Written by Kelly Reinhart
Based on some situations originated by James Cameron.

Jack woke up to his alarm clock beeping louder than his mom screaming at him for not cleaning his room. Hitting the off button, he lay there on his back. Eyes open, he stared at the ceiling. It was summer, a Tuesday in July, and he had nothing to do. Rose, his girlfriend and friend since kindergarten, was visiting Santa Monica with her parents and brother. She was to return home in another week.

Pulling the covers aside, he slid out of bed. He was in a white t-shirt and his boxers. Scratching his head and yawning, he went into the bathroom, turning the light on and turning the shower on. He got in and washed up. Once he finished, he went downstairs.

"Morning, dear." Jack’s mom greeted him with a bright smile. Out on the table was his breakfast--waffles. Sitting down, he began to eat.

"So, ready for another day of art class?" his mom asked.

"Yep," he answered with his mouth full. He noticed that his mom didn’t like that.

"Oh, by the way, you got a letter in the mail from Rose." She handed him a closed envelope. Jack set his fork down and ripped it open. He took out a postcard of the beach. Smiling, he turned it over, and on the other side was Rose’s delicate writing.

Dear Jack,

I miss you so much! I wish you were here with me! Anyway, so far I’m having a lot of fun. Sam and I have gone to the pool and swam at midnight! Oh, and we took a trip to Sunset Boulevard. We took a tour of tons of celebrities’ homes! And I went shopping! I got the cutest outfits! And I got you something, too. But you’ll have to wait another week to find out what it is. Well, I can’t wait to see you! I love you with all my heart! See you soon! Adios (good-bye). Hehe.

Love,
Your One and Only,
Rose

Jack set it down and picked his plate up, bringing it to the sink. "Well, I’m off. Be back in two hours."

"Bye, sweetie." Jack’s mom kissed his cheek. Jack picked up his car keys and his sketchpad and left for art class.

*****

"Jack!" Mrs. Mingle, his art teacher, came up to him, smiling. "We won’t have class next week. But there is an assignment." Jack sat down in his chair and set his stuff down. "You need to do a portrait. But not just any portrait. Well, it can be from a drawing, but it has to be someone. A person."

Person? Jack had done tons of people, mostly Rose.

"But since this your fourth year, and each year we accelerate, it has to be a nude."

Jack looked up at her and didn’t know how to respond.

"It can be a real person?"

"Well, I’m not expecting it. Only the older students, probably. Your choice." She smiled and got up.

Staring at his sketchpad, Jack thought, a week? Rose would be home in a week. A week? Would he be able to? Would it be weird? He felt a little awkward. He decided to think about it later and began the assignment which was in front of him. On a table was a vase with four Japanese tulips, purple with lights shining on them to extract the shadow. The others had already started. Sharpening his charcoal pencil, he began, slowly at first, getting the feel of the drawing. Soon, he began to get detail. Shading, shadow--it was looking pretty good.

*****

Two more hours…Jack watched his clock and thought of how he would ask Rose. He knew if he had to draw someone, It was going to be Rose. His best friends, Fabrizio and Tommy, were in front of him, their arms crossed.

"Thought of something?" Fabrizio asked.

"No…" Jack blinked and moaned in frustration.

"Well, you could say, Oh, my dear Rose, I would love to draw you! Only, if you could--"

"No." Jack cut off Tommy, knowing what he was going to say was just stupid. Right at that moment, the doorbell rang. Jack jumped about ten feet in the air. He heard the voice of his mom, and then Rose.

"Rose! You look beautiful! How was your trip? Did you have fun?"

"Great! Thanks!"

Footsteps came up the stairs. Fabrizio and Tommy smiled. "Good luck," they said in unison. They went to leave at the exact time Rose came in the door.

"Hey, guys!" She smiled at them and hugged them.

"Hey, Rosie! Lookin’ good! Love the tan."

"Thank you." Rose laughed. The two boys left, leaving Rose and Jack alone. "Hi, Jack." Rose went up to him and took him into a warm embrace. He hugged her back tightly and kissed her.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes. Did you get my postcard?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good." Rose smiled, and from her Vuitton purse she pulled out a folder with photos in it. "I brought back some pictures." She handed them to Jack, who took them and began shuffling through them.

"Oh…I like this one." He smiled at the one of Rose posing in her two-piece bathing suit on the beach. "I like the way the sun is shining on you."

