Summary

Max is bunkered at home, and her parents are worried about her. Ryan takes her out.
Max gets her Polaroid... and something else.


2008, two months after moving to Seattle

Fernando: 10.16 AM

Hey Max, awake?

Max: 10.20 AM

Barely, not the best at waking up.

Fernando: 10.20 AM

Kristen is coming to mine this afternoon. Movies, junk food and videogames, got hold of my brother's GTA IV. Join us?

Max: 10.25 AM

No thanks, I'm still behind at class. Need to catch up.

Fernando 10:25 AM

It's S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y u´re not supposed to do homework on Saturdays, nobody does.

Max: 10.32 AM

Next time, promise. Gotta do stuff today. Have fun, say hello to Kristen.

Fernando 10:32 AM

See u on Monday.

- ... -

Fernando: 10.33 AM

Max won´t come. Not a surprise.

Kristen: 10.33 AM

Do u think she doesn't like us?

Fernando: 10.33 AM

Nope. She's nice to us. Not trying to make different friends. Think she's just shy or something.

Kristen: 10.33 AM

Mrs Schell told us she is not doing well with the moving and asked us to help her and be patient.

Kristen: 10.33 Am

There's this thing whenever we ask her for her life and friends in Oregon, she gets all weird and changes the subject right away.

Fernando: 09.34 AM

Said she was not good at making friends, only one friend back there, never talks about her.

Kristen: 09.34 AM

We'll see how she does. Kind of like her. Feel sorry for her also.

Kristen: 09.34 AM

I'll be at yours at 3.00 ish. U sure ur brother won't be?

Fernando: 09.34 AM

Promise.

Kristen: 09.34 AM

Cool, he is soooo creepy.

-…-

Vanessa Caulfield frowned while sipping her coffee "I'm worried, it's been a couple of months and Max is not improving. As far as I can tell, she is getting worse. It's like she doesn't care about anybody or anything".

Her husband shook his head "she wouldn't contact Chloe, she barely talks to us... Not looking good, not at all"

"It's our fault Ryan, we've caused this".

He embraced his dejected wife who was on the verge of weeping "We ran out of options in Arcadia Bay, you had to take the job. Don't blame yourself, all we can do is try to help Max" he said trying to soothe her pain.

"We both know moving was the only choice we had, but that won't make Max feel any better. She's just 13, her world doesn't revolve around unpaid bills and mortgages".

Vanessa released herself from her husband´s embrace and walked towards the kitchen window still with her coffee between her hands. She looked out thoughtfully before she spoke to him again "I still can't get my head around the whole Chloe thing, she barely said goodbye to her... It's a nightmare, it breaks my heart to see her like this, no mother should let her child suffer that much".

Vanessa looked away from the window "Ryan, it's Saturday and surprisingly it's not raining, Max is awake, I've heard that horrible sound of her cell phone. She must be texting her classmates. Why don't you two spend the day out together?. You can go downtown to this shop we talked about, try and take the chance to talk to her".

"Don't you think she might have made plans with her classmates?".

The Caulfields looked at each other and like other couples that had been through the lowest together and had remained strong, words were unnecessary.

Ryan sighed "I'm going upstairs".

He climbed the stairs heavily, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. Once in front of his daughter's room he paused a moment to calm down, trying not to add more drama to the situation. He knocked at the door.

"Hey Pumpkin, are you dressed, may I come in?".

Max got up from the bed and opened the door herself "Come in Dad".

Ryan acknowledged the lack of protest from his daughter. She hated to be called pumpkin claiming she wasn't a child anymore. He stood in the middle of the room while Max returned to her bed.

"We've got a sunny day, with all the mess of the move and finding a job for myself we still haven't had the chance to get to know Seattle properly. I'm here to inform you that this ends today as you and I are going downtown to spend the day together. Get ready, we'll eat something there".

Max scowled before answering her father, "Dad, I really don't feel like it. I have tons of homework and I want to rest a bit, even take a nap. You better go with Mom and I'll stay home".

Ryan smiled at her daughter with the kind of sweet smile that only shows when you are in front of someone you love beyond any circumstance. For the very same reason his words were blunt. "Max, I'm not asking you if you feel like coming or not. I'm telling you" the father corrected himself "no, commanding you, to take a shower, get dressed and go downstairs to have breakfast because we're going downtown".

Ryan's smile was now crossed by sadness veins "there is no way you going to spend the weekend secluded at home like every weekend since we moved".

