Chapter One
Chapter One
It began with photography class.
Our teacher has asked us to meet at a local cafe a few minutes away from the university. Since photography class involved mostly just cameras and hands-on teaching, we could meet almost anywhere.
The first stop? The cafe’s gallery.
“Aren’t these beautiful?” Professor Sawyer asks, looking at the photography on the wall. The photographs all had a theme: urban life in impoverished places.
“I wouldn’t exactly call them beautiful, Professor,” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “I just don’t understand why people photograph this type of stuff.”
Until that moment, I had been standing, mesmerized, at the multiple aspects of the images. I turn to face the blonde haired girl, crossing my arms. “Pictures tell a story. Maybe you can’t see it, but this photographer is telling the story of people in the city living in poverty. I guess I can see how you can’t sympathize with this type of work.”
“While I don’t agree with the bit at the end, Caleb has the right idea! This photographer is known for portraying darker topics; things that America might not fully grasp,” Professor tells us, smiling to himself as if sharing an inside joke with someone. “I actually had this photographer as a student a few years back.”
I go up closer to the pictures. The name in the bottom right corner reads, “Felix Photography”.
A shadow comes up behind me. “Beautiful work, isn’t it?”
I turn around to see a girl about my age. Her honey hair is pulled into a side braid reaching almost to her waist; her blue eyes sparkle back at me in a mischievous way. In one hand she’s holding a Canon camera and in the other hand is outstretched for a shake. I carefully take it.
“Hello there, I’m Felicity.”
I smile politely at her. “I’m Caleb.”
“Ah, there she is! We have a guest with us for today’s class! This is Felicity, everyone.”
Our class of nine mumbled hellos almost inaudibly before going back to previous conversations.
“That’s a very warm welcome,” she says, grinning at the Professor and I.
“They’re camera nerds. Were you expecting conversation?” I ask sardonically. She rolls her eyes before turning her attention on her camera. I watch as she takes off her lens, cleaning is softly with the hem of her white t-shirt before putting it back together. That cannot be good for the camera.
“Alright kids, lets head out,” he says to all of us. He turns to Felicity. “Lead the way. We are all under your command for the day.”
She blushes, quickly rushing ahead of everyone in embarrassment. We file behind her out onto the sidewalk. Felicity crosses the road once the signal gives us the ‘go ahead’. It takes a few minutes and a few sketchy alleys before she stops behind some run down apartments.
“What’s so interesting about this dump?” Lily bites.
“What’s not?” she retorts. Lily shuts up at the response, just looking around through her viewer instead.
The class spends a few minutes at the site before quickly becoming bored, except for Felicity. Her movements aren’t slopping and jerky like a majority of the class; her angles are...unconventional.
“Be careful, Felicity,” our teacher calls out as the golden blonde woman attempts to climb atop a dumpster. I see her left foot slip before fully comprehending the fall.
Our teacher is the first to her side followed closely by myself.
“Oh silly me,” she says, accepting our outstretched hands of help, “I really am a klutz aren’t I? Where were we?”
“Not on the dumpster,” Professor Sawyer tells her.
“But there was a perfect shot. I could see it in my head. Can I try one more time?” He allows her to, but doesn’t leave the dumpster. She gets back up on the green metal trash bin. We all watch in one held breath as she leaps onto the nearby fire escape, her hands narrowly stopping her from falling almost ten feet. Her knees curl around the second step before both of her hands lets go, propelling her backwards. With her now free hands, she grabs ahold of the camera around her neck, focusing the lense. Finally, we hear a faint ‘click’ followed by a few more. We let out a sigh of relief once she reaches the dumpster again.
“Did you get your shot?” Professor Sawyer asks.
“No,” she says, looking down at her camera, “but it’ll do.”
The rest of the walk wasn’t as eventful as the dumpster mishap, but wasn’t any less interesting. We ventured around a park, elementary, and the town in general.
“Well, it’s getting on four o’clock. I’m going to have to leave,” Felicity tells the professor. He nods, turning to us.
“Nice job everyone. Put your top five images in the dropbox and we’ll discuss them in class on Monday.” Everyone nods then disbands to their cars. She walks alongside me as I lag behind the rest of the class.
“Can I see some of your images?” she asks. I hand her camera to let her go through my new images.
“These are really good, even on a really small screen. They remind me of my style.”
I perk up in interest. “Oh really? Can I see some of your images?”
Her eyebrows go up in confusion. “But you have. The images in the cafe are mine.”
Holy crap, Felicity is Felix? Felix is Felicity?
“I guess Professor Sawyer didn’t explain that it was me. He probably also didn’t explain why I’m here.”
“Why are you here?” I ask, confused. Isn’t she just here to take images with her old professor?
“Well, I travel the world a lot, but I’m alone. I want someone to document my adventures, I guess you could call it, like a companion that’s also a journalist. It’s a paid gig, if you’re wondering.”
“Wait, are you asking me?”
“Am I?” she teases me, smirking.
“Yes.”
“Yes to going or yes to me asking you?”
“Both.”
