Art for Art's Sake: Meredith's Story by Barbara L. Clanton Read Free Book Online Page B

Center Street has stores, but not there?”
    “I don’t know, but that’s an awesome idea. You know, I’m so used to seeing that house there that it’s part of the background for me. All right, let’s come up with some ideas for finding the owners. We can go to the village offices and see if they’ll tell us. Maybe they’ll show us land deeds or something. Is that where they keep that sort of thing or do we have to go to the county or something? And, ooh, we could go down to the Senior Center. We could ask some of those folks what’s up with the house. They’ve been around a lot longer than we have and might know something about it.”
    Meredith smiled from ear to ear. Dani liked her idea. Meredith wasn’t being railroaded into doing something Dani wanted to do. Maybe this project would work out after all.
    Dani rambled on. Meredith fell back into her pillows and simply listened. “We could take pictures and make a PowerPoint presentation. And...” She seemed to run out of ideas. “Meredith? You still there?”
    “Yeah, I’m here.”
    “Oh, okay. I just got excited and kept talking and talking. Hey, what if there’s nothing to that old house?”
    Meredith hadn’t thought of that. “Well, then I guess we just report that there’s not much of a story to it and then anybody who was curious doesn’t have to wonder anymore.”
    “Ah, good thinking. I’m glad you’re my partner. Okay, listen I have to get ready for the Winter Ball. Are you going?”
    Meredith suppressed a laugh. “Uh, no,” she said with a touch of sarcasm.
    “Oh, sorry. Maybe you can come to the next dance.”
    Meredith shook her head and laughed to herself. Dani had missed the sarcasm in her voice and acted is if Meredith had other obligations and couldn’t go to the dance. The truth was Meredith didn’t want to go. Not that anyone had asked her, of course. She simply said, “Yeah, maybe next time.”
    “I’m going with Ben.”
    Meredith didn’t know what Dani wanted her to say at that moment, so she didn’t say anything.
    Dani broke the silence. “I don’t know why I’m going with him.” She sounded apologetic. “It’s just that he’s always been my best friend. I’ve known him since kindergarten.”
    Meredith still wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say, so she just said, “Oh.”
    “Well, it’ll be different once I go to college. I’m sure I’ll find some different people to hang out with.” Dani sighed loudly into the phone.
    Meredith was shocked. You’re the president of the senior class, captain of the lacrosse team, and everybody loves you. What kind of change do you, of all people, need? Maybe she and Dani had more in common than she thought.
    Dani suggested they go to the house together to look it over. They decided to meet the following Friday evening, the last day of exams. Dani was going to pick her up. This was one for the books. Meredith was finally going to go out on a Friday night, and she was going out with the captain of the lacrosse team. Unfortunately, she was going out with the captain of the girls’ lacrosse team. She laughed at the twist fate had brought her.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Cumpnee
     
     
    MEREDITH SAT AT the big open table in the art room, grateful that no other students thought to come by during exam week. Mrs. Levine let students work in the art room any time they wanted to, and Meredith always took advantage of that because the art room was the one place in the school she felt safe.
    She slipped out of the gym quickly after her history exam that morning so Dani wouldn’t feel beholden to talk to her. They were doing a project together and that was all. Meredith didn’t want Dani to feel she actually had to go out of her way to be friendly. Once the history project was over they would go their separate ways again. Then again, Meredith remembered with regret, she wanted to paint Dani for her AP Art portfolio. That would involve being friendly. She sighed. Life was