THE ARTIST

by Livingdeadboy83

Our story begins at a certain junior high school that as yet will remain unnamed. This school was filled with students and teachers, but one teacher stood out. Her name was Ms. Kristal Dalton. Ms. Dalton was the art teacher at this school. She was a young techer, about 28 or 29, and was very attractive. She had beautiful long curly brown hair and big beautiful brown eyes. She had a tiny beauty mark, a very tiny mole, above her lip, that was hardly noticable. However, she was very concientious about it and covered it with make-up. Se was a very youthful person, and was very popular among the young guys. She was popular among some of the girls as well, since she was director of the school's cheerleading program, too. It was a job she was adept to, since in her teenage years, she was a cheerleader herself. But, her passion was with teaching art.She thought of herself as a work of art, wanting to be perfect, and since she was older, she struggled even more to be perfect. Nonetheless, she was a good art teacher. And, little did she know tat she had one very special student that would give her a slightly different lesson in art.

Actually, our story begins a few months beore, at the start of the semester. Ms. Dalton had a whole new art class to teach.Little did she know that one of the students in her class was not just a talented artist-but he was also special in other, more mysterious ways. The young boy's name was Steven, and from the beggining he was fascinated with Ms. Dalton. He loved art, and he thought that Ms. Dalton was a beautiful work of art herself. That forst day, Ms. Dalton wore a beautiful black skirt which showed her slender, long legs, and a pair of black shoes with cut out backs which showed her heels. Her feet just looked so youthful and smoth. She was literally beautiful from head to toe. She was a living work of art to Steven. He had more than a crush on her, the boy admired her deeply. To him, she represented all that was beautiful. He continued to admire her, and his admiration grew as time went on. As for his artistic talents, Ms. Dalton was amazed at how skilled, how realistic, his drawings were."I don't have to teach you anything-you are already a talented artist!" Ms. Dalton said to him. As always, the boy was silent and mdest, but was filled with joy at how the woman he admired liked his work.

Then, one day, the boy got an idea. He would draw a portrait of his admiration-Ms. Dalton herself-and give it to her. Then she would nknow of her true beauty as art, Steven thought. And the boy did just that. Day after day he drew bit by bit, making sure his work was perfect. And it was. In his artwork, he drew Ms. Dalton as she was, exceppt even more radiant. It was an exact likeness. One day, te boy saw Ms. Dalton slipping her feet out of her shoe. He saw how beautiful her smooth, youthful foot was. He drew her barefoot, drwaing every delicate curve of her foot precise, drawing it even more smoothely. It didn't take long for him to finish. The next day, he would give her the picture, and he knew she would love it. If only he knew..

The next day, Ms. Dalton woke up and looked in the mirro. She always did this, to see if she still looked flawless and perfect. To her surprise, her face was even more radiant! SHe then looked down at her feeet and felt them, and they felt softer, smoother, and more delicat than ever before. If she only knew that this was linked to the boy's artwork. Literally, her life was imitating his art. That very day, the boy gave his artwork to Ms. Dalton. She was in awe of how realistic it looked, from head to toe. She was speechless. She knew he was taleneted, but not this talented! But, then, a vain chord came through Ms. Dalton. She believed herself to be perfect, and in her mind made herself believe this art did not do her justice. She then pointed out various "flaws" in the artwork. The boy knew she was lying. In her vanity, she did not acept his gift. He thought she was a work of art, but that was only aesthtic. Inside, she was flawed to him. This angered the boy. Now, he would make a new drawing- a drawing that would be new , darker type of art, reflecting his true feelings about his former admiration. If only Ms. Dalton knew what her moment of vanity would cost her at the hands of this special young artist!

The next day, Ms. Dalton looked as radiant as ever. She was wearing a red dress with a small slit on the side, and red, slip-on dress shoes. However, young Steven now looked at her beauty with contempt. He felt such artistic beauty was wasted on her. Ms. Dalton stood at the podium, and lifted her foot up out of her shoe. Her foot looked as young and smooth, as delicate, as ever. Once, Steven would have admird this, but not any longer. He then took out a sheet of paper and began to draw, both quickly and skillfully. He beagn to draw what he saw, Ms. Dalton's delicate foot, lifted up out of her shoe. He drew it as perfect as it was, if not more so. Then, he began to add things. On the illustration of her foot he began to draw large creases, actually wrinkles. He drew them more and more, curving around her foot. Steven then looked up at Ms. Dalton's foot. To his amazement, as he drew them on the paper, the wrinkles actually began to appear on Ms. Dalton's once flawless foot.He continued to draw them, and they appeared more and more as Ms. Dalton lifted her foot. Her foot began to look older and older. Steven knew his art was coming to life. He then began to draw her foot looking much more weathered.As he drew it, her foot became just that way. Now, Ms. Dalton's foot looked just like it did in the drawing-wrinkled, and old. Even ancient. Ms. Dalton continued to lift her foot as if it still loked youthful, showing off her newly formed wrinkles and age.Seeing what he had done, he continued to draw, beginning to draw her other foot, still in her shoe. Ms.Dalton then went over to her desk. Her foot felt strange, so she sat down and gently slippe her foot out of her shoe. She was shocked by what she saw. Her foot looked so old, so wrinkled. It looked positively ancient to the young teacher. She rubbed her foot and cringed when she did. She couldn't believe how old it felt. She couldn't believe she even had wrinkles! Still shocked, Ms. Dalton quickly slipped her aged foot back into her shoe. Jsut then, young Steven began to draw her other foot, still in her shoe. He drew the visible top part of her foot, which was weathered and spotted with age. At the same time, Ms. Dalton prepared to reach down and look at her other foot. As she reached down, she saw the top part of her foot becoming weateerd, age-spotted, and old. She couldn't believe her eyes! She then slipped her foot out of her shoe, hesitantly. She rubbed it and it still felt young, though the top looked aged. Then suddenly, as she rubbed it, wrinkles appeared on it and it became as old as the other one! She didn't know what to think.She quickly slipped her foot back into her shoe. She had to be excused, to clear her head and find out what was going on. She told her class she was going to the bathroom, and went.

