New York City 2015

9-year-old Max lives in an apartment above the streets of New York. From here you can see along the tops of buildings on his street. He lives in a 12th floor medium-sized home.

Max does have a talent for art although he never wanted to show it to his three friends, who usually leave him alone to do things that Max absolutely does not like! Stuff like soccer, basketball, and baseball were all sports that he did not want to play. Well, he didn’t really like any sports.

All Max wants to do is sit in his room drawing all day, all day long, every day, which is now why we come to Max sitting in his room, drawing, with papers all over the floor. Now, you might be wondering exactly what he is drawing now.

He is part drawing dreams of friends that he wanted. Very detailed. The other part… I will not tell you! Just for a reason. I will tell you later.

Max’s mom and dad like that he has at least some friends that he plays with some of the time.  If you are wondering what they play, then they play a lot of running games such as tag, laps, and races.
2. The School

Max’s bedroom, still

Okay, I will let my secret out now. Max is drawing pictures of his present day friends doing things actually with him. Doing stuff that he likes, like playing games together, doing art together. They are colorful and detailed.

School

Max’s school is pretty plain considering this is his school district zone. At school are, of course, his friends, people from all grades. Plus the teachers. Outside is a big yard full of fields and play materials. Max’s favorite class is actually gym class where he can show his friends what he can actually do and he can be with his friends. Did you think it is art? Well it’s not. If you didn’t? Good for you. At school, Max and his friends are taking classes together. Again, you might be wondering why he shows stuff in gym class rather than art. First, he wants his friends to know he’s not zero in athletics. And also because his friends know he can draw, but not this amazing. His favorite part of art is his free draw area. Other subjects such as math, science, and technology, he is good at. So he is almost like me. He likes school and in many subjects he succeeds.

3. The School Yard

The school yard is a place where kids play, as you might have guessed, but it has a playground, a soccer field, a basketball court, and a game table. And kids do things. Max particularly likes to use the game table to escape the kids outside on the yard playing sports on the concrete floor. Also the soccer field is turf. Max’s friends like the basketball court plus the soccer field. Max also plays on the playground.

4. The Art Room

The school’s art room is plain. Just paint, pencils, and tables. But on this very day the art teacher calls out, “45 minutes of free draw! Hand them in after!”

Max works hard until the end. The teacher says, “Wow. These things are amazing. How’d you do it?”

“It’s my talent, I guess.”

Max is finally noticed by someone.

5. The School Art Gallery

The school art gallery is a corridor with lots of drawings in it. Max gets over his shyness and signs up for an empty spot in the gallery walk.

As he is drawing, someone says, “Whatcha doin?”

And Max says, “I’m drawing for the empty spot in the gallery,” hiding his work.

“Okay.”

“Don’t look yet. It will show in the gallery later this week.”

Now, this drawing is of his friend playing basketball.

Monday

The art gallery attendant is taking Max’s drawing and putting it on the walls.  Max sees his drawing. But other people also did, such as his friends. The fixed art gallery is open! Everyone pours in at the same time, all getting cramped. Max’s drawing is being wondered about. Who’s is this? The attendant picks up the boards for names.

“It’s Max? Well, how about that?” Max gets noticed by his friends and the classmates. His friends are happy that they were up on the gallery wall in his drawings.

Max says to his parents that he is finally noticed in school.

And Max is finally noticed.