TIDUS
It's late when I come home. I never come home right after school like most people do. For me, opening the door and walking into our tiny apartment that smells like cigarettes and cheap cologne is one of the worst parts of the day.
Thankfully, Jecht's not around. He went out of town for a couple of days to watch the Luca blitzball tournament. I have the most disturbing image of him, staggering around the bleachers, drunk as hell and hitting on anything with boobs, shouting at the athletes that they were 'nothing compared to him'.
There are some days when I like being alone. Being with the gang is great and all, but it's rare for me to have the apartment to myself. So, I enjoy it as much as I can for the time I have it.
Dumping my bag on the floor by the door, I go into the kitchen to find some beer in the fridge, somehow untouched. Must be a new supply.
I sit down to watch TV, only to find out that my old man 'forgot' to pay the cable bill again. Bastard.
Instead, I go to my room and slump down on my floor mattress, staring out the window. My room is full of grey. Grey carpet, grey blanket, grey walls, grey ceiling . . . even the view is of a grey street outside. My window is the only one in the house that leads to the fire escape. The only things I own with any colour are clothes, which are stuffed carelessly into my closet. The only furniture aside from my bed is a CD player and a small desk that I use when I'm drawing.
Speaking of which . . .
I pull out my sketchbook from under my pillow and go to my desk, a fresh idea in mind.
Before long, I begin to see a trace of Yuna staring back at me from the paper. My pencil moves quickly, scratching out every small detail I can think of. Her eyes begin to take shape, and then her hair. I define her nose and mouth properly, and then her ear. I pose her with her hand near her face, supporting her chin as if she's deep in thought about something.
Not that I'm some kind of horny stalker. I have sketches of all my friends, not just any random girl I meet. And no matter what anybody thinks, I do not draw naked women. I do have a bit more creativity than that.
For the first time I find myself wishing I had pencil crayons to colour in something. I want to show Yuna's different eye colours, but at the moment I have none. Instead, I shade in one eye darker for the blue, and shade in the other one lightly for the green. Overall, the effect seems to work.
I don't know how good I am as an artist. I never show my work to anyone, not even the gang, so I've never had any criticism. I guess I'm kinda embarrassed about this whole side of me. It seems kind soft, you know? I don't think I'm all that bad, but I'm too much of a pussy to show anything to other people.
But . . . a part of me wants Yuna to see it. Would she like it? Would she think I'm a wimp? For some stupid reason I want to know what she would think. I shouldn't care, but goddamnit, I do! Why? Why her?
Some time later I put the sketchbook away and sit at my desk, staring at the wall blankly. What to do, now that I've scratched that creative itch? I guess I could call one of the gang and-
The phone rings.
When I answer it in the kitchen, I am expecting it to be Wakka or Lulu or someone.
"Hello, Tidus?"
"Yuna," I stammer, caught of guard. "How did you get my number?"
"I looked you up in the phone book. Didn't you know you were listed?"
"No, actually," I admit truthfully. Well, at least my boredom's gone. "So, what's up?"
"Not much, really. I was just thinking we should plan when to work on our Art project, and at whose house."
I am about to tell her patiently that we shouldn't force the inspiration for the third time, when I realize what she just said. We would be meeting outside of school, in her house or mine. Now that is a plan I cannot argue with.
"Okay," I say casually, leaning against the wall and taking another sip of beer. "How about we go straight to my place tomorrow after school? It'll be Friday, so we can stay up organizing everything."
"Sounds great!" she says, with a smile in her voice. Oh, damn her power to make me smile back.
"Okay. Meet me at my locker after school and we'll walk back together."
"I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll bring the camera."
"Great. See ya."
All throughout the next day, I am distracted with thoughts of Yuna coming over to my place. It's a relief to know that Jecht won't be home for at least another two or three days, give or take a day he needs to deal with a severe hangover. All I can imagine is the idea of Yuna sitting on my bed, or possibly lying down, and me with a camera in hand . . .
At lunch, Yuna finally catches up with us. She spent the break hanging out with Dona and her little bitch clique, which, even though it pisses me off, at least doesn't seem to be doing any harm.
Yuna hurries over to my locker, where everyone's gathered waiting for me to get my stuff.
"Hey guys!" she says cheerfully, hugging her books to her chest. She's wearing a plain white tank top under a black wool button-up sweater, and a knee-length brown khaki skirt.
We greet her with our usual nods and salutes. Then her eyes fall to Paine, who has been unusually quiet all day. Too quiet, even for Paine.