She then went into one of the stalls and stood by the mirror. She lifted her foot up out of her shoe, hoping that what she saw was only a figment of her imagination. But it wasn't so-her foot still looked aged and wrinkled! The confused teacher then looked in the mirror, and said to herself: "This can't be real! What's happening to me?"

Just then, Steven began to draw the upper half of the teacher. He drew her legs, and the dress which covered it. He then began to make the visible part of her legs look aged and veined, especially around the slit in her dress.

In the bathroom, Ms. Dalton was compulsed to look at her legs. She was shocked to see them become spindly, aged, and marked with spidery veins. Now her legs mathched her feet. Her legs were comppletely disgusting to her. "NO! WHAT"S HAPPENING TO ME?" She exclaimed, frantically. Meanwhile, Steven rew her top half quickly and skillfully, all the way up to her neck. He then began to draw Ms. Dalton's face, just as he envisioned it, perfect. Then, around her eyes, he drew crow's feet wrinkles jutting out. Ms. Dalton then got up and looked in the mirror, still shocked. She looked at her face. It still looked the same to her.Then, she looked at her eyes. She watched as wrinkles, crow's feet, appeared out the side of them. She touched her face, frantically. "Where did those wrinkles come from? What's going on?" She said, frantically. She then went back to her class, frantically. She hoped that whatever was happening would stop. , and that know one noticed the changes. She wouldn't be so lucky.

As she entered the room, Steven was drawing the lines around her eyes much deeper and bolder now. He then began to draw new lines under her eyes, around her mouth, and on her forehead. Unbeknownst to Ms. Dalton, they appeared on her face,and she looked much older now. The make-up on her face only made the wrinkles look that much deeper. Then, one of her female students, one of the cheerleaders she directed also, came up to her. "Ms. Dalton, what's wrong with your face?" She said,in a typical preppy voice. "My face? What?" she said, touching her face, frantically. Ms. Dalton then went over to the sink that was in her room and looked in the mirror. She was terrified by what she saw. She saw all the myriad wrinkles that were on her face. "OH MY GOD!" she exclaimed.She rubbed her face and nearly rubbed it raw. "She looks like a walking wrinkle cream commercial!" The girl whispered to another atudent, but the teacher heard it. All Ms. Dalton could do was examine her face in the mirror. She looked to be in her 40's or 50's now. Meanwhile, Steven began to draw her hair, and drew large gray streaks in it. As Ms. Dalton looked in the mirror, the gray streaks began to appear all throughout her hair. "Oh NO! NOT THAT!" she said. Steven then drew her hair as pure gray, and her hair became just that. He also drew her wrinkles deeper and wider, and made her face sag a little. Ms. Dalton looked just like the drawing. She looked to be in her 60's or 70's now. She touched her face. "I'm OLD!" she exclaimed. The students could only look on in shock.Their youthful teacher now looked like one of their gradparents. But, it wasn't over yet. Steven made a few additions. He made the wrinkles deeper and bolder, and made her face sag. He made her hands withered and spotted with age, and made her hair pure snow white.

Just like in the drawing, Ms. Dalton began to change again. Her wrinkles grew and her face sagged, and her hair turned pure white. Her hands were shaky and aged. "NO! NO!" She said, touching her face. Even her voice was aged. She was in her 80's or 90's now, and she looked ancient.She was forced to grab at her back to support her aged form. "I'm so old..so old..What's happened to me?" She said in a hushed, aged voice. All the students could do was stare at their now ancient teacher.And so, with the transformation complete, Steven's masterpiece was finished. He then came before the aged teacher, and held out his work. "See my art. Ms. Dalton? What do you think? I think it looks just like you.." He said. Ms. Dalton then saw in the drawing what she was now-an ancient, withered, wrinkled old hag.

No one's quite sure what happened to the elderly Ms. Dalton after that, but there are rumors. One rumor is that she is the resident of a local nursing home, recently celebrating her 98th birthday. Other rumors have it that she became reclusive, living alone in her home, and was referred to as a witch or "Old Hag Dalton" by the local children, who were afraid to go near her house. As for Steven, he became a great artist, often drawing portraits of people who appreciate his work. But, he will not forget his greatest masterpiece- Ms. Dalton herself, the living example of life reflecting art.