Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Max woke up with a knot tied inside her stomach. What the hell am I going to show to Mr. Jefferson?

She had been trying to think of something for the rest of the previous day, but no inspiration had surfaced. She had even attempted to peruse through the pictures she had already taken prior to the assignment, but… did any of them really represent her as an artist? She couldn't tell.

She liked taking selfies for fun – perhaps she could make it a more interesting photograph by including something else in the frame? But Jefferson had said, "Selfie… a dumb name for a wonderful tradition." That surely had to mean he would not appreciate anything like that.

Still, Max had one more day to complete the task, and so she decided to relax for now.

The first Photography Lab was exciting. Mr. Jefferson allowed everyone to use the fancy equipment the school had in store, carefully observing his students at work. Victoria definitely seemed to know what she was doing, she herself already possessed a similar camera. Other students were also more on the digital spectrum of preferred equipment, and so it made Max feel rather intimidated.

'I, uh… I'm not sure how to set it up, Mr. Jefferson,' she looked at him shyly, slight embarrassment painted on her face. 'I'm not used to working with digital cameras.' She heard Victoria's hushed, mocking laughter, and wished to disappear.

Mr. Jefferson approached her, and pointed his finger to the right button. 'Here,' he said softly, his fingertip brushing against her hand only so slightly.

'Oh, I see it now. Thank you, sir,' she said, sending him a coy smile. He nodded, reciprocating the smile, though with confidence, of course.

She then proceeded with taking the shot that he had demanded. She handed him the camera back and was awaiting his evaluation, he carefully studying her photograph.

'Nice sharpness… the frame could be moved a couple of millimeters to the side, but maybe that's just me nitpicking,' he looked back to her, a small smirk on his face. 'Considering you're not too experienced with this type of camera, I would say it is a promising start. Very good, Max.' He sent her a slight smile.

Oh, I knew it. She has a gift, Mark thought, delighted. He was already looking forward to seeing her homework due the next day.

Max exhaled with relief. She was so sure she would bomb this task.

'Thank you, Mr. Jefferson.' She went back to her desk and observed the remaining students at work.

Mr. Jefferson actually liked my photo!

Didn't think I could take a decent picture

with that fancy camera, but I did. Now,

if I could only think of a photograph

that best represents *me*…

that would be great.

Max closed her journal, and laid back on the bed. Think, Caulfield. Something. Anything! Think, she urged herself.

The sun was about to start going down, golden rays piercing through the blinders, forming shadow patterns on the floor. Max was looking at it, and suddenly, she felt her inspiration come.

She stood up from the bed and got a hold of her camera.

Perfect, she thought, grinning to herself.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Anxious, she placed her homework in front of Mr. Jefferson, who was looking at her with a very soft expression, making her heart beat slightly faster.

'Let's see,' Mark said, taking the picture and studying it closely.

There it was – a nice color palette, good angle, sharpness in place. In the photograph, sunshine was forming patterns on the floor, a hint of dust hovering, a fern with exceptionally green leaves, everything on the right side screaming good vibes, but once he looked to the left side, he noticed a girl sitting on a black sofa, her legs pulled up to her chest, face buried in her hands, appearing distraught. The rays did not reach that side of the frame, rendering it darker, sorrowful.

Depression in a nutshell? Hm, perhaps… he pondered. Or… a good day awaiting?

At first, Mark wasn't entirely sure which meaning Max had meant to convey with the photograph. But then he realized – double meaning. That's her style.

'This is… fascinating, Max,' he said, his face in a slight awe. 'You have a gift.'

Max blushed, feeling a rush of heat to her cheeks and chest. He likes it?

'I… Th-thank you, Mr. Jefferson,' she replied, a bit tongue-tied.

'May I keep this?' he requested, holding the polaroid between his index finger and his thumb and shaking it slightly.

'Oh, sure… if you'd like,' she agreed, a coy smile on her face.

'I would like that very much, Max. Thank you,' he sent her a soft look, the corners of his mouth rising.

She only nodded in response, astonished to see him praise her, and went back to take her seat. She had to discretely fan herself – his sight was too much to bear.

Jefferson said, "You have a gift."

And then he asked if he could keep my photo.

My photo!

I think I have to pinch myself real hard.

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