我和“讨嫌鬼”做搭档

By+Priya+Ann+Mathew

Noone sat next to Leon. Not if they could help it. Thats why when I shot into art class just before the bell， the only seat left was beside him. Ms. Priestley said，“Sit down， Nimmy.”I dont think Ms. Priestley likes me. I am terrible in art. She said，“Today， well drawafantasylandscape.”Leonraisedhishand.“Can it be anything we want？”Leon loved art and loved Ms. Priestley.Ms.PriestleylovedartandlovedLeon.

“Anything—as long as it isnt something from real life.”“This will be fun！”Leon said. Thats why no one liked to sit by Leon， especially in art. He was too enthusiastic. He gave his partners suggestions. Sometimes he even added to their drawings！ Plus his nosealwaysdripped，andheneverusedtissues.

I drew wild zigzags and two lines racing across the page.“What are you drawing？”Leon asked， sniffing. I sighed，“Mountains and a river.”“Thats not fantasy.”“Ive never seen mountains and Ive never seen ariver. SoImfantasizing what theyd look like，”Isaid.

“But its still real.”I ground my teeth and scribbled in some skinny trees，“Have you seen a mountain range with pointed tips？”“No， thats just bad drawing. Why dont you make it a dragon instead？”Iglared.

“The mountains could be the scales along its back， the river could be a long tail， and the dragon could be eating the trees.”Leon smiled hopefully. To my surprise， I could see the dragon take shape. He continued，“So not all of it would be on the page， but that would just tell us how big it is.”I could see why Ms. Priestley loved him. No one else in class thought likethat，andmostpeopledidntcareenoughtotry.

“Dragons dont eat trees，”I said. Leon swiped his dripping nose with his sleeve.“Some dinosaurs ate trees. So why cant some dragons？ Its fantasy.”A sound argument， I had to admit. Leon sniffed again. Ms. Priestley was moving around the room. She looked at everyones work and made comments. Usually shedstopatmineandsigh.TodayI wanted toimpress her.ButthedragonwasLeons，notmine.

I started drawing in the body.“Thats a very nice idea， Nimmy.”Ms. Priestleys voice made me jump. She beamed. At me.“Youre being creative， and its paying off.”I smiled shyly， blushing because it wasnt totallymyidea.Leonwasbeaming，too.

“ItwasLeonsidea，”Iconfessed.Ms. Priestleys beam grew wider.“Excellent， Leon. We must always be willing to share our ideas.”Then she said，“Nimmy， why dont you offer some suggestions on Leons drawing.”

Leon propped his drawing where I could see it.“Its a space farm，”I said. There was a rocky surface with little domes. The domes had plants and some weird animals in them. In one dome，there was a cow ormaybeabigdog.

Leon waited. I added，“Maybe ... maybe you could add ... bales of hay ... and make a dome with levels. Each level for something different.”Leon nodded happily，“Like corn on one level and hens on theother.Likeamultilayerfarm.”

“See， its not so hard，”Ms. Priestley said， and walked on. I breathed. Id just said the first thing that came to me. But Leon liked my idea. Maybe I could be OK in art. I watched Leon adding levels on his farm. Leon looked up for a moment.“We should be partners inart，”hesaid.Ilikedthat.Ipennedmynamenear his space！hens.Leongrinnedandsignedmydragon.

没有人想坐在利昂旁边，能不坐那儿就不坐那儿。这就是为什么当我踩着铃声冲进美术课教室时，只剩他身边的座位是空的了。普里斯特利女士说：“尼米，请坐下。”我觉得普里斯特利女士不喜欢我。我的美术很差。她说：“今天我们要画一幅幻想的风景画。”利昂举起了手：“我们想画什么就画什么吗？”利昂爱美术课，也爱普里斯特利女士。普里斯特利女士爱美术课，也爱利昂。

“画什么都行———只要它不是来自现实生活。”“这肯定很有趣！”利昂说。这就是为什么没有人愿意坐在利昂旁边，特别是在美术课上。他太热情了。他给同桌提各种建议，有时候甚至还帮别人画几笔。此外，他总是淌着鼻涕，还从来不用面巾纸擦。

我胡乱地画了一些锯齿状线条，还画了两条贯穿画纸的直线。“你在画什么呢？”利昂边问我，边吸溜了一下鼻子。我叹了口气，说：“群山和一条河。”“这不是幻想的啊。”“我从来没有见过山脉，也没见过河流。所以，我在幻想它们的样子。”我说。

“但这还是真实的啊。”我把牙齿磨得嘎嘎响，胡乱地画了几棵瘦不拉几的树，说：“你见过尖顶的连绵大山吗？”“没有，可这就是没画好。你为什么不把它改成一条龙呢？”我生气地瞪起了眼睛。

“这些山脉可以是它背上的鳞片，河流可以是个长尾巴，这条龙可以正在吃着那些树。”利昂满怀希望地笑着。令我惊奇的是，我能够看到那条龙开始成形了。他继续说着：“尽管它不会完整地出现在纸上，但这可以告诉我们它有多大。”我能明白为什么普里斯特利女士喜欢他了。班里其他人都不会那样去思考，大多数人对画画这件事不够在乎，因此不愿去尝试。

“龙是不吃树的。”我说。利昂用袖子抹去流下来的鼻涕，说：“有些恐龙是吃树的。那为什么有些龙不能吃树呢？这就是幻想啊。”很合理的论证，我不得不承认。利昂又吸溜了一下鼻子。普里斯特利女士在教室里来回巡视。她检查每个人的画并给些评语。通常，她停在我身边的时候都会叹气。今天我想给她留个好印象。但是，这条龙是利昂的，不是我的。

我开始画龙的身子。“这个想法非常棒，尼米。”普里斯特利女士的声音吓了我一跳。她笑容满面，是冲着我笑的。“你现在变得很有創造力，它正给你带来好处呢。”我害羞地笑笑，脸都红了，因为这不完全是我的想法。利昂也笑得很开心。

“这是利昂的想法。”我坦白了。普里斯特利女士笑得更开心了。“太棒了，利昂，我们应该总是乐于分享自己的想法。”她接着说，“尼米，你为什么不给利昂的画也提一些建议呢？”

利昂把他的画架起来，放在我能看到的地方。“这是一个太空农场，”我说。画中布满岩石的地面上有一些小小的圆顶屋。圆顶屋里有许多植物和一些奇怪的动物。其中一个圆顶屋里还住着一头奶牛，或者是一只大狗。

利昂等待着。我补充道：“或许……或许你可以增添……大捆的干草……还可以画一个分层的圆顶屋，每一层放一些不同的东西。”利昂高兴地点头：“比如一层种玉米，另一层养母鸡，就像一个多层农场。”

“看到了吧，这并没那么难。”普里斯特利女士说完便继续巡视去了。我舒了一口气。我只是说了脑子里闪现的第一个想法，但利昂喜欢我的想法。或许我的美术能学得不错。我看着利昂在他的农场里加了几层。利昂抬头看了一下。“我们应该在美术课上做搭档。”他说。我喜欢这个提议。我把自己的名字写在了他的太空母鸡旁边。利昂咧嘴笑着把名字署在了我的龙旁边。