More Than Photography....

[Gwen Townsend]

Stepping into Room 215 ,Gwen paused at the doorway and tousled her long dark locks with her fingertips. As she adjusted the strap on her shoulder, she heard a cough behind her, indicating that she was causing a bit of traffic and blocking the way. Gwen turned her head and saw a shorter girl in the motion of tapping her on her shoulder. Giving her a long hard glare, the girl’s fingers halted as she stepped away from Gwen and looked away awkwardly. Satisfied, she turned back around and scanned the classroom once more. Many of the seats were already filled, even though Gwen had made sure she’d arrive ten minutes before class was due to start.

‘What did these kids do, run to class?’ Gwen thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. ‘Do they not have a life?’

Gwen herself, had been excused from her previous class a few minutes earlier due to her ‘monthly’. Or so what the teacher assumed she had. It was so simple. All she did was add a few tears in her eyes and wrinkle her forehead as though she was in pain. A slight turned away face and halting voice and the naïve professor assumed that was the problem. She really should have tried for theater like her cousin instead of photography. Lying, it seemed, ran in the family. Yet if she was in that class, she wouldn’t have been able to meet the handsome Professor Josh Dale. Snapping back to attention, Gwen noticed an empty seat two rows from the front. Not the most ideal place to be noticed, but she was sure she could make up for that.

Finally moving away from the doorway, she glided over to the chair and sat down. Angling her chair to face the open doorway, Gwen adjusted her books on her desk. She opened them as though she was reviewing before class even started. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her new lip gloss and applied it to her lips. Strawberry shade and taste for anyone lucky enough to taste it. If things turned out right, perhaps she would let Josh taste it in a private tutoring session after class. An excited shiver ran down her back at the mere thought. Raising her right hand, Gwen popped open the first two buttons of her shirt, just to ensure Professor Dale would notice her as soon as he walked in.

[Lucy Maitland]

Ah, photography. Just what she needed to get her mood back up - her earlier classes had been a drag, to say the least, and Lucy wasn't currently feeling too friendly. But the class would get her mind off of that, what with its subject and the professor. Both were satisfying distractions. And so it was with a small smile that she entered Room 215 for today's class. As she made her way to her usual seat, she realized something was wrong.

That something was Gwen Townsend, and if it wasn't already bad enough that she was in the same class, she was also in her seat, and unbuttoning her shirt to draw even more attention to her chest. Was she honestly trying to - no, not even she...Actually, when she thought about it, Gwen trying to hook up with the handsome young professor was quite plausible. Slut. Lucy felt her bad mood rapidly taking over again, and stepped up to the desk, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Hey Gwen," she said pleasantly enough. "Sorry, but that's my seat..."

[Gwen Townsend]

Hearing her name out loud, Gwen looked up to her right. Ah, Lucy. Sweet little Lucy Maitland. She looked down to pick a speck on lint off her skirt and rolled her eyes before looking up with a sweet smile. She’d never actually talked to her before but that didn’t mean she didn’t know who she was. Teachers were always raving about her and her perfect grades and polite manner. In other words, this girl was obviously no fun. Yawn. What a bore. Although, they've been in the same classes for years and Gwen's never heard her talk to anyone before. Granted, she never really cared either. But here she was talking to her. How surprising. Unfortunately, the topic was something she had no interest in, nor did she have any intention of giving up the seat. Not just because it was close to Professor Dale’s desk, but also because giving something up was something that she, Gwen Reese Townsend, never did. And she wasn’t going to start now.

“Oh, is it?” Gwen casually asked with a half smile. “I didn’t know…sorry.” After the apology, she sat back in her seat again and tucked a strand of silky dark hair behind her left ear. Fingering her silver hoop earrings, Gwen crossed her legs and continued to stay seated, clearly not intending to move an inch. Her red lips pursed into a slight smirk as she gave Lucy an amused look, challenging her to protest about her seat again.

[Lucy Maitland]

"No, I don't think you understand," said Lucy, trying to keep her face a calm mask. "That's my assigned seat. If I remember correctly, yours is just there," she said, pointing to one in the back of the class. She awkwardly adjusted the weight of her backpack on her shoulder, wondering if she'd ever get to sit down. As she returned the girl's cool gaze, Lucy began to wonder if Gwen knew how much she just bothered her?! Sure, they didn't know one another well, but Gwen seemed to contain almost every trait that Lucy hated - she was full of herself, took advantage of the fact she had been blessed with good genes, and so much more. And that cousin of hers - hadn't he been kicked out of a school for what Gwen was doing? Making a quick mental note to stay away from the family, Lucy continued, "So if you could just, you know, move, that'd be great. Don't want to be marked absent or anything," she finished, grimacing at the false cheery note she had tried to tack on to the end.

