[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/191204/402d00244aede2589f630d4cd542ea0c.png[/img]
[img]https://i.ibb.co/kc3BdW0/alexb.png[/img][/center]
"Coffee, Mister Bellamy?"  Principle Hendersen held a small, white, generic paper cup in front of him which was filled with whatever they considered [i]coffee[/i] at the school.

[color=00AEEF]"Alex."[/color] The young man across from him responded with a half smile. [color=00AEEF]"And-uh, no thanks."[/color]

"Sure thing, son." The other shrugged, tossing the black liquid into the nearby wastebasket. "So hey, thanks for coming in a bit early this morning. It was great having you here last year taking photos for the yearbook -which came out great by the way- and all the events happening around the school. I gotta say, the staff here [i]love[/i] you for making us look good. Even Miss Petree, who seems to have a thing for your work." The man chuckled to himself, while Alex gave an obviously cringed expression, knowing exactly what was implied. 

[color=00AEEF]“Uh…[i]yeah[/i], so...can I go?”[/color] Alex said, his nose still crunched up as he motioned toward the exit with both hands.

The older man cracked a cheesy grin, with a slightly odd chuckle, before continuing. "Aaaanyway, yeah you know the drill. We just need some stock footage of students coming in, a few candid ones, and then when the assembly starts, get some nice shots of the staff on stage. Of course, before we can use images of the kids, we’ll need parents permission if they’re under eighteen, etcetera, etcetera…”  He said before taking a drink of coffee and nodding. “I’d really like to spruce up the school paper, the video announcement content, and even the website...poor thing has been so neglected.

Alex nodded and gave a half-hearted smile while musing at the fact the principle still keeps wanting to work on that sorry excuse for a high school website. From what he understood, the video monitors inside the school halls that were supposed to showcase “RoseFell High School Current Events” haven’t worked for a couple of years, at least some of them anyway, and the content that was published was fairly stale. And then there’s the school paper, which was probably the saddest state of affairs, because really, who the hell reads newspapers?

[color=00AEEF]“Well, at least there’s the yearbook to look forward to.”[/color] Alex shrugged, looking down at his digital SLR Canon, and making a few adjustments, moreso out of boredom, anxiety, and probably a few other things thrown in. 

“Damn right, sport.” Principle Henderson said with a mocking slow motion punch to the kid’s shoulder, as though he just gave a most excellent pep talk. “Alright, I’ve wasted enough of your time. Scoot off and do something creative!” 

[i]Holy shit, it’s about fucking time![/i]

[color=00AEEF]“Awesome, thank you Mister Henderson, for your...continued encouragement.”[/color] Alex nodded with a straight face, but as he turned on a heel for the opposite direction, couldn’t help but crack a smile and almost bust out laughing while heading through the exit doors toward the main corridor.

[b]Freedom at last.[/b]

It was about eight o'clock, and students were pulling into the parking lots and slowly making their way through the main entry and toward the Auditorium. In a way, Alex loved this feeling, it was a rush, really. Sure, most students really didn’t want to be here, but at the same time, the energy could be felt nonetheless. That energy totally translated into each and every photograph that was taken. There was a dynamic that you couldn’t fake, which made it worth the time.

Alex usually kept himself off to the sidelines, as he didn’t need to be bumped, or crowded by anyone, especially while he was working in his craft. His typical wardrobe were in the realm of blacks and grays from Old Navy, a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of stone washed jeans, and black Adidas. He blended in with just about anything, leaving plenty of others sticking out like a sore thumb with their wild outfits, hair styles, and bling. He liked it that way. Every-so-often he peaked out over the top of the camera to compose an image in his mind’s eye, before looking through the viewfinder to frame a shot. Some of the kids smiled, others waved and goofed off, and then of course there were the handful with obscene gestures just because they could. A tall redhead with an elegant light yellow toned sundress and jean jacket stopped in front of the camera with the most gorgeous of smiles, standing there for a few moments staring at the young photographer, which made Alex a bit uneasy. He didn’t like the attention. 

“By the way.” The girl started to walk away. “The lens cap is still on.” She smirked as she continued down the hallway.

[color=00AEEF]“Whaa…?”[/color] Alex’s face had a confused expression, and the thought of actually having the lens cap on all that time made him borderline angry, until…

“Gotcha!” The redhead yelled from down the hall at the same time Alex realized the lens cap was, in fact, [i]not[/i] on. 

Fucking high school.

A few minutes later brought him outside the front entry near where the faded red picnic tables were situated, and a few students had already sat down for a variety of reasons. He first recognized the blonde -[i]shit, what was her name again?[/i]- sitting and finishing off some kind of sandwich. He’d never actually formally met her, but people hear things about other people in a moments notice. Still, she seemed like an okay person. 

Oh yeah, and then Jordan, who was sitting at one of the other tables way too focused on his phone to even notice the few pictures that were taken of him. Alex remembered that "drama queen" all too well, especially from all the times he wanted to be in just about every picture for the yearbook last year. No doubt he hasn’t changed, but it usually takes more than a single summer to change anyone. 

Wow. The summer had gone by faster than Alex hoped, and the one regret he had was not being able to spend enough time with Alana. They both really hit off last year, well, later in the year anyway. It was kind of a slow burn thing with them, because both were about as shy as could be, and social interactions were sparse. But, they got over that hurdle about mid-year, and spending time with one another was something Alex looked forward to almost exclusively. But, the summer came, and both of their families had their own plans for trips and activities, which didn’t include either one of them being together. 

But there was that kiss. A single kiss one fairly cool evening in July that Alex would never forget. God he missed it, and hoped there would be more to come before next summer came out of nowhere.