Chapter 1

Maxine Caulfield was getting ready for her first day of school. She had been accepted to the Blackwell Academy, one of the most prestigious schools in the country, on a photography scholarship. But even more amazing is the person teaching that course. A world renowned photographer named Mark Jefferson. She was dressed in nice designer clothes that her father had gotten her as a birthday present. She was prepared to take the world by storm. As she opened the door to her room the door beside hers flung open to reveal someone she didn't feel like dealing with this early.

Out into the hallway walked none other than her step sister Chloe Price. The blue haired punk was in a paid of tattered jeans with a tank top and everything about her screamed not a morning person. The girl strolled across the hallway and into the bathroom without even glancing at her. She hesitated for a moment before hearing the sound of running water. She turned and made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. When she walked into the dinning area she was met with a set table filled with breakfast goodies prepared by her step mother, Joyce Price.

"Go ahead and eat up honey. It's your first day at Blackwell so need to be extra focused and prepared."

Maxine had never particularly cared for her step mother but didn't show any hostility towards her so as to keep things civil in her own home. At one time many years ago she viewed the woman as a mother figure but all that changed 5 years ago. Her mother Vanessa Caulfield had been late for work and her car would not start so she had asked her neighbor for a ride. Her neighbor had been called by his wife to come pick her up as she had bought too many groceries to carry on the bus home with her. This neighbor had been none other than Chloe's own father and Joyce's late husband William Price. He had agreed and it was on that day that both families lives would change in an instant.

On their way to drop off Vanessa and for him to pick up his wife the truck had been struck by a drunk driver as they were crossing an intersection. That crash had killed both of them and the drunk driver instantly. Maxine's father Ryan had been out of town on a business trip and was on his way home on a flight from Los Angeles. When his plane touched down and he arrived home he found police cars at his and his neighbor's homes and had rushed to his door to find no one home. He immediately made his way to his neighbors to find Joyce, Chloe, and Maxine all devastated by the news he was about to receive. That his wife and Joyce's husband had been killed in an accident.

It took Joyce and Ryan a year to get over the loss of their significant others but Maxine and Chloe never did. Blaming each others parents for the demise of the others. So came as a shock to both of them when Ryan and Joyce announced their engagement. Chloe and Maxine were both adamant with their respective single parents to not marry the others but neither would be swayed and 2 months later the Caulfield and Price homes would be merged in holy matrimony. Chloe and Maxine had never reconciled and had been at each others throats ever since. Chloe rebelled against her new step father and adopted a punk like look to show her rebellion. Maxine had gone for a different approach. One of practiced tolerance.

Chloe was a year older than Maxine and had been accepted to Blackwell on an art scholarship as she was a very gifted artist, not that Maxine would ever admit it out loud. She had already been there for a year and had a disciplinary sheet long enough to show it. The Principle of the school, Mr. Wells, had already contacted the Joyce and Ryan telling them that she was on thin ice and if she messed up too many more times he would have no choice but to pull her scholarship and expel her. Maxine found this quite hysterical and wasn't surprised in the least seeing as Chloe had managed to fail her first year in a seniors only High School.

Maxine had just sat down at the table as Chloe came down stairs in another pair of tattered jeans and a new tank top with her leather jacket slung over her shoulders. She hopped in the seat to the left of her step sister before turning to her with a scowl and talking just loud enough for her to hear her.

"Good morning step bitch."

Maxine paid her no mind and just looked at her with a look of indifference. This had basically became their morning routine since it had been decided that Ryan would just sell their old home and move in to the Price home, now the Caulfield residence. Chloe would try to goad her into and argument and at first Maxine was happy to oblige but after a few months she had seen through Chloe's deception and began to ignore it in favor of her usual tolerance. Joyce had walked over and sat down at the table add the various foods to her plate.

"Ryan will be out of town for another week. This deal they are trying to seal for the Prescott Foundation is taking its toll."