Max tried to interrupt her father "but I have to catch up ..."

"With the amount of time you have spent catching up you should already be a couple of years ahead the rest of your classmates, You must have done more than enough homework to cover you until you graduate" He turned towards her daughter as he was leaving the room in order to reaffirm his words "you've got 20 minutes. Hurry up".

Ryan and Max took the bus, parking places were scarce and expensive in downtown so they decided against it. From the very first step out of the bus he was amazed at the size and futuristic looks. They walked side by side for over an hour. Ryan couldn't stop remarking to his daughter every single thing that caught his attention, which was practically everything since he had been born and lived all his life in a small town like Arcadia Bay and his economic situation had never allowed them to travel. Max, meanwhile, was unimpressed and replied with monosyllables to her father. It was the first time she personally saw something of this magnitude but she couldn't care less.

No human being can be described with a single word. However there are individuals to whom certain words look like they were custom made to describe them.

Max Caulfield was one of those individuals and her word was small.

A small girl with a small world. And if for some bizarre reason that I don't need to justify in this narrative some higher power would grant her a wish, her choice would be a small request.

But of course we are all complex human beings, and that small request was all that mattered to Max.

At mealtime Ryan chose a small dinner that looked cozy enough. Both Caulfields sat in a table in a corner, away from the noise of other customers. The small girl ordered a big cheeseburger and fries and her father a rip off of the original Canlis Salad which earned a slight eyebrow raising from Max. Father and daughter ate in silence broken only by few words of courtesy. Max was typically engrossed in her own thoughts but she could not help but notice how little her father was eating, she knew that meant only one thing.

The servings were gigantic. Half way through the fries and the burger she was already full, Ryan noticed his daughter had finished eating so he cleared his throat loudly.

It was time. Not for one minute Max had doubted the main reason she was there. She dropped her fork and wiped her mouth with the paper napkin, which was the clue her father was waiting for.

"Look, your mother and I are really worried about you, we need you to talk to us".

She tried to dodge the shot with her usual tactics "I am fine, don't worry, I'm just settling in, I am already feeling better." Max answered in a monotone akin to an answering machine prerecorded message. She didn't looked away from her plate during the whole interchange.

Ryan stirred in his seat, "Look at me Max," he said bluntly.

The daughter looked up in surprise at the hardness of her father's words only to met the look of a determined man.

"You don´t get to bullshit me this way Max, you don´t get to do just what you want, and for sure you don´t get to shut your parents out of your life while we are all living under the same roof".

Neither of them seemed able to speak after that, again the silence prevailed among them.

"Adventures" Ryan said after some minutes.

"Excuse me?" said a surprised Max.

"That was what I wanted to tell you about". Ryan relaxed his shoulders a little.

"When I was a child, younger than you are now, I dreamed of living great adventures. Now it might be difficult to picture me like that but I was not so different from you with your pirate dreams. All children around me were like Peter Pan, looking at adults as incomprehensible people. I promised myself I would never have a boring life, I would be an astronaut, a racing driver, a successful sportsman, every few weeks something different, always exciting. That's were we differed, you always wanted to be a pirate, I wanted to be so many different things".

Ryan paused, his eyes lightened slightly before he continued. "When you start growing up you can take many different paths, you always try to live up to your dreams but life puts you in your place. Responsibilities, bills, family etc. Still you try to live your own adventures even if they are humbler than the ones you imagined as a child. I spent many summers of my youth, just a bit older than you are now, as a volunteer guard in Kilchis Park. We didn't have a paycheck, but they provided food, lodging, and cool volunteer uniforms to spend the summer. There were usually about 20 volunteers every summer, most of whom were recurring. Those summers were great. I learned many things in Kilchis Park. About living outdoors and else...we were a bunch of teenagers without much supervision discovering life. Later on I learned to surf and made big plans about going to Hawaii and Australia but I only managed to travel as far as Short Sands, just a few miles from home. I spent a quite busy summer there. You are not old enough to tell you about that trip, suffice to say my parents forbade me to go next summer.. Those are all great memories. I had a great time in my teens and after, I did many things and I was lucky enough to meet your mother who was even more audacious than I was".

Max interrupted her father at that point, his story had caught her attention which was a major success in itself "Wait, mom was... audacious?".

Ryan looked at her daughter paternally. "Your Mom and I... we were young once, before you came to our lives. Maybe you see as just like Dad and Mom but we had our past. She might be more calmed now, but I can assure you that she was such a blast".

