The Delivery Girl

14. Class

Julie

The thirteen of us manage to cram ourselves into the elevator. Mr. Sterling waves as the doors slide shut and we begin heading down. The normally spacious area feels like a shoebox. They chat quietly amongst themselves, seeming to already be getting along.

Even though most of them are around my age, they're more talented than I could ever dream of being. They have years and years of experience and education. I'd do anything to be in their position, interning here, but I know it'd never happen.

I lead them to the restaurant down the street, feeling like a schoolteacher leading a line of children on a field trip. I make sure to pay close attention to where we're heading, the last thing I want to do is get lost and embarrass myself.

It's a small place Mr. Sterling recommended. We end up being split into two tables of six and seven.

"Hey, it's Julie, right?" The guy next to me gives me a friendly smile. His bright blue eyes are immediately warm and inviting. "I'm Rob Thomas."

"Yup, nice to meet you," I say.

He seemed the most enthusiastic of all the interns – asking Mr. Sterling tons of questions and eager to respond every time he gave the interns room to speak.

He slides his chair a bit closer to mine. "So how long have you worked at Sterling Studios?"

I notice the girl sitting across from me silently turning her attention to us. She hasn't said much since this morning, I'm not sure if I even remember her name. Isabella, I think.

"Not long, a little over a month now." Time flies, I still remember my first day like it was yesterday. "I haven't done much," I mumble awkwardly.

He laughs and shakes his head. "Don't sell yourself short like that, I'm sure your role is important. Mr. Sterling obviously saw something in you if he hired you."

I smile shyly. "Thanks, I appreciate that." There's something about Rob that puts me at ease. He's surprisingly easy to talk to. "What type of photography did you say you do?"

"Mainly portraits and people. Not the boring corporate kind though, more like families, engagements, performers... that type of thing," he explains. "I actually minored in kinesiology. Understanding human anatomy has helped me with getting people into good poses."

I nod. It sounds vaguely familiar from the meetings I took minutes for. "How about you, Isabella?" I turn to her, silently praying I got her name right. "What sort of photography do you specialize in?"

She jolts and her eyes widen a bit as we turn our attention towards her. I suddenly feel a bit guilty, putting her on the spot like this. As a fellow quiet and shy person, I know how it feels to be forgotten and left out. I just wanted to help.

"Oh, er, nature," she says shyly, fidgeting with her thick glasses. "Plants."

We wait for her to continue, but she doesn't seem to have anything else to say.

"That sounds nice," I say. "How did you end up in the program?"

"My mom used to work here as a photographer," she explains. "Someone from the company emailed her when applications opened this year... they remembered she has a daughter interested in photography."

Rob laughs. "Good ol' nepotism."

Isabella looks down at her plate. "I... um... I guess so."

"Hey sorry, I was just teasing," he quickly says. "I'm in the same boat, actually. My step dad works here too."