Red Monroe

Mrs. Evergreen

Digital Art

December 16th, 2028

Meaning of the Eye Conclusion

In many digital paintings, the eye is somehow incorporated. Whether it's a small form integrated into a larger piece or is the larger piece itself, the eye is undoubtedly a vastly used symbol for many different topics. Such representations are included with the color of the eye, the eye's surroundings, and the meaning behind the artwork, as has been discussed. Whether or not the eye will change as such an influential symbol is still unknown, and we may never know if it will.

No, that's not a good ending.

Whether or not the eye will change as such an influential symbol will remain unsolved.

Okay, no, we aren't referencing a mystery-crime show.

Whether or not the eye will change as such an influential symbol is still unknown, and only time will tell.

That just makes the whole conclusion much more dramatic than it needs to be.

Whether or not the eye will change as such an influential symbol is still unknown, and...

Alright, this isn't working. Let's just scrap the entire sentence.

I angrily jabbed the backspace button, glaring at the dimmed computer screen. My eyes were so focused on the letters being removed, the sound of the bell ringing just outside the classroom nearly gave me a heart attack. I pressed a hand against my chest and breathed deeply as I turned off the computer, pulling my backpack strap over my shoulder.

"Remember to finish your conclusion and email it to me before 11:59!" I heard Mrs. Evergreen shout as all of her students packed up. I pushed my chair in and walked through the door, grinning fakely at my teacher on my way out.

I shoved my braid back over my shoulder as I walked down the tan and blue hallways. The walls, ceiling, lockers, and windows were all decorated with various seasonal cut outs, the smell of holly in the air nauseating as I walked past. I made my way over to my locker, frowning at the overly-happy elf face that was stuck to it. Sucking on my teeth, I twisted my combination into my lock, opening my locker quickly.

"Hey there, grumpy pants!" I groaned at the nickname. Ignoring the preppy blonde beside me, I switched out my textbooks. Her smile was sickeningly large and I refused to look at it. "Come on, give me a smile! There's only three more classes before break!"

I looked up at Akia, glaring at her grin. "I prefer not to, thanks."

"Oh, come on! You know you want to!" I slammed my locker shut, locking it and quickly running away from my friend.

"No, I really don't."

"Yes, you do!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"Oh Jes-oh mother f-oh lordy!"

Okay, That did get a laugh out of me. The small teenager toppled to the ground after tripping over her untied tennis shoe laces, her language very rough for her aesthetic. My mouth stretched into a grin as I laughed, something I don't do as often as I should. It's not like I'm depressed, and I mean no disrespect to anyone that is, I just don't like how my laugh sounds or how my smile looks, especially after two years of braces that ended up not working. It's a reasonable insecurity.

Akia climbed to her feet and tied her shoes quickly, before prancing around me, laughing and singing about how she got me to smile. Rolling my eyes, I grumbled at her to shut up. I hiked my backpack strap further up my shoulder, trying to walk faster towards the cafeteria.

The two of us made our way inside, immediately walking over to an empty table. I dropped my bag on the bench and grabbed my wallet from the front pocket, running with Akia over to the lunch line and grabbing some trays. She began to drop heaping amounts of Macaroni and Cheese onto her plate as she spoke; "by the way, Eiden isn't eating with us today."

"Again? He hasn't since Friday." I grabbed a roll, biting into it and placing two more on my plate. Eiden was Akia's older brother, although since the three of us were so close, he was. Like mine too. Because he's older than us, we had no classes together, so the only time we could really meet during school was at lunch. But it's Wednesday, and like I said, I hadn't seen him since the week before. I was starting to get worried.

"I don't know, he probably had something to do," Akia mumbled. I looked over at her as I payed for my food, raising a brow at how calm she was.

"For five days? Did he even do anything over the weekend?"

"I don't know."

I huffed as Akia payed and we made our way back to our seats. I figured she'd be more concerned, since it's her brother, but it seems like I'm the only one that cares. Though, I don't know how sibling relationships work, I am an only child after all.

Akia and I set our trays down and shoved our backpacks off the bench, ignoring the loud thump they made when they collided with the floor. We sat down and immediately dived into our food. I know that a Akia was starving just like I was, especially after four fifty minute classes.

"How's that paper for digital art coming?" My friend asked through a bite of macaroni.

I groaned at Akia's question. I like art, I like digital painting, but I don't like writing papers about it. I understand that eyes are important symbols, but why is an essay necessary to explain it?

"Ah, I see." I glared at Akia as she laughed. She smirked over at me, before her expression turned back into the curious one from a few moments prior. "What are you going to do about the eye color?"

"I don't know. Mrs. Evergreen didn't exactly give me any tips on how to rewrite it. I'll just go more in depth on what different eye colors mean."

"Are you going to mention your eye color?"

"What am I supposed to say? That people think I'm a demon or that it's fake? There's no description for black eyes out there, because no one has them. Dark brown, maybe, but not naturally black eyes."

Akia stared at me, shoving a large amount of macaroni into her mouth, promptly gagging when her spoon touched the back of her throat. I inhaled when she started choking, pulling the spoon from her mouth and tapping her back repeatedly.

