“ Take an attitude towards waiting, and it will not have to be so difficult for you. ”
****
Two weeks later,
The visual art teacher gave the art students a project where they had to make an oil painting of the Eiffel tower.
[ A/N : Eiffel tower : An iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris, a global icon of France; one of the most recognizable structures in the world. ]
    Though the project was quite easy but for some reason, Joel found it very difficult and tasking.
 He just didn't know how he was going to begin his. 
Painting has always been his favorite thing in the world and he'd once spent hours doing it, but after she left it became a struggle.
He was so confused and stressed that he almost thought of not doing the assignment.
 But on second thought.
He knew he couldn't just drop it as the assignment will be a part of their assessment. And as he knew how much trouble he'd be in if his grades were low, so he knew he just had to find a way.
He was still pondering on what to do when Cecile arrived at his table. 
“ Hey, Joel. ” Her voice never ceases to remind him of Jemmy, it's been weeks yet he still has a bit of difficulty distinguishing between the two. 
“ Hello. ” He watched her take a seat on his chair and cross her legs like she owned the place.
“ Awn. That doesn't sound sincere. ” A pout marred her face almost immediately.   
“ So tell me, ” She patted his shoulder lightly. “ What's going on? ” He stared at her, wondering how she could detect his mood. Was he that easy to read or what?
“ It's nothing. I'm — ”
“ Rule number one. Don't lie to me. ” Cecile interrupted him sharply, he was still about to take in her sudden change in demeanor when she apologized. “ I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to snap out at you like that. ” Yet again, he was amazed at how quickly she apologized when she made a mistake, perhaps that's one of the reasons he still has her around. Despite not being ready for a friendship.
“ It's alright. ” He formed a smile. 
“ So tell me, Why is Mr Handsome in a sour mood? ” 
“ Mr Handsome? ” Those words rang in his mind, countering the ones he'd been told so long by his Aunt at how disgusting he looked. Was he really?
He snapped out of his thoughts, seeing Cecile's silent gaze on him. 
“ The visual arts project. ” 
“ The Eiffel tower? ”
“ Yep. ”
“ So what about it? ”
“ I don't know how to go about it. ”
“ You are joking. ”
“ I am serious. ”
“ Then it's really bemusing that you, the artist of the year, finds the project difficult. ” She stared at him. “ But well it's alright. We can work together. Just as they say, two is better than one. So if one Is down the other will be there to pick him up! ”
“ Um. ”
“ So are you in? ”
“ Sure. ” Joel answered almost immediately, for some reason, he felt a relief wash over him as he spoke to her. He couldn't agree more that indeed two was better than one. He didn't know what he would have done without her offer.
[ A/N : Awn. ]
“ Since the project has to be submitted on Friday which is just two days from now. We need to start working on it as soon as possible. ”
“ Yeah. ”
“ Is the school library always available? ”
“ Um. Not really, the librarian heads home Immediately after school hours are over. ”
“ Oh, I see. What about the arts studio? ”
“ Well, It's always available. ”
“ Cool! We'll be making use of it. ” 
“ Yeah. We need to speak to our teacher about it though. ”
“ Sure. Let's head to his office now. You'll be the spokesperson. ”
“ Really? Why not you? ”
“ Isn't it obvious? You are the one in dire need of help right now, okay? ” Cecile rolled her eyes.
“ Well, you are right. ” Joel nodded. 
“ Let's go. ” She said standing up.
“ Sure. ”
****
The next day,
“ No, don't use black, use gray instead. ” Cecile directed him. 
“ Don't you think black would be much better? ” 
“ It might. but it would be quite cliche if you use it. Why do you think Mr Faye had given us all the same project? ” 
   Joel smiled as realization dawned on him. “ He wants to see how creative we can be. ”
“ Exactly. ” She grinned. “ We need to make our paintings stand out by putting our souls into it. ”
“ Like creative writers? ”
“ Yup. ”
“ Okay. ” Joel dipped his brush into the color and began stroking the painting board with full concentration. 
As Cecile watched with fascination. She found herself wondering why Joel had doubts in the first place when he was good at painting.
Could it be self doubt that happens to literally all creatives? Or could it be more. 
“ By the way, Cecile – ” They paused as their eyes locked for several moments. Lost in each other's eyes, Cecile wondered how easily her name flew out of his mouth, while Joel wondered how comfortable he'd become in her presence. 
“ Cough. ” He cleared his throat awkwardly to clear the tension.
“ Yes? ”
“ I was wondering why you aren't working on your project. ”
“ Oh. I've done the painting once. I don't have to repeat it. ” 
“ Alright. ” He returned his attention back to his painting. 
She watched him paint, while she brought her gaze back to the article she was re-reading on her phone. 
Though she'd read it for three times already, she still wasn't satisfied as she figured this article will be a stepping stone for her career as a journalist. 
She stared back at Joel and was amazed at how focused he was on the painting.
He certainly didn't look like someone who was grieving. Or perhaps, he grieved differently. Unlike most people. 
....
A/N : Probably. How was the chapter, guys?