Diana spent her free period at the meeting for the Yearbook Committee. Mr Jones, who was in charge of it, had convinced her to join it a couple years ago. Diana initially had not wanted to, but eventually did, seeing as there wasn't any other extra-curricular activity she was involved in.

She was the photographer for the yearbook and liked this as she didn't have to get too involved. All she did was take the pictures and hand them over to the other members of the committee. They did all the heavy lifting. Bonus points, she got to have a high-quality camera in her possession for the school year. She had to return it at the end of every school year, but otherwise, it was practically hers. Also, it was probably the closest she'd ever get to owning a camera of her own.

Diana tried desperately to listen to what Mr Jones was saying, but most of the things he was talking about didn't really apply to her as he was currently talking about the yearbook design. Before long Diana's short attention span kicked in and she started fiddling with the camera in her hands, playing with different buttons and looking through the settings.

"Miss Williams."

Diana looked up suddenly to see Mr Jones standing right in front of her. The other students that had been in the classroom for the committee meeting had mostly disappeared, there were now only a few people remaining.

"Y-yeah?" Diana stuttered out, hoping not to sound as confused as she felt. She had been so distracted that she hadn't even noticed when the meeting had ended.

"Miss Williams, did you even listen to anything I said?" Mr Jones asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Diana wished he would just call her by her first name rather than 'Miss Williams'. It made everything he said sound a lot sterner. She nodded her head, but Mr Jones didn't seem convinced.

"I have an important task for you this year," Mr Jones said, changing the topic much to Diana's relief. It was then that she remembered he had wanted to tell her something on the first day of school.

"Yeah?" Diana asked instantly, giving him her full attention.

"You're going to paint portraits of the captain of the women's soccer team," Mr Jones replied, walking over to a desk where his laptop sat.

Diana remained fixated on her position for a moment longer, blinking in confusion. "Sir?"

"Miss Alexandra Perez. You're going to be painting portraits of her."

The first thought that came to Diana's mind was how Mr Jones said Alex's name. It made her sound like something delicate, Diana knew that she was far from that. Diana couldn't focus too much on that, however, as there were more pressing issues going off in her head.

"Why am I painting portraits of Alex Perez?" Diana asked, walking over to where Mr Jones was seated and typing away on his laptop. By now, they were the only ones remaining in the classroom.

"They're going to be sent off with recruitment agents from the different colleges that would be scouting her this year. Principal Randall thought the portraits would be a nice touch."

Diana blinked at him blankly. Mr Jones had spoken casually, as if what he had just said was totally normal.

"Okay..." Diana said, dragging the syllabuses out, "and what does that have to do with me?"

Mr Jones looked up briefly from his laptop.

"Of course it has everything to do with you. You'd be the one painting her portraits."

"That's the problem," Diana exclaimed, her voice rising slightly, "why am I the one painting her portraits?"

"Because you're the best artist in this school, so I chose you for the job. I think others should be able to see your talent."

Diana found herself thinking that if she were in a cartoon at that moment, she'd be drawn with bouts of steam coming out of her ears.

"Mr Jones, I don't want to paint Alex Perez." Diana struggled to keep her voice level.

"I'm sorry, kiddo, you don't have much of a choice. It's already been finalized. You have not done any volunteer work and know you need that in order to graduate. The school is willing to count this as your volunteer work," Mr Jones replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly and offering her a small smile.

Diana closed her eyes, bringing her fingers up to her temples and massaging them slightly. Somehow, her world just seemed to keep spinning around her and there was no way of her catching up.

She cleared her throat. She knew that he was right. She did need volunteer work in order to graduate, but Diana would rather have found something else to do.

"Mr Jones, can't you see how crazy this sounds? I'm being told to paint portraits of her? I already have to take pictures of the athletic team for the yearbook, can't I just take pictures of her instead? Do I really have to paint her?"

"Yes Diana, you really have to paint her."

Diana could tell that Mr Jones was beginning to lose his cool. After all, he had referred to her by her first name. He was an old-fashioned man, and hardly ever did that, unless he was annoyed. Unfortunately for him, Diana was a couple steps ahead in the 'anger' department.

"Can you all seriously not see how fucking insane this is?" Diana's voice had risen to a shout, there was no stopping her now. "Everyone in this town talks about this girl like she's a fucking celebrity. No- you all worship her like she's some kind of Goddess. We get it, she's talented, boo-hoo. I can deal with all the other crap. But paint portraits of her? Really? Just for some fucking scouts to see? Oh my God, what is she? The Mona fucking Lisa?!"

