor Lisa were surprised, but only Flo was surprised by the masterpiece he created right in front of her eyes. The runner up was Alita Or, and George Sandford came third.

      As the stage cleared and the audience dismissed, Lisa faced Flo. "Should we meet Caleb now?" She asked. "Yes, I have to get home early, I have choir rehearsal" Flo said and stood. She led the way backstage, Lisa closely behind her.

      At a corner of the backstage, Caleb was standing by the easel he had used,  his seascape shading still on it. A man was with him, making comments and admiring the beauty of his work. Caleb smiled gratefully out of necessity than of interest. Flo and Lisa stood, watching the man and Caleb. When the man left, he started putting his pencils into a small bag as Flo and Lisa approached him. "Congratulations" Flo spoke first. Caleb raised his head and paused what he was doing. "Thank you" he smiled. "What'd you think of the drawing?" He asked both of them and nodded towards the easel. The two girls faced the drawing, Flo sighed satisfyingly "It's so real" she said.

       "What'd you think?" Caleb asked Lisa. Lisa looked away from the painting at him. To her, the drawing was in fact flawless,  but she felt a flaw within it, she just couldn't tell where. Lisa smiled too, she had to be encouraging since the drawing was indeed a masterpiece. "It's perfect" Lisa said. "Perfect, uh?" Flo asked as a confirmation, buh Lisa knew she had another reason behind it. "Shut up Flo" Lisa almost yelled. Flo frowned, unusual of her. "Watch it Lisa, you'll blow yourself over" Flo replied angrily. They were quiet for a moment and she sighed and turned to Caleb. "I hoped to stay longer, but I have choir rehearsal today, I'll be leaving now" Flo said and forced a sincere smile. "Thanks for coming anyway" Caleb said, he liked how she handled her anger, one year was indeed enough to make a difference. "Bye" Flo said and left.

      Lisa sighed quietly. Caleb looked at her. "What was that about?" He asked, a little bothered. "Let it be. Say, girl stuff" Lisa shrugged. Caleb closed his pencil bag and began to remove the drawing paper from the easel. "What will you do with the drawing? Lisa asked. "It will be in the library with few other  chosen drawings" Caleb said.

"The library will be more sacred then?”

" yes, but only for a little while"

"Why's that?"

"They'll begin building the first university of Tegavis soon, they'll move the drawings after completion". Caleb said. Lisa found it amusing that Tegavis was going to have it's own University. "How long would the building take?" Lisa asked. "I'm not sure, buh a few courses will begin in about nine months" Caleb replied. "Let's go, I have to drop this off and get my reward" Caleb said.