"So, Paine, how did your talk with Baralai go?" Yuna asks in a friendly voice. Paine shoots her an alarmed look, and the rest of us stare at her in shock.
"You talked to Baralai?"
"When?"
"What happened?"
"What did he say?"
"Did you bang him?"
"Nice going, Princess," Paine snaps at Yuna, who looks confused. And then when she realizes what she's done, she looks horrified. She puts a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, Paine, I'm so sorry! I . . . they're your best friends, I thought you would have told them!"
"Obviously not," Paine growls back. Once again we shower her with questions. I've never seen her blush that deeply, looking around nervously in case someone overhears us.
"All right, all right!" she says finally, gesturing for us to be quiet. "I'll tell you if you all shut your mouths. Baralai came up to me yesterday and wanted to talk. So, I walked with him out behind the gymnasium, where it was quiet. Anyway, he started talking about how close we used to be, and how he missed me a lot. He says he's been trying to leave Nooj's gang, but he's afraid they'll punish him for it. And then he . . ."
"What?" we all demand at the same time. She flinches at the loudness of our voices and hisses at us to shut up again.
"He . . . kissed me, okay?"
At the exact same moment, Rikku and Wakka swoop in and give her a two-way hug, while Lulu just stares at her twin in amazement. Gippal grins at Paine and forces her to give him a high five. I stare at her and shake my head, smiling from ear to ear.
"Aww, our little tomboy is all grown up," I say teasingly.
"Soon she'll start fixing her hair," Gippal says dramatically.
"And then she'll be wearing makeup!" Rikku chimes in, clapping her hands.
"And then short little skirts-"
"NO!" Paine cuts in, refusing to let Lulu finish that sentence. "Anything but the skirts."
We all laugh at her, and slowly I see her smile back, shy, but obviously happy.
"Good for you, Paine," Yuna cuts in, sounding almost timid after pissing her off. Paine gives her a quick nod of thanks, signalling that everything's okay between them.
"So, you're like his girl now?" Wakka asks, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. Paine just shrugs.
"I guess so . . . but if he turns into a possessive asshole, I'm going to shove a knife through his balls," she says, narrowing her burgundy eyes. The guys wince at her words and clutch at their groins protectively, making the girls laugh.
By the time school ends, I have returned to my more relaxed self. No more 'giddiness' over a girl coming to my place. Hell, we might not even do anything aside from working on the stupid project.
I watch Yuna approach my locker, with a very full-looking backpack.
"What's in the bag?" I ask as we walk out the front door together. The gang decided to ditch the last block and head down to the park for some fun. I stayed behind to wait for Yuna, even though a small part of me wants to go and stir up some trouble downtown.
"You'll see," she says with a mysterious smile. I am suddenly very eager to get back to my place.
As we cross into my end of town, a man with a pad of notepaper and a pen suddenly jumps out of a car and comes running down the sidewalk towards us. I freeze and stare at him, and Yuna sighs heavily.
"Miss Yuna! Miss Yuna, mind if I get an interview? Who's this young gentleman you're with? Where're ya headed?" the guy asks, pen held at the ready. His face is tense with excitement at seeing her. Yuna smiles thinly at him and sidesteps by.
"Thanks, but I have to run. I'm sorry sir," she says apologetically, hurrying away from him. She drags me roughly me by the arm until we are out of sight.
Wisely I decide not to say anything about it.
I can't help but notice that she keeps moving closer to me the further we get into the rough neighbourhoods. Somewhere close by we hear gunshots, and Yuna jumps in a panic, but by now gunshots are so familiar on the ears I barely pay any attention to them. All I have to do is listen to see if the sounds come any closer.
"Don't worry," I tell her confidently. "It's probably just some gang popping a thug who owed them money. They won't be out to hurt anyone for fun tonight."
"It must be hard living here," Yuna says sympathetically, still glancing over her shoulder nervously.
"I don't know any other life. Can't really complain about this one," I say carelessly. "I can imagine your place, though. Big ass castle, big ass lawns, a hundred servants, gourmet meals day and night, chauffeurs, crystal chandeliers-"
"Shut up," she says, punching my arm playfully. "It's not quite like that. We only have one paid servant, and the other's like a member of the family. I've known them both for so long I can't imagine having anyone else in the house with me and my father."
"So, your dad's not too picky with the help, huh?"
"Not really. He doesn't spend a lot of time out of his room anyway, except to go around cities and give speeches about Sin," she says with a shrug. I detect with sudden interest that her eyes are sad as she says this.
