LUCIFER » SIMON MINTER

Chapter 25

As soon as I got home I logged onto my email and inserted my camera chip to my computer to download the small bundle of pictures I had taken. I wanted to make sure I got all the raw, unedited pictures to the family as quickly as possible. I waited impatiently and tapped my fingers on my desk as I watched each of the pictures download onto my computer.

I then figured out a quick way to send them all to the man who had given me his email address. I was done within a couple of minutes, but I still wanted to add something to the email.

I picked up my phone and played some music as I opened some of the pictures that I liked most and started playing around with the lighting of each of them. In the end, I ended up with three of my favourite pictures that I had printed out, laid out in front of me on my desk. I smiled to myself as little Toddy smiled up at the camera: his small milk teeth matching the colour of the snow around him. He looked so happy. I aspired to be like him.

Then I started writing the email to him and his parents.

Dear Toddy, Mr. and Mrs. Powell,

Firstly, I want to thank you so much for allowing me to take pictures of your family. Attached you will find each of the pictures I took, raw and unedited. I hope you love them as much as I do.

I have chosen three images, which have been marked with a little star, that I love the most. I have played with the lighting of them separately, and am hoping to include these in my project, with your consent, of course. Until now, I have only mentioned that the pictures are for a personal project, but I should probably explain this further.

As I said earlier, photography is my passion and some of my works have made it into a teen magazine. I am also videographer and photographer for Sarah Close, a musician on YouTube. I want to pursue my photography career even further by sending the three starred pictures to another photographer friend of mine, Ed Hours.

As I said before, I think these pictures will make great Christmas pictures. Therefore, I think they will do well in the next teen magazine edition, which is Christmas themed as Christmas is just around the corner.

Again, thank you so much,

Lucifer Williams

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I hit send. I don't know why, but before sending emails I always felt nervous. What if I don't send it to the right person? Oops.

After that I sat back in my chair, looking around my room and the polaroid pictures stuck to my wall. There was one from a while back that caught my attention, but I was distracted when my laptop made a sound to say that I had received an email.

It was from Mr. Powell. Who even writes that fast?

Dearest Lucifer,

We are so excited about your pictures. We've just had a quick look through and we love them all. We would be honoured to be featured in your photos for the next teen magazine.

Thank you for reminding us to send our Christmas cards and making choosing a family picture much easier!

Mark Powell

I bit down on my lower lip and stood up, jumping around my room in joy. I jumped on my bed and bounced around, making sure I wouldn't be hitting my head on the ceiling. I then jumped back down and re-read his email. The blood ran cold in my veins as reality only just sunk in. Some of the best pictures I have ever taken have been allowed to be sent in to Ed, which were then to be sent to the teen magazine. I was ecstatic.

I ran my hands through my hair and broke into a smile. I couldn't believe this was real. In the background, I could faintly hear one of the other girls' doors finally being opened. With a quick glance at my watch, I didn't know why I was surprised she'd only wake up by midday.

She opened my window, and Freya popped her head through the gap with bags underneath her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept well, if she even slept at all.

'Where did Simon go?' She asked, confused. I was suddenly taken back to the events of this morning and my palms tingled with regret. I shouldn't just have sent him out like that, and it'll sound weird if I tell the truth. Freya won't be very impressed.

'He left after we woke up,' I told her. She raised an eyebrow at me but then shrugged.

'Did you guys sleep on the couch the whole night?' She asked and I simply nodded. 'Okay. Anyways, are we good for next Saturday?' She asked another question, which confused me this time.

'Next Saturday? Why, what's next Saturday?' I