Chapter 11

"Akko, when you asked the squad for help, I thought you were really making a shitty science experiment again," Amanda said. She caught a glance of a glaring Sucy before muttering an apology. "No offense, it's just Akko's illiterate with chemistry."

"Yeah sure," Sucy said with a cackle, causing the group who heard the conversation notice her almost odd behavior. She ignored them and went about her business.

"But then I come here, seeing that you wanted to do portrait photography with the college's designated Queen Bee," Amanda spoke, thus breaking the awkward silence that was so characteristic of Sucy sometimes.

Diana merely arched a perfect eyebrow at her.

Amanda returned to Akko. "Since when were you interested in humans as subjects?"

Akko scratched her forehead; she already had her DSLR and a hand strap around her wrist. "Uhh... Chariot always said that photos are always more interesting with the human element included."

"Okay," Amanda rolled her eyes but then let it go. "All things considered, how can you take a bad picture with this beautiful location and a gorgeous model?"

"You don't actually believe that I can take a good photo because the location and model are good," Akko argued. "It takes skills and I'm developing that one!"

Amanda contemplated, looking a little annoyed but then accepted the fact that Akko would be hopeless without them. "Okay!" she rubbed her hands together. "Now that we're here, you got everything settled?"

"Yes."

"Uh-huh yeah?" she stared at her in disbelief; she began counting with her fingers. "You got spare batteries, chargers, extra cash, laptop, memory and SD cards?"

"Check, check, check, check, and check!" Akko said. "Foods and drinks in courtesy of Jasminka, toolbox in courtesy of Constanze, if ever I break some cameras or tech. So I have three locations in mind, first is the rose bushes, second our very own decorated tea table, and that huge tree."

Akko referred to the one where she and Diana sheltered from the rain the last time they were here.

Lotte took out a clipboard and a pen from her bag pack. "Okay, now that we are all gathered, I have our schedule and timetable here that Akko and I worked through last night." She began clicking and un-clicking her pen. "It says here, that the first location is the tea party so we have to finish fixing the table first—"

"Umm actually!" Akko interrupted. "I changed my mind."

"What?" Amanda and her group had their mouths wide open.

Akko meekly scratched her cheek before continuing. "The weather right now is good for rose garden location. Lotte, can you switch the schedules?"

"Well," Lotte stared at her clipboard, scratching her head. "I don't see any problem with that. Okay, sure!"

"Alright!" Akko was so overjoyed she nearly jumped even with the camera in her hand, so she just raised her fist.

"Umm, Diana?" Lotte ambled shyly towards her, taking initiative already as the manager. She pushed her glasses up to the bride of her nose. "Is this your outfit for the shoot or are you going to change?"

Diana smiled kindly at her. "I actually do have to change. I got my luggage with me so we have a lot of options."

"That's great!" Lotte clasped her hands together bouncily. "You should get to the dressing room in the RV. Jasminka and I will catch up to see the whole style."

"You have an RV?" she asked.

"Courtesy of me, princess!" Amanda smirked, while Akko started tinkering with the camera's manual settings. "Are you impressed with me now?"

Then the sound of wheels turning and engine revving drew closer as mentioned vehicle appeared in view. Constanze was capably driving the trailer as opposed to Akko's reckless driving.

"Call me princess one more time and you might find me unimpressed at the end of the day." Diana's voice trailed as Jasminka escorted her to the dressing room.

"Oooh burn!" Akko hollered.

Amanda's lips became a thin line of displeasure. She was about to wrestle Akko when she retreated in fear. "No! Not my camera!"

Akko then retreated to scout the area for possible location finds, various new ideas forming as now that the occasion was currently happening. It was a beautiful day too. Though it may not be the golden hour, the sky was compliant. The artistic definition of photography is: painting with light. And that's what Akko's going to do. Use light in her favor. Cloudy skies were best for this works best for pictures because it's going to give her photos a soft but beautiful lightning.

She was thankful that she could so easily detach herself from the environment and let her thoughts carry her wherever they pleased. It helps her get real creative.

After some time, Constanze began moving her hands in the air in front of Akko, causing the latter to knit her brows together.

"Cons wants to know what camera and settings are you going to use." Amanda translated.

"Uhmm..." she faltered, staring at her DSLR. "Wait I know this, Professor Ursula taught me! I'll be using two cameras; a Canon Sigma 35 millimeter 1.4 and the Canon 5d mark 3 with a 1.4 aperture, 5000 for the shutter speed and 500 ISO. I'll hand one to you, okay?"

Constanze nodded as she retrieved the smaller camera.

"Damn you, nerds!" Amanda snickered. "Talk English would you?"

"Akko," Lotte patted her. "In exactly 3 minutes, it will be one in the afternoon."

"Okay good!" Akko made a resounding clap. "The sun is covered by the clouds, despite the time, this is some perfect lighting really! We just need to wait for our model—"

"Akko!" Jasminka called. "What do you think of her now?"

Diana emerged from the trailer. Akko gasped at the sight of her; everyone else had their attention to their model and Akko can't really blame them. Her body was supple and softly glowing from the light.

When Diana's eyes flicked over her, Akko shivered. Her face was glowing; her eyes were the color of oceans and skies. She was beautiful, but it was a fearsome kind of beauty, like the mirrored edge of a finely crafted blade.

A chic red-fitted long sleeved blouse clung to Diana's curves and met a black skirt hugging her waist and thighs. The skirt stopped just above the knee, and below that was a pair of black high-heeled boots that reached all the way up past her calves. There was a golden crown on top of her head with ruby studded jewels that Akko and Lotte found and bought at a thrift shop two weeks ago.