Mr Jones had stopped typing and watched Diana throughout her whole outburst with wide eyes. There were a few moments of silence afterwards, during which neither of them said anything to the other. Mr Jones sat there, staring. Diana stood next to him, her heart beating fast from her sudden outburst and also from the fact she had just screamed at a teacher. The only teacher at the entire school that she actually liked.

Mr Jones was finally the one to break the silence.

"I'll email the details of the portraits to you, Diana. By the way...jealousy really isn't the best look for you." He scratched his beard and went back to typing away on his laptop, silently dismissing her.

Diana didn't like the fact that Mr Jones had described her as 'jealous'. In no way was she jealous of Alex Perez, she was barely just trying to open his eyes to the extravagant treatment that she got.

Diana sighed to herself. It had been a long day. The past couple of days seemed to show up with fresh surprises of its own. It was as if she couldn't get a break and she was unraveling, fast.

Diana was making her way to the bus stop after school when she decided against it. She did not feel like going home right then; she was not in the mood to face her mother. Instead, Diana walked past the buses making her way down the street to Tracy's cafe. It was an average-sized cafe that was not too far from the school. It was close enough that she could walk.

By the time she arrived, Diana was already feeling a bit more relaxed. She had been thinking everything over and had finally come to the realization that things just seemed to be out of her control and there was not much she could do about it. She wasn't going to go to Art School. She had to paint Alex Perez, no matter how much she knew she was going to despise it.

"Hello, how might I help you today?"

It was a bored-looking boy at the front of the counter that had spoken. He had bleached blond hair and the bluest eyes Diana had ever seen and appeared to be in his mid-twenties. Taking a closer look, Diana saw the name 'Grey' on a badge hanging on his shirt.

"Hey," Diana said, "may I have a hot chocolate and a plain bagel?"

"Coming right up," Grey replied, turning to prepare her order whilst Diana looked around the cafe. It was mostly empty and smelled of baked goods and coffee. It had been a while since Diana had last come to this cafe, as she knew people from school often came here and the last thing she wanted to do was have to see people from school when she didn't have to. Thankfully for her, the few people that were littered around were complete strangers.

It wasn't long before Grey had returned with her order and Diana paid, mumbling a quick 'thank you' before taking a seat at the corner of the cafe. Of course, Diana made sure it was right next to the window.

She chewed her bagel and sipped her hot chocolate. The weather was pretty hot outside, so a hot chocolate probably wasn't the appropriate thing to order at that instance, but Diana didn't really care. The same way some people were willing to eat ice cream, no matter how cold it was, was the same way she was willing to drink a hot chocolate, regardless of how hot the weather might be.

Diana was just about rounding up with her bagel when she noticed the sign hanging on the window of the cafe:

Now Hiring-

Individual needed for night shift.

Diana did not waste time rising from her seat and making her way back to the front of the cafe.

"Can I help you with anything?" Grey asked. He had been wiping down the counter but stopped once Diana appeared.

"Yes please, I saw that you were hiring-" Diana wondered if the desperation was obvious in her voice, "I need a job, so..."

Grey gave her a quick glance over. "It's a night shift."

"I have no problem doing a night shift," Diana responded.

"No, an overnight shift. It's from midnight to 4 in the morning."

It was then that Diana remembered that Tracey's stayed open to the early hours of the morning. She thought about this for a while. As much as a late-night shift wasn't necessarily 'ideal', Diana was desperate and she didn't know when an opportunity would come up again.

"I don't mind, I can do the shift."

Grey who had gone back to wiping down the counters stopped once again, regarding her.

"Are you a minor? Minors aren't allowed to work such late shifts, it's the law."

"I'm 18." Diana lied. In reality, she would not be turning 18 till early December. That was still a couple of months away, but he didn't need to know that. Grey didn't reply immediately, and a small panic settled within Diana. She was scared that he would ask for identification, and if he did that she was most definitely done for. There was no way that she could get the job.

To her surprise, Grey reached into his apron, producing a piece of paper and a pen, placing them on the now clean counter before them.

"Write your number and other details there. I'd have to talk to the cafe manager. I'll get back to you on what is decided."

Diana wasted no time in doing just that. Her heart was beating in her chest in mild excitement, even though she hadn't even gotten the job yet. But it was an up look to her day, the only thing that seemed to have gone slightly well.

After she finished at the cafe, Diana sprinted to the bus stop. It was getting late, and she knew her mom would be back home with Tyler soon. She couldn't let her get home before her as she'd start asking questions about her whereabouts. Diana knew her mother wouldn't approve if she found out she was trying to get a job, and she'd most likely ban her from doing so. But she was determined not to let her take something else from her before she could even get it.