The Cameras Pull You Right Back Down

It'd only been going on for half an hour and the smile that I didn't think I'd have was spread clearly across my face. It was a good class today, Mr. Way was in a great mood so he wasn't being rude or giving a sarcastic returns to students. It was nice and mellow, the other people finally realized they didn't need to be at a deafening volume when chatting and I appreciated it a lot since I needed my time to figure out what I was going to do with the flyer sitting on my desk.

Do I want to enter it or not?

It'd be really nice to have a training course, improve my skill and it's a million times better because it's free. I just feel like it'd be really personal for everyone in town to see my work; they'll judge me by it and if they don't like it I'll be considered a loser when it comes to photography as well.

Go ahead, call me teacher's pet, loser, a dork, call me everything imaginable but do not push your way into the only pleasure I can get in this world, photography. Even if I suck at it I don't want to know, I don't want people to lie to me and say it's great either so simply say nothing. This is the exact reason I never ask anyone's opinions on the photographs I take, it's enough for me to be happy with them; I don't want or need anyone else's pleasure and I don't want them to bring me down if they hate it.

I picked up my camera and started walking to the back of the room, planning on developing some pictures I took when walking around the tow , there would hopefully be some really interesting ones in there. I couldn't tell since instead of having a digital camera like every other person I used one of the older cameras were you had to point, click and hope for the best which also meant I didn't get to see them until they'd been through the whole darkroom process.

Most of the time whatever kids went into the darkroom had to wear an apron but I frequented this place so much that Mr. Way didn't bother to tell me to wear it, I'd gotten good at what I did and was at minimum risk to myself.

I readied the tank I'd need for developing then took the 35mm roll of film out of my camera before getting it ready for loading the film onto the reel that I barely managed to reach from a high shelf were Mr Way hid all the important things from the teenagers who mucked around in here with no idea what they were doing.

Lemme see, what else do I need, scissors, bottle opener...
After putting everything I needed in front of me so I wouldn't be fumbling around in the dark and possibly hurting myself I turned the normal lights off, the classic red light now glowing to life so I would have some slight visibility.

I used to bottle opener to uncap the film canister before carefully taking the film out by handling it at the edges, not wanting to risk ruining it. I then cut off the main unnecessary portion and feed the film onto the reel, after that the reel went into the tank and I screwed the lid on, waterproof and light tight; at least until I put some water in through the small unscrewable lid on the top.

"Delilah, I was jus-" The door opened and Mr Way walked in, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin and in the next moment I felt water, or what I at least hoped was water considering the chemicals in this room, soaking into my dress.

"Oh damn!" I freaked out, a thousand warning labels flicked through my head as I imagined all the things that could happen to my skin, all I knew was that I bumped into something and felt a splash of some liquid which means I need to get it off immediately. I'm not going to end up looking like Harvey Dent, I have little enough going for me as it is.

"What happened?" Mr Way asked, breaking the rule of what you could and couldn't do with lights in this room but my photos were safe as long as they stayed in the tank without the lid being taken off which meant I needed to clean my dress.

"My photos are developing and I have some chemicals on my dress. Can I please go to the bathroom?" I asked the teacher, holding the fabric away from my chest because I was terrified of what might happen to my skin.

"Yeah, go." He pointed in the direction of the classroom and I ran as fast as I dared, repeating 'oh shit' over and over as I ran down the hallway, still holding the top half of my shirt away from my chest and praying that I didn't need to see the nurse or go to hospital and that my dress didn't get ruined since I really liked this one.

The second I found the girls bathrooms I had the soap and was scrubbing at the stained fabric, praying and hoping while at the same time flinching; I knew I'd be going back to class with a big wet mark on my dress but I'd be able to cope. I've had far worse things happen to me and one dress is the least of my worries.

Maybe I could run back to my locker and get my jacket, I know if I got caught I could say Mr Way gave me permission to get my things and he would cover for me.

"Please come out," I whispered, scrubbing even more and thinking of how weird it'd look right now if someone were to walk in but then again class is going so there won't be many people around and I went for the closest bathroom which was actually really far away from all the other rooms.

The photography lab was on the far side of the school and I was lucky it would always be a double period because there was no way I'd be able to run from my other classes to photography, especially when I couldn't run to save my life. I'd be guaranteed to be late every time but Mr Way is the kind of teacher who'd let something like that slide, still, I didn't want it to happen.

After enough soaping and rinsing I got the feeling whatever was stuck in my dress had been washed out and turned off the faucet with a sigh. It's really gonna suck if something goes bad but I'm sure everything'll be alright at the end of the day, I should have been more careful with the chemicals and things in the room; better yet I should just stop letting myself be so jumpy. A small part of me wanted to blame the scare on Mr Way but I couldn't for a couple of reasons. I should have hung the sign up on the darkroom door, I should be more careful with the chemicals and it's not like Mr Way intended to scare me, I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't mean it.

Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was actually a teacher, he was so dorky at times he seemed like he should be attending the school, not working here but then again just because you've grown up doesn't mean your personality has changed; you're just older.

Knowing I should shut up before I got distracted and ended up not getting back to class in time I took a quick second to collect myself and adjusted my hair in the long mirror over the line of sinks. It was all over the place because of how quickly I ran out of the classroom but then again it was messy all the time because I was simply too lazy to brush it and style it like a normal person in the morning and to top it off I needed a haircut because the bob I used to have had grown out a couple of months ago.

I hate my hair, I thought as I ran my fingers through the mess; I wanted to go home and cut it shorter right now, it looks bloody horrible.

I walked over to the hand drier and hit the button, warm air blowing under it as I got on an awkward angle so I could try to dry out the wet patch on my dress. I was hoping it'd work but the most it did was warm the fabric and probably look weird as hell to anyone who happened to come into the bathroom at that time.
In my uniquely unlucky case, it was June Cotter, who'd spent a good part of the day ignoring me and the second half making fun of me which meant I was less than pleased to see her, especially when she saw me in this situation.

"My, my, Delilah. What are you up to?" She walked over to me as I tried to stand upright, almost falling over at the same time and feeling ashamed of how bad I was at just being a normal bloody person. "What is that?" She asked, looking at the wet blotch on the hem of my dress.

"Um, I was just trying to wash it off but it wouldn't come out," I told her, I could have gone into a long talk about how bad the chemicals used in film development are and the severe skin reactions I could have but I decided to keep it to myself because I knew she didn't care and wouldn't understand.

"My advice, if that's cum and knowing you it won't be. Vinegar is what you use to get it out." Well that was some advice I can happily say I never wanted to hear in my life and I doubt I'll ever need to use, also if I had to know something like that I'd just google it.

"A chemical splashed me while I was developing a roll of films and I had to get it off before it did damage to me or my clothes. Some of the chemical burns you can get from the solutions and mixes are really nasty." I decided I'd be better off giving her a reason instead of letting her guess wildly which would end badly, so the simple explanation she would have trouble understanding would have to do for now.

"Oh, that's less...exciting." I don't know how she thought I'd have that on me during class time, it was only the kind of thing she'd do and we were both aware of how little I was like her, that's the whole reason I didn't hang out with her crew or pretty much anyone like them.

"What are you doing this far away from the classes anyway?" I asked, June didn't take photography and there was plenty of bathrooms closer to the heart of the school so she didn't have any reason to be in here while I on the other hand, did.

"I was fucking around with one of the guys under the bleachers and my makeup got a bit messy. This bathroom's the closest place so there you go." That was the exact explanation I'd expect from June, I was in the same math class as her and she took nothing seriously since she preferred to flirt but if she wanted to go ahead and have sex during lessons then I wouldn't stop her. It's not like I was one to lecture people about their classes, I was surprised I'd made it into senior year...maybe they just counted my grades in gym and photography.

"Okay, I'm going to be leaving then," I said, giving up all hope of drying my dress and walking to the bathroom door while June ran her hands through her hair and dusted her face with a makeup brush; assessing her appearance and narrowing her eyes at the same time.

"I was thinking about what we were talking about earlier." I stopped when I realized she had more to say but still wanted to get back to class, I needed to finish developing that roll; it's not important or for an assignment or something like that but I think the pictures could turn out pretty good and I also don't want Mr Way to think anything bad's happened to me.

"Was that the part when you were asking me about my teacher's parts or after that when your buddy was making fun of me for my personal choices?" She hadn't been nice either way but she didn't spend that much time around me in the first place and it's not like she went out of her way to be a horrible person.

At this school I was considered there was only one place I fitted into.
I was the type who was considered weird and dorky enough to bully but not quite weird and dork enough to be entirely shunned so I'd have the occasional mid-class conversation if I got along with the person beside me but for the most part I kept my mouth shut. I'd always been an observer rather than an socializer anyway, I'd rather take photos of a crowd than be a part of one and that's simply the way I worked just like how June found her comfort while surrounded by bad company.

June took a moment to look at me, "come on, you know I was just kidding." She laughed it off as if what she said was nothing before turning back to look at her reflection once more. "I was thinking more about that photography teacher, Mr Way." Of course she was, I swear if this turns into another bunch of questions and jabs I'll throw a fit.

"What is it?" I asked, crossing my arms and trying to appear like I wanted to listen, I've always believed that I should be nicer to people than they are to me, if I do that then I'll always remain the better person no matter what.

"I've come up with an offer for you. You know just how popular my family is in this town don't you?" I think just about everyone in the school knew how well her family was doing for themselves, which could be considered almost too well.

June's family came from what's considered to be old money. I'm not sure what it was that made them rich in the first place, maybe it had something to do with founding a town or creating some huge invention, something dramatic. Of course with how rich her parents are they hadn't always intended to send her to some crummy public school and according to most of the things I'd heard she used to go to the same private school that Ava and David's kid Shaun once went to. Apparently she'd been expelled for sleeping with a teacher or a student...it might have been the janitor but either way it got her kicked out but because her family is absurdly rich. I guess they just assumed she'd magically grow up to be sophisticated no matter what school she went to.

Anyway she was known for being able to get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted, having an unlimited credit card did a good job of helping anyone gain friends (not real one's mind you), especially when you had popularity the size of your bank account.

"Yeah, I do," I told her cautiously, not knowing where she was planning on going with this but being smart enough to stay on my toes just in case she took it as a chance to throw an insult at me while my guard was down.

"Well I want to make you an offer that if you're smart, you won't refuse." I could think of a lot of things that I'd be willing to refuse; I wasn't exactly the easiest person to bribe or jump at things I shouldn't.

"Go ahead."

"You're the only student at this school that actually knows Mr Way, talks to him outside class. You'd be able to do things with him that other people wouldn't because he trusts you. I've got a lot of money lying around so I'm thinking since you get along so well I'm willing to pay you to take a couple of photos of him." This sounded really freaking weird, especially from a girl who'd made jokes about my photography; I didn't think she'd ever be willing to pay me to take photos but they were of Mr. Way so it was almost predictable.

"You mean like a commission? You want to give me cash so I'll take photos of the photography teacher?" It sounded stupid when I said it out loud, mainly because just about anyone could take photos, it wasn't an exact science.

"Exactly." She nodded and smiled, sitting on the edge of the sink as she looked through her phone, possibly answering a text or something like that.

"Why don't you just take the photos yourself? You've got a bunch of money, buy a camera, use the camera, take some pics of him and you don't even need to bother paying me." I've only taken a couple of requested photographs before and it was mainly for school events which had been easy enough.

"Because the photos I want aren't the kind I can get. Remember how I said you were close to him? Get a closer than that and take photos proving he's straight, like him kissing a girl or something. I'm already eighteen and I'm gonna be getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible but first I'd like to screw around a little more and I want to know I'll be wasting my time on someone I'll never have a chance with." It sounded stupid and creepy at the same time, as normal as June wanted everyone to think she was what she was asking was really weird and could probably be considered stalker behavior even if she wasn't doing it herself.

Couldn't it be called stalking vicariously?
Besides, would she really have a chance at sleeping with the photography teacher?

I mean out of all the people here Mr Way is the least likely to touch a student.

"I doubt you could pay me enough," I told her, no matter how much she seemed to think I was the teacher's friend and things like that I wasn't; he was just an adult who I got along with but it didn't mean she could just slip me a hundred and I'd start snapping away.

"I'll give you five thousand dollars." It felt like my jaw had dropped off, there's no way she'd seriously pay me five thousand bucks just to take a couple of photos of a freaking teacher.

"Really?" In a instant I had started thinking about the photo competition, if I had five grand I could pay for the entire set up I'd need to win it.

"I've said so already and I'll make you a deal. If you can get one photo that proves he's straight then I'll give you five thousand dollars and just because I'm nice I'll make sure you'll become the most talked about student in school before you go. You can buy a really pro camera with that, much can't you?" I was still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor, she was right with what she'd said about the camera. I had an okay one but with five grand I could buy something that would completely set me up for anything I wanted to do in the future or I could compromise on the camera quality and pay for a course of I wasn't game to enter the competition.

"Would it have to be anything graphic?" I was ashamed of myself to be considering this but having that much money would be able to do a lot for me and if she made me popular then I wouldn't have to worry about bullying anymore.

Things at this school would be a lot easier; not to mention that winning a huge photo competition would look really good when applying for a job.

"As long as it proves what I want it to then you can do whatever you want. So do we have a deal?" She asked, walking over and keeping her arms crossed, raising her eyebrows slightly as if in encouraging me to give her an answer.

God forgive me.

"Alright, deal."

Notes