The 12 Dares of Christa by Marissa Burt

Author:Marissa Burt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-07-04T04:00:00+00:00

14

THE NEXT MORNING A BAG wrapped in muted tissue paper is waiting for me at the front desk. Inside, I find an art kit full of watercolors, pastels, sketch pencils, and paper. They all have that new-wood smell fresh from the store. I’m sitting at a corner table in the lobby exploring them over a pot of morning chocolate when I hear someone come up next to me.

“Wow,” Sasha says. “That’s an impressive stash.”

“Totally,” I say. “My dad sent them to me. Here.” I shove aside the tissue paper. “Sit down and check them out with me.”

“This is the best brand of pencil to sketch with,” Sasha says, turning each over in her hands very carefully.

When M&M come over to tell us it’s time to leave the hotel, I’m surprised that a whole hour has gone by. When I get up from the table I see that there’s more in the bottom of the bag—a bright red scarf, a hat, fingerless gloves, and the note I ignored earlier in my exploration of all the new supplies. The gift tag has a Christmas wreath on it and reads: #6: DARE YOU TO BE INSPIRED AT THE LOUVRE. I’m not too surprised to discover that the famous museum is our destination today, since I now get that Dad has carefully coordinated all the dares with our tour itinerary.

As Sasha and I walk with the others, she tells me how the Louvre has been her favorite place thus far. “I wish we had more than a day there,” she says wistfully. “I’ve already been there twice on our off days, and there’s so much more I still want to see.”

We cross a bridge that is covered with the same padlocks I saw in Florence. What is with people and their crazy love locks? As we move farther along, most of the locks are blocked by the artists who are crowded near the edges.

“Want a picture done?” a man offers.

“A caricature!” someone else cries out.

All of them have little portable easels set up where they are happily working away, selling paintings of famous landscapes to tourists or doing quick, funny sketches of the people themselves.

I walk by some watercolors that show whimsical scenes from nature: a fairy house in the woods, elfin children gathering shells by the water, and little animals tending their shared cottage.

“These are so fun,” I say as Sasha and I flip through them.

“How long have you been painting?” Sasha surprises me by talking to the artist, who looks like she might be a college student.

The artist explains that she’s studying at the Paris College of Art and comes here in her free hours to sell her work.

“And you?” she asks in her charming French accent. “Are you artists?”

Sasha and I exchange shy glances, but the girl has already spied my traveling case.

“But of course! You even have your kit with you.” She points to an empty spot next to her. “Join me! Paint!”

I look wistfully at the spot, but M&M are already waiting for us up ahead.

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