Colors on my Canvas

chapter six

Nothing. There was nothing in my brain. 

I stared at my computer screen, unable to form sentences for my essay over the themes in Romeo and Juliet. I was never good at coming up with themes, and it was even more difficult to think of them with it was over a work I barely understood.

I glanced down at the time. 12:28 am. 

“Great,” I thought. I sighed and picked up my phone. 

“Any luck on the essay?” I texted Benny. 

“Eh. It’s coming along. Slowly but surely.” 

“Help me?” Benny was so much better at English than I was. He was english, I was math. We balanced each other out almost perfectly, which we were both grateful for. 

“Love is both a curse and a blessing,” he wrote back before adding, “Not the one I used but one I was considering.” 

“You’re a lifesaver! I owe you big time!! 💕” 

Once I had the theme down, the words just worked. I was able to get the essay done and turned in before 1:30. It was due at the beginning of class tomorrow so I was relieved. I logged out of my computer and put it on charge before leaving my desk. 

“Thanks again, Ben. Let me know if you ever need anything!” 

“No problem, Char. Glad I could help. Sleep well." 

"Goodnight," I replied as I reached down to place my phone on it's charger. I climbed into bed, hoping to fall asleep quickly. 

I tossed and turned for the next two hours. By the time I fell asleep, it was almost 4:30 in the morning. When my alarm went off at 6:20, it felt like I had only been asleep for half an hour. 

“I hate being an insomniac,” I groaned as I climbed out of bed. 

     ~•~   ~•~ ~•~   ~•~ ~•~ ~•~   ~•~

I was sitting in math, already done with the packet our teacher gave us for every lesson. Our teacher would work slow enough for the people who needed more time with the concept, which was always too slow for me. Majority of the time, I understood it perfectly and would be able to complete the packet after the first one or two practice problems. 

When the teacher would walk down the rows of desks, glancing at our papers, he would notice that I was done, but never said anything. Since he didn’t care if we used our phones as long as our work was done, I pulled out my phone and started on my homework. 

When I was done with it, I glanced up towards the board. The class had just finished the lesson. 

“Charlotte,” our teacher called from the front of the room. I looked up as I saw he was gesturing towards the door. 

“Great,” I thought to myself as I stood up. Our second week of school and I was already in trouble. 

“Charlotte, I couldn’t help but notice how easily this material comes to you,” he looked me in the eyes as I glanced up, realizing I wasn’t in trouble at all. 

“Yes, well, I have a very math-minded brain,” I replied. 

“That’s obvious in your work. I was hoping you might be willing to join the tutoring program we have here.” 

“Oh, I don’t know, Mr. Sanderson. I don’t really consider myself the teaching type.” 

“Just think about it, okay? You would get assigned one student and work with them to raise their grades and improve their understanding. Your payment would be volunteer hours for college. You don’t have to make a decision right now, but get back to me sooner rather than later.”

"Okay, but I still don't know if it'll be a good idea." I was really just concerned that I wasn't going to have enough time on my hands. I wish I could add more hours in a day already. 

"Just think about it, alright?" He was hopeful, I could see it on his face.

"Okay, I'll consider it," I promised as he opened the door to go back into the classroom.

I sat back in my desk chair and texted Benny.

"Was just asked to tutor kids in math, idk what to say.." 

"You'd be great at it" he encouraged.

"Do you think I'd have time?"

He didn't respond, so I assumed he either got caught using his phone, or was working on something. 

I took out my sketch pad and started drawing. I was working on a picture of a girl in a dress from behind, with her hair in a braid. Faces were not a thing I was good at, so when drawing people, I stuck to silhouettes or drawing them from behind. 

The ringing bell pulled me out of the focus I was in while drawing. I had to just add the finishing touches around the girl's hair. 

"I'll finish it during lunch," I thought as I closed my sketch pad and placed it in my bag. 

I headed out of the class and towards my Spanish room. 

       ~•~   ~•~ ~•~   ~•~ ~•~ ~•~   ~•~

I took a nap after school. I had almost fallen asleep multiple times throughout the day, which is unlike me. 

When I woke up, it was 4:17. I grabbed my bag and started working on my homework. We had been assigned a project over the French revolution in history. 

I glanced over the requirements for the project and saw that we needed a poster board. 

"Mom?" I called from my room. I could hear her walking across the house.

"Yes, honey?" She asked, arriving at my door. 

"Can you go to the store and get a white poster board?" I asked her. 

"Sure, I have to get some things for dinner anyway," she agreed. 

"Thank you, mama." I smiled at her before turning back towards my work. 

I took a fresh piece of paper from my desk drawer and started planning my project. We had to make a timeline of the events of the revolution, with clear indications of the different parts. 

I went into my parents' home office and started printing pictures off of Google while my mom was gone. 

By the time she got back, I had everything ready to start on the board. I told myself I would take a break from history and work on other things for my other classes, otherwise I wouldn't get them done. 

"Dinner!" My mom called to me as I finished the last part of my Spanish homework. 

"Be right there!" I called back as I put my things away. 

My mom had made us spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. As we ate, my parents asked me about school.

"Well, today I got asked to join a tutoring program to help kids with math," I shrugged.

"Way to go!" My dad reached over for a high-five. 

"That's great, sweetheart. What did you tell your teacher?" 

"I told him that I didn't know. Honestly, I feel like it would take too much time. I'm already spending all day on homework and I still want some time for myself."

"Take your time and think it through," my dad advised. 

"Thanks," I smiled at them as I finished my spaghetti. 

After dinner, I went back to my room and turned on one of my favorite playlists. As "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna came on, I began my project.