going to give up my education and my dreams because of it. At home, everyone would know what happened. I'd be treated like a broken flower. Experience had already taught me what a close-knit community was like when something shook the fabric of its citizens. I didn't want that attention directed towards me. That's why I hadn't been back in seven years.
I transferred to a university on the other side of the country. There I remained inconspicuous in a large population of students. My desires in life changed. I no longer wanted to go to med school, but pursued my science education and became a lab technician for a pharmaceuticals company.
I had never had sex before that night, and I could never bear the thought afterwards. Sex was tainted, it was pain. Any thoughts of lust disgusted me and made me feel dirty. My fear of men turned into hatred. I enrolled in self-defense classes and kept up my training ever since.
Kain really was lucky that I hesitated.
Chapter Six
Claire was impressed with Corry's excerpt for the art assignment. He presented his tablemates with a selection from John Steinbeck's
Of Mice and Men.
It was the part after poor slow-minded Lennie accidentally killed Curly's wife and the ranchmen were hunting him down; but his companion and guardian, George, found him first.
The Freak rolled his eyes, but Claire let Corry know that she loved the story. It was the only Steinbeck novel she'd ever been able to get through in literature class. She remembered feeling devastated when George made the awful decision to save his friend from a punishment at the hands of the ranchmen: a tortured death that he wouldn't understand. She wasn't about to own up to it, but she had cried when George forced himself to raise a gun to the back of Lennie's head, all the while describing to the mentally challenged man the piece of land where they had dreamed of starting a farm. She felt sure that it broke her heart as much as it did George's.
The conversation at the table reverted back to its typical dearth, and they all began their work in silence. Claire decided to give Lennie the farm he had wanted, complete with rabbits and alfalfa. She was proud of her idea and pleased with her work. She took the trouble to detail the leaves of each tree and used several hues of colored pencils to shade the blades of wheat in the field. A cat sat on a wood fence that surrounded a small house with a big barn, and she made her best attempt at a horse grazing in the yard.
At one point, Claire had to rest her hand from the cramp that had developed from gripping the color pencils so tightly. She glanced in the Freak's direction, and though she couldn't tell what his drawing depicted, she realized that he seemed to be using a lot of the tomato red pencil. She could only hope that Mr. Dart would see the product of this strange boy's imagination and would recognize that he was truly in the need of the services of the school's guidance councilor.
She spied Corry's drawing, as well. He seemed to have the same idea that she had. He drew a farm that put hers to shame, complete with a cage of rabbits beside an amazingly detailed wood planked barn, and a hint of cattle wandering the distant fields. Claire didn't feel upset that her work wasn't original, that Corry had the imagination and heart to fulfill Lennie's dream home; but she was a little jealous that his talent outshone hers, once again.
If there was one thing she'd always been proud of, it was her aptitude for art; but she just couldn't seem to match Corry's talent. And it irked her. As much as she respected his ability and found him to be a genuinely decent guy, she hated that he could run circles around her with a paint brush or a pencil. She just had to try harder.
* * *
The excerpt for the third inspirational project was provided by the Freak the next day, and was to be done in charcoal. When his turn came, he handed Claire
I transferred to a university on the other side of the country. There I remained inconspicuous in a large population of students. My desires in life changed. I no longer wanted to go to med school, but pursued my science education and became a lab technician for a pharmaceuticals company.
I had never had sex before that night, and I could never bear the thought afterwards. Sex was tainted, it was pain. Any thoughts of lust disgusted me and made me feel dirty. My fear of men turned into hatred. I enrolled in self-defense classes and kept up my training ever since.
Kain really was lucky that I hesitated.
Chapter Six
Claire was impressed with Corry's excerpt for the art assignment. He presented his tablemates with a selection from John Steinbeck's
Of Mice and Men.
It was the part after poor slow-minded Lennie accidentally killed Curly's wife and the ranchmen were hunting him down; but his companion and guardian, George, found him first.
The Freak rolled his eyes, but Claire let Corry know that she loved the story. It was the only Steinbeck novel she'd ever been able to get through in literature class. She remembered feeling devastated when George made the awful decision to save his friend from a punishment at the hands of the ranchmen: a tortured death that he wouldn't understand. She wasn't about to own up to it, but she had cried when George forced himself to raise a gun to the back of Lennie's head, all the while describing to the mentally challenged man the piece of land where they had dreamed of starting a farm. She felt sure that it broke her heart as much as it did George's.
The conversation at the table reverted back to its typical dearth, and they all began their work in silence. Claire decided to give Lennie the farm he had wanted, complete with rabbits and alfalfa. She was proud of her idea and pleased with her work. She took the trouble to detail the leaves of each tree and used several hues of colored pencils to shade the blades of wheat in the field. A cat sat on a wood fence that surrounded a small house with a big barn, and she made her best attempt at a horse grazing in the yard.
At one point, Claire had to rest her hand from the cramp that had developed from gripping the color pencils so tightly. She glanced in the Freak's direction, and though she couldn't tell what his drawing depicted, she realized that he seemed to be using a lot of the tomato red pencil. She could only hope that Mr. Dart would see the product of this strange boy's imagination and would recognize that he was truly in the need of the services of the school's guidance councilor.
She spied Corry's drawing, as well. He seemed to have the same idea that she had. He drew a farm that put hers to shame, complete with a cage of rabbits beside an amazingly detailed wood planked barn, and a hint of cattle wandering the distant fields. Claire didn't feel upset that her work wasn't original, that Corry had the imagination and heart to fulfill Lennie's dream home; but she was a little jealous that his talent outshone hers, once again.
If there was one thing she'd always been proud of, it was her aptitude for art; but she just couldn't seem to match Corry's talent. And it irked her. As much as she respected his ability and found him to be a genuinely decent guy, she hated that he could run circles around her with a paint brush or a pencil. She just had to try harder.
* * *
The excerpt for the third inspirational project was provided by the Freak the next day, and was to be done in charcoal. When his turn came, he handed Claire
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