"Thanks." Rose smiled and sat down on his bed. Jack finished with the pictures and gave them back to her. She put them back in the folder and into her purse. "I’ve missed you so much." Rose scooted closer to Jack and put her arms around him.

"I missed you, too." He smiled and pulled her into a passionate kiss. He had missed her kisses so much. Rose had missed his, too. Pulling away, Jack looked at her. "Rose, there’s something I need to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Well, last week, in art class, I got a new assignment. I have to draw someone, but…nude. I have to. It’s part of the lesson. We have to accelerate."

"Cool. Are you doing someone from the Internet? I don’t mind if it’s another--"

"You. I want to do you." Jack couldn’t believe he had just said it. He just said it. No warning at all. What an idiot.

"Oh…" Rose looked away from him and to the floor.

"Unless you feel uncomfortable!" Jack took her hands in his. "It was just a suggestion."

"No, it’s fine. I don’t mind. It’s art."

Jack smiled. "You sure?"

"Yes. I’m sure." Rose kissed him. Jack kissed her back. Rose pulled herself up against him and Jack fell onto his back. Jack looked up at her and into her sparkling green eyes. Suddenly, Rose’s cell rang. Sitting up, she took it out of her skirt pocket. "Hello?"

Jack sat up and smiled, watching his lovely Rose.

"Oh. Yes. Okay. I’ll be right there. Bye." Rose sighed and looked at Jack. "I have to go. I’ll be back…"

"Tomorrow," Jack answered.

"Right. For the…"

"Yes."

"All right." Rose smiled and kissed him once more. "Bye."

*****

The next day, Jack’s mom went out, which was good. She was running errands. Jack fixed up the living room couch, moving pillows around and fluffing them out. Rose was in the bathroom downstairs and was getting ready. Jack, sitting on another couch, was sharpening his charcoal. At that moment, Rose stepped out in a kimono she had received a year ago from her grandma for her sixteenth birthday. Smiling, she walked forward.

"Pretty necklace." Jack saw the diamond necklace around her neck. A beautiful blue diamond was in the middle.

"Thanks. It’s my mom’s. She hardly wears it. She’s afraid it will get ruined. I thought it would look nice for the drawing."

"It’s perfect."

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes…" Jack looked at her and nodded. Rose smiled and stepped back once. She parted the top and down to the bottom. It revealed her whole body.

"Over on the bed…the couch…"

Rose’s long, red, curly hair reached past her shoulders. She walked over to the couch and lay down. "Tell me when it looks right."

"Put your hand back where it was. Now, put that hand there…perfect. Good. Stay still."

Rose stayed as still as possible. Jack began to move his charcoal across the paper, slowly at first. He looked up from time to time to look at Rose. Rose smiled. "So serious." She laughed. Jack looked up and smiled. He began to shade in her face. With the side of his index finger, he began to smudge the charcoal across the side of her face.

"I believe you’re blushing, Mr. Big Artiste," Rose teased. "I can’t imagine Monsieur Monet blushing."

Jack looked up and laughed. "He does landscapes. Now, just relax your face."

"Sorry."

"No laughing."

Rose looked at Jack as he concentrated so well on his work. She watched as he looked up and down, his hands moving across the paper.

After about two hours, he had finished. Rose put her kimono back on, went over to Jack, and looked at the drawing.

"It’s beautiful," she whispered.

Jack smiled and was proud of his drawing.

*****

"Now, we will all share our works of art!" Mrs. Mingle smiled and started with a twenty-year-old woman from Harvard. What was she doing there? There were two other students in the class besides Jack. All their drawings were good.

"Your turn, Jack." Mrs. Mingle came over to him and smiled. Opening his sketchpad, he turned it to face everyone. The whole circle gasped. Mrs. Mingle stood there in astonishment. "That…that…that is just extraordinary."

"Is that a real person?" asked Mike, a college student from Wisconsin University.

"Yes. It’s actually my girlfriend, Rose," he said.

"She’s lovely. I can tell you worked hard. You can see her soul, her inner feelings." Mrs. Mingle walked over to the drawing, examining it closely. "You can see her emotions. This is extraordinary. You see people, Jack. You truly have a gift."

Jack was overwhelmed by all the compliments.

"The necklace is beautiful." Mrs. Mingle smiled and said she wanted it.

"I want a copy of that," Mike said. The other students agreed.

"You are a gifted young man, Jack. You truly are." Mrs. Mingle smiled.

The End.

Stories