An Art Class
When Kelly was twelve, she started taking classes at Miss Grace's School for Art. She didn't like it at first: the "novice artists"-the kids who hadn't really done art before-worked mostly with clay, and Kelly was a terrible sculptor.
It wasn't until her third year that Kelly found something she was really good at-charcoal drawing （素描）. She loved watching the lines spread unevenly across the page as she moved the bits of charcoal back and forth over the paper.
One day, Sophia. the best artist in her class, sat down and set up her easel （画架） next to Kelly. Kelly felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She'd. actually found an art form that she enjoyed-and was good at--and now Sophia was going to outshine her again? Kelly fought back tears when Miss Grace entered the room.
"Hello class, Miss Grace said. "We'll continue to work on the project today. What masterpiece would Sophia have come up with?
Kelly looked at Sophia's easel and she couldn't believe it--it was a mess! For a brief moment, Kelly couldn't actually believe her drawing was better than Sophia's.
But then she looked at Sophia, who was watching Kelly with an anxious expression. "I…. I couldn't decide what to do, " Sophia said. "And you're so good. Sometimes I feel like my stuff is just so bad in comparison.
Kelly looked to see if Sophia was joking, but she seemed completely serious. Now Kelly was shocked. "I'm not talented ... Miss Grace seldom praises me. You're the best one in our class!"
Sophia raised her eyebrows. "I might be a really good copier of the stuff, but I have no idea what to do when it comes to making up my own images. You are so great at making new things out of the old stuff. I've loved your works. "
"I've loved yours, too, Kelly said.
"Well, definitely not this one, " Sophia said.
Kelly smiled. "Maybe not right now. But if you move these lines up. . . "she said, pointing her finger on Sophia's paper.
Sophia was quiet for a moment. "That's a great idea!" she said finally.
Kelly smiled and turned back to her drawing, looking every so often at Sophia's work to see that she was taking her advice, down to the last line.
