Once they had gotten closer to the Art Club's display booth, Mr. Thompson placed Avery back on the ground and stood back, aware that it was one thing to help his daughter see over the crowd and another to have her on his shoulders while she was signing up for clubs. That's not to say that he didn't keep an eye on her from a distance. He most certainly did. But he also knew that he could do that without embarrassing her in the process.
To the credit of most of the other students, they did notice Avery among the small crowd and made sure to avoid her, though they all seemed confused by the presence of such a small girl. As usual, Avery paid them little to no mind as she made her way to the art booth. Upon arriving, she noticed two guys talking about something, probably the motorcycles in the picture hanging above them for everyone to see. His leather jacket made him seem like one of the kids back at her high school who had usually gotten in trouble for doing stupid stuff. Nothing major, really, just petty things to show how cool they were to their friends.
Before she could think about it any further, a girl with dark brown hair and a name tag that declared her name to be Jenna came up to her and squatted down so that they were at eye level. “Do you need any help, sweetie?” she asked in a voice that would be more appropriate for talking to a child than a peer. “Are you lost or something? Where are your parents?” Rather than respond verbally, Avery pulled her student id out of her pocket and held it up so that the girl could see.
“I-I was interested i-in joining the Art Club,” Avery added, looking away as Jenna's face turned a red that was bright enough to rival Avery's hair. “S-So, could I get some information on how it works and what you do and sign up?” Here she looked at Jenna in the eye, though it only lasted for a moment before she lost her nerve and looked away again.
“Y-Yeah. Sorry about that. Uhm, let's see. The Art Club's main purpose is to provide a place for artists of all media and styles to meet, work together, and talk about, well, art,” she said, standing up and grabbing a couple of papers and a clipboard from a nearby table. She didn't return to the squatting position, however, clearly understanding that that was unnecessary. She did slightly bend a little to hand Avery the papers and clipboard, the latter holding the sign-up sheet. “We do require that everyone make at least two pieces for each of the two art shows, but we don't mandate what you do. We also have meetings on the third Wednesday of every month to see about funds and what people need for their projects, so those are important. But other than those two things, it's all pretty self-explanatory. The brochure has some more detailed information if you want to look that over.”
“Th-thanks,” Avery said, squinting slightly at the cover of one of the brochures before grabbing the pen that was attached to the clipboard and signing her name, unfortunately rather sloppily, as her handwriting had never been great. With a small smile, she handed the clipboard back to Jenna, who promptly set it back on the table after squinting at the name.
“Thanks... Avery,” Jenna replied after taking a moment to decipher her handwriting. “It was great to meet you! Again, sorry for the misunderstanding. I didn't mean anything by it.”
“D-Don't worry a-about it,” Avery replied with another small smile. “I-It happens all th-the time.” Nodding her understanding, Jenna turned to another student who had come up to inquire about the club. Rather than head back to her dad right away, Avery decided that she would take the next few minutes to look at the pieces of art that were a part of the display, marveling at them and finding herself eager to see what she could do.