We stood to began scooting our desks and I saw Claire steal a glance in my direction while we were forming the circle, so I gave her a big smile to let her know it didn’t go unnoticed. I liked this circle thing because it meant she had no where to hide.
After everyone introduced themselves, Mrs. Tanner sat in the desk on the other side of Claire to address us. “Humanities isn’t like other classes you’ve taken and you can expand your vision and imagination by learning to recognize creativity when you see it. This means being able to recognize it in ourselves as well as in others because freeing our inner potential for creativity, self-criticism and self-condemnation is important.”
And there it is, ladies and gentlemen. The weirdness has begun.
She continued, “All too often we reject our own creative impulses and actions, but today I have an exercise for you using key ingredients to contribute to creative thinking. I have six listed on the board. I want you to choose a partner, then the two of you will choose one element to creatively get to know one another better.”
I looked around as the others were splitting off into pairs and was pleased when I saw I would be paired with Claire without even trying.
I felt like rattling her cage a little. “Princess, should I consider it a bad sign that no one wants to be your partner?”
“I’ve already told you my name is Claire and who says they don’t want to be my partner? Maybe they don’t want to be yours. Ever thought of that?” she countered.
“Nope,” I curtly replied.
She huffed and looked at the board as she said, “Which element do you want? Recognizing Patterns?”
“No and I don’t want Making Connections or Taking Advantage of Chance.”
“Good because I’m not making a connection with you or letting you take advantage of anything. What about Taking Risks?”
Maybe I should have named her Viper instead of Princess because she had an awfully sharp tongue.
“It’s a no go on Taking Risks.” I got my feel for that in day to day life and I didn’t feel like going there with her.
“That leaves Challenging Assumptions or Seeing in New Ways.”
“Princess’ choice,” I offered.
“Alex, I’ll take Seeing in New Ways for one hundred,” she said humorously.
After we chose our ingredient, Mrs. Tanner gave us an envelope with a specific topic to discuss. Preconceived Notions; your partner has one about you, so change it by making him or her see you in a new way. Be creative.
“What’s up with that bullshit?” I asked. What kind of class was this and was I seriously going to get credit toward graduation?
She smirked and said, “Well, this exercise is already over because you just confirmed my preconceived notion about you instead of changing it.”
“What exactly is your preconceived notion about me, Princess?” I asked.
“The exercise doesn’t say I have to identify what my preconceived notion is. It says I have one and you have to attempt to change it by making me see you in a new way, so go for it. Make me see you in a new way because right now, it’s not so delightful.”
“You think I find you delightful? I called you a princess and you called me an ass**le. Princess, positive. Asshole, negative.”
“Oh, yeah, you meant Princess in a positive way,” she said while she rolled her eyes the way that only a chick could. “I know what you think of me. I don’t need you to explain.”
“Okay, change my mind. Help me see you in a new way since that is our assignment.”
I could see she contemplated her words carefully and they were guarded when she finally began to speak. “My name is Claire Deveraux. Not Princess. Not Goody Goody. Not Miss Perfection. Not Forbes Henderson’s girlfriend. People assume I’m handed everything on a silver platter because my parents are compensated well for the hard work they do. My life isn’t simple or easy and I’m a real person with real problems. I can never be myself because it isn’t what’s expected. I feel trapped, like it’s never okay to be me because who I really am will disappoint everyone.”
Instead of embracing who she was, she was whining about it and it infuriated me. Try living the way I did and then tell me when it wasn’t okay to be Claire Deveraux because it had never been okay to be Jessie Boone.
When I looked at this chick, I thought she was one of the hottest girls I’d ever seen, but the pity party vibe was a complete turn off and it only proved she was the pampered princess I thought she was.
“Are you serious or are you messing with me?” I accused.
A look of fury came across her face. “I’m totally serious,” she snapped.
“Tell me a time in your life when it would not be okay to be Claire Deveraux? You have everything going for you. I know you come from a wealthy family because I can take one look at the way you’re dressed and know that. Your boots cost more than my truck. I’ve already heard you’re super smart because it’s rumored you are the next valedictorian and you are one of the most beautiful girls I’ve ever seen.”
Somewhere between my first word and the last, I fell into a trap of telling her how wonderful she was instead of how ridiculously spoiled.
She huffed and said, “You’re just like all the others. You only see the outside and what you want to see.”
“Show me something different and maybe I’ll see something different,” I challenged.
She declined my challenge by saying, “My turn’s over, you’re next.”
I considered what her assumption about me must be and decided I didn’t have much of an argument for changing it because most of the things she probably believed about me were true.
“I’m good,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t be off the hook, but unable to resist the attempt.
“No, you’re not good. You’re next.”
“I’m not going to say anything that will change your mind about me, so I’m afraid this exercise may be deemed unsuccessful,” I informed her.
“This is an assignment, so you have to tell me something.”
“Like what?” I asked.
She looked up at me through her long lashes, and in the softest voice I’d ever heard, said, “Tell me something real.”
The way she looked at me almost had me thinking she cared, but then I remembered who I was and who I was talking to and thought a little shock factor might be in order.
“My name is Jessie Boone, aka ass**le. I’m a loser from Collinsville like everyone thinks. I don’t come from a rich family like all of you spoiled brats and it completely defines me and what I’m capable of doing, so I’ll never amount to anything because it’s what I’ve been told my whole life.”