Natalie Always had the right attire for Art class. Her dark chocolate hair put back in a purple ribbon, a peach apron with many paint blotches, and most importantly, her cold silver paintbrush. Her paintbrush had a faint copy of her name pasted right on the side, and completed her whole outfit. Her wardrobe consisted mostly of night purples, blacks, and indigos.

Natalie sways her paintbrush side to side. Suddenly she could hear the tiny tink on the window. She smiles. Her older brother Sidd always came by Briarwood high after he was done with collage classes. She slowly cranks the window knob and opens the window.

“Four more minutes, Maybe you could read that oversized textbook of yours.” She calls through the window. Once her tall coconut-haired brother gives her a grin and a thumbs up she turn the window back to how it was, and begins painting again.

“Remember students, light strokes. Am I clear?” snaps Natalie’s art teacher, Miss Chaplin. All the students in the classroom nod their heads to the teacher then look back to their easel. Natalie was barley close to finishing her painting and had to choose her time wisely. In the background, she could hear a faint voice calling her.

“Natty! Natty!” she kept listening but it had only repeated her family nickname two times. She didn’t think much of it, and stuck her mind to her work.












***

“Students, please remember you’re paint brushes tomorrow!” repeats Miss Chaplin. Natalie gracefully prances down the cold tile steps, each pace making one unique echo of its own. She couldn’t wait to skip home and take a relaxing nap and feed her overweight chinchilla. She was all joy until her brother was out of sight. Nowhere to be found. Lost…