Page 58 of Tears of Ink

“So, lets introduce ourselves.” I begin to warm up and take over from Elijah who shifts back a little to give me the floor. “I’m Faith, I’m twenty-four, and I’m two years into my degree. I like working with glass as you will see and try this week, but also ceramics. What I’m not good at is paint. Which is weird considering I draw on people’s skin.” I shrug, and people laugh a little. I relax even more.

I look at the girl with the blonde hair and perky demeanour. She doesn’t let me down and launches into an excited spiel about her desire to create museum-worthy sculptures. She introduces herself as Charlotte. I doubt I’ll remember their names, but I give it a good try out of politeness.

Dylan is the guy who likes the tatts. His eyes are on them more than the glass we are about to set.

Maisie is small and mousey, with an insanely loud giggle.

They are the only names I can remember. Well done, Faith.

“Okay, so we’ve made some liquid here that in a couple of hours is going to be glass. Does anyone know what makes glass?”

An emo boy at the back groans loudly from under his fringe, muttering something about this being worse than school.

I’m almost entirely sure his school have never let him play with burning hot liquids like this before. He’s gangly, at that awkward stage of development where boys suddenly become like Bambi as their limbs grow too quick.

“Up ya come, happiness.” I wave him forward, sensing Elijah’s smile.

I think the most enthusiastic student in the room is the man who arranged it all. He is watching the pot of liquid blue with eyes filled with amazement.

“So, if you grab the stick and stir the mixture, we will be able to check the density.”

The emo looks at me blankly. “You want me to touch that?”

“Preferably not with your fingers.”

Everyone shuffles forward and even the kids who’d been hanging back during the introductions lean forward to get a better look.

With a dubious look he lifts the spoon and stirs the liquid. It’s perfect. Runny, glossy, and as blue as delphiniums. To say I’m pleased with myself is an understatement.

I grab a metal tray and hold it out. “Now ladle some into here.”

“Like soup?” He asks.

I smile. “Kind of like soup, but we don’t want to be greedy. We are making a mosaic for the hallway. So the glass has got to be thick enough to hold shape and colour but delicate enough we can weave all the proceeds together to create something astonishing.”

Elijah’s stare weighs heavy and hot as he watches me, but I don’t meet it.

The youngster with the black hair and clothes looks between the empty tray and the crucible, then slowly and carefully ladles a spoonful. He grabs my hand as he tilts the tray to make the liquid run. “Sorry,” he mutters.

“You’ve got it.” Blue shimmering liquid glass spreads across the bottom of the tray, thin enough you can still see the bottom.

Everyone is huddled round. “What now?” Maisie asks.

“Now we bake it in the kiln, and you guys all get a go. Think of what colours we need. I thought it would be great to have a spectrum of colour going from light to dark.”

“So we need black,” emo boy says.

I chuckle. “Yes, we’ll need black.”

“Cool.”

I nod at Tabitha who pales nervously, but then pulls herself together with miraculous resolve. She moves to another bench where the dried sand is waiting. “Who wants to make their own glass?”

They all step up, apart from emo boy who is still holding his tray.

I wave him over and plan to show him the kiln.

My eyes can’t help themselves and search the small crowd for Elijah. I want to know he’s happy with what I’ve done and that I’ve done a good job. I want to see his eyes and see pride there. To see his handsome face and see it smile.