Life Without Warning

Chapter 1

"Beep beep beep beep"

Ughhhhhh. Get up Weston. You can't be late for work and it starts at 8:30 so hurry up. You don't want to be late.

I lurched my body to a sitting position and slapped the top of my alarm clock to turn it off. It was 7:30. Yawning and stretching, I slowly got out of bed and looked around for my towel. Quickly locating it hanging on my bedroom door, I walked over and pulled it off. I made my way to my bathroom and took a quick shower, letting the water pour over my body.

Five minutes later, I leave the bathroom in my boxers, letting the steam pour out of the bathroom. Taking a quick glance at my alarm clock which read 7:48, I look outside my window to see the New York City skyline and the sidewalk below my 17th floor apartment covered in snow.

Damn it.

I got dressed in a pair of long Levi jeans, a Ralph Lauren sweatshirt, and a pair of brown Eastland work boots with thick socks. I sped to the bathroom, my boots squeaking as I ran, fixed my hair, brushed my teeth, and shaved my face in about five minutes. I checked the time again and it was 8:01.

Perfect, I have 29 minutes to grab a coffee and get to the studio. I slid a grey beanie on my head, water-proof leather gloves on my hands, slipped into my coat and zippered it all the up to my chin. I grabbed my camera bag and a scarf just in case and walked out the door.

As soon as I stepped outside, my face was hit with a blast of snowy air. I speed-walked to the Starbucks across the street of my apartment and swung open the door. Taking a step in side, I was hit by the warm, coffee smell of shop. Stepping into the line, I pulled $5 out of my wallet. When I got up to the cash register, I ordered a tall hazelnut and handed the lady my five dollar bill while telling her my name. I watched her write my name on the cup while I walked over to the side of the counter to wait for my coffee.

Checking the time on my phone which said 8:16, my name was called. I took my coffee from the counter and left for the studio.

Speed-walking through the Upper East side of New York, I passed hot dog stands and a hot walnut stand, which looked extremely inviting, being that my hands and face we're freezing. Finally, I reach the doors of the studio and take a step inside.

"Hey Wes." greets Marlie with a smile. She's my coworker and she's a good friend of mine.

"Hey Mar." I reply with a small wave, deeply exhaling as I felt the warmth of the studio. I set my camera bag on the ground and plopped myself in a chair.

"Okay, so you have 4 clients today. At 9:30, you have a family coming in for a few pictures. Should take an hour at most. Then at 11:00, you have a pet company coming in with a well-trained dog shooting a few pictures for a dog brand. That one might take a bit longer. Then, we have lunch break for an hour and after that, you've got a baby girl coming in at 2:00 for some pictures which should take a relatively short amount of time. And finally, at 3:30, you've got a male model coming in to model for some type of clothing company. Which should take at least an hour. That company will be coming in quite a lot from now on with different models since we signed that contract saying that we will be their company photographer. Any questions?" She said as she looked through her schedule on her clipboard.

"Uhm, nope I think I understood that all." I said as I tried to register everything she'd just said through my brain.

Family shoot at 9:30, dog shoot at 11:00, baby girl at 1:30? No, I'm pretty sure it's 2:00, and male model at 3:30. Got it.

"Wait, so that means I'll be getting off at 4:00?" I asked with a big grin on my face.

Marlie laughed and said, "Yes, that means that you'll get off at 4:00."

"Yes!" I said, clapping my hands together.

"Oh shut up, I doubt you have any plans tonight." she said with a smirk as she put set her clipboard down on her desk.

"You're right, I don't. Not tonight anyways. I'm a pretty popular guy, you know." I said with a smirk. I took sip of my coffee.

"Yeah, right." She said.

I shot her a playful glare while she laughed.

"Your first client if the day should be coming in soon." She said as she walked away.

"Have a wonderful day, Marlie!" I yelled. She turned her torso around slightly as she walked and gave me a sarcastic "thumbs-up". I chuckled to myself at took the schedule off her desk and flipped through it while drinking the rest of my coffee. Checking the time on my watch which read 9:27, I looked around expecting to see the first client of the day.

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice said. It was coming from the doorway.

I shot up and went to around the front desk to the doorway. Sure enough, my 9:30 family was here.

"Hello." I said as I held out my hand. A man who I took to be the father shook my hand.

"Hello. We have a photoshoot set for 9:30. " he said in a really deep voice. He had some stubble on his chin and salt and pepper hair. Had come in with his petite, blonde wife and their two kids; a what looked like 6 or 7 year old girl and a 11 or 12 year old boy.

"Yes, I will be your photographer. My name is Wesley and if you could just follow me to the back of the studio where your photos will be taken." I said as I walked around the front desk with the family behind me.

"Here we go. This is what you had asked for when you made your appointment, right?" I asked.

"Yep, yep, this is exactly what we'd asked for." the wife replied.

"Good. So now if you two," I motioned to the two parents, "will sit right here, kind of angled towards each other but make sure to leave space for the kids." I said as I adjusted them. After adjusting them, I returned to my camera and snapped three or four pictures, all of which turned out perfectly.

"Okay, now, we're are going to do what I like to call a free movement shoot. You guys are just gonna do whatever you guys like to do, play and talk, just make it look natural." I explained. I picked up my camera and took at least twenty pictures, while they laughed and talked and played around.

After about an hour, they were out the door, waving goodbye as they walked away. Satisfied, I sat down and waited for my next client.

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My day went pretty great after that. The rest of my clients came and went, all satisfied.

"Bye Marlie!" I said as I gathered my things, getting ready to leave for home.

"Oh, bye Wes! See you tomorrow." she replied with a bright smile.

I pushed open the door and made my way home in the freezing cold. As soon as I got home, I set down my stuff and took off my boots and coat. Plopping myself on the couch, I turned on the TV and texted Hunter, who was now in medical school. While I waited for his reply, I got up and made myself a bowl of popcorn. This was basically my daily routine. Work, home, eat, sleep. It was an easy-going lifestyle but I'm just waiting for something to happen. Something fun and without warning.
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Sorry for the crappy chapter! I was kind of at a wall because I wanted to wait a little until he met Halle, so I ended up making a chapter basically talking about his daily life. I promise the next one will be better!

-Daniella