He took a moment before resuming, feeling discreetly relieved by his daughter's reaction. As little as that was, it was more than she had interacted with her parents in two months. "As I was telling you, we dreamed about traveling to faraway places but we couldn't afford it. Money was tight in both our houses, however, with a little imagination and a very good disposition you can have have lots of fun. We loved outdoors life so we did a lot of hiking, we also went camping with friends many times. Granted sometimes we really went with friends but others it was just Mum and me. Our friends covered us just as we covered them. In the late 80's we didn't have Internet or cell phones so it was much easier to fool our parents... Now that I am a father I think we didn't really fooled them. Most likely they did this little trick we parents learn soon enough ... pretend we don´t see".

Ryan smiled as he remembered the memory he was going to share with his daughter. "I've never told you this, but a few weeks before we got married, your mum and I decided to go on a camping trip. Of course we went with "friends", there was no way my future mother-in-law was going to let her go without several chaperons, and remember, I'm talking about weeks before our wedding, you can get a pretty accurate picture of your grandma. We were young and foolish and we were getting married soon, we felt invincible, so we raised our spirits beyond what was advisable. We decided to venture into the less visited part of the forest, our great survival adventure, Ryan and Vanessa against the wild nature... Needless to say, we got lost. After the initial euphoria, we realized the madness we had committed. We were starving, tired and had no way of communicating with our parents or anybody else. I still don't know how I managed to hunt a duck. Skinning and cleaning the duck took us almost an hour so we end up eating it half raw because we were famished. Your mother has not eaten duck since that day. Using some of the skills I had learned in Kilchis Park we managed to find a way out. My skills were not that awesome, as you can tell because we were lost in the first place, we reached civilization a day after our estimated returning date...

Police officers were already at your mother's house, a couple more hours and they would have send rescue patrols.

Your grandparents wanted to cancel the wedding, they were not going to give their daughter away to somebody who put risked her life and lied to them. My own parents intervened and after many negotiations the wedding was not canceled, but, and now comes the funniest part, your mother was grounded until she got married. I actually married a grounded woman. When I came down from the altar I stand in front of your grandma and as earnestly as I could, I told her that your mother was already a married woman so she wasn't subjected to her rules anymore and we were leaving for our honeymoon after the wedding party. We kept our destination secret until the last moment, when the reception was ending we gathered our four parents and announced we were leaving for a camping trip... to the same forest we got lost".

The big man chuckled mischievously "I will never forget the look in their faces when we told them, specially your mother's mother, I still get shivers down my spine when I remember that face. Shivers and a good laugh, that's it. We had a great time on our honeymoon, and this second time we were prepared for any contingency. No need for hunting".

Ryan's smile disappeared suddenly, he frowned struggling to find the proper way to his daughter. "I have experienced many adventures, some bigger some smaller but I have enjoyed each and everyone of them. I do have a very different life that the one I imagined when I was younger but I would dare to say that I had a great time and I wouldn't change a thing...But there is something you should know about me... Regardless of everything I've done in this life and even if I had achieved everything I dreamed of as a child... the best thing that has ever happened to me is being your father.

Each newborn is a blank sheet, all chances lie in front of him, he can be anything that he decides to be. I have held you in my arms right out of your mother's womb and I have seen you become the person you are now, and that, Max... that has been the true adventure of my life, the one I continue to enjoy every day. You have given meaning to my life in a way that you won't understand until you become a mother yourself.

But being a parent doesn't come with a handbook. There is no switch that goes on once you have a child and magically provides wisdom. You have forced me to try to be the best version of myself but the sad truth is that many times I did wrong and it was a matter of trial and error.

Max you are the best part of my life and yet the amazing gift that you are comes with a terrible curse. I can't protect you from everything, no one has that power. Life is not meant to be lived without any pain and you have to experience it at one point. I accept that and only hope for it to be as little as possible. I have seen you suffer and been hurt many times, and every time...every damn time I have suffered with you and wished I could take that pain from you.

I'm your father, it's only logical that you see me as the wisest person in the world but sometimes I am clueless and... it's me who hurts you even if it's unintentionally.

That is the worst burden I can carry.

May your pain be my fault.

That's my curse".

