Pinhole
Copyright© 2022 by Fanlon
Chapter 20
I was just finishing up the homework I hadn’t gotten to the night before when Mom knocked on my door and then popped her head in.
“Dana will be here at seven tomorrow morning to pick you up,” she told me. “She said you needed to get the pictures you took on Friday developed so they were ready for class.”
“Oh, okay,” I answered.
“By the way, when do we get to see these pictures you’ve been taking?”
“Uhh, not until the end of the year. When the project is done ... I think.”
“You mean we can’t see them sooner than that?”
“We have to keep them at school, that way nothing happens to them. It’s Mr. Watts’ idea.”
“I still would like to see what you have been working on. Isn’t there a way you can show us? Maybe just one picture or something?”
“Sorry, I’ll see if I can bring something home.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see what it!” She smiled and then blew me a kiss. “Goodnight.”
“Night.”
Dana was there right on time the next morning. When I got into the passenger seat of her car, I couldn’t help but notice she was wearing her pajamas again. That distracted me for a second before the tinny clinking sound of Coke cans at my feet reminded me how filthy her car was, again.
“I don’t want to hear about how my car is dirty. When you get a car, you can do all the driving and cleaning. Until then, shut up.” I smiled. I knew she wasn’t in the mood to hear about it from me, but the smile on my face made hers scrunch up like she was debating if she should smack me or not.
“Didn’t want to put on your school clothes before coming over?” I asked, instead of talking about the cans.
“It’s too damn early. Are you complaining? You liked it last time I wore my pajamas.” Dana smirked; she was right.
“No, I’m just saying...”
“Whatever, let’s go.”
Unlike last time, Dana went through the drive through at McDonalds to get a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. If I had known we were going to stop, I wouldn’t have had cereal before Dana showed up. I was stuck holding the bag and her cup of coffee because the cup holders in the car were full of half-finished drinks that Dana had no intention of ever finishing. It wasn’t that big of a deal and definitely not abnormal. More often than not when we went to lunch, it was my job to hold the food and drinks until we got back to the school. After that first time I spilled our drinks on the floor I had managed to hold onto everything.
When we got to school, Dana changed clothes, all of them, and I pretended not to watch. Unlike last time, this time she took off everything and took her sweet time dressing for school. I had the usual reaction of a red-blooded teen, much to Dana’s amusement.
“Didn’t I tell you to empty the chamber?” Dana’s giggle made me even more embarrassed than normal.
“How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?” I asked, indicating her naked form.
“With how many naked girls you’ve been seeing the last few weeks, I would have assumed you would have gotten used to it a little by now.”
“Yeah right!” I snapped back, turning my eyes away from Dana and her nakedness. “I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing you or any girl naked.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome isn’t it.” Dana grinned and she pulled her shirt down over her head. “Just wait until Friday night. If what I think is going to happen, happens ... Let’s just say it’s going to be so much fun!”
“What’s going on Friday night?” I asked, getting out of the car, grabbing my backpack, and slinging it over my shoulder.
“I’ll let you know by Thursday,” Dana answered, but was still grinning, knowingly. “Come on, let’s go get those pictures started for Katie.”
When Dana and I walked into the darkroom, Mr. Watts was already inside, but he was working on his own projects before classes started. He waved when we came in but continued to work at one of the stations across the room from where I developed my pictures. The first picture came out just fine and I hung it up on the wire to dry and quickly got to work on the second one. This was the one Katie had asked for, the one facing me. I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out, but I was shocked when I saw the results.
There Katie was, bare in all her glory, leaning back against the railing, her head hanging back, so it was out of view. Her body looked hidden, but there at the same time ... on full display to any who wanted to look. Her legs looked slim but curved, her stomach was flat, her waist narrow, but her chest seemed fuller, more in the forefront than I remembered seeing.
The biggest thing was her blonde hair that fell down behind her form, on the far side of the railing. It seemed longer, the curls thicker, and somehow managed to soak up the light from the hanging lamps behind her. Everything seemed to have been perfect and I was just lucky enough to capture it. When I took the picture, this result was not at all what I had in mind. I never even saw some of the details as something that was possible. The picture of Jo was gorgeous, Dana’s was stunning, but this one, the one of Katie, was the best, by leaps and bounds. Laura’s picture was still my favorite, because I liked her. Boy, did I like her.
“You two should get going,” Mr. Watts said, coming to take a look at the hanging picture of Katie. “I can finish your last one for you and put it in the workroom. Go on now, you don’t want to be late for Mrs. Peterson’s class.”
Dana and I heeded Mr. Watts’ suggestion, and I thanked him for helping me as we left.
“Good luck in Social Studies,” Dana giggled. “If I don’t see you at lunch, I will send a search party.”
“Really, Dana,” I groaned. I was already worried about this moment, and I didn’t need Dana’s comments making it any more nerve wracking. “I’ll see you at lunch. Are you bringing Katie?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. See you later.”
“See ya.”
I continued down the hall towards my first period classroom and to no one’s surprise, Mrs. Peterson was giving me the eye the moment I walked in. She didn’t say anything to me, thankfully. I was already on the verge of running for my life if I needed to. I planned the route I would take, but it wasn’t needed. Mrs. Peterson didn’t give me another look the rest of the class. She didn’t even call on me to answer any questions, which several of my classmates noticed. With me no longer garnering almost all of her attention, that put the rest of the class under her scrutiny. I kind of liked it, if I am honest.
When the bell finally rang, I stood up to leave when I heard Mrs. Peterson call my name and I froze.
“Josh, stay after class for a moment please.” Her tone was not angry, but it didn’t sound happy either. Damnit!
I turned and looked to see Mrs. Peterson cleaning off her chalkboard as everyone but me filed out of the room. Several of the other kids glanced my way before they left, two of whom even gave me worried, pitying looks. That didn’t help my nerves at all. When everyone else had left, that meant we were alone, I was faced with the moment I was dreading.
“Josh, come over here please,” Mrs. Peterson said, this time her tone softer.
“Yes, Mrs. Peterson?” I asked, as I moved closer to her desk, my heart hammering in my chest.
“I wanted to thank you for how you treated Katie. I was a little worried, with you taking her picture, that it was just an excuse you cooked up to see girls erm ... in a vulnerable state, we’ll call it.”
“I never—”
“I know, Katie told me all about it. Mr. Watts won’t shut up about you so her father and I were comfortable with allowing you to do this for her.” Mrs. Peterson smiled as she cut me off. If she were younger, I would have assumed she would have started giggling. “I just wanted to thank you for not taking advantage of the situation.”
“You’re welcome.”
When I finally stepped out into the hall, I let out a huge sigh of relief. My heart slowed almost down to normal, but not quite. Still, I felt like a huge world-crushing weight had been suddenly lifted from my shoulders. Mrs. Peterson really was okay with what had happened with Katie. I don’t think Katie told her everything, at least I hoped not. The big thing though was she was fine with me taking her picture—that’s all I cared about. She hadn’t seen the pictures yet though...
As planned, I met Dana during lunch at Mr. Watts’ classroom. She wasn’t the only one there though: Katie was there, as well as Laura.
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