Jasminka added more blush on her cheeks and some purplish-red pigment on the eye sockets but of course kept it pretty natural. She was also wearing a simple gold chain necklace that rests perfectly on her chest and below the center of her collarbone.

"Beautiful," Akko almost blurted out loud. Though after her initial thought, she swore she heard Sucy scoff, making Akko think that she might have blurted that out for real. Lotte completely agreed with her statement though.

"Is this fine?" Diana asked, ambling towards her, avoiding everyone's gazes. Should you want my hair braided," Diana asked, pushing loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "Or have my entire wardrobe change, I don't mind." She was getting real closer towards Akko. Way too close for Akko's sanity.

Akko wasn't aware she wasn't replying. She didn't know she prompted Diana to worry. She was brought back to her senses when she felt something warm and soft at her wrist, and the gentleness of it made her look down. What she found was something she'd never expected to see. It was Diana's hand, reaching down for hers.

How could a haughty girl like—from the duration that Akko has known her— began to constantly reach for her hand. Akko couldn't decide if she could she could be used to it or not. Akko could feel her cheeks and ears getting warmer.

Every time Diana does that, Akko froze. For a moment, it felt like her heart stopped beating. She didn't know what to say or how to react, so she simply didn't move.

And apparently, her lack of reaction meant something entirely different to Diana, because the girl didn't waste a second yanking her hand back and saying a soft, "Sorry."

"No, don't be sorry," Akko said quickly.

Why was she sorry? She was nice and compassionate and tender and… real.

"Ooh la la," Amanda teased in a sing-song way. "Is this?" she began to imply but didn't continue.

"Yes, it is indeed." Andrew grinned, nodding his head.

He and Amanda began to bond with an entirely different scenario in their heads.

"Thank God I'm not the only one!" Amanda playfully punched his shoulder.

"Could you two observe the virtue of silence as Akko has come forth with a decision?" Diana asked, irked by their noise.

She was too gorgeous and elegant for Akko to handle. Akko's cheeks warmed furiously at the sight of her and found her stomach suddenly freaking out. She had to turn to Jasminka to feel less embarrassed.

Jasminka slowly widened her eyes questioningly, revealing the hue of brown that made Akko comprehend the fact that she was asked a million questions and she still hasn't given any answers.

She trusted Jasminka's instincts and eye for detail and beauty before gathering the courage to gaze back at Diana. "You look good either way." She murmured. "But I prefer any style you are comfortable with. Photographs must capture a person's character."

Diana smiled, making Akko want to capture the emotion immediately, but decided against it. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the breathtaking scenery and wanted to savor the blonde's smile.

"Are you two just going stare at each other or what?" Amanda brought her out of her daydreaming.

Diana laughed. There was a nervous quiver in her voice and a new redness in her cheeks, which Akko found to be absolutely adorable.

"Hehe, okay positions everybody!" Akko hoped to do a more professional approach to these fuzzy feelings developing. "Diana, can you stand in between the bushes? There are a lot of roses over there, we can play with the angles and see which light is the best."

Diana nodded then strutted towards the red and white rose bushes. Stopping at the desirable spot with Akko in front of her. Amanda stood beside Akko, carrying a huge white reflector; Constanze was holding the spare camera for she was assigned as the documenter of the whole thing. Jasminka had the make-up kit nearby while Andrew and Lotte and Sucy were was by the pantry and props.

"I see you're not dependent on a tripod for a steady image," Andrew spoke conversantly a few minutes in.

"Are you kidding me?" Akko asked as she peered through the viewfinder. "Tinkering with a tripod to get the best angle is troublesome! It might be good for filming but I just take photos, so a tripod isn't necessary."

Andrew made a satisfied sound as he nodded slowly.

Akko wasn't afraid to take several photos of the same scene at different exposures, angles, or apertures. She started crouching and walking forward and backward on her knees.

"That's some quality pose, Akko!" Amanda leered. "I see a frog."

Akko, who was doing a frog pose, momentarily removed her face from the camera's viewfinder to narrow her eyes at the American, "Taking a photo crouched often make your photos look more interesting! Also, you go closer when taking your photos, rather than zooming in and zooming out because they often turn out better."

"Do we have to have a photography lesson every time we do this, Akko?" Sucy asked.

Akko shrugged, widening her eyes to show the heavy bags under her eyes. "I had to study the basics again for two days straight. My final grades are on the line. And besides, you take some serious measures when you find a good angle."

"I actually find these lessons gratifying." Andrew chimed in.

"Umm," Akko said, her nose scrunching up, making grand gestures as she spoke. "Diana, if you put your hair behind you, you get some really harsh light, so I want you to put your hair over your shoulder to make some shadows cast over your face to make good accents."

Diana nodded, keeping things professionally by avoiding talking and just posing. Akko knew Diana hadn't done any modeling but the way Diana moved as she changed poses for the pictures were ethereal and soft, like being one with nature. It was almost natural to her.

"Diana?" Akko found herself calling her without knowing what to say.

"Yes?"

Akko found herself putting in the spot of awkwardness again. Her cheeks looked like a blush-on was spread on her cheeks. "T-tell me if you get too uncomfortable. We can take a break."

"Of course," Diana smiled, knowingly. "If the model gets too uncomfortable, her tense could reflect on her pose."

Akko gasped. "You get me!"

Her model stared at her mischievously, implying their little secret of Diana's secret hobby, "Definitely."

A/N

Hey guys! I'm back to posting weekly for this story and I'm super excited for the whole duration of this because that's where the fun stuff is. Pardon me when I write about Photography in a technical way, it's because I want to fully share how Akko struggles to become better at it. I will share about Painting stuff too. When you know *wink wink*