Everything You Never Knew : Secrets

Chapter 1

To the outside observer Rachel Casper appeared to be an average, perhaps even stereotypical peppy college girl. She was almost halfway through her junior at NYU and she was obsessed with her major in photo journalism.

Rachel developed a passion for photography early in life starting with old-school Polaroid’s when she was just ten years old. She’d stay in the shadows and snap candid after candid of her family and friends, trying to find new angles of still objects that would make the picture seem more interesting. She loved catching people in their 'private moments' as she called them, though to her that never meant inappropriate moments. She simply loved it when she could snap a picture that would depict a certain facial expression that suggested the subject was in their own world for the moment; deep in thought or perhaps lost in blissful thoughtlessness. As she grew into a young teenager she graduated to digital photography and started using programs like Photoshop on her computer to edit her pictures. By the time she was in high school she’d developed quite a portfolio and enjoyed participating in High School activities such as Yearbook and Newspaper. She was never exactly popular but she was respected due to her craft, and perhaps also because of her association with her best friend, but she was very conscious about defining her own identity and being viewed as an individual.

Rachel decided on NYU when she was only a freshman so she spent her four years of High School figuring out exactly what she’d need to do to get accepted. She had no backup plan, it was NYU or bust. She was relieved when her acceptance letter came in the mail but Rachel was the type of person who not only had dedication, but also kind of confidence that kept her from ever having to feel anxious. Fortunately, her confidence never seemed to spill over into arrogance.

Rachel was always in control of herself. She was outgoing and friendly toward her peers. She maintained a social life in High School but she also studied hard and never compromised her priorities. The parties and the coffee hangs were always squeezed into a tight schedule and she never allowed anyone or anything to distract her too much. The only exception to that was perhaps Ashley's concerts, but even the sacrifices Rachel made for her best friend were pre-planned to fit her schedule.

Rachel’s best friend, Ashley Noelle Montgomery, understood and respected Rachel’s dedication to her passion. Ashley had her own passion that she was even more dedicated to, she was an amazing singer and songwriter. The girls met in Homeroom the first day of their freshman year at Ard Eevin High School, or AEHS as it was often referred to. AEHS was an upscale magnet school in the Greater Los Angeles County. It was rather large but known for its students post-graduation high success rate in the arts. A lot of emphasis was put on the arts; mainly photography and architecture but also performing arts. Graduates of AEHS often went on to star in Broadway plays or become dancers in professional ballet companies. Artists, actors and singers from Glendale often came out of AEHS.

On that fateful first day of Rachel's freshman year, the students sloppily gathered into Homeroom with no idea what to expect. They were gossiping and giggling, obviously nervous about having to downgrade from ruling their school in eighth grade to becoming bottom feeders all over again, but Rachel wasn’t phased.

Rachel was sitting at a desk in the back with a photography book open in front of her, oblivious to the chaos around her as her eyes harshly scrutinized the use of contrast on a black and white photo of the Statue of Liberty taken with a Canon DLSR. She was concentrating so hard in fact that she felt offended when a shadow slowly moved over the page to interrupt her stare. She didn’t mind the chaos waffling around her but she didn’t appreciate it invading her territorial bubble. She immediately pressed her lips together and brushed back some untamed dark curls from her olive cheeks as she snapped her chin up to see who dared interrupt her. She didn’t recognize the girl but her first initial impression was that she was beautiful and she obviously didn’t know it, which was rare these days. Usually the most beautiful girls carried themselves with a sense of arrogance so repulsive that it turned them ugly. This girl’s blonde hair was so long it hung to the small of her back. Instead of being stringy, it was shiny and flawless, flowing like it was its own weightless entity. Her face was pale and eternally baby-doll with its soft heart shape, tiny button nose, full pink pouty lips and sea blue eyes. In spite of her beauty, her chin was tilted downward. Some of her blond shiny hair flowed over her cheeks as if she was hiding, and very afraid. Her widened eyes darted from side to side as she immediately took a step back. Rachel instantly felt guilty for her own narrowed eyes and rigid body language.