Pinhole
Copyright© 2022 by Fanlon
Chapter 8
Adam’s picture wasn’t well received, as one would imagine, all things considered. Asking if it would be okay to take someone’s picture was brought up more than once, and not just from Laura. Mr. Watts agreed that consent would be wise from here on out. That said, Mr. Watts did praise Adam’s photograph and the fact that the image itself was well done, but that was after the bell rang and only the three of us remained. It was clean and clear with crisp edges. That meant that he managed to stay still while the image was being taken. That was a lot harder to do than I ever thought it would be. Mr. Watts also explained that a tripod was used to help with that, and we would get to use those as well.
After school, I headed to the bus stop and Laura was there sitting on the bench. She was obviously upset, and I was pretty sure I knew why. I didn’t know what to do, so like an idiot, I sat down on the bench on the far end without saying a word. She glanced in my direction, but when she saw me, she turned slightly so her back was facing a bit more than it had when I sat down.
“I’m sorry,” I voiced in her direction.
I didn’t say it loudly, mainly because I didn’t know how she would react to me talking to her. I said it just loud enough for her to hear me if she was listening. To my surprise, she flinched, and I knew she heard me. We both sat there for another minute, neither one of us saying a word. This was the most uncomfortable I had ever been in a conversation. When she finally said something, I was genuinely shocked.
“Why?” she questioned me, her voice barely above a whisper.
I wasn’t sure if she was holding back because of her anger, or if she was moments away from breaking down into tears. Her reddened face turned to me, expecting a response.
“Why umm, huh?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Joshua,” she snapped; her eyes now fully focused on me.
The hair on the back of my neck raised on its own when hearing my full first name. No one called me by that name, except my mom. She was allowed to, but that didn’t mean I liked it. I hated it.
“I am not playing dumb, Laura.” I overemphasized her name sarcastically on instinct. “I don’t know what you meant by ‘why’.”
“Fine!” Laura growled. “Why did Adam take my picture? Why did you take my picture!”
“I’m sorry about taking your picture, I already tried to apologize to you about that,” I answered in a kind tone.
“I get that, but why did Adam do that?” She pounded her fists on her lap in frustration.
“I told him that was stupid, and he shouldn’t have done it. I didn’t even know about it until we were developing the pictures.”
“It’s your fault he did...” She trailed off as if she wanted to say more, but for whatever reason she held back.
“You’re probably right, I really am sorry. I had no idea you would react how you did.”
“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have asked me first!”
“I get it, I get it.” I held up my hands as if they would fend off her words and accusations.
She just stared at me for another breath and then her attention went back to her hands in her lap. Her fists were clenched so tightly, the color of skin was now almost completely white. I watched her for a minute or two. I wanted to ask what the big deal was about the picture. Not just that Adam and I hadn’t gotten her permission, but why she had gotten that upset over it. I knew it would be stupid and would more than likely end in her screaming at me. She wasn’t exactly being nice to me as it is, but this was a far cry better than what it had been.
“I wanted to ask you, uhh, why that umm ... you know. Why did you get so mad at me about that picture of you under the tree?”
“Because I...” Whatever the reason was, it was right there on the tip of her tongue and she suddenly clamped her mouth shut and groaned. “Just because, okay.”
“Oh.” I looked at her both confused and concerned. “Do you think I—”
“No!”
“But—”
“Josh, no! I mean it.”
“Okay, fine. I won’t ask again.”
“Thank you.”
Laura and I had come to an accord of sorts. Her shoulders relaxed and I felt a dumb confidence around her that I hadn’t felt before. Neither one of us said another word as we waited, nor did we say anything on the ride to our stops. Still, I felt better. I would have felt great if she would have forgiven me, but I took what I could get for now.
The next morning, as luck would have it, I was dropped off at school at the exact same time as Laura. I smiled at her, thinking she might smile back. She didn’t. She did cock an eyebrow at me and gave me an inquisitive look that screamed, “What do you think you’re doing?” I didn’t give it a second thought though as I pulled the door open with an over dramatic flourish. I knew she remembered that morning on the first day and I tried to make a joke of it for her. She didn’t laugh, but I swear I saw the corners of her mouth turn up ever so slightly as she walked through the doorway.
What was really interesting was the look she gave me when a very happy Dana came barreling into me the moment I walked inside.
“I’m so excited,” Dana told me, grinning ear to ear and she hopped up and down. “We’re still on for lunch, right?”
“Sure, yea, lunch,” I said, trying not to stare at Dana’s bouncing chest.
Laura stood there, watching the interaction between Dana and me. When Dana mentioned lunch, Laura had apparently had enough and continued walking down the hall to wherever her first class was located.
“This is going to be amazing!” Dana’s eyes were still wide and bright. “I brought a change of clothes I think you are going to like.”
The wicked grin and giggle she gave me had me blushing a deep red before I realized it was happening. That got Dana full on laughing, leaving her little giggle behind.
“Okay, I gotta go. Meet you in front of your photography class, bye!” Dana announced, waved, and then hurried down the hall in the opposite direction of Laura.
“Uhh, bye?” I answered and waved uncertainly, but Dana was already well out of earshot.
I walked down the hall, keeping close to one of the walls so I didn’t get run over. My path took me past Mr. Watts’ classroom and the small group of five girls and a guy who were looking at my picture of Laura. I didn’t stop to listen to what they were saying. I was too excited about meeting Dana at lunch. Combine that with Laura not killing me this morning, and the smile I swear she tried to hide had me feeling light on my feet. I was ready to be under Mrs. Peterson’s scrutiny. Not because I liked her or her class. I didn’t, not even a little bit. But, as soon as that class was over, I was one class closer to lunch!
The first half of the day didn’t go as quickly as I had thought it would. When the bell finally rang, signaling lunch, I was up and out of my desk before anyone else and racing down the hall. I skidded to a stop in front of Mr. Watts’ door, but Dana wasn’t there. In my excitement, I had gotten there a lot earlier than I thought I would have but Dana did show up a few minutes later with her bag slung over her shoulder and a big grin on her face.
“Are you ready?” Dana asked when she stopped, leaning against the wall next to me.
“No, not quite,” I told her. “I need to go in and get my camera ready.”
“Okay, cool. I’ll come with you.”
“I don’t know if—”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Watts is one of the cool ones.” She cut me off and started walking into the classroom. “Besides, I took his class as a freshman too.”
I followed Dana into the classroom and found Mr. Watts sitting at his desk.
“Hey, Mr. Watts, remember me?” Dana asked and he looked up to see the two of us walking in his direction.
“Of course, I remember you, Dana. How’s your junior year going?” Mr. Watts asked cheerily. Then he pouted and continued before Dana could tell him how her year was going, “I was hoping to get you in the advanced photography class, but you never showed up.”
“You know as well as I do, I wasn’t any good at taking pictures,” Dana replied, hands on hips. “I barely passed with a D if you remember.”
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