Son-art-a's Art

>Be Adagio
>You're on your way out of CHS after serving daily detention for what happened at the musical showcase
>You look at the clock hanging above the double-doors leading out
>5:00 P.M
>You sigh a wonderful sigh as your day in school is finally over, especially with it being a Thursday
>One more day until you're free for the weekend...
>Your joy isn't long-lived however, as you remember you have work in half an hour at the diner down the street
>Even as you pass through the doors, your dread lingers
>The warmth of the inside of the school escapes you as you leave, throwing you to the cold weather outside, snow falling and all
>You pull your hood over your head and your teeth begin to chatter out of your control
>Just focus on going to the diner
>Your feet carry you faster, understanding full-well that you'd rather go back inside that hell they call "high school" than spend more time than necessary in this weather
"No stopping. Don't stop no matter what."
>No matter what, you repeat to yourself in your head
>But something, or rather, someone, catches the corner of your eye

>Sonata
>She's sitting behind a stand of some sort in one of the grassy areas near the front gate
>You notice the large sign connected to the rest of the table that forms into something of a roof
>Well, at least she was smart enough to put something over the table to cover what she has on it
>You narrow your eyes to attempt to make out what the sign over her head says
>"Son-art-a's Art" in bright colors, with Sonata's signature childish handwriting
>Another sigh escapes you, this one with a hint of disappointment
>Your gaze fixes over to Sonata herself
>She's staring down at her lap, not wearing her usual smile
>You raise an eyebrow, scanning Sonata in further detail
>She sniffles, and you could swear you saw a small tear rolling down her cheek
>Your heart sinks at the sight of this
>She was always so bubbly
>Even when everything was going wrong, she could manage a smile
>You had never seen her like this before

>You walk a little closer, somewhat purposely trying to stay out of her line of sight
>You can barely see what the rest of her booth has on it
>Drawings that Sonata has made
>They were all very crude and honestly looked like they had been drawn by a grade-schooler
>All were stick figures that bore some resemblance of herself or others
>One of her singing with little notes coming out of her mouth
>One of of her with a bunch of yellow half-cylinders with green and red splotched on it
>Is that a taco?
>No wonder she was so down, no one probably wanted to buy one of them
>But one drawing in particular caught your attention
>It was one of you
>Not just of you, but with your other acquaintance, Aria, both of you with a smiling Sonata
>Aria looked like her usual grumpy self and you had your mouth wide open, your hair covering your entire body for whatever reason
>A small laugh escaped your lips at how ridiculous it looked, though not loud enough for Sonata to hear
>She looked like she had put a lot of effort into it, and even in the other drawings
>You could feel the corners of your mouth rise and your entire being warm up, despite standing in the cold
>You move a little closer to the stand

>Little sticky notes with numbers preceded by dollar signs on each drawing
>It was then that you saw what she was actually doing
>She was the only one without a job amongst the three of you and she was trying to sell her art to help pay for food and rent
>You knew how hard she was trying to find work, but she never managed to land a job
>Your eyes shifted back to her
>Still sniffling
>She wasn't even like this when she didn't accepted for jobs
>"It's alright, next time!", she would always say, and quite gleefully at that
>But right now...
>You nod to yourself, pulling your hood more over your face to hide yourself
>You make your way over to the stand, hands in your pockets
>You had to do this
>You wanted to do this
>You approach the stand
>Sonata's still looking at her lap
>You clear your throat to get her attention
>Her head slowly rises up, her frown refusing to leave her
>"Oh, hi..."
>Her tone was despondent
>Never have you heard her like this
>You clear your throat one more time in an attempt to disguise your voice
"Yes, hi. You're selling all this... uh... 'art', correct?"
>She slowly nods her head
>"Yeah."
>That was it
>She would have talked for miles about them if she were in her normal state
>You hated admitting it, but you missed that part of her already
"Good. Because, I.. uh... Can I buy one?"

>At this, Sonata's eyes shot open
>The corners of her mouth rose equally as fast
>"Really?! Wow, I can't believe it! Someone's gonna buy one of my drawings! Which one do you want? I got this one with me and some tacos, I got this one where I-"
>She began talking at a mile a minute
>Back to her old self, thank god
>Nevertheless, you didn't have to take the time to pick one
"This one."
>The one with you, her, and Aria
>Your hand brushes across it caringly...
>...until you hit the sticky note with the price on it
"$80?!"
>You cover your mouth with your free hand, almost blowing your cover
>You look back to Sonata, nodding her head in a prideful manner
>Eighty dollars for this?
>...
>No, you need to think about how this affects Sonata
>Doing something for others was never your thing
>...But this is Sonata we're talking about
>She stuck with you even when everything was crashing around you
>She needed this...
>You needed this...

>You sigh, but nod your head, fishing your wallet out of your backpack
>You pull out three $20 bills and four $5 bills
>You push your arm out to her with the money in hand
"Here."
>Sonata's smile widens, impossibly, you think
>She takes the money and hands you the drawing, clutching the money to her chest
>"Yay, my first sale! Ahhh, I'm so happy! Thank you so much!"
>She grabs your free hand and violently shakes it
>It's ice cold, has she really been out here since school ended?
>You rattle at the strength of her handshake
"Th-a-a-ank y-y-you."
>After about ten long seconds, she lets go of your hand, placing it on her other hand with the money safely guarded
>You turn to walk away
>Sonata is still making excited sounds as you leave the booth
>Your feet shuffle you to the school gates
>As soon as you pass through, you can hear Sonata still at her booth, yelling aloud
>"Wait til I tell Adagio and Aria! They'll be so proud of me!"
>A smile forms on your lips as you hear that
>You bring your eyes to the drawing, still in your hand
>It wasn't the prettiest thing you've ever seen
>But it certainly was the most heartwarming
>You clutch it to your chest to prove it