The Fault of Pricefield

Part Two: "Blackwell Academy"

Words marked with a * are defined in the glossary at the end of the chapter. :)

"Woah!" Shaking, Max woke up from her chaotic nightmare. The next thing she knew was that she was in a lecture at her High School, Blackwell Academy. She was traumatized. Despite the fact that the vision was probably fiction, the tension; the shaking; and the atmosphere made Max petrified. Slowly consoling herself, she tried to concentrate on her lecture.

Pacing back and forth, Mark Jefferson , Max's teacher, explained his lecture. "Alfred Hitchcock famously called film, 'little pieces of time' but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was." The words of an infamous photographer quoted by a famous photographer; what could go wrong?

"These pieces of time can frame us in glory and our sorrow; from light to shadow; from color to chiaroscuro*."

Max waited impatiently till the bell. A thing that worried her; her friend Kate. Lately, she seemed more... quiet than usual. Consequently, Max decided to see how she is doing once the lesson had ended- it was close to an end.

Several minutes later, while the lesson still went on with Mr Jefferson quoting even more infamous photographers, Victoria (one of the most popular students in Blackwell Academy- and a member of the 'Vortex Club') threw a tiny scrunched up piece of paper at Kate. Curiosity overgrew Max. Keeping in mind the fact that Kate and Victoria's relations weren't very pleasant, she wondered what the paper could be saying. 'Probably another one of her famous insults- poor Kate...' Max stated quietly.

Disengaged, Max picked up her Polaroid camera and deviously held it under her desk in a way the photo she was about to take could contain her face. FLASH! 

"Shh... sh, sh- Max has just taken a- what you kids call, a 'selfie'.' Mr Jefferson affirmed, interrupting Victoria's confident statement, "A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition. And Max... has a gift. Now Max, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join in this conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portrait."

Max was embarrassed- almost on the verge of mortification. "I- I did know! But I kinda forgot..." she stuttered quietly, sitting in an uncomfortable position while trying to avoid eye-contact with anyone. "See?" Jefferson pointed out, "Now, is there anybody here who knows their stuff?"                                       "Louis Daguerre was a French painter who created 'daguerreotypes', a process that gave portraits a sharp reflective style, like a mirror," clarified Victoria, out of the blue, "Now you're totally stuck in the retro-zone, sad face." Max gave her a dirty look and looked away. 

"Thank you, Victoria-" Jefferson apposed, unfortunately- for him- getting interrupted by the bell. 

In a rush, everyone trotted out of the classroom, apart from Kate, Max and Victoria. Max walked over to Kate's desk. "Hi, Kate." sounded Max, slightly enthusiastically.

"Oh, hi Max." responded Kate, scribbling something in her notepad.

"You seem quiet today."

"Just thinking too much..."

"I hear that. Want to grab a cup o' tea and bitch about life?"

"Thank, but not today. I have to go over homework."

"No worries. Let's hang later."

With a sweet, warm smile, Max walked away. However, something caught her eye. It was the ball of paper that Victoria threw at Kate. Cautiously, she picked it up, folding it out right after. "Dear Kate, we love your porn video. Love~ Blackwell Academy <3" it read. 'Oh... poor thing..."

Glossary

Chiaroscuro: the treatment of light and shade in drawing and painting.

Note from author

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get out. Hope you enjoyed reading! ♥