The original plan before the crashed that killed Vanessa and William had been for the Caulfield family to move to Seattle, but after the crash Ryan couldn't bring himself to uproot his daughter from her home town after such a traumatic experience. He had applied for a job at the Prescott Foundation and had been hired very quickly since he had a degree and several years experience in business. Had worked there ever since and had worked his way up to the advisory board. He was personally overseeing a deal to acquire a company that the Prescott's wanted to own.

Maxine and Chloe both finished at the same time and Joyce looked at the clock to check the time. She turned back to the girls in time to see them both getting up from the table.

"If you two don't hurry you will be late for your first day of the year. Get a move on now."

The girls stood up and made there way to the door. Chloe threw on her tattered old blue beanie and her jacket as she walked out the door. Both girls made their way to their respective cars. Chloe's, a battered and beaten old pick up truck that looked like it had been pulled fresh from a junk yard, and Maxine's silver Mercedes that looked as if it was fresh off the lot. The Mercedes had been another one of her gifts for her 18th birthday. Ryan and Joyce had tried to do the same but Chloe had refused to take it. Instead opting to take what little money she had and buy the large rust bucket she called a vehicle.

Chloe wasted no time in throwing her truck in reverse and backing out of the driveway with total disregard for anyone other than herself and speeding off down the road towards the academy. Maxine opted for a more controlled back out and steady pace down the road. Maxine arrived at the school a short time latter to see the rust bucket truck double parked without a care for anyone else as she pulled into a parking space on the other side of the lot next to the red truck of someone she knew very well.

She climbed out of the car bringing her messenger bag with her that she had had for over 10 years. It was a bag that her mother had bought her to house her most precious possession. A Polaroid camera given to her when she was just 8 years old. She fell in love with the camera instantly and it had sparked her love for photography. It had been her loyal companion for 10 years and was what she still used to take pictures even now in the digital age. She walked up the stairs from the parking lot and glanced around the courtyard to see all the local cliques hanging about.

She didn't know which was which but she could see her step sister hanging out with what looked like the skater types and a blonde girl with a feather ear ring. She kept looking till she heard someone behind her start talking.

"Maxine! I didn't know you got into Blackwell."

She turned around to see a dear friend that she was wanting to surprise with her new scholarship. Starring at her surprised was none other than the prodigal son of Arcadia Bay's most prestigious family, Nathan Prescott. They had met when her father had started working for the Prescott family and had been friends every since. He walked up the stairs and opened his arms to which Maxine had happily stepped into and accepted the hug. Thy parted just as the other people she knew started making their way up the stairs.

"I wish you two would just hurry up and move your asses. You are blocking the stairs!"

Nathan and Maxine parted to look at the person that had spoken to see a group of their other friends standing there smirking at them led by the ever infamous Ice Queen of Blackwell and friend Victoria Chase. She stood there giving them a look that to anyone else would look like an indifferent stare but to them it was a look reserved for her friends in public. In private Victoria was kind and gentle, smiling and laughing like any normal girl. She wore a very practiced social mask to keep herself from being taken advantage off for her family name.

The Chase family were a well known family in the art world for their numerous galleries and well known in the business world for their innovative and daring moves that were risky but more than not paid off. Many had tried to use her before to advance themselves but she had learned quickly how to judge who actually wanted to know her for her and who just wanted to use her for her families connections. She walked up the stairs followed by her long time friend Taylor Christensen and another girl that Maxine could care less for but tolerated for her friends by the name of Courtney Wagner.

Maxine didn't see why they allowed her around them. No one was dumb enough to think Courtney actually cared about them. They all knew well and good that the only person she cared about was herself and she just wanted to be close to them to be popular. While she would have never allowed her in the group Victoria saw this as a chance to get some use out of someone for what she considered a trivial school popularity so everyone tolerated her. Nathan turned back towards the school and with Maxine and the others in tow began to walk to the front door.

Victoria glanced down at Maxine's bag before snickering and looking back up at the girls head.

"Still living in the retro zone Maxine? Sad Face."

Maxine spared only a minor glance back at her before a small smile came to her face.

