Monday, September 2, 2013 – Max's POV

Entering the Art classroom for the first time, Max finally saw her idol – Mark Jefferson, the very reason she had enrolled in the Blackwell Academy for – live, not just online or on the cover of some magazine. He was sitting at his desk, turning to her as she came in.

'Good morning, sir,' she said as she passed by, looking at him, trying to hide her excitement.

He looked so handsome, with his nicely groomed haircut and beard, his face decorated with glasses that made him seem more like a serious professor. He was also wearing a suit and a tie, presenting himself very elegantly. He looks even better in person. Holy fuck.

'Good morning,' he replied, sending her a warm smile.

She noticed he was fixing her with gaze, so she ducked her head down, feeling a blush creeping up her face, and her heartbeat quicken. Damn it! Don't let him know you're crushing on him! It's embarrassing. She sped up to the desk at the back of the class and hurriedly took a seat, unable to face him again.

Trying to calm down a bit, though thrilled to have finally seen Jefferson in the flesh, she began to unpack her stuff.

Checking the registry, he reached her name. 'Maxine Caulfield?'

Max looked up and put up her hand. 'Here,' she said. 'And, um, it's just Max, sir.'

Mr. Jefferson regarded her for a second. 'Max. Okay, I'll remember that,' he said, smiling at her again. She felt herself blush again, her heart twitching. Calm. The fuck. Down.

The professor went on with the lecture, with Max trying to look as naturally at him as she could, considering how attractive she found him, but it wasn't easy. Moving around the classroom from time to time, it seemed he spent the majority of his lecture leaning against the desk in front of Max. He kept glancing in her direction, sometimes smiling under his nose as he turned his eyes away, sometimes seemingly smiling directly at her, all the while her heart was racing, unable to calm down.

You're imagining things, Max. Like he would ever find you attractive.

The first lecture was rather general, but Jefferson seemed to be able to talk about it with just the right amount of finesse, capturing his students' attention, interjecting with a joke here and there, and Max thought he was being quite dorky for a person of his age and position.

And she liked it.

Monday, September 2, 2013 – Mark's POV

The term had just begun, and loads of students had transferred from other schools specifically for Mark's course.

Though he never believed in such bullshit anyway, he had found himself making a resolution for the new school year – get better mentally. There had been strings of meaningless hookups, trying to fight off loneliness, sleeping with a brand new woman every few days, staying in hotels, then sneaking out, going back to his empty house. He hadn't felt love in years, ever since he had moved back to Arcadia Bay, and it didn't look like it was going to change, but deep down, it was all he wanted.

When he entered his classroom, most of the students had already been present and waiting, some of whom he knew already. He sat at his desk and took his stuff out, getting ready for the lecture.

Then an entirely new face came in. Ivory complexion, finely sprinkled with freckles. Rather short, light brown hair, kind of messy. She looked beautiful, and so, so innocent. She was wearing simple jeans and a hoodie.

Passing by, she quietly said, 'Good morning, sir,' and gazed at him with excitement in her eyes, but once she saw him linger, she ducked her head, flushed, and hurried to the desk at the back of the class. Mark could swear he felt his heart twitch.

'Good morning,' he replied, a little shocked, but with a warm smile.

Don't. Do not fucking go there, he chastened himself.

But he couldn't help it. It wasn't love at first sight, but it felt like a lightning strike. He had never, ever fallen for a student in any way. This was an entirely new thing for him.

Checking the registry, he reached her name. 'Maxine Caulfield?'

'Here,' a quiet, sweet voice reached Mark's ears. It was the tiny beauty who shyly put up her hand. 'And, um, it's just Max, sir,' she added.

Mark regarded her for a second. 'Max. Okay, I'll remember that,' he said, smiling at her, making her blush again. Mark felt warmth spreading through his chest.

What the hell are you doing? She's your student!

He quickly snapped out of it and continued on with the registry.

He felt drawn to her immediately, spending the majority of his lecture leaning against the desk which was facing the new girl, completely mesmerized by her simple beauty, her wide eyes gazing at him, though seemingly shyly. He would smile at her once in a while, then turn away as he saw her blush, he couldn't help himself. He was also glad to see her chuckle lightly at his ridiculous jokes, attraction starting to build up.

Monday, September 2, 2013

After his first lecture of that school year had finished, Mark took a picture of his new class, Maxine among other faces which he did not care to study at all. He looked back at the screen of his camera, carefully memorizing every detail of her gentle face. Her wide eyes were encircled by long, dense eyelashes, and framed by just a bit of eyeliner on her upper lids, sharpening them just enough to make them stand out. A light smile on her fair rosy lips rendered her expression soft. The high resolution allowed him to capture even her light freckles, which added to her overall charm. She was so gorgeous.

He imagined what it would feel like to be able to immortalize her pure, untouched beauty with his lens.

Max stayed in the classroom for a while, having several moments to look around the room, seeing as Mr. Jefferson seemed busy chatting with a short-haired blonde, who was ostentatiously sticking out her bum, bent against his desk, clearly trying to seduce the devilishly handsome professor. Max rolled her eyes, a bit amused, and began studying the displayed posters and some of Jefferson's actual published work. She recognized them very well, of course – she was a fan of his after all, and marveled at his style.

She then moved to the corner, getting a look of some more pricy equipment, such as carbon fiber tripods. Whoa, the school is definitely well-equipped! The ballheads even have a pan-lock. she thought.

Moving to the right, she admired the fancy cameras behind the glass of the showcase, along with literature on the subject of photography. Max knew most of the titles, but hadn't gotten around to reading them yet, though intending to do so soon.

