Impressions of a Future Dream

LOOKED AT THE CANVAS with the deep satisfaction that came with knowing a piece was complete.Her shoulders dropped away from her ears, and a sigh escaped her lips just seconds before the bell rang.Hurrying to put away her materials, she tossed her brush in the jar, her palette in the sink, and snatched the scarf that held her unruly curls out of her face off of her head.The newly released tresses sprang back into place just as the door to her room burst open, letting in the cacophony of the class-change bustle that was taking place in the hallway.Three of the five who made up her student cohort came rushing into the room, talking and laughing amongst themselves, oblivious to Sasha's continued efforts to clear away her painting material.The last two came straggling in just as the bell rang again, and the apron that had protected her usual jeans and black tee outfit was flung over her head and onto the floor behind the easel."Hey, Sash," greeted B'lana, a grin spreading across her face."I thought we were starting a unit on Impressionism today.Decided to go with First Nations instead?" she asked.Her tone and eyebrows raised in exaggerated fashion leaving Sasha momentarily speechless.Helping her teacher out, B'lana turned her head to the side and mimed a movement of her finger from the corner of her mouth and along the ridge of her high cheekbone, all the while with eyebrows raised in a good-natured, mocking expression.Sasha swiped at her face, and her hand came back streaked with the crimson color of the final touches of paint that she had daubed on the canvas.As she turned back to her jumbled desk, she thought, "This is why we don't paint at school."She searched the desk for a rag that she could use to clean the stray paint from her face."Whoa," came a low (or soft?), yet clear, voice from the back of the room.Nico rarely spoke, but when they did, the others usually listened, and the quiet that settled over the room deepened as they added, "Is that us?"The group turned to see Nico pointing toward Sasha's canvas, a stunned look removing all discernable emotion from her expression.Sasha's shoulders rose back to their usual anxiety-laden level, as mild panic spread through her chest and a blush of embarrassment rushed up her face, from chin to hairline.Wishing she