Read Zee's Way for Free Online

about an inch wide, a small can of brown or black paint—something quick-drying, like exterior latex—and some rags,” I told him.
    He looked surprised. “That’s all?”
    â€œFor now—until I get everything sketched out.”
    His face cleared and he nodded. “Of course, of course. Are you going to need a ladder?”
    I shrugged. “I guess so.”
    I hauled the ladder outside while Feniuk rounded up the supplies.
    â€œThere you go,” he said, setting them on the sidewalk. Then he squinted toward the sun and flapped a hand in front of his face. “It’s hot already. When that sun gets a little higher, it’s going to be sweltering.”
    I didn’t look up from the paint can I was opening.
    â€œWhere’s your hat?” he asked. “You can’t work in the sun without a hat. And sunglasses. You’re going to need those too. The sun bouncing off that wall will blind you.”
    â€œI’ll be fine,” I muttered, moving the stepladder into position and climbing onto it. “I’m out in the sun every day and I never wear a hat. And I don’t even own sunglasses.”
    â€œI have some in the store. You can use those,” he offered.
    â€œLook,” I said, scowling down at him from my perch. “I told you I’m fine. So are you going to keep talking at me, or are you going to let me paint?”
    Feniuk raised his hands in defeat. “Suit yourself. But if you change your mind…” He left the sentence hanging and went back into the store.
    I took a deep breath and sized up the wall. It was big. This wasn’t the first time I’d worked on it, of course, so I should have realized that. But when I was doing the graffiti, I wasn’t thinking about the overall appearance. I was just scrawling words. If there were gaps between them or if they overlapped, I didn’t care. It didn’t matter what the finished product looked like.
    But the mural was different. It was going to take a bit of planning to get everything in proportion.
    I climbed down from the ladder and went over to the oak tree, where I had a view of the whole wall. For a good five minutes I just stood there and stared, trying to figure out the location of everything I wanted to paint. Then when I had an idea of sizes and shapes, I headed back across the street and started laying things out.
    I thought about how hard it had been to paint in the dark. But that was nothing compared to working in the sunlight. The way the sun’s rays ricocheted off the white wall, it felt like razor blades slashing at my eyes. I couldn’t look without squinting, and after a while I couldn’t look at all. Every time I tried, my eyes would water and I’d have to turn away.
    Though it bugged me to admit it, Feniuk had been right about the sunglasses. And after an hour of fighting the glare, I finally swallowed my pride and asked to borrowhis. I expected a big I-told-you-so or at least a smirk, but he just handed me the sunglasses and went back to what he was doing.
    After that, the painting went better. The morning was really heating up, and I was sweating like crazy, but at least I could see what I was doing.
    Around 10:15, Feniuk came to check on me.
    â€œHere,” he said, holding out a can of pop. Water droplets rolled down the sides and splashed onto the sidewalk. Suddenly I was dying of thirst.
    â€œWhat’s this?” I said.
    â€œWhat does it look like?” Feniuk pushed the can into my hands. “It’s a drink. Take it.”
    â€œWhy are you giving it to me?” I asked suspiciously.
    He shrugged. “The government has strict rules about working conditions for employees. You’re entitled to a break.” Then he turned around and headed back into the store.
    By eleven o’clock I had the mural outlined on the wall—the basics anyway. It wouldn’t seem like much to anyone else, but it was the skeleton