Mark, who was rather disinterested in the blonde student's advances, allowed himself to glance at the tiny beauty once in a while, smiling lightly to himself as he saw her curious expression. It seemed she knew quite a lot already, and even if she didn't, she was the only one who actually bothered to look at what the classroom had to offer. Either way, it made him hopeful that perhaps he would finally be able to teach and mentor someone who was a genuine artist themselves, not just another amateur or a copycat. The new girl had an aura of true passion around her, he could see it from the start. Now it was only a matter of time until he would get a chance to see her photographs, and he was indeed looking forward to it, noticing her vintage Polaroid camera – again, something unique among his students.

When she was finally done, she turned back to him.

'Goodbye, Mr. Jefferson,' she said quietly, with a bit of hesitation, fearing he would not hear her, but he glanced at her and smiled widely.

'Goodbye… Max. I hope you enjoyed the lecture.'

He actually remembered my name? Oh. My. God.

'Yes, sir. It was very interesting,' she replied, sending him a coy smile, and looked down for a moment.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at Max, looking angry that the doe-eyed, raggedy-looking hipster dared to interrupt her and Mr. Jefferson. Max had heard of her already – Victoria Chase, daughter of some very wealthy people. Clearly spoiled. A very mean person, too, already asserting dominance for some reason.

'I'm glad to hear that,' Mr. Jefferson said, smile not leaving his face. He was fixing her with gaze, and Max felt herself getting flushed. She then heard Victoria huff impatiently, so she looked down, feeling her anxiety rise. She hated confrontation, and the presence of Mr. Jefferson wasn't making it any easier.

Mark was a bit annoyed by the blonde at that point. Though skilled, she was spewing clichés about photography, complimenting him excessively, and he wasn't impressed at all. It was all the more frustrating to notice that Maxine was too shy to approach his desk with Ms. Chase occupying it from the very start – she had managed to catch him during the orientation a few days back already, and he hadn't been able to get rid of her since. Wanting to remain professional, though, he had to swallow up his irritation, and try to be a guide to her as well.

He noticed Maxine was had feeling uneasy, thus he wished to somehow improve her spirits.

'I hope to see you tomorrow, Max,' he said softly, prompting the tiny beauty to lock eyes with him.

'See you tomorrow, Mr. Jefferson,' she replied, blushing lightly and reciprocating his smile, then left his classroom.

'Ms. Chase,' he turned to Victoria. 'I'm afraid I have to cut this short. Duty calls.'

'Oh, of course, Mr. Jefferson,' the blonde replied, sounding rather disappointed. 'See you tomorrow,' she said enticingly.

He didn't respond verbally, simply nodded. She was actually waving her hips on her way out, but he didn't bother to entertain her.

The only person on his mind was Maxine.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Mark had spent the rest of the previous day thinking about the new girl, wondering whether or not he had only imagined his initial attraction. After all, wasn't it one of the demands of any photographer to recognize beauty where it was due? But once he saw her gentle face again later that day, he knew he wasn't going to forget her quite easily, and that he would not be able to resist her charm.

Thinking about her now, in the morning, having his coffee, he remembered how focused and inquisitive she had appeared, a light spark in her eyes perhaps? He couldn't not draw a connection to his younger self – she reminded him of his early days, when he too had been full of newfound enthusiasm and curiosity, ready to take over the world, so to speak. Rarely had he seen a true, pure, young artist such as Maxine… Max. Though shy, she had found the courage to assert herself like that, making him say her name the way she wanted it to be said, and Mark couldn't help but be fascinated by her.

Maxine. The greatest. It was likely that he idealized her all too strongly already, but nothing like this had ever happened to him before, to such extent that is, and so he let himself carry that image of her in his mind.

During the lecture, he noticed her writing something down in her journal, focus painted on her face, lips slightly parted. He was curious what was in there, obviously, but he was more curious if she was paying attention to his class.

'Max,' he said suddenly, prompting her to look at him. She immediately stopped what she was going. She seemed a bit startled, blushing. Lovely, he thought.

Max felt her heartrate rise. Mr. Jefferson was fixing her with gaze, it seemed to take longer than it should, but then he finally asked her a question directly connected to his rant.

'The, uh… shade spectrum, sir,' she replied, trying to keep an even tone. She locked eyes with him for a moment.

'So you are listening… that's good to know,' he only said, a small smirk under his nose, and he went back to conducting the lesson.

Max frowned. She wasn't sure what to make of this small altercation – Jefferson didn't seem mad or annoyed, or anything of the sort. And she gave the right answer, so she had nothing to worry about. But his lingering felt a bit odd.

This is sad, Max. You wish he would notice you, huh? Like that's ever going to happen. Just wait till he sees your pathetic selfies…

Mark looked back at her again, noticing she appeared to be dispirited, and he drew a conclusion that it was his fault for startling her, a hint of guilt in his heart.

She is too… sensitive. Too gentle, he thought. Maybe don't hassle her too much.

Frankly, he had never wished to cut any of his students any slack, he would usually be quite firm in his rules, after all, Maxine wasn't the first and she wouldn't be the last student of his who seemed to have issues with anxiety or low self-esteem. But the tiny beauty seemed to be the only one who was able to bring out his softer, gentler side, even from the get-go. Protecting her was an instinct rather than a conscious decision.

He had to quickly snap himself out of his thoughts, there was still some time left until the end of the class.

'Alright, guys,' he said in a slightly raised voice. 'I realize it has only been two days, but it would like to see your work already. For Thursday, take and bring in a photograph that best describes who you are as artists. And please, don't show me something you think I would like to see. Show me what you want me to see.'

With that, the bell rang. 'Class dismissed,' he announced.

He stood up from the desk facing Maxine, having a quick glance at her, and then went over to his desk, finding Ms. Chase had already been waiting for him there – much to his disappointment. But he was a professional and so he braced himself for the short, albeit unpleasant, session.