A Second Chance (book 2. of Transport)

5) Smile

We managed to find an old camera which was great. The thing is everyone had to look all nice and neat. I'm talking face washed, hair casually done, clean clothes type of neat. That was the easy part. These were only a precaution. It's the actual paperwork we need to worry about.

The other problem came with actually taking the photos. We had to do a few test runs just to get used to the light itself. After that there were a few minor bumps. Teresa did accidentally seem to glare at the camera twice, and Sonya was just barely over the line. I wasn't exactly worried about them though. That was an easy fix. I just had to change the angle or tell them where to be, and the problem was solved with a quick retake.

The guys had been a different story. Frypan was extremely dramatic about the light, but that wasn't a surprise. It was still frustrating though. Then, Aris kept blinking. I don't mean once or twice. I mean we needed six pictures for him to look normal.

Now it was only Harriet, and I was definitely thankful for that.

"Okay. This should be super simple,"I promised, looking in the camera.

"That thing's kind of weird,"Harriet remarked.

"If you think this is weird you're in for a shock when we get to the city. Now smile,"I instructed. She did so, and I snapped the photo. In the end they all seemed like they'd turn out fine.

"That looks great. I just need one of you to take mine."

"I'll do it,"Teresa volunteered.

"Sounds like a plan,"I shrugged, stepping behind the blue tape. We ended up needing to move it around a few times to find the right angle, but after Frypan complaining that he was going blind we got it.

"In three, two,"She counted down. I tried to not make my grin look forced.

I love you.

I tried not to show surprise at the extremely random burst of affection. Still, as much as it pains me to admit it, I definitely didn't have to force my smile now.

"One,"She finished. "That's a good one. You don't look like you're being held hostage,"She remarked.

"Okay? Thanks,"I responded, confused on how I was supposed to take that. "So we should be all good to go. At least, until we figure out how to contact Gally,"I added.

"Do we get to pick our names?"Frypan asked.

"Yeah. Just don't pick anything stupid. Right now you're stuck with them,"I pointed out.

"Why do you care if we pick something stupid?"He asked. That was an ironic choice of words considering the question itself was stupid. Who wants to deal with a ridiculous name on their own free will?

"Are you going to pick something stupid?"I asked, stone-faced.

"No."

"Good. Now get ready for your third name. You guys are on a role,"I absentmindedly admitted. Once I realized what I said I tried not to cringe at the words.

"Third?"Sonya asked.

"Oh, yeah. Just forget about that."

"What do you mean third?"Aris spoke up.

It'd be a jerk move to keep them in the dark from that. It's their names. Not mine.

"Your names aren't really yours. It's complicated, but I think you know who took them."

"Do you know-"
"Elizabeth and Deedee,"I interrupted, pointing at the people who had become Sonya and Teresa. "I don't know the rest,"I added.

As expected a heavy silence filled the air. There's no right or wrong way to react to this kind of news. Even not having a reaction was understandable. Understandable as in I get why they wouldn't know what to say. Not understandable in the way of relating to it.