Page 75 of Give Me a Reason

“We’re going to head out. Want to come over later for dinner?” Finn asked Ireland as we passed through the kitchen.

“Sounds good. Have fun, Paisley-girl.”

“I will,” she singsonged.

The drive to the art store was short. From the back seat, Paisley kept up a stream of constant chatter about school and friends. She gave us the rundown of the kids who got reds and yellows in class and when she had extra recess.

I’d never taken an art class, and I was excited to hear what tips the woman had for drawing. Inside the shop, a teenager showed us the room where the workshop would take place. She set us up with a small sketch pad. The colored pencils were arranged next to each spot.

There was something about the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and a pad of blank paper. The possibilities were endless.

The room slowly filled with people. Finn greeted the few he knew and introduced me as his friend.

The instructor finally stood at the front of the room, introduced herself as Sally, and explained the best pencils to use for these types of drawings.

Then she went through how to draw a face. I’d learned this from watching videos online, but I paid closer attention when she explained how to draw proportionate limbs and a torso. I was fascinated by how each little stroke made a huge difference in our character’s personalities. I saw the series of lines on the paper as a living, breathing person, not just black and white.

When Sally stepped aside to answer a question from another classmate, I took a second to look at Paisley’s drawing. “That’s great.”

“You think so?”

I did a quick scan of the room. The other kids’ sketches weren’t close to hers. “Yeah. You’re good.”

“Hey, what about me?” Finn asked playfully.

Paisley and I leaned over to examine his. “Eh. It could use some work.”

“What is that?” Paisley asked about the extra limb on his guy’s bottom.

“Oh. whoops. Forgot to erase that third leg.” Finn pulled out his eraser and rubbed the paper while Paisley and I exchanged a look before erupting into giggles.

“You like making fun of me.”

“We weren’t doing that,” I finally managed when we’d recovered. My stomach hurt, and my cheeks felt flush.

Sally was coming around the room, giving everyone tips and pointers on our drawings, so we waited patiently for her to arrive at ours.

She examined ours for a few seconds before pointing at mine and Paisley’s. “These are a great start.”

I’d attempted to draw Paisley, so mine had long dark hair with bangs and an impish expression. It was the one Paisley got right before she asked her father for something. “Your faces are very expressive.”

“I like playing with those.”

“You draw?” Sally asked, respect lining her tone.

“I mess around with it. I’ve never taken any classes before.”

“You’re good.” Before I could thank her, she gave Paisley a tip on how to give hers personality with the nose. Paisley nodded thoughtfully, and when Sally walked away, she experimented with several different types, erasing each one and starting over again.

“This is fun,” Finn said, leaning behind Paisley to talk to me.

“It is.”

“Thanks for suggesting it.”

I grinned at him, and then Sally continued with the class, giving us tips on how to manage the person’s height in comparison to the things we drew in the background.

I listened intently, Sally’s knowledge wrapping around me like a comforting blanket. I wanted to know everything about drawing. I wanted to soak it up and go home to try it over and over again.

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