"Retro I may be, but the pictures I take are anything but. And you know I'm damn good with this camera. Even if it is almost as old as us."

"You got me there Caulfield. Hope you are prepared to be in second all the time though cause a Chase never loses."

"Bring it on Icky Vicky. I'm ready to take you down."

At the mention of her most loathed nickname Victoria gave a humph of mild annoyance but she knew that Maxine was only teasing so she decided to return with one of her own.

"Looks like I'm going to have to put your hipster ass in its place Max."

At the mention of that name Maxine felt a shiver of annoyance run up her spine and if it had been anyone other than this group they would have gotten an ear full. It was Maxine. Never Max. She had hated that nickname for several years now. Several had tried to use that shortened name for her but had all equally caught her ire and received a vicious tongue lashing in return.

As they made their way up the stairs Nathan held the door open for them all to pass through and as they made their way to their respective lockers Maxine had pulled out her class schedule which also contained her locker number and combination to find her own. As she found her locker she unlocked it to find it already had the books she needed for her classes inside. Perks of her scholarship. She checked her schedule and found she had science with Mrs. Grant first so she pulled out the appropriate book and began to make her way to the class.

On her way to class she passed by Nathan just as he was closing his own locker.

"Good luck Maxine. Welcome to Black-Hell!"

He started laughing with a smile on his face as he turned and made his way in the opposite direction to his own class. She and Nathan had hit it off rather quickly once her father started working for the Prescotts and had spent a lot of time together. It was through Nathan that she had met and befriended Victoria and Taylor. They had hung out whenever possible which was fairly easy since all Nathan had to do was talk to his father and would have a chauffeur and vehicle ready for him at a seconds notice. So with such perks at his disposal the group had been together practically all the time when they had free time.

Max made her way to her class and as she arrived she found the room mostly occupied with only a table at the front empty. She walked up to the table and took the first available seat. As she sat down she heard a boy behind her talking.

"Hey there!"

She turned around to see a boy she didn't know that seamed like he was talking to her.

"Sup? I'm Warren Graham. Nice to meet you."

He extended his hand for a hand shake. She glanced at his hand for a moment before ignoring his hand and looking him in the eyes.

"Maxine Caulfield. And sorry but not interested."

He looked confused for a moment before pulling his hand back and scratching the back of his head with it.

"Okay….just introducing myself but whatever I guess."

She turned around and looked towards the front of the class as a middle aged woman made her way into the room.

"Hello class and welcome to a brand new year at Blackwell. I will be your teacher for this class. You may call me Mrs. Grant. Now with out further delay lets get this lesson started."

And with that class began just as any other class would have with simple introductions and brief explanations on what they would be learning. A half hour had gone by without any disruptions when Maxine felt her cellphone vibrate. She pulled it out of her pocket careful to hide it from her teacher and peers and sat it down where her book would hide it. Maxine wasn't and idiot and new that using the phone in her lap would be easy to spot so she had gone with a more intuitive route. She had prepared for such occasions by buying a very small Bluetooth keyboard that could be very easily concealed in a hand and had connected it to her cell.

She pulled the keyboard out of her pocket and held it under the desk in her hands and opened the group conversation she was in with Nathan, Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney. To see what had been said so far.

Victoria: Ugh! Kill me now plz. This math shit is so drab!

Nathan: At least you don't have to listen to the monotone Mr. Ferdinand talk about how you should take care of yourself. Smh

Taylor: Victoria is so right though. I hate this math class. Who cares about a square root or a formula to find out the mass of something. Ugh! Kms

Courtney: Phys Ed BLOWS! I hate getting sweaty. IT RUINS MY MAKEUP!

Victoria: lol Icky Courtney!

Nathan: lmao

Taylor: roflmao

Having seen the conversation that had gone on so far Maxine decided to chime in and add her two cents and input.

Maxine: Don't worry. Science isn't any better. Who cares about any of this stuff. Totes useless!

Nathan: She finally joins us! Welcome to the present Maxine!

