The next morning, Paige didn’t talk to Andreas at his desk like she did the day before. I guess the fact that he had a girlfriend had a lot to do with it.

Mr. Belford didn’t have a still life set up this time. He got up from behind his desk when the bell rang and addressed the class. I noticed the red socks he wore under his short, brown corduroy pants. Veronica would’ve had something to say about that, but I liked it.

“Today, we’re going to apply what you’ve learned with the cones, spheres, and cubes into drawing a human face,” he said. He began to draw a human head on a large pad of paper in the front of the class. Everyone was quiet as we watched him draw. “Each of you will have a partner. The boys will be drawing the girls today. Tomorrow, the girls will be drawing the boys.” He instructed us to move our desks to face another and had all the girls sit down on one side. Then he told the boys to pick a girl to draw.

Pete quickly partnered with Daisy who sat next to me. No surprise there. Paige was on the other side of her. The boys seemed to avoid choosing Paige and I wondered why. Jamie smiled and made a beeline for me. A couple of guys crossed in front of him and bumped him out of the way. Just before Jamie reached me, Andreas sat down in front of me. I looked at him in surprise and he smiled. My face and ears burned as I smiled back. Jamie stood there stunned and looked around. All the seats were taken except for the one facing Paige. He slowly walked over to her desk and sat down in front of her. She looked less than thrilled.

“As soon as you are situated, you can start drawing,” said Mr. Belford. “This will not be an easy task, so models, try your best not to move.”

Andreas took out his drawing pad and stared at me. I was uncomfortable, but tried not to fidget.

“Should I smile?” I said to Andreas.

“Just relax,” he said. “Do what’s comfortable for you.”

I didn’t smile and just watched him draw me. His eyes moved over my face, down my neck and over my shoulders. He looked directly in my eyes and I blushed again. I watched him focus on my lips and tried my best not to move them. Each time he looked down at his paper, I watched him and studied his face, trying to memorize it. I looked at his lips and envied his girlfriend. He was in deep concentration and I was dying to see the drawing, but it was hidden from view. I was very conscious of my breathing and tried to keep it steady.

Mr. Belford called time. The boys turned their drawings around to show their partner and murmurs could be heard around the room.

“My nose isn’t really that big is it?” Paige said to Jamie.

“No, I…”

“Oh my god, I look so old!” She put her hands up to her face and groaned. “Did you do that on purpose? Because if you did, I swear...”

“Please,” said Mr. Belford with a sigh, “refrain from criticizing your peers’ work.”

Now I understood why no one wanted to partner with Paige on this assignment.

I looked at Andreas, nervous about what my portrait would look like.

He looked nervous, too. Since he was the best artist in the class, if he drew me ugly I would know how he saw me. He flipped the board around to reveal the drawing. I was stunned. He drew me pretty. In fact, he drew me better than I thought I looked.

“Wow,” I breathed. “That’s really good.”

His face turned red. “You think so?” he said.

“Yeah. You’re amazing!”

He smiled and laughed softly. “Thanks,” he said.

Mr. Belford told the boys to put their drawings up on the walls so everyone could see them. Everyone loved Andreas’s drawing. Pete’s was really good, too and Daisy smiled proudly.

I wondered if Andreas would give me the drawing, but Mr. Belford told the boys to sign their name on the drawings and turn them in.

We moved our desks back to their original position just before the bell rang.

I turned to Andreas. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For making me look good.”

He shrugged gave me a shy smile. “I just drew what I saw.”

My heart jumped.

Paige stormed out of the room leaving a distressed Jamie behind.

I saw Paige again in Biology talking to Daisy. She was still going on about Jamie’s drawing and sought reassurance from Daisy. I was surprised at how insecure she was about her looks. I sat down quietly at the table and took out my notebook, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

Marco walked in and saw Paige standing at our table. He ignored her and went to his table without saying a word to us.

“Lilah,” said Paige catching me by surprise, “I am so jealous that Andreas chose you to draw today. He made you look so beautiful!”

I laughed nervously. “Thanks.” I ran my hand through my hair and glanced at Marco. He looked sideways at me and we locked eyes. Was that jealousy I saw in his expression? He looked away.

I turned back to Paige. “You shouldn’t worry about your drawing. It doesn’t look anything like you. I’m sure Jamie didn’t mean it.”

“Of course he meant it. He knows how to draw. I think he hates me because I hang with Trey. Trey picks on him.”

I realized this was how I felt about Marco. It sounded silly when Paige said it. Daisy and I looked at each other and I knew she thought I was being silly, too.

“He was probably nervous because he knew he couldn’t draw you as pretty as you look in real life. I think that’s what all the guys were afraid of.”

Her facial expression changed and she seemed to relax. “You think so?”

“Yeah. You’re intimidating. I’m pretty sure that’s why none of the guys wanted to draw you.”

“Hmm.” The corners of her mouth turned down as she thought about it.

“I feel kind of bad because Jamie was heading for me before Andreas sat down. You could’ve gotten Andreas.”

Paige gave me a mournful half smile creating a dimple on her cheek. “Andreas didn’t look at anyone but you. I was hoping he would pick me. At least he would’ve done a good job. He seems to be good at everything.” She lifted her nose in the air and looked sideways at Marco. He gave her an annoyed look and turned away.