SnapShot

Chapter one

Dallas Cohan walked through town looking at everything how he always has. Through the lens of a camera.

To Dallas everything could become a work of art. If taken with the right camera and by the right person. He chose to see things in a way that not many people understood. In Dallas's mind, life was like a quote someone once said or wrote. He had heard it but didn't know who originally said it. "Life is like a camera. Focus on what's important, Capture the good times, Develop from the negatives, And if things don't work out, Take another shot."

That is how Dallas chose to live. And he often found himself referring to it many times a day. His parents divorced when he was ten and for a while he felt lost. He didn't know what to do with his life anymore. He forgot who he was and he realized that he never really knew. Then one day his Aunt Carisa let him play with her photography camera, and something clicked. He was hooked from the first photo. And it was then that he made up his mind. He was going to be a photographer. He walked into the café and up to the counter.

"Hey Bianca, how's it going?" Dallas said to the girl behind the counter. She had shoulder length ombré hair that fell in curls, and brown eyes. Her skin a warm tan color. She wore a cream colored v-neck t-shirt, skinny jeans , converse, and a black waitress apron. Bianca was a friend from his school who work part time at the towns café so she could save up for a car. They met at photography club in their freshman year of high school.

"Hey Dallas," she said. "Do you ever go anywhere without that camera?"

"No I do not. And I'm a little hurt that you didn't figure that out by now. " Dallas said turning off his camera and looking at the menu. "I'll take a french vanilla cappuccino to go please."

"God you pick the most girly coffees ever." Bianca said as she began to make the cappuccino.

"And I am not ashamed to admit that." Dallas said with a smirk.

"Well okay, here ya go." Bianca said pushing the cup across the counter to Dallas. "That'll be $3.40."

Dallas took out his wallet and handed her the money. "Thanks Bi." Dallas said turning on his camera and snapping a picture of Bianca before grabbing his coffee and walking towards the door.

"Ya know if your gonna take pictures of me, they better be good, and if they're not, you better photoshop them." Bianca called out before returning to her job. Dallas breathed a laugh.

Dallas went down to the beach and sat at a picnic table under a tree. Sipping his cappuccino, and looking through his photos. Deciding which ones to save and which to delete.

He checked his watch, it was 5:30. Time for him to get back to his dad's house, it was his dad's week.

When he got back to his house and walked up the front steps, it was 5:56. Time for dinner. When he walked through the door, he was greeted with the smell of cheeseburgers and fries. He walked into the kitchen to see the food finished and his stepmom, Sherrie, putting his one year old half sister, Chelsea, in her feeding chair. Dallas was an only child other than Chelsea. His dad, Chris, got remarried to Sherrie when Dallas was fifteen years old. A year later they had Chelsea.

"Dallas! Your back," Sherrie said with a smile. "Good I need your help to set the table."

Sherrie had shoulder length brown curly hair that was parted down the middle, warm brown eyes, and she was always smiling.

"Hey Sherrie, dad still at work?" Dallas asked.

"Yeah he's on his way home." She said handing him a stack of plates. "Get any good pictures?"

"Yeah a few." Dallas replied as he put the plates down on the dinner table. After a few minutes Dallas's dad walked through the front door.

"I'm home!" He shouted. Chris Cohan pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. He really needed to get a haircut.

"Hi honey!" Sherrie said as she placed a plate of burgers in the middle of the table.
"I made your favorite." Sherrie Smiled as Chris gave her a kiss. Dallas liked his stepmom. He thought she was good for his dad. She made Chris happier than Dallas had seen him in a while. Her positive, happy, smiling personality made Chris happy, and if she made Chris happy, then Dallas was happy for him.

"So Dallas, how was the board walk?" Chris asked as he walked over to Chelsea and kissed her chubby baby face.

"Great. The light from the sun highlighted the water perfectly, so I got some pretty good pictures." Dallas said enthusiastically. Chris smiled. He was proud of his son's photography carrer. Dallas' photos had been in galleries several times, and had won awards.

"Well I hope to see these great photos. But now I'm going to eat one of my beautiful wife's delicious cheeseburgers." Chris said as he sat down at the table and grabbed and began to devour a cheeseburger.

As they sat down and ate, Dallas let his mind wander. He thought about all of the college applications he sent out, and all of the replies he hadn't received. It worried him that not one college had replied to his application. And he didn't know why? Dallas was a straight A student, had never been in trouble and had glowing recommendation letters from his teachers. He expected a letter back by now. But for whatever reason the colleges he had applied to had not responded yet, he hoped they would soon. Those colleges were his future and Dallas had his mind made up about his future.