FAUX REAL

17

"Alright class," Mr. Takanaki begins, strolling in front of the class, his long hair tied up into a top bun. "The past few weeks we've briefly gone over the seven elements of photography; texture, line, color, shape, form, tone, and space. And before we dive deeper into each component, I think it's time to put what we've learned so far to the test."

Oh, is he finally going to let us take photographs? Bloody time. If I knew this class would be reviewing the fundamentals, I would've taken a different course.

The teacher continues, "I am assigning you all the task of capturing an image that evokes the feeling of beauty. That is the only criteria, nothing else. Beauty is subjective..."

Tuning Mr. Takanaki out, I subtly crane my neck, my gaze flickering towards Lisa who's fervently taking notes. Today her long blonde hair's in a braid with several loose strands framing her small face, her nose scrunched in concentration, her teeth biting into her plump bottom lip.

I narrow my eyes as Taeyong shifts closer to her in his seat and whispers something in her ear. Immediately, she swats him away, rolling her eyes. I suppress a laugh.

Shut down.

As if sensing my lingering stares, her doe eyes snap up to meet mine and the faintest shade of pink captures her cheeks as she smiles at me, like we're old friends. Fuck. I whip my head away, forcing myself to pay attention to the teacher. That was close.

"In addition to the photograph, I would like for you all to draft a little write-up, under a paragraph, of why you chose to capture this specific image and why it represents beauty to you," Mr. Takanaki continues. "I'm going to let you go early today so you can work on this project. You can do this alone or in groups, your choice. If you need to borrow a professional camera, please come see..."

Chairs scrape along the floor as my classmates preemptively begin rushing out of class, not bothering to let our teacher finish with his instructions. Mr. Takanaki lets out a sigh. "Assignment is due next week!" he exclaims over the clamoring of muffled conversations. "No extensions!"

"I'll uh- see you next week, jennie," Jisoo says, hopping off the stool and grabbing her textbook. "Have a good weekend."

"Yeah, you too jisoo," I say mindlessly, tilting my body back and forth, attempting to spot Lisa through the throngs of students hovering in the aisles. Did she already leave?

"Looking for someone?"

"Jesus," I gasp, grasping my chest and instantly wincing. That was so not cool. "Where did you come from?"

Lisa grins, tapping her fingers on my desk. "You're not the only one that can be sneaky," she teases, nodding towards the door. "Are you gonna leave or just hang out in an empty classroom all day?"

"I'm not in a rush," I lie, propping my textbook under my arm and sliding off the stool. She better not think I was waiting for her or something. I clear my throat as we walk down the hallway. "So, any ideas for the assignment?"

She sighs, pursing her lips in thought. "Honestly, I'm not a very creative person, I kind of wish Mr. Takanaki set more parameters," she admits, looking at me. "I have no idea what I'm going to do."

"Well, what do you find beautiful?" I ask casually. "Take a picture of that."

"Mmm," she hums. "I mean, I like flowers but we don't have a garden on campus so I guess I'll just take a picture of a tree or something?" She grunts, shaking her head in frustration. "See? I-I'm not good at this. I miss math class."