Victoria: Didn't know if you knew what a cellphone was hipster. Figured you still used a rotary phone to go along with that Polaroid in your bag!

Taylor: lol

Courtney: lol

Maxine: Now who's stuck in the retro zone Icky Vicky? Didn't know you could know about something that old.

Victoria: Bite me Max!

Maxine: Don't threaten me with a good time.

Nathan: LMAO!

Taylor: Ew!

Courtney: Get a room you two!

Maxine decided that this was enough for now and told everyone she would talk to them later and put the small keyboard back in her pocket. The class continued on for another 40 minutes before ending uneventfully. She stood up and made her way out of the class and down the hall to her locker. As she approached her locker she noticed the boy from earlier was walking towards her so she prepared herself to give him a verbal tongue lashing. He stopped and started rubbing the back of his head and began to speak to her.

"Look Maxine I think we got off on the wrong foot. I was only trying to introduce myself and maybe make a new friend."

She turned to him and was about to speak when she felt an arm around her shoulders.

"You hitting on my girl, bro?"

Nathan had walked up to be her knight in shining armor. Warren looked at the two before looking at Nathan.

"No just introducing myself and trying to make a new friend. I'm Warren by the way."

"Well "Warren" Maxine here has enough friends already so why don't you just run along before things turn ugly."

Seeing that he wasn't welcome he sighed dejectedly and turned and walked away. After the boy was out of sight Nathan took his arm from Maxine's shoulders and gave her a smile.

"Sorry about that Maxine. You looked tense so figured I would bail you out."

She regarded him for a second before giving him a small smile back.

"You read it right. I'm not really interested in being his friend. He looks kind of like a nerd."

Nathan was looking at her trying to get read on her. Maxine noted he looked nervous and couldn't help but stare into his eyes trying to figure out why. She noticed him gulp before he sighed and to her it looked like he had solidified his resolve.

"Maxine I was wondering if maybe you might like to go out to diner sometime?"

Maxine was ready for a lot of things but this one she wasn't expecting. She and Nathan had been friends for a long time and she knew that she felt something for him more than simple friends but she didn't know how deep she did feel for him. She looked shocked and her normal mask of indifference was missing right now so Nathan could see the full surprise on her face. He faltered seeing her in a state of shock and he raised his hands up in defeat.

"It's OK Maxine. Maybe I overstepped myself. We can just be friends."

She saw the disappointment in his eyes and as he turned to walk away she reached out and caught his arm.

"Wait. Please."

He turned around to see her still surprised but he saw the shy Maxine that hid bellow that practiced indifference she showed to the public. He stood there a minute as she seamed to be trying to find the right words before she sighed and just decided to wing it.

"Look Nathan. I don't know exactly what I feel for you but I know that I'm not happy just being friends and not knowing so why not?"

At this Nathan gave a big grin like he had just heard the best news in the world. Before he pulled her into a hug which she returned without hesitation.

"Great! So how about this Saturday?"

She pulled her Diary out that acted also as a planner for her to make sure nothing was going on. The date looked clear so she closed it and looked up at him and smiled.

"Alright. Let's do it."

Nathan couldn't help but keep smiling as he walked away from Maxine to his locker to prepare for his next class.

The next few classes went on uneventful until time for the class she was most excited to attend. Photography with the famous Mark Jefferson. She had been waiting since she had received her acceptance letter to meet this man. He was one of her biggest idols. She prepared to be dazzled as she walked in to the classroom and saw a table already occupied by Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney. They waved her over to their table and she sat with them and they chatted for a moment before they heard a male clearing his throat. They turned to the front of the room to see the man himself standing there.

Mark Jefferson was both everything Maxine had been expecting and at the same time everything she wasn't. You could see he had a deep passion for photography and he showed it in the way he taught but at the same time you could see how he believed himself to be above everyone in the room with the way he kept staring people down with a condescending glint in his eyes.

He had been going around the room asking everyone to introduce themselves and show what gear they were working with. He had decided to save Maxine's table for last and had gone around the room with everyone showing off their new digital cameras or slightly dated ones in the case of some of the unprivileged students. He looked at her as she was the only student left that hadn't introduced themselves.

