THE PICASSO PROJECT by Carol Anne Shaw

Author:Carol Anne Shaw [Shaw, Carol Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-31T06:00:00+00:00

***

It's still early. The hall is virtually empty, but they see it as soon as they turn the corner: Maya's locker, the word, SLUT, painted across it in big red letters. Maya stops walking and grips her brother's coat. "I...I can't go down there, Eddie. I...let's go. Let's just leave."

Eddie steels himself. He was expecting something like this. "It's okay, sis. We need to get our stuff first. Then we'll go. I have to get my sketchbook, and I need—"

"I'll wait for you in the bathroom," Maya whimpers. "I don't have anything I need in my locker. Please. Just hurry."

But Eddie isn't letting her out of his sight. Not again. Not this time. "No," he says. " Just stay with me. It'll be okay."

Maya sticks to him like a burr as he cleans out his locker. There isn't much, just his sketchbook and his hardcover copy of Catcher in the Rye, his favourite book. When he's done, they walk over to Maya's locker and Eddie touches the paint. It's still wet. Whoever did this, did it recently. Eddie looks at his sister, who is now crouched near the floor across the hall. She's chewing on her fingernails again; he'd be surprised if she has any left at all by now.

"Come on, Maya," Eddie says, doing up his backpack. "Let's go."

But Maya just sits there like she hasn't even heard him.

"Maya?"

Nothing.

He's seen her like this before. Almost catatonic. He crosses the hall and crouches down in front of her. Takes her fingers away from her mouth and holds them tightly in his hands.

"Hey," he says, squeezing her hands. "It's only paint, Maya. People can be dicks. We'll get through this, okay?"

She looks up at him from under a curtain of blonde hair. He doesn't think he's ever seen her look so sad.

"I've ruined everything," she says. "Just like I screwed up before, when Rachel found out about us. We almost had to leave here. If she hadn't moved out of town, we would have had to. And this time, it's worse. And it's all my fault, Eddie. It's all my fault."

"Like I said, we'll get through it. "

"No. Your only weeks away from graduation. We don't even have a shitty car anymore."

"We'll figure something out." Wow, so many platitudes. How can she possibly be buying any of this, Eddie thinks.

Footsteps sound in the hall and they look up to see Nicole, Paige and another girl, Shelby, walking toward them. When they see Eddie and Maya, the stop and whisper to each other.

"Hey, Maya," Nicole says sweetly as they pass by. "Bummer about your locker. Hope that's water-based." The three girls burst out laughing and scurry around the corner—a trio of too much makeup and not enough clothing.

Eddie touches his sister shoulder softly. "Come on, Sis. Let's get out of here."

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