Ryan wiped the tears from his eyes trying to maintain a calm attitude although inwardly he was terrified. Ryan and Vanessa had made the choice they thought was right for their family. From the very first moment they knew that it wouldn't be easy for their daughter, but they couldn't imagine the current situation. As much as they knew Max, they had thought of her as an ordinary 13 year old girl. But she was their own daughter, the same girl who had clung to a worn out teddy bear since she was 2 years old. They realized too late that as parents they had made an unforgivable mistake. Moving to Seattle was no mistake -economically they had no choice- but they failed to foresee how deeply it would hurt their daughter.

Max and Chloe, inseparable, impossible to picture one without the other. All the clues were there, in front of them.

Ryan had to make a great effort not to get up and run, such was the shame he felt in front of his barely teen daughter. He took a few seconds to pull himself together.

Max tried to speak but failed miserably, "I just ... I ... I can't" and that's all she could say before the knot in her throat became unbearable.

Ryan got up and hugged his daughter, tightly holding her, "It's okay, I'm here, your mom and I, we're here for you, we'll take care of you".

The small girl took refuge in her father's arms and for a tiny fraction of time she believed that everything was going to be fine, that she was going to be fine.

Ryan gently parted his daughter and rested his huge hands on her shoulders. "You know you can speak to us, we'll sort things out, we can arrange for you to visit Arcadia Bay on holidays and some weekends. We also have a guest room in case you want Chloe to come over".

Max looked at his father, an infinite sadness in her eyes. Once again silence was the only answer she could offer.

Ryan felt his daughter was closing again again and there was something he still wanted to tell her before it was too late. "I know things have been really hard on you, we moved and everything is new for you, you left a life in Arcadia Bay..people ... but life goes on, you have to go on".

Ryan sighed, "Max, you're 13 years old. I've also been 13 years old, I can imagine how you feel right now and the only advice I can give you is that time changes everything. You are very young and I understand you won't see it that way, your life has changed and nothing makes sense, but step by step you'll feel better. What you consider right now as truly important, will lose it's sense with time. You will live new experiences, new adventures and the concept of what really matters will change for you as it has happened to us all.

It´s cruel, I won't lie to you. There will come a time in your life in which you will find yourself hurt and at the same time you'll be aware that the pain you are suffering will ease with time and after enough time you won't care anymore for what caused that pain. That maturation is painful in itself, and cynical, because when something matters to you at any given moment you don't want it to just fade away with time even if it's hurting you. A small part of you will die every time something you care about stops being meaningful. You will remember how you suffered for something that doesn't matter to you anymore and that same memory will hurt you.

With time you will have many other issues to care about and you won't be stuck grieving for the same old ones.…Look Max, I am not saying that you will totally forget or don't care about anything. You will move on and look at those old stories with different eyes. And that applies to everything… or everyone, meeting new people doesn't mean forgetting or not caring about others, it just means that you are moving on".

"Right now I don't even know how I feel or if I feel anything at all" Max rubbed her nose. "Dad, do things really change so much?".

Ryan answered, trying to convince his daughter, "they do sweetie, they do" He would never recognize it but his words were meant to convince himself as well.

He gave her a moment before he changed his tone using a more authoritarian voice "I've already told you everything I wanted to. Now I want you to commit with us, your well being is our only priority but we need you to do your part. Your mother and I have spoken and we want you to speak with a counselor".

Max horrified, interrupted her father "Dad, I don't need ..."

Ryan in turn interrupted his daughter raising his voice and causing some heads to turn "We are not negotiating. We will find someone with whom you feel comfortable, at least for a few months until we consider that you are doing better. This same Monday we are talking to principal Schnell".

Max took a few moments before nodding her head with submission seeing no way out.

"There is more" her father continued "I want you to choose an activity for us to do together, you and me. It can be anything but I want us to do something together. I won't let you spend your weekends bunkered at home. If you don't want to go out with friends at least you will go out with me. Think about it and tell me but don't take too long. Also, as soon as your Mum catches up at work, we will go out together as a family. Sometimes it will be you with me or mum, sometimes all of us, but you are getting out of home".

Max nodded again, which was reciprocated with a slight nod of her father's head.

"The commitment is also ours. I know that what I ask for is not easy, so you have to tell us what Mum and I can do to make you feel better. We are a family and we have to work together".

The little girl looked at her father with an indescribable expression "I know what I want from you both".

"You can take your time, you don't need to tell me right now, it's a very important matter and you don't need to rush".

"I already know" she said "I don't want you to mention Chloe in my presence anymore. Don't ask me if I have spoken to her or if I know anything about her. Nothing. Chloe is never to be mentioned again in my presence and if in the future I'm able to make new friends I don't want you to mention her it in front of them".

