I lay awake for a few minutes, then my curtain quivers, and a beam of light from the streetlamp outside shines onto my bedside table. The keys to the gym gleam maliciously in the light. Like they are beckoning me.
Suddenly I have an impulse. I get out of bed and pull on my graffitied-on leather jacket and a pair of paint-splattered jeans and my combat boots over my Rolling Stones nightshirt.
I pack a bag of art supplies, my flashlight, and dump the keys to the gym in there, too. I slide my favorite black sparkly beanie over my head.
Then I do something really impulsive and really, really stupid. I creep down the stairs, careful not to wake my aunt, mom or dad, and grab the keys to my mom’s colorful, paint stained, very graffitied-on black Mini Cooper.
I get in the driver’s seat, turn the key, reverse down the driveway and drive away.
All without a license.
The car’s clock reads 12:36 am, 36 minutes past midnight.
Stupid? You bet.
I needed to finish the decorating.
I get to the school, and the gates open for me. The security guard stops me, but I show him my pass, and say I’m here to make the final changes on the gym for prom tomorrow. He lets me pass.
After I finish the decorating, I walk out of the gym, down the dark hallway, walking not towards the exit, but to the Art room instead.
Just a quick check, I think, heading in the direction of my painting.
But where my painting should be, there is a blank space on the wall.
I gasp.
The painting is gone.
It’s been ages since I left the school, and I’m tucked back into bed, but I can’t sleep. I’d looked everywhere I could think of - the places I could have subconsciously brought my painting, the places where it could have fallen down, the places where someone might have put it. I checked the Art room, the floor around my IGCSE platform, the gym, the teachers’ lounge, the cafeteria, the only open lockers, almost all of the classrooms, the exam hall, the theater, the Eco-Garden and even the school parking lot. But the painting is nowhere to be found. It’s like it just disappeared off the face of the Earth.
My alarm clock reads 1:50 am and I yawn. I’m exhausted. I turn over and am just starting to drift off when my phone rings.
I groan and grab it from it’s place on my bedside table, but shriek and drop it when I see who’s calling.
It’s Harper. Ms. Brunswick.
Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.
I can’t let Harper know that I’ve lost the painting. Not only will she decide not to give me the scholarship, but she also won’t accept me if I submit my portfolio the long way!!!!
But if I don’t answer, she might get suspicious and call my parents instead. Then I’ll have to tell them the truth about the painting and then they’ll tell Harper.
So I pick up the phone and put on a fake smile. “Hi Ms. Brunswick.” I say.
“Hi Val. I know it’s a little early your time, but I just had to call to let you know that I have booked a flight to Sydney. I’m coming to see your painting tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!” I squeak.
“Yes, tomorrow.” Harper says. “Is something wrong?”
I swallow my nausea.
“Nope, everything’s fine. Everything’s great!” I say. I laugh, hoping it doesn’t sound uneasy or fake. Which OF COURSE IT DOES. I LOST THE PAINTING!!!!!
Harper pauses. “That’s good. I’ve called your parents and they helped me find a good hotel downtown. I leave Paris tonight, and if your painting is as Frida says it is, then you’re flying back with me to see the college. You’ll spend two weeks in the dorms, going to the classes, living like a student there. You will also meet the president of the board, and he and I will offer you the scholarship. You’ll fly back to Sydney for your last year of high school, then after you graduate, you will fly back to Paris to attend the college for the entirety of your university years. This will all be paid for. That is, if you still want the scholarship.”
“Of course I do!” I say.
Harper laughs, and I can tell she’s smiling too. “Great. I can’t wait to meet you in person.”
“Me too!” I smile, but my eyes are wide and my palms are sweaty.
She hangs up.
This is bad. This is so very bad.
I only have one day to find the painting and get it to Harper before I lose the scholarship. I could always paint another one, but something tells me that I couldn’t recreate this painting if I tried. It wouldn’t capture the same emotion as it did.
***
Friday morning dawns bright and early. Too early, if you ask me. I wake up, feeling fresh and totally energized. Then suddenly, all the events of the night come crashing down onto me like an avalanche. BOOM. I pretty much broke the law driving to school without a licence. BOOM. I lost the best painting I’ve ever painted. BOOM. There’s no time to paint another one (and if I did it wouldn’t be the same.). BOOM. Harper is flying into Sydney TOMORROW.
Isn’t it funny how my life works out like that? One minute everything’s all prom dresses and boyfriends and scholarships and the next thing you know you are at the bottom again.
ARGH.
My mom comes into my room and sees that I’m already awake.
“How’s my almost Paris College of Art girl?” she smiles, kisses me on top of my head and ruffles my (already messy) black-and-purple locks. Fiona comes in behind her, taking advantage of the open door. Her calm blue eyes meet my own, and she stares at me like she knows I’m hiding something.
Mom notices that I seem a little on edge.
“What’s wrong, honey?” she asks.
“Nothing, Mom.” I say carefully.
She brushes off my response. “Did Ms. Brunswick call you about being here in Sydney tomorrow?”
I hold my breath. “She did,” I say VERY CAREFULLY.
My mom smiles. “I can’t wait to see this painting of yours. From what your art teacher told me, it really is a masterpiece.”
“Yeah, a masterpiece… ” I say, my voice trailing off.
***
I can hardly concentrate at school all day. All I can think about is the missing painting. MY missing painting.
Serenity noticed something was wrong about halfway through homeroom.
“Val, what happened?” she asked, turning around to face me.
I tell her. “So you see, when I finished decorating the gym at around 1 am-”
She cuts me off. “You snuck into school at 1 am?!”
I bristle. “Midnight, actually. And I didn’t SNEAK into school. I HAD permission.” I know Serenity is not a big fan of rule breaking.
Serenity nods like she gets it. “Continue.”
“So after I decorated the gym, I went to go check on my painting - just a REALLY QUICK CHECK. And it just wasn’t there.”
Serenity frowns. “It must have been.”
“No,” I insist, “I KNOW it wasn’t there. Someone took it.”
Serenity blinks. “What evidence do you have that shows someone took it?” she asked.
“I just know!” I huff, not in the mood for Serenity’s very formal speeches. “Someone took it and Ms. Brunswick called me last night and told me she is coming to Sydney TOMORROW.”
Serenity’s eyes go wide. “What about your scholarship?”
“I don’t know, okay?!” I say, sighing. This really was worse than I thought.
Suddenly, something clicks. Serenity sits up a little straighter like she had just thought of something.
“Val,” she says, her voice faint. “I think there’s something you should know.”
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