[30] Family's Drawing

Three weeks and a half were very little time to stay where Bianca belonged. She had to go back to that monster-filled place called 'International DeckerFord School' against her will and, as usual, she was in a bad mood because of it. This time she'd be careful enough to not ruin her grades and have to take summer classes (again), but she still desired to spontaneously combust and disappear from existence.

She was in the Art club, the one she was forced to join last semester because of her stupid behavior. Her 'club mates' were decorating the room they got assigned as 'Welcoming Club's Fair' was getting closer: it was an event during a weekend where all student's clubs promoted their own activities to get more members to join them. Bianca didn't find out about this annual event until recently, mainly because her useless guide last year didn't tell her a thing. Which, by the way, she's been avoiding like the plague despite his annoying ass trying to approach her constantly.

The leader of the Art club wanted to make a banner-collage of every member's best drawings for display, and as Bianca's scrawling didn't remotely qualify for it, she had to make a bigger effort to draw something less cringey. She then inclined for a classic in every primary school: a drawing of her family; but as she didn't want a reminder of her deceased parents, she decided to draw her dreamed future family instead.

She drew and colored a basic, older version of herself wearing a cute short pink ruffle dress with short heel sandals; then she drew and colored at her right side her grandma and a little boy, and to her left a little girl in cute pigtails. They all seemed happy in a family-picture pose, on the background a house very similar to her grandma's could be seen.

"Mmh... very decent, yeah" The leader of the club commented, analyzing her drawing "I'll add it to our collage".

Bianca smiled as the leader pasted it on the banner, then she helped to hang it on the wall. A few of the members, including Peyton, stopped their activities to look at it but most of them shortly resumed what they were doing before.

"What's that? Your family?" Peyton asked her.

"I hope it will, someday. This is me, this is my grandma, and my future children" Bianca explained, pointing at each one as she mentioned them.

"Uh-hum".

As she observed the picture, Peyton grew more confused. And she didn't have any qualms about expressing it right away.

"Why are your kids black?"

They weren't black: they were tanned-skinned, Bianca thought. Whatever; as long as they were healthy, she didn't care about the race so she just shrugged at Peyton's question and replied it was 'a feeling'.

"And where's the father?"

"He... he ran away with his mistress?"

Peyton bursted out laughing despite Bianca being serious. In her 'picture-perfect' family there wasn't a father-figure because the girl didn't even think about it, and she didn't need it anyway. They were all bound to leave sooner or later.

"I love that humor of yours, it's so funny" Peyton said between bits of laughter.

She (Bianca) wasn't joking, though.

The girl stuck to Peyton for an hour more after that, trying to help her and her club mates to finish decorating the room. She didn't want to go back to her room to find those hostiles roommates, nor she wanted to be alone: Bianca had grown used to her grandma's and grandma's friends during the past month of summer vacations, and she still longed for it: despite distrusting everyone.

She was going to risk her safety among these club mates to not be alone for now.

Everything was going well until someone appeared behind her like a freaking demon, while she and Peyton were arranging a table. Taping the first one's right shoulder, Bianca turned around, paling almost instantly at seeing a smiling Alexander in front of her.

"Hey, Bianca! Finally caught you".

Y-yeah. F*ck.

"What a creep, doucheb*g" Peyton spat at him.

"Stop calling me that! You're starting to sound like a broken CD. Besides, Bianca and I are friends now: I can visit her whenever I want".

What a creek-no, a full river of crap. How did he know she was there, anyway?

"So... Is this like a How-to-use-crayons class?" Alexander joked, looking around.

"Yeah! But it's too advanced for your little head, sorry" Peyton retorted, shrugging.

Bianca opened her eyes wide, trying to convey a silent warning at Peyton to not anger this giant idiot- unless they seek trouble with his much scarier twin- but her smug expression didn't show she caught the message.

Alexander instead forced an exaggerated laugh, and turned his sight towards the club's works again.

"Uh... Alexander..." Bianca timidly regained his attention.

"Call me Alex! Alexander sounds like... old people".

"Okay. Well, now we're kind of busy arranging the classroom for this weekend's fair so... come around at another time, please?"

Peyton rolled her eyes at Bianca's obvious cowardice and submission. Too damn pathetic, even embarrassing to watch. If she didn't want the doucheb*g near her, she should just say it clearly instead of coming up with stupid excuses.

"Oh... fine, I'll come to the fair then. You'll be here, right?"

Of course not.

"Yeah".

The boy soon said his goodbyes and left, to Bianca's relief.

That weekend, she did attend the fair: but only during very early hours, when the girl was almost sure the boy wouldn't show up. Alexander loved his sleep time too much.

"Where's Bianca?" He had asked Peyton, who was also there.

"Don't know: clearly not here".

"When will she show up?"

"Not your business".

Peyton didn't bother to hide her disliking for Alexander, which was increasing with his stalker-like and creepy behavior. When Dereck told her he was a bit weirded out about him (Alexander) waiting for Bianca after classes almost every day, she stopped thinking of him as just some harmless, mindless boy. He then asked during the club's fair to see one of Bianca's works, to which Peyton agreed upon reluctantly only because he threatened to rat out her rudeness to the club's leader.

F*cking assh*le.

"What's that? Is this Bianca?" He asked, pointing at Bianca's drawing of her dreamed future family; particularly at Bianca's future self.

"Yes"

"And those kids? She doesn't have any close relatives that I know of"

Peyton curtly explained him it was Bianca in the future, with her grandmother and kids. She didn't see anything wrong about saying that, as long as this annoying creep left her side quicker.

He observed the drawing a bit more, making a 'duck face' momentarily, then smiled suddenly; effectively weirding Peyton out.

"Are they adopted? How sweet of her!"

"The f*ck?"

"Yeah! doesn't she want to give those black kids a new home?"

"They could be her own, you know?"

Alexander stared at Peyton with a strange look. As if she had said the most absurd, shameful thing.

"You do know Bianca's not black?" He asked slowly, treating her as a retard.

"The babies' daddy could be black".

What an idiot. Her incredulity lasted shortly because she soon noticed his face screwing up hideously, like an enraged caveman. Peyton grew uncomfortable, and a bit afraid, but she'd never admit it.

"Bullsh*t!"

He made a fast move as if to rip out the drawing from the banner, quickly alarming Peyton, but he retracted instead and shortly relaxed his face.

"This crap's awful: you should remove it from here, okay? but tell Bianca nicely so she won't get offended".

How did his face and voice morph so quickly!? Did it even happen!?

Maximilian wasn't the scarier twin definitely.