Max let her words float in the air for a while "That's all I want".

Ryan looked at his little daughter unable to assimilate what she had just said "You..you really can't ... that's not right .. she was .." he stuttered.

Max cut off her father "Do not mention Chloe ever again ... starting right now. That's all I ask from you".

Something broke inside Ryan Caulfield. He carefully evaluated his daughter's words. If he refused her request all his words would be meaningless. What kind of commitment could he ask from his daughter if he himself was unable to fulfill his part of the bargain.

Once again in his life he willingly decided to make a choice that he knew would be painful. "It's what Max wants, even if it's wrong, that's what she wants." Ryan mentally repeated those words as a mantra until he was able to articulate an answer.

"Starting right now ... OK. I'll tell your mother tonight. We've got a deal and we will fulfill our part, but I want you to know that you are seriously wrong about this".

Max gave her father her signature answer, silence, only this time she shrugged as the only visible reaction to her father's words.

He got up from his chair and loomed over Max, he took a look at her unfinished food. Ryan was a serious eater but the knot in his stomach prevented him for eating anything else. He knew later his belly would protest, but it was getting late and there was some place he wanted to show his daughter.

Max was all that mattered to him.

"We're done here, let's go, there is this store I want us to go.. you might like it".

Father and daughter left the dinner. Ryan led his daughter across downtown stopping a couple of times to check directions in his cell phone. After some half an hour stroll they came to a medium-sized store whose windows were filled with cameras and other photographic equipment.

"We're here" Ryan said proudly "Your mother and I know how much you love photography and we are buying you a new camera. We are not so short on money anymore and we wanted to get you something that you liked".

Max eyed the shop window eagerly, amazed at the amount of material on display.

"There is no store like this in Arcadia Bay, Dad".

"We googled it. You are about to enter what is considered the best specialized store in the whole Seattle area".

Ryan hesitated "We thought a lot about what getting you. We wanted to make it count...you know, with everything that has been going on, we wanted not just a gift but something you could use and it could, I don't know, maybe help you..not moving on but getting you interested again in anything...setting you in motion…OK, I'm not making any sense".

Ryan stopped trying to choose the right words "Look, we miss the old Max, the one who was so passionate about many things. You haven't taken a single picture since we moved, we thought it would be good for you to start shooting again".

Max approached her father and took his hands in hers giving them a slight squeeze before letting them go. She muttered a mere thank you.

"So let's go inside, and remember, we are not so tight on money now but that doesn't make us rich. Choose whatever camera you like but don't make me ask for a mortgage for it".

"Not bankrupting the family. I get it".

The store lived up to what his Internet fame promised. Dozens of cameras of all types and photographic material crammed the space from floor to ceiling. Behind the counter a man in his early forties, the living image of what a hipster photographer should be, was busy inspecting what appeared to be highly specialized magazines.

"Good afternoon, we are looking for a camera for my daughter, and we would like you to help us find one that suits her needs, please".

"Good afternoon" he raised his gaze from his magazine and looked at Max "what's your name, please?".

"Max," she said without wasting any unnecessary words.

"Ok Max, my name is Jeff. Let's see, it's for your birthday or some other type of celebration".

"No" her father replied, "she's very fond of photography and we just wanted to get her a camera so she could go on with it".

"I see... you should be looking into the low tier of the intermediate cameras, that should make it. Use if for a few years get the hold of it, practice a lot and then transition to a better camera. The displays on the far left have many models, go over there and tell me what you like". He paused and looked straight at Ryan before lowering his voice "those also have moderate prices".

The big man silently nodded in appreciation

Without further consideration Max went towards the designated area. She spent a good fifteen minutes looking at the cameras exposed, picking up a couple of them only to leave them in their places shortly after. She then moved further into the store. Her father leaned over and watched her walk across the different shelves, lightly touching the exposed machines with her fingertips, her gaze lost, until something out of Ryan's sight seemed to catch his daughter's attention.

The little girl returned to the counter with a camera in her hands. Max handed the camera to Jeff who in return looked at her surprised and shaking his head "A vintage 600 Series Polaroid? are you sure?".

"Yes," Max gave as her only answer.

