This snippet is from the short story I’m writing for Fiction Writing centering around Michael and Cameron. It takes place when they first meet their sophomore year, before they get together. Enjoy 🙂
“You’re the first person who can stand to just sit here and watch me draw. Miranda won’t. Even Sarah wouldn’t, actually.” He hadn’t looked at me in a while, preferring to scrutinize what he had of his drawing. “So many people here are… antsy, I guess. They feel like they always need to be accomplishing something.”
“Is that a bad thing?” I said.
Cameron shrugged and finally went back to his drawing. “Honestly? I never knew you before this year. I’m just saying being… different isn’t a bad thing. Isn’t that what Clearbell’s all about? Encouraging you to be different and express that?”
“Miranda’s different,” I said. Cameron shook his head, his eyes following his hand as he drew.
“Miranda stands out because she’s a leader. But she’s still following what’s expected of her,” he said.
We sat there for a while, the only sound being the scratching of charcoal against canvas. Finally, I said, “It sounds like you’re the one that doesn’t like being here.” Cameron’s hand stopped, and his blue eyes moved from the canvas to me.
“Why would you say that?” he asked, honestly curious.
“You sound like you don’t enjoy it. All these people trying to be individuals when they’re really not.” I shrugged feebly, hoping he understood my point. A smile came across Cameron’s face at that, and he leaned away from the easel and canvas. He didn’t even seem to notice that the charcoal stick he had been using rolled off the table beside him and dropped to the floor.
“Everyone needs acceptance, Michael. I’m not going to hold group mentality against a bunch of teenagers.”