"And finally we come to our last student, Maxine Caulfield. Please introduce yourself."

She stood up, opening her bag in preparation.

"Hello everyone. My name is Maxine Caulfield. I'm at Blackwell on a photography scholarship."

She reached into her bag and pulled out her treasured camera. And lifted it up to the surprise of everyone in the class including her very own teacher Mark Jefferson.

"This is my camera of choice. I's a Polaroid JobPro 600 instant film camera. Most people like digital but I'm more of a physical picture girl preferring to see my pictures physically as soon as I take them."

As she was standing there explaining she hadn't paid her teacher any mind. And when she finally looked up from her camera she was a bit startled to see him standing directly in front of her. He placed his hand outwards in an asking manor. Maxine looked at him for a moment before allowing herself to hand him the camera. He took it and studied it, turning it over and flipping up the flash while checking the lens and the viewfinder. He allowed himself a small smirk before handing it back to her.

"You've taken quite remarkable care of it. Circa 1992. How did it come to be in your possession?"

Maxine was a little shocked at this question since he hadn't asked anyone else about their camera's origins.

"When I was 8 I found it in my family's attic. I loved how it looked so they gave it to me along with what film was left. I've used it exclusively every since."

He looked at her a moment before turning around and returning back to the front of the class bidding her to sit back in her seat. The rest of the class went on with Mr. Jefferson explaining what they would be studying over the year explaining what he expected of them. At the end of the class period he turned to everyone with an expectant look.

"Alright everyone. First assignment. I want each of you to find something that you find a wonder of everyday nature and capture it. This project is due next week. You are dismissed."

At this everyone gathered their things and started making their way to the door. Maxine's group was the last to stand and head for the door.

"Maxine. A word please?"

She turned around at the voice of her teacher with a slightly look of shock. She waved goodbye to her friends before approaching his desk.

"Yes sir?"

He stood up and folded his arms while leaning against the edge of his desk.

"So Maxine, you are here on a photography scholarship. Did you receive that scholarship using that camera?"

"Yes sir. It's the only camera I own. I haven't ever found another I want to use."

"Remarkable. Do you have any of your photos with you?"

At this she looked through her bag before pulling out a few she had taken over the weekend and handing them to him. He looked them over silently and carefully studying and judging them. One was a picture of caterpillar in a tree just starting to cocoon. Another was a picture of s clearing in the near by forests of Arcadia Bay. The last one was a picture of Nathan and Victoria sharing a kind moment and laughing. They looked so happy and carefree in comparison to what they showed everyone outside their social bubble. He handed them back after a few minutes.

"You have a remarkable eye Maxine. Glad to see someone with so much talent in my class. Keep up the work and one day you will be famous with a gift like that."

Maxine couldn't help but blush at the compliment. She had always been a little self conscious about her photography even if she didn't show it to anyone else. And to receive a compliment like that from someone like Mark Jefferson was absolutely amazing to say the least. With having seen what he hoped and saying what he felt he bid her a good day and sat down back at his desk to continue his work. So Maxine put the photos away and proceeded to leave the classroom feeling more confident in her photography skills.

Photography was the last class of the day so Maxine put away her books in her locker and made her way outside to the courtyard. She walked out to see Nathan, Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney sitting under a large tree. She walked over taking a seat between Nathan and Victoria and sighing as she sat down.

"So what did Mr. Jefferson want with you Maxine? Already looking to make you the teacher's pet?"

Victoria always enjoyed teasing her to no end. It was all in good fun but sometimes it took its toll.

"He wanted to see some of my photos. He told me I have a gift."

Victoria just smirked at this knowing full well how good Maxine was at what she did. She always found Maxine's eye for photography amazing to say the least. Even if she would never say it to her.

"Well just wait till he sees mine. You wont be in the spotlight for long Maxine."

Maxine just gave Victoria a small smile which she returned as everyone else started sharing their day.