Character Sketch!

Today is story day! I'm going to write a character sketch for this dude down below:) 

Liam slouched through the hallway of his middle school, trying to ignore the whispers of the girls, and the teasing laughter he knew was directed towards him. Sure, he might not have as nice of clothes as all the other kids had, and he was new, but was it so bad to wish for at least one person who didn't laugh at him? Liam scowled. Even the teachers seemed to have a made a pact together to hate him. He knew he wasn't the easiest student, he just couldn't seem to pay attention while they talked. Doodling them falling into volcanoes and alligator infested swamps might not have helped them like him... Liam sighed. 

       Even if he hated school, going home was worse. He thought that Dad never would forget him, but he had. Liam stepped into the bus, ignoring everyone. Why Dad? Liam thought, Why did you have to forget me, you gave up on me and left! Liam felt hate surge up in him. You had no RIGHT. Now I'm all alone, Dad, nobody cares about me! Liam stared out the window, a hollow aching in his chest. He remembered his old life, so different from now. How he would play football with his dad in the front yard every evening, them help him make dinner. He would tell his dad how school went, and ask him questions about everything, anything, and his dad would tell him. He thought they had no secrets, but Liam had obviously been wrong. One morning he had woken up, and all he had left of his dad was a note saying his mom, the mother he had never met, would pick him up at 11:00. 

As Liam walked through the door of his house, his mom looked up. 

"Hi honey,"

she said, 

"I cleaned your room today, I thought it looked a little messy."

She smiled and held up something that looked like meatloaf. 

"Hungry?"

Liam shook his hair in front of his eyes and shrugged. Inside he was panicked. She went in MY room? Cleaned it UP? How could she? I won't know where anything is! She'll have seen my paintings!! 

Liam ran to his room, and sighed. Everything was clean. All his clothes were in the drawer, his bed was made, who knew my bed was so big?  Sunlight streamed in from his picture window, lighting up the far corner of his room. No, NO! She had seen his studio, all his paint was in a row, even arranged in a rainbow! All his paintings were piled neatly on his desk, and on his easel was a lone, white canvas. Liam hugged himself. Dad would never have done this. He never forced me to show him my artwork, he RESPECTED ME! Liam felt a yell of frustration rip from his chest. He grabbed his brushes and sloppily slid his paint closer to the canvas. He knocked the canvas to the ground as one sob after another shook his whole body. His angry tears mixed with his paint as he worked, faster and faster, not caring where the paint went. Late into the night Liam worked, and he began to calm down, until he finally fell into a merciful sleep. 

Lily walked down the hallway to Liam's room. She didn't know how long she could go before she worked up the courage to tell him about his father. She knocked softly on his door. He needed to eat. 

"Liam?" 

No one answered, and Lily carefully opened the door. No one was on the bed. There was one light on, a lamp on Liam's desk. 

"Oh, Liam." 

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. Liam lay sleeping, tear stains mixing with paint on his face. His paintbrush was still in his hand. Lily looked at the painting and choked down a sob. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The colors of his paint worked together, and mixed so wonderfully that the picture seem alive. It was herself that smiled from the canvas, herself, with the inscription 'mother' underneath. 

Liam slowly opened his eyes to see Lily, tears streaming, as she quietly said to herself, 

"If only you knew Liam, you'd understand."

Thanks for reading:) 

~Avery