She knew she wasn't supposed to pick favorites, but Ms. Clawson couldn't help it. Bianca was a special child, she could tell that early on.

Although Bianca was quiet, she was incredibly intelligent and even more, wildly creative. During art class Ms. Clawson would stand by in amazement as Bianca's hands would seemingly dance over her paper. She had a steadiness and control for line, an eye for color, and a perspective for the realistic. Much of what Ms. Clawson knew of Bianca she learned from her artwork. For example, it was easy to see that Bianca loved animals, her favorite though was the horse. In almost everything Bianca was allowed to free-hand, a horse was involved. Colors could tell a lot to, and for reasons that Ms. Clawson didn't really know, Bianca almost always chose blues, purples, blacks and greys. Perhaps it was the lonely void in her eyes as she swished the colors on her white canvas that made Ms. Clawson think all might not be right in Bianca's world. For all the things Ms. Clawson didn't know, she was glad that at least Bianca could paint her own world to escape into, at least for an hour out of the day.