Paintings

Downstairs, Wise lay sprawled across the counter like a salted fish left out to dry. His final "teaching achievement" still remained on the whiteboard.

A set of equations stood there like the last gasp of someone's stubborn pride—

X² - X² = X² - X²

X(X - X) = (X + X)(X - X)

X = X + X

1X = 2X

1 = 2

Ellen leaned against a nearby chair, sucking on who knew which lollipop by now.

She studied the test paper in her hand, its answers already corrected. If I just memorize these answers, could I pass the retake?

Actually... maybe I could?

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Ellen looked up to see Belle coming down with a tray bearing several glasses of juice and a plate of cookies.

The cookies had been cut into strange shapes, like the outlines of some kind of fish.

Halfway down, Belle spotted Wise sprawled over the counter and stopped.

"Bro?"

"Hi, Manager Belle." Ellen shrugged around her lollipop. "Manager Wise seems to have burned himself out."

Belle came closer and looked at the "1 = 2" on the whiteboard, then at Ellen's test paper covered in red corrections. The corner of her mouth twitched.

"Maybe that's for the best."

Belle fought back a laugh. At least this way, her brother wouldn't find out about Griseo's comic.

As long as she kept it hidden, he probably wouldn't notice for a while... right?

She set the tray in front of Ellen and slid the plate of shark-shaped cookies toward her.

"Ellen, try the juice I made. And these Shark Crunch Bites are part of a Spark Knight and Warden collaboration."

Ellen looked down at the snacks, then back up at Belle. Her eyes plainly said, Are you serious?

A Shark Thiren eating Shark Crunch Bites?

Oh, right. I forgot. Shark Crunch Bites don't contain shark, just like wife cakes don't contain wives.

Ellen hesitated, then picked one up and tentatively put it in her mouth.

Crunch.

Crisp.

With a hint of milk.

Ellen chewed a couple of times, then a couple more, before silently reaching for a second one... She had to admit, they were pretty good.

Belle returned to the counter, bent down to pick up a fallen marker cap, and stacked the scattered textbooks neatly.

She glanced at Wise, still slumped over the counter, and sighed. Then she fetched a jacket from the sofa in the back room and gently draped it over his shoulders.

"Ugh. Big brother shows off, little sister cleans up... It's so unfair."

Belle muttered her complaint, but her hands never stopped moving.

From her chair, Ellen watched Belle bustling about and twirled a lock of hair by her ear, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sorry for the trouble we've caused you both. Me, Ruby, and the others..."

Belle turned and smiled at her. "It's fine. My brother got to live out a dream this time, anyway."

Ellen fell silent for a second. "A dream?"

"Yeah. Our teacher looked after us back then, too..." Belle suddenly paused, realizing she'd let something slip, and hurriedly corrected herself.

"I mean, we really respect our teacher. I guess she influenced us."

"Oh..."

Ellen caught the change in Belle's tone and played along, letting the subject drop.

She took another Shark Crunch Bite and popped it into her mouth.

Once Belle finished tidying up, she came over to the table, poured herself a glass of juice, and leaned against the counter for a sip.

"Oh, right! Ellen, Ruby wants you up on the third floor. She said she wants Griseo to paint a portrait of the four of you."

"Huh? How come I didn't know about that...?"

Ellen took a sip of juice and looked upstairs in confusion. Bursts of laughter and chatter drifted down now and then.

In the third-floor studio, Ruby dragged a reluctant Ellen inside.

"Come on, come on! Ellen's done with tutoring. Teacher Griseo, paint us!"

"Ruby, I never said I'd—"

"You did!"

Ruby turned and glared at Ellen, tears welling in her eyes as though she'd burst into sobs if Ellen refused.

Ellen swallowed the rest of her protest and quietly let Ruby arrange things.

"Come on, Rin, Mona... Get into position! Teacher Griseo's about to start!" Ruby pressed Ellen into a chair, then waved Mona and Rin over.

"Coming! Coming!"

At Ruby's call, Mona and Rin hurriedly let go of Griseo and took their places on either side of Ellen.

Mona rested a hand on Ellen's shoulder. Rin stood beside her, while Ruby stood at the very front, flashing a peace sign and grinning like she'd won the lottery.

"Teacher Griseo, paint us like this!"

Griseo nodded, looked at the four of them, then at the canvas. She picked up her brush and began to paint.

With a lollipop in her mouth, Ellen gazed out the window. The sun was setting over Sixth Street, dyeing the sky orange-red, much like the tips of her hair.

It was a hassle, and it went against her energy-saving principles.

But when she saw the smiles on Ruby and the others' faces, she thought that giving in to her friends once in a while—or all the time—might not be so boring after all.

Waiting inevitably grew dull. As their excitement faded, Griseo noticed the change in their mood and began to hum a tune.

[Paint red for shyness, use blue for tenderness. The owner of the awakened brush is Griseo.]

"Teacher Griseo is singing?" Ruby said in delight. Ellen, Rin, and Mona turned toward the sound as well.

"Mm. Want to hear it? I was worried you'd get bored." Griseo stopped painting and peeked out from behind the canvas. "Sunna wrote this song for me."

"Yes! Of course we do!!"

"Okay!" Griseo nodded and turned her attention back to the canvas.

[

I tilt my head gently before you, palette in my left hand. What color could show maturity?

Paint yellow for worry, use purple for sorrow. Starry Impression is me.

Whoa, I paint Mr. Knight and have him take me for a ride.

The Ethereals by the road block my way. I ask another brush to wake Heavy Knight.

Now is really not the time for a nap.

It's Griseo's time. With my brush, I can split the heavens.

I will turn the portrait around and sweep the entire battlefield clean.

The path of painting opens. The brush bows to me. Roar, Kosma!

(Guess how many references there are.)

When Griseo laid down her final stroke and said, "It's done," Ruby was the first to rush over, her eyes shining as though she'd discovered a new continent.

"Wow!! Teacher Griseo, it looks amazing!!"

Mona came closer too, staring at the version of herself on the canvas, smiling so happily. "Is... is that me?"

Rin stood at the back and rose onto her tiptoes for a look. She adjusted her glasses. "Generally speaking, it's an excellent painting."

"...It's all right."

Ellen glanced at it over her shoulder, lollipop in her mouth, then looked out the window.

She seemed unwilling to let anyone see the curve of her lips. Meanwhile, Ruby, Mona, and Rin had already pulled out their phones and started taking pictures.

"So which one of you is paying?"

Seeing her friends settle down, Ellen stood by the window and calmly asked the question that mattered most.

"Huh?"

Ruby's hand froze. That was a good question, because none of them seemed to have asked how much it cost...