[Gwen Townsend]

Raising an eyebrow, Gwen looked up at Lucy with newfound interest. So the girl had some backbone underneath that sweet face and utterly horrible sense of style after all. Now who would have ever thought that about little Ms. Perfect? Unpredictable, as she expected Lucy to quietly leave after her look. Yet, not only did she stand up to her but she still stubbornly insisted that Gwen give her back her precious seat. And if she wasn’t mistaken, Lucy had accepted her challenge. Brave but a stupid move on her part. Very stupid, for when Gwen started something, she was only out to win. “Well, considering we’ve only had a few days of school, I sincerely doubt that this could be your seat. And even if it were, there are always exceptions to every rule.” Her matter of fact tone showed Lucy that she believed herself to be the exception for every rule. And exactly which rule she was referring to was understood.

“After all, I’m sure Professor Dale wouldn’t protest to our switching seats if I told him I’d broken my glasses and was unable to see the board from my original seat.” Gwen said in a fake innocent tone. “After all, he’s an understand person.” Understanding dawned on her as her eyes widened and narrowed for a split second. Her smile turned into a smirk again as her dark gaze slid from Lucy’s face to Professor Dale’s desk. “Or perhaps there’s another reason why you’re so attached to this seat? Maybe I should let the dear Professor know of your reluctance to give up your seat is attached to your admiration for him? You know, it’s awfully selfish of you to put another student’s education in jeopardy just so you could get a better view of some eye candy. ” Gwen said with a shake of her head.

[Lucy Maitland]

Lucy was taken aback in shock, and took a moment before replying rather loudly, "How could you even think that I would - " Feeling the eyes of the class on her back, she lowered her voice, glaring at Gwen. The bell rang, signaling the start of class. She knew she'd have to hurry up and end this [for today] so they wouldn't cause even more of a scene once class started and Professor Josh walked in. "Look," she said, "it's no big deal. I'll just sit over there - " she gestured vaguely to the opposite end of the room " - okay? Lovely talking to you."

Fuming as she walked to the empty seat, Lucy could feel her face burning in shame. Had she honestly just been bested by Gwen? A Maitland forced to back down by a conceited little whore?! She was comforted by the thought that, though Gwen had won today, there would be tomorrow. She began taking out her materials and stacking them on her desk with a little more force than necessary. Wondering how she would be able to concentrate during class now, she waited for it to finally begin.

[Gwen Townsend]

As she watched Lucy stomp away, Gwen couldn’t help the big smile that crept up her face. Did she think that she could actually beat her? She surely didn’t have it in her. And surely not with Professor Dale. Letting out a little sigh at the thought of the handsome professor, Gwen shook her head. No, a man like him needed someone older, more experienced who could handle him, know how to have fun and let him have fun in return. And I knew exactly who would be perfect for the job, she thought with a self satisfied smile.

“Thanks again, Lucy!” She called out in a happy tone, unable to resist rubbing a little more salt on the wound. Turning around to the front of the class, she leaned back in her seat. Surely, she never thought photography class would be nearly this exciting. Why, when she found out what a doll Professor Dale was, Gwen thought that flirting with him was going to be the extent of the class. Yet now with her interaction with Lucy, there would be more happening in this class than just learning photography. Peering over her shoulder again, she gave Lucy a grin and wave.

[Josh Dale]

In between his Senior and Junior classes, Josh had taken the time to run down to the cafeteria and get a cup of coffee - he'd been carburating on it all day, having spent most of his night in the dark room, looking at some of the pictures he'd taken over the summer. He had somewhat a dark room at home, but it wasn't exactly the best of quality, and so unless he was really in a hurry to have his photographs developped, he usually took care of it at school, meaning he sometimes had to wait a long while before doing so. Still, he was rather good with handling lack of sleep, and didn't really need it as much as he used to. A countless number of sleepless nights will do that to a person. As he walked back to his classroom, he glanced down at the sheet with the students names. It was only the third class of the year but he knew all of their names and habit already, having spent two years with most of them now. Some were more active when he gave theoric classes while others prefered going out to take photographs, exploring a bit. He, himself, prefered that part.

When Josh entered the classroom, he threw a quick glance around without noticing anything out of order yet. He walked over to his desk and set down his things before looking ahead once more, finally noticing what had changed. Apparently, some students had taken the liberty to change seats - it didn't bother him really, the assigned seats were usually mainly temporary, most of the students then changed places to sit with their friends, though Josh always made it clear there was no talking while he was talking. He wasn't a very strict or harsh professor, but he still had to keep order in his class. When he noticed that it was Gwen sitting near him now, he wasn't quite surprised. Over the years during which he'd worked at this school, many girls had tried to get his attention. This one, however, was something else. She seemed very determined, and Josh couldn't deny that she was good looking, but she was still off limit, and way too young at that. However, as he sat down in his seat, he grinned at her lightly with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it's not often we see you there, Gwen," he said, taking out the sheets of instructions he had to give them for today's class. They wouldn't be sitting much longer. "You're usually in the back, aren't you?" he asked, glancing around to try and figure who she'd changed seat with. Even though it was a seat close to where he was, the student who usually sat there probably didn't make much noise because he couldn't remember who it was. Then again, they'd only had two classes as to now - during one of which they'd already had an exam, which was what he was looking for right now. He'd told them to go out and take pictures of whatever they wanted to, though giving them a technical list of how they had to take it, with a digital camera this time. Now there had been one that'd kept his attention and that's what he was looking for - he wanted to talk to the student who'd taken it. When he finally found what he was looking for, he glanced at the name on the corner and without waiting for Gwen's reply, looked around the classroom to spot who he was looking for.

