Free The Ink-Keeper's Apprentice by Allen Say Page A

wanted to buy one, it won't come out for another week."
    "Thank you," she said.
    The article caused quite a sensation at my school. Even the upperclassmen and teachers I had never had nodded to me in hallways. I was a celebrity!
    "I always thought you were too good," said Abacus, the painting instructor. "Do you expect me to compete with your great master? Here, take this key to the art room and use it anytime you wish after school. As of now you're out of my hands; I refuse to have anything to do with your art education."
    "But I don't know how to paint in oils," I protested.
    "Nonsense. Noro Shinpei's disciple indeed!"
    Abacus had always been kind to me. She gave me an A for everything I did, and she was the only teacher in school who was friendly to me.
    But my new fame did nothing to improve my relationship with my classmates. I was never very popular with other students, and I didn't exactly go out of my way to make friends. So I thought it
was strange when one of my classmates approached me the day the magazine came out. All I knew about him was that his parents were dead, and that he was the smartest boy in my grade.
    "Hey, wait up, Sei," Mori called out. "Let me walk with you to the station. What made you decide to study cartooning?"
    "I was bored with school."
    "I don't blame you—school is a bore. I can't wait to be in college. But tell me about your master. Noro Shinpei, a strange pen name, isn't it?"
    "He was a political cartoonist during the war," I told him. "Most people don't know that. He was against the war, and you know what that means. He had to go underground. I suppose that was when he adopted the name, to make fun of the military regime, and also to compensate for the fact he never served in the army."
    "A brave thing to do, considering those who ruled us. Is he a Communist?"
    "I never asked. I don't think so. I don't think a political cartoonist should have a leaning toward any given party. His job is to needle them equally, don't you think?"
    "Everybody has to have a viewpoint, though. But I suppose you're right in a way. Is he funny?"
    "He is, in a deep way."
    "How many mistresses does he have?"
    "I don't know."
    "Come, Sei, you can tell me. All artists have mistresses. That's where they get their inspiration. Everyone knows that."
    "Well, if he has a mistress I haven't met her. His wife is a good person."
    "Everybody has a wife; it doesn't mean a thing. So what do you do when you go to your master's place?"
    "Mostly I draw."
    "No funny faces? Aren't you supposed to be learning to cartoon?"
    "You can't go out and start drawing cartoons right away. You have to go through the same kind of training painters go through."
    "Sounds like a hard discipline. How about nudes? Have you drawn nudes?"
    "Yes. I go to Inokuma's studio twice a week."
    "I've always wondered about those models. Are they shaved? I mean, pubic hair."
    "Of course not."
    "I envy you."
    "Anyone can sign up to draw nudes."
    "I don't mean that. I mean my future. It seems dull compared to yours."
    "Why?"
    "Studying economics. I want to make a lot of money. My parents didn't leave me very much. True, my rich uncle adopted me, but it's not the same as having my own money. What I really want to do is study history, but what can you do with a degree in history? I want to be a millionaire, and I intend to make it on my own," he said, and looked at me as if to find out what I thought. We were standing in the square in front of the station and I looked away, pretending to look for my bus.
    "How about going to a movie some Saturday morning?" he said. "It's easy to get good seats then. Do you like coffee?"
    "I do."
    "Good. I know some good places. Bring your drawings, only the nudes. By the way, I know a girl who's interested in you. I'll tell you about her next time we meet," he said just before he got on the bus.
    It was strange to hear him say that he wanted to be a millionaire; boys from good families weren't supposed to talk about money. There