"This is my place," I say, gesturing to the apartment building ahead. I watch her reaction carefully. It is a rundown building, but it's in better shape than most of the others on the block. She nods politely and smiles at me, but I can see her inwardly bracing herself for a catastrophe.
Our elevator is always broken, so I have to take Yuna up the four flights of stairs. She doesn't complain, but I can see that she is taking note of everything she sees, from the cracks in the wall to the water stains in the ceiling. A cockroach runs across the hallway and she bites her lip to keep from making a startled sound. I almost hope we find a rat, just to see the look on her face.
"Are your parents home?" she asks as I unlock the door and step aside to let her walk in. I pause slightly.
"My dad's out of town right now," I say finally, assuming that she will let it drop. Not what she had in mind, I guess.
"What about your mother?"
I lead her further into the house, pretending I didn't hear her. I don't want her to start feeling all sorry for me when I tell her my mom was gang raped and murdered when I was ten. No need for sympathy. I'm taking care of myself fine, even if I have a good-for-nothing dad to deal with.
Thankfully she doesn't ask again. Maybe she knows I don't want to say anything.
"So, does your bodyguard know you're here?" I ask instead, going to the kitchen to look for something to eat. She fidgets uncomfortably.
"Actually, he . . . they think I'm still at the school, helping one of the teachers. I told them I could be a few hours or more," she mutters guiltily. I stare at her in awe.
"Why, Yuna Ressan!" I say with a pleased smile. "Didn't know you had it in you. Good cover story, though."
"Hey, I can be bad too!" she says with an indignant frown. I just laugh at her and offer her a beer. She hesitates, and then shakes her head.
"Can I have some water instead?" she asks politely. I wince.
"Not sure that's a good idea," I say, running the tap for her to see. The water looks . . . questionable, to say the least. "How about some light cider? My dad keeps a bunch in stock for when he's entertaining his . . . lady friends."
"Okay," she says, looking somewhat relieved.
"So, what's in the bag?" I ask again, after taking her to my room. I can't help but notice how unbothered she seems coming into my bedroom with no one else in the house. It's as if she's too innocent to think that anything could happen in here.
She is sitting on the edge of my bed, too. I resist the urge to join her and pull up a chair from my desk instead.
"This, my friend, is the latest in digital photographic technology," she says proudly, pulling the mystery object out of her back pack. It's a shiny metal sphere the size of a blitzball with a lens sticking out on one side. It even has a few light bulbs and light screens hanging out around the lens to create better lighting.
"Wow," I say, staring at it in her hands. "Looks kinda . . . bulky. Aren't new cameras supposed to be small and light?"
"Well, it isn't heavy, and I guess it could come in a smaller size, but it's very convenient. It hovers on its own, you see," she explains, flicking a small switch on one side. Suddenly she lets go of it, and it lifts in the air, rotating slightly as if looking around its new surroundings. There's a small screen on the side.
"Shit," I whisper, watching as it hovers close to my face.
"I can get it to take a picture of whatever I want when I want," Yuna tells me, sounding like a kid showing off a new toy. "Like this: Camera!"
At the command, the floating camera suddenly whirls around to face Yuna like a soldier waiting for an order.
She arranges herself into a random pose, leaning back on her elbows and crossing her legs. I swallow slightly, my eyes fixed on her legs as her skirt rides up slightly. Her tank top shifts too, exposing a bit of her stomach. She has a nicer body than I expected.
"Camera, take shot," Yuna commands. The camera waits three seconds for Yuna to prepare herself, and then I hear the click and see the flash. She sits up and grins at me, showing me the screen on the back of the orb. There is the picture, freshly taken of her in black and white film.
"You try," she says encouragingly. "It's full of sensors, it'll obey your command. You can change it from black and white photos to colour pictures."
"Camera!" I say sharply. It spins around to face me. "Take shot!"
I fold my arms and stare at it with the sexiest expression I can pull, ignoring the bright flash of light. I check the screen on the back, and there is the picture. Damn I look good. Yuna laughs. Then she gets up and turns the camera around to face the window.
"Take shot," she says, flicking the switch back to manual. It clicks and flashes again, preserving the image of the dirty street beneath us.
"So, now that we know how to work the camera, what shall we take pictures of?" she asks me. I stare at her for a minute, wracking my brains for ideas in spite of my own advice to her.
And then it hits me. The most brilliant idea I've ever had in my life.
I smile at her, my 'winning' grin that Rikku says no woman can resist.
"Ever modelled before?"