"Lucy?" he called out to the young girl sitting in the back - instantly remembering she was the one usually sitting in the front, though he couldn't figure why the two girls had switched places. "Would you come over here for a few minutes please?" he asked, placing the photograph on top of the others and examining it once more.

[Lucy Maitland]

Luckily, Professor Dale entered class before Gwen could embarrass her any more. He would surely notice Lucy's involuntary change of seat, even though they'd only had class for a few days, one of which had been an exam. The developed exam pictures...were those what he was looking at? She dug her digital out of her bag and hit "REPLAY," hurriedly beginning to scan through the pictures she had submitted. Bent over her desk, she saw that they were okay, better than last year's thanks to her practice over the summer. She reassured herself that they should be good enough for a passing grade, but before she got through them, she heard her name called.

Why would he want her to come up? Did he want her and Gwen to switch back? Or was there something wrong with her pictures? These questions and more running through her mind, Lucky simply nodded, and, on a reflex, tucked a few stray strands of her hair behind an ear. She made her way to the front, making a point of leaving as wide a berth between her and her desk as possible. Coming to a stop in front of the professor's desk, she took a look at the pile of pictures, and, with a start, saw that the top one was one of hers.

"Everything all right, Professor?" she asked.

[Josh Dale]

Josh gave a light grin as Lucy came forward, figuring she was probably confused as to why he'd asked to talk to her. He didn't usually tell much to his students about their school work, considering he always gave a full page of comments along with the grades and photographs. He prefered it that way, and besides if he took the time to explain to each of his students why they'd gotten such a pathetic grade for some, and such an awesome one for the others, they'd be halfway through the class before he was even close to being done. And so, asking for students like he'd just done, was something rather unusual. It didn't mean it was a bad thing though. Actually, he was quite pleased with the picture Lucy had handed in, and she'd gotten the best grade by far, or almost. The second best was practically the same, and he intended to have a word with the boy as soon as he entered the class, but the third best wasn't even close to what she'd had. He hadn't asked her to come so that he could comment the photograph however, though he was pretty sure she would be curious as to his thoughts on it (on the comment page, he'd merely written "Thank You", and he meant it). He had something else he wanted to talk to her about.

"Everything's more than alright Lucy," he said with a smile, nodding lightly before glancing down at the piles of papers on his desk, looking for what he wanted. "I'm gonna give these back as soon as the class starts," he added, tapping the pile of photographs lightly, just so to indicate he wasn't giving it back to her already but soon would be. "But I actually wanted to give you something else. I'm pretty sure everybody in this class have the passion to be a photographer, they wouldn't be here otherwise, but not all of them are quite ready at this age to have the mentality and capacity of a professional photographer. You know, those whose name are hardly ever mentionned and simply written in the smallest character at the bottom of a magazine page," he added with a grin. That wasn't quite true, some photographers got a lot of recognition, even if their names didn't appear in magazines, but to someone who didn't know much about it, it could seem the other way. "Obviously, being seventeen, no matter how good and amazing your work could be, you wouldn't have much credibility for those who hire photographers, unless you were as much of a genius as Mozart or Picasso."

He finally found what he was looking for and place the small document on top of all the other pages on his desk. It wasn't quite big or heavy, but it had a few pages. "That's why contests exists though, obviously. Some people consider them as the easy way to make your place in the business, like going through the backdoor. I don't see them as a way to become a professional photographer myself," he said thoughtfully, looking through the pages. "But when you win, they sure as Hell are a good thing to add on your resume. And photographs like these," he added, pointing to hers. "Can win it." He handed her the form to fill. "You can think about it if you want. End date of the contest is October 20th, I suggest you send your entry at least two weeks beforehand. You may go back to your seat, get your camera ready, class will start soon and we'll be heading outside today."