"Look, I am one of the co-owners of this store, and both my other partner and all of our employees are first and foremost photo enthusiasts. You can go to your Walmart or Target and they will sell you any camera you choose, but in this store we try to sell with a minimum of common sense, that's where our credit comes from. You have chosen an instant camera, it's very difficult to make good pictures with this type of camera, it's intended for a.. let's say more casual approach to photography. What you shot is what you get, there is no room for editing the pictures. If you are not a really skilled photographer this camera will bring you anything but frustration, plus instant film is expensive and not that easy to find".

Max looked at the owner blankly and reiterated" I like this one".

He, in turn, looked at Ryan "seems like your daughter has very clear ideas".

The big man shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Look, Max, let's do one thing, I don't want you to loose your passion because of a poor camera choice. We have some time before pike hours start, I can devote some time to you. In the back room I have a Polaroid very similar to the one you have chosen. You take that camera, go outside and shot a couple pictures, bring them to me and I'll explain to you why the Polaroid is a bad choice. Then I will help you to choose a camera that you can use and I'm giving you a 10% discount on it just to show you I really want to help. Agreed?".

Max nodded.

The owner went to the back room returning immediately with a very similar camera except this one looked extensively used. "Here, get outside and bring me a couple pictures, don't go too far, we'll be right here waiting for you".

She took the camera inspecting it with interest, after a brief moment she did a 180 and headed towards the door without a word. Before leaving, she stood in front of the door and did something really strange to the eyes that were beholding her. Max turned again and walked over to the displays showing the cameras she was supposed to buy. Once there, she apparently looked for a specific spot until she seemed satisfied enough, she lifted the camera and turn the objective towards herself, made a couple adjustments to her posture and shot.

"The picture" Max said to the owner, handing both the camera and the photo.

Jeff dropped the camera to one side of the counter and took the picture without looking away from the little girl, after a few moments, he focused on the photo. The photographer examined the Polaroid for a long time with an indecipherable expression, when he finally spoke, he addressed the teen "How old are you Max?".

"She's 13," Ryan gunned nervously, unsure whether it was apologetic or he was supposed to be proud.

"Well," said the owner thoughtfully his eyes always fixed in the photo. "I'm not going to lie to you, this picture has several technical mistakes, some quite obvious... anyways, technique can be learned... Why this picture Max? What made you think that would make a good picture?".

"I don't know... I was about to leave, thinking about what to shoot and the idea just popped in my head.. once I made the shot and looked at it and I knew that was what I wanted, no need for another one, that was it".

"As I said this photo has flaws, many... but the way you choose the subject, the composition.. there is something about it that tells me that with a lot or work there is a photographer in you". He raised his head "I'm going to sell you the Polaroid. If that's the way you want to express yourself, so be it. As I said you'll need a lot of hard work to improve your skills, but the talent, you either have it or you don't .. and I am pretty sure you have it".

The photographer then smiled broadly at Ryan before adding "besides, I'm going to make you a 15 percent discount because something tells me that I'll see you around here buying instant film many times".

Ryan smiled back, feeling relieved for the first time in the day. He asked his daughter, "Between the discount and the Polaroid being a somehow cheap camera we are running under budget, is there anything else you would like?".

Max looked at Jeff who at once understood the little girl was asking for his advice.

"I think I have the perfect accessory for our young photographer" He came out from behind the counter and went to the far side of the store. He returned after a few minutes, holding a messenger bag.

"You would look really cool with one of these" said the owner flashing a triumphant smile in his face.

Max inspected the bag "I don't care about cool, but it looks comfy and useful". She tried it on and nodded at both her father and Jeff approvingly.

Once everything was packed and paid, Ryan and Max thanked the owner saying goodbye with the promise of returning sooner than later. When they were about to leave the store the photographer shouted "Max, wait, just one question. Why the Polaroid?, it's still a difficult camera".

Max turned around. "It's not really about the camera. I don't care that much about instant pictures. Someone gave me my first lessons in photography with a Polaroid... it brings me back good memories".


Notes

Finally a new chapter.
Took like ages, but I managed to get a chapter that is longer than the previous two combined.
I tried to split the chapter so I get the updates rolling, but I couldn't, I think it makes more sense this way.I am committed to the story and all is planned, just summer holidays are really busy for me. New updates will be faster, probably shorter chapters also, except for one.
I'm not really experienced in 13 year old US text jargon, so if it's pathetic just tell me.
A few prompts.
The use of the word adventures, is from the movie Up, from Pixar.
The way Ryan explains what is like to be a father, well, go figure
Any further questions or clarifications, you can add a comment or hit me in twitter.