It's late when I come home. I never come home right after school like most people do. For me, opening the door and walking into our tiny apartment that smells like cigarettes and cheap cologne is one of the worst parts of the day.
Thankfully, Jecht's not around. He went out of town for a couple of days to watch the Luca blitzball tournament. I have the most disturbing image of him, staggering around the bleachers, drunk as hell and hitting on anything with boobs, shouting at the athletes that they were 'nothing compared to him'.
There are some days when I like being alone. Being with the gang is great and all, but it's rare for me to have the apartment to myself. So, I enjoy it as much as I can for the time I have it.
Dumping my bag on the floor by the door, I go into the kitchen to find some beer in the fridge, somehow untouched. Must be a new supply.
I sit down to watch TV, only to find out that my old man 'forgot' to pay the cable bill again. Bastard.
Instead, I go to my room and slump down on my floor mattress, staring out the window. My room is full of grey. Grey carpet, grey blanket, grey walls, grey ceiling . . . even the view is of a grey street outside. My window is the only one in the house that leads to the fire escape. The only things I own with any colour are clothes, which are stuffed carelessly into my closet. The only furniture aside from my bed is a CD player and a small desk that I use when I'm drawing.
Speaking of which . . .
I pull out my sketchbook from under my pillow and go to my desk, a fresh idea in mind.
Before long, I begin to see a trace of Yuna staring back at me from the paper. My pencil moves quickly, scratching out every small detail I can think of. Her eyes begin to take shape, and then her hair. I define her nose and mouth properly, and then her ear. I pose her with her hand near her face, supporting her chin as if she's deep in thought about something.
Not that I'm some kind of horny stalker. I have sketches of all my friends, not just any random girl I meet. And no matter what anybody thinks, I do not draw naked women. I do have a bit more creativity than that.
For the first time I find myself wishing I had pencil crayons to colour in something. I want to show Yuna's different eye colours, but at the moment I have none. Instead, I shade in one eye darker for the blue, and shade in the other one lightly for the green. Overall, the effect seems to work.
I don't know how good I am as an artist. I never show my work to anyone, not even the gang, so I've never had any criticism. I guess I'm kinda embarrassed about this whole side of me. It seems kind soft, you know? I don't think I'm all that bad, but I'm too much of a pussy to show anything to other people.
But . . . a part of me wants Yuna to see it. Would she like it? Would she think I'm a wimp? For some stupid reason I want to know what she would think. I shouldn't care, but goddamnit, I do! Why? Why her?
Some time later I put the sketchbook away and sit at my desk, staring at the wall blankly. What to do, now that I've scratched that creative itch? I guess I could call one of the gang and-
The phone rings.
When I answer it in the kitchen, I am expecting it to be Wakka or Lulu or someone.
"Hello, Tidus?"
"Yuna," I stammer, caught of guard. "How did you get my number?"
"I looked you up in the phone book. Didn't you know you were listed?"
"No, actually," I admit truthfully. Well, at least my boredom's gone. "So, what's up?"
"Not much, really. I was just thinking we should plan when to work on our Art project, and at whose house."
I am about to tell her patiently that we shouldn't force the inspiration for the third time, when I realize what she just said. We would be meeting outside of school, in her house or mine. Now that is a plan I cannot argue with.
"Okay," I say casually, leaning against the wall and taking another sip of beer. "How about we go straight to my place tomorrow after school? It'll be Friday, so we can stay up organizing everything."
"Sounds great!" she says, with a smile in her voice. Oh, damn her power to make me smile back.
"Okay. Meet me at my locker after school and we'll walk back together."
"I'll see you tomorrow. And I'll bring the camera."
"Great. See ya."
All throughout the next day, I am distracted with thoughts of Yuna coming over to my place. It's a relief to know that Jecht won't be home for at least another two or three days, give or take a day he needs to deal with a severe hangover. All I can imagine is the idea of Yuna sitting on my bed, or possibly lying down, and me with a camera in hand . . .
At lunch, Yuna finally catches up with us. She spent the break hanging out with Dona and her little bitch clique, which, even though it pisses me off, at least doesn't seem to be doing any harm.
Yuna hurries over to my locker, where everyone's gathered waiting for me to get my stuff.
"Hey guys!" she says cheerfully, hugging her books to her chest. She's wearing a plain white tank top under a black wool button-up sweater, and a knee-length brown khaki skirt.
We greet her with our usual nods and salutes. Then her eyes fall to Paine, who has been unusually quiet all day. Too quiet, even for Paine.
"So, Paine, how did your talk with Baralai go?" Yuna asks in a friendly voice. Paine shoots her an alarmed look, and the rest of us stare at her in shock.
"You talked to Baralai?"
"When?"
"What happened?"
"What did he say?"
"Did you bang him?"
"Nice going, Princess," Paine snaps at Yuna, who looks confused. And then when she realizes what she's done, she looks horrified. She puts a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, Paine, I'm so sorry! I . . . they're your best friends, I thought you would have told them!"
"Obviously not," Paine growls back. Once again we shower her with questions. I've never seen her blush that deeply, looking around nervously in case someone overhears us.
"All right, all right!" she says finally, gesturing for us to be quiet. "I'll tell you if you all shut your mouths. Baralai came up to me yesterday and wanted to talk. So, I walked with him out behind the gymnasium, where it was quiet. Anyway, he started talking about how close we used to be, and how he missed me a lot. He says he's been trying to leave Nooj's gang, but he's afraid they'll punish him for it. And then he . . ."
"What?" we all demand at the same time. She flinches at the loudness of our voices and hisses at us to shut up again.
"He . . . kissed me, okay?"
At the exact same moment, Rikku and Wakka swoop in and give her a two-way hug, while Lulu just stares at her twin in amazement. Gippal grins at Paine and forces her to give him a high five. I stare at her and shake my head, smiling from ear to ear.
"Aww, our little tomboy is all grown up," I say teasingly.
"Soon she'll start fixing her hair," Gippal says dramatically.
"And then she'll be wearing makeup!" Rikku chimes in, clapping her hands.
"And then short little skirts-"
"NO!" Paine cuts in, refusing to let Lulu finish that sentence. "Anything but the skirts."
We all laugh at her, and slowly I see her smile back, shy, but obviously happy.
"Good for you, Paine," Yuna cuts in, sounding almost timid after pissing her off. Paine gives her a quick nod of thanks, signalling that everything's okay between them.
"So, you're like his girl now?" Wakka asks, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. Paine just shrugs.
"I guess so . . . but if he turns into a possessive asshole, I'm going to shove a knife through his balls," she says, narrowing her burgundy eyes. The guys wince at her words and clutch at their groins protectively, making the girls laugh.
By the time school ends, I have returned to my more relaxed self. No more 'giddiness' over a girl coming to my place. Hell, we might not even do anything aside from working on the stupid project.
I watch Yuna approach my locker, with a very full-looking backpack.
"What's in the bag?" I ask as we walk out the front door together. The gang decided to ditch the last block and head down to the park for some fun. I stayed behind to wait for Yuna, even though a small part of me wants to go and stir up some trouble downtown.
"You'll see," she says with a mysterious smile. I am suddenly very eager to get back to my place.
As we cross into my end of town, a man with a pad of notepaper and a pen suddenly jumps out of a car and comes running down the sidewalk towards us. I freeze and stare at him, and Yuna sighs heavily.
"Miss Yuna! Miss Yuna, mind if I get an interview? Who's this young gentleman you're with? Where're ya headed?" the guy asks, pen held at the ready. His face is tense with excitement at seeing her. Yuna smiles thinly at him and sidesteps by.
"Thanks, but I have to run. I'm sorry sir," she says apologetically, hurrying away from him. She drags me roughly me by the arm until we are out of sight.
Wisely I decide not to say anything about it.
I can't help but notice that she keeps moving closer to me the further we get into the rough neighbourhoods. Somewhere close by we hear gunshots, and Yuna jumps in a panic, but by now gunshots are so familiar on the ears I barely pay any attention to them. All I have to do is listen to see if the sounds come any closer.
"Don't worry," I tell her confidently. "It's probably just some gang popping a thug who owed them money. They won't be out to hurt anyone for fun tonight."
"It must be hard living here," Yuna says sympathetically, still glancing over her shoulder nervously.
"I don't know any other life. Can't really complain about this one," I say carelessly. "I can imagine your place, though. Big ass castle, big ass lawns, a hundred servants, gourmet meals day and night, chauffeurs, crystal chandeliers-"
"Shut up," she says, punching my arm playfully. "It's not quite like that. We only have one paid servant, and the other's like a member of the family. I've known them both for so long I can't imagine having anyone else in the house with me and my father."
"So, your dad's not too picky with the help, huh?"
"Not really. He doesn't spend a lot of time out of his room anyway, except to go around cities and give speeches about Sin," she says with a shrug. I detect with sudden interest that her eyes are sad as she says this.
"This is my place," I say, gesturing to the apartment building ahead. I watch her reaction carefully. It is a rundown building, but it's in better shape than most of the others on the block. She nods politely and smiles at me, but I can see her inwardly bracing herself for a catastrophe.
Our elevator is always broken, so I have to take Yuna up the four flights of stairs. She doesn't complain, but I can see that she is taking note of everything she sees, from the cracks in the wall to the water stains in the ceiling. A cockroach runs across the hallway and she bites her lip to keep from making a startled sound. I almost hope we find a rat, just to see the look on her face.
"Are your parents home?" she asks as I unlock the door and step aside to let her walk in. I pause slightly.
"My dad's out of town right now," I say finally, assuming that she will let it drop. Not what she had in mind, I guess.
"What about your mother?"
I lead her further into the house, pretending I didn't hear her. I don't want her to start feeling all sorry for me when I tell her my mom was gang raped and murdered when I was ten. No need for sympathy. I'm taking care of myself fine, even if I have a good-for-nothing dad to deal with.
Thankfully she doesn't ask again. Maybe she knows I don't want to say anything.
"So, does your bodyguard know you're here?" I ask instead, going to the kitchen to look for something to eat. She fidgets uncomfortably.
"Actually, he . . . they think I'm still at the school, helping one of the teachers. I told them I could be a few hours or more," she mutters guiltily. I stare at her in awe.
"Why, Yuna Ressan!" I say with a pleased smile. "Didn't know you had it in you. Good cover story, though."
"Hey, I can be bad too!" she says with an indignant frown. I just laugh at her and offer her a beer. She hesitates, and then shakes her head.
"Can I have some water instead?" she asks politely. I wince.
"Not sure that's a good idea," I say, running the tap for her to see. The water looks . . . questionable, to say the least. "How about some light cider? My dad keeps a bunch in stock for when he's entertaining his . . . lady friends."
"Okay," she says, looking somewhat relieved.
"So, what's in the bag?" I ask again, after taking her to my room. I can't help but notice how unbothered she seems coming into my bedroom with no one else in the house. It's as if she's too innocent to think that anything could happen in here.
She is sitting on the edge of my bed, too. I resist the urge to join her and pull up a chair from my desk instead.
"This, my friend, is the latest in digital photographic technology," she says proudly, pulling the mystery object out of her back pack. It's a shiny metal sphere the size of a blitzball with a lens sticking out on one side. It even has a few light bulbs and light screens hanging out around the lens to create better lighting.
"Wow," I say, staring at it in her hands. "Looks kinda . . . bulky. Aren't new cameras supposed to be small and light?"
"Well, it isn't heavy, and I guess it could come in a smaller size, but it's very convenient. It hovers on its own, you see," she explains, flicking a small switch on one side. Suddenly she lets go of it, and it lifts in the air, rotating slightly as if looking around its new surroundings. There's a small screen on the side.
"Shit," I whisper, watching as it hovers close to my face.
"I can get it to take a picture of whatever I want when I want," Yuna tells me, sounding like a kid showing off a new toy. "Like this: Camera!"
At the command, the floating camera suddenly whirls around to face Yuna like a soldier waiting for an order.
She arranges herself into a random pose, leaning back on her elbows and crossing her legs. I swallow slightly, my eyes fixed on her legs as her skirt rides up slightly. Her tank top shifts too, exposing a bit of her stomach. She has a nicer body than I expected.
"Camera, take shot," Yuna commands. The camera waits three seconds for Yuna to prepare herself, and then I hear the click and see the flash. She sits up and grins at me, showing me the screen on the back of the orb. There is the picture, freshly taken of her in black and white film.
"You try," she says encouragingly. "It's full of sensors, it'll obey your command. You can change it from black and white photos to colour pictures."
"Camera!" I say sharply. It spins around to face me. "Take shot!"
I fold my arms and stare at it with the sexiest expression I can pull, ignoring the bright flash of light. I check the screen on the back, and there is the picture. Damn I look good. Yuna laughs. Then she gets up and turns the camera around to face the window.
"Take shot," she says, flicking the switch back to manual. It clicks and flashes again, preserving the image of the dirty street beneath us.
"So, now that we know how to work the camera, what shall we take pictures of?" she asks me. I stare at her for a minute, wracking my brains for ideas in spite of my own advice to her.
And then it hits me. The most brilliant idea I've ever had in my life.
I smile at her, my 'winning' grin that Rikku says no woman can resist.
"Ever modelled before?"