I was not getting cleaning duty again.

Akia coughed up the noodles, swallowing them quickly before she spit them out. I pinched my face together in disgust, immediately removing my hand. "That's gross."

"I didn't want to clean the lunch room again."

I chuckled, nodding, glancing at the clock behind her. "It's been fifteen minutes. Do you want to get to math early?"

Akia nodded. "Yeah, I need your help studying for that quiz."

"You really think I'd be able to help you with that?"

"You'd better, I'm about to fail. I already have to spend another year in this hell-hole, I don't want to add another to that."

"Well, we'd suffer together, then." I laughed, covering my mouth quickly to hide my slightly crooked teeth.

Akia and I grabbed our bags and trays, throwing away the cardboard plates-I grabbed my uneaten roll before I did so-and placing the plastic on the dishwashing rack. Quickly shoving the roll in my mouth, I waited for Akia to finish. I had finished chewing it as the two of us walked out the cafeteria doors and made our way to our calculus class.

I rolled my eyes as Akia giggled from beside me. "You ate that bread pretty quickly."

"At least I know how to eat and not choke." I immediately regretted my response when I felt sharp slaps on my arm. "Ow! No need to get violent!"

"No need to insult my love for Mac and cheese!"

"I'm not! Trust me, I like bread as much as you like macaroni, you can easily flip it on me."

Akia pursed her lips, looking back and forth between me and the hallway. "Yeah, that's fair. By the way, that can't be healthy."

"Leave me and my rolls alone."

Akia and I laughed as we continued walking, our conversation gradually turning into stress as we talked about our math quiz. "So what will even be on the quiz?" my friend asked.

"Derivatives," I mumbled, trying to lick a piece of bread out from between my teeth.

"Yeah, but what specifically?"

"Um...definition and interpretations I think. It's just a quiz, so not a lot-"

"I have a fifty six right now, I need a good grade on this quiz! Wait...what is the definition of a derivative?"

I stopped walking, continuing to lick at my teeth as I reached into my backpack's side pocket and pulling out a ring of note cards. Flipping past a couple, I stopped at derivative, clearing my throat. "According to Paul Dawkins, the definition of derivative states that: a derivative of f(x) with respect to x is the function f'(x) and is defined as f'(x) = lim f(x+h)-f(x) / h."

Akia frowned, looking back at me. "Well, what does that mean?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, I just sleep in math class, honestly."

"Red!" Akia screeched, running over and hitting my arm repeatedly. "You're the only one I like in math, you're supposed to help me!"

"That's what Nonna's for, Akia. She's the math wiz, not me." I pushed Akia away, rubbing my attacked arm gingerly. Her hits hurt.

"But you're related, you have to know something!"

"I'm a photographer, not an engineer!"

"But there's math in photography!"

"Yeah, but not derivatives."

"Red!"

"What?"

Akia groaned, stomping down the hallway, me chuckling as I followed behind her, quickly catching up. "You are the most useless person I've ever come across."

"Wow, thanks. That was the greatest compliment I've ever received," I spoke, sarcasm dripping from my tone. I quickly sped up, turning around to face Akia as I walked backwards to class

"Stop that, you absolute-Red!"

"Yeah, I am absolutely Red, that is indeed-"

I was cut off by a loud crashing sound to my right. Turning quickly, I looked right at the wall-length window being smashed to pieces, the shards flying by and cutting both Akia and I's skin. Putting my arms up in defense, I didn't see the large, blonde wolf barreling through the window towards me until it was too late.

I let out a scream as the creature knocked me back into the lockers, growling as I collided with the ground. My head hit the concrete so hard that it bounced. Through the staggering migraine, I could feel blood dripping down my forehead from a fresh cut.

Slowly, I pressed my hands to the ground and pushed myself up, looking over at the wolf with a numbness I can only attribute to fear and adrenaline. He was staring, growling, and stalking towards me. I let out a fearful sob, pushing my back against the lockers.

"Red!" I looked over at Akia when she shouted my name, wiping away the blood that dripped down my chin. Apparently, I also bit my lip in the fall, which I only discovered when my hand brushed over the split. That only added more blood to the drying color on my face.

"Akia?" I whispered in fear, setting my bloody hand down on the ground. The fresh liquid caused my weighted hand to slip, sending me crashing to the ground again and reopening the healing wound. I winced at the loud growl that echoed, curling into myself.

"No, stop!" Suddenly, the growls stopped, but I still refused to look up. I was just focused on not bursting into tears.

I jumped the moment I felt two hands on my shoulder, looking up to see Akia standing above me. She helped me get to my feet, going as slow as I needed to, trying not to make my headache worse. Turning me to face her, she scrubbed away the dried blood with one of her makeup wipes, being extra careful around the cuts.

Batting away her hands, I glanced towards the wolf, only to see nothing there. The creature was gone, the broken window and my dried blood on the floor the only evidence that it was ever there.

I looked back towards Akia fearfully. "He just..."

"Jumped out."

I inhaled sharply, sucking on my teeth as I looked back towards the window, staring at the forest beyond in intense confusion.

What just happened?