[Gwen Townsend]

Noticing Professor Dale enter the room, Gwen turned back to the front, already forgetting about little Lucy. Although she always prided herself in never losing her head around handsome guys, she couldn’t help feeling a little lightheaded whenever she saw Professor Dale. But then of course, Josh Dale was no ordinary guy. He was a man. Her dark gaze watched him approach his desk in appreciation. And a fine specimen of a man he was, there was no doubt about that. With his handsome features and strong jaw, his easy grin and twinkling eyes, he was a perfect picture of maturity yet still boyish at the same time. And his body... Startled out of her slight daydream as he called out her name, Gwen’s lips automatically curved to a smile. So he had noticed her. As she opened her mouth to reply to him comment, Professor Dale suddenly turned away and asked Lucy to come to his desk.

That girl again. Gwen frowned as she watched Professor Da-Josh (She had to practice using his first name, after all, she couldn’t keep calling him Professor when they started dating.) Although she knew that Lucy also had a crush on Josh, she wasn’t too worried about competition. At least not by much. Because although she was physically attracted to him, she was surprised to find herself liking his personality too. Leaning forward, Gwen could barely make out what they were talking about. A contest of some sort. As she watched Lucy head back to her seat, she slightly raised her hand and smiled at Josh. “Where are we heading outside to?” She asked.

[Lucy Maitland]

Lucy was pleased with the praise - more than that, she was ecstatic! As the professor went on to explain about the contests, a small smile grew to a wide grin. Her pictures winning contests? And he had implied that she had the mindset of a professional photographer! It was suddenly a good day, a great day, in fact. Lucy eagerly took the form, looking forward to filling it out. "Thanks so much, Professor," she said excitedly, beaming. "I'm definitely in, no need to think about it," she added with a laugh before heading back to her seat with a skip in her step. Her mood had been altered tremendously in the past few minutes, and she hardly noticed Gwen's little question. She sat down and put the form into her photography folder so it wouldn't get crumpled, and tucked the folder into her bag. Shutting off the digital, she put that in as well and took out her trusty Canon Rebel 35 mm.

The camera had been a gift from her parents when she started at the Academy, and though it was now a few years old and said to be behind in the photography world, it worked just fine for her. She was torn between it and the digital, and if she was going to be a professional photographer, she guessed that it was about time to chose a favorite. The focus was better with the 35 mm, but the digital had the fun effects...Letting her mind wander about the pros and cons of each, Lucy wet the camera in her lap and played with its adjustable strap while waiting for the professor's answer to Gwen's question.

[Josh Dale]

Josh smiled lightly as Lucy headed back to her seat. She was a nice kid and a good student - the kind of student professors liked teaching to, because they never made any trouble, listened well in class, handed in their work in time and got good grades. Well, that would be the description of a good student in a normal highschool. What was different with the students at the Academy was the passion they had in them, how decided on succeeding they were. Motivation was usually the key, and very little of them lacked it - those who did rarely stayed the whole four years, actually. He could tell - of all the professors currently teaching at the academy, he was the only one who'd actually been a student, and it didn't go that far back either. Maybe it explained his way of acting with them, knowing what it was like. Of course, it was a bit strange that some of those he worked with now had been his own teachers once, but he was professional enough so that both he and them had gotten used to it.

Some were a bit more doubtful of him though, mainly because of his habit to be close with his students, especially because the attraction some of the girls had was quite obvious sometimes, even for him. In a school like this, gossip was very strong and travelled fast, considering the smaller amount of students and profs. That was how everybody or almost had gotten to know that Allyson, the Arts teacher, and Jake, the Film one, were dating. But there was some kind of respect and solidarity in the school as well, which probably explained why nobody had ratted them out. Of course, if it came to a professor dating a student, then that would be a whole different story. Most girls weren't quite confident or reckless enough to risk approaching him that way, guessing he would most likely turn them away, though he always thought it very flattering. Other made it more obvious though. Gwen, for example. The worst part in it was probably that she didn't look her age at all, which could sometimes make it harder to resist, but the knowledge that she was seventeen, so eight years younger than he was, was enough to stop any kind of thoughts that could have developped otherwise. He wasn't suicidal, nor did he want to lose his job.

Just as the thought passed through his mind, he looked up to see Gwen raising her hand and then asking a question. Smiling back at her, he shrugged lightly. "Anywhere that is on the school grounds. Building shots today," he said. The school buildings, especially the library, were most definitely a good subject for photography. If the settings of the camera were adjusted the right way, it would be possible to make it seem like an ancient picture, because the looks matched the era. "I'm gonna give you all about an hour, maybe a little more, to wander around and take as many shots you can of the Academy, dorm buildings, Library, whichever you want." As he spoke, he glanced over at the clock to notice it was time to start the class, and there didn't seem to be anyone missing. "Alright group, I'll be handing back the photographs you gave me last class along with the instructions for today's project. We're gonna read through it together and then, outside we go," he said as he got back to his feet and walked over to the door, closing it. That was one of the things he was strict about - lateness wasn't tolerated in his classroom. He then headed back to his desk and grabbed the pile of photographs, calling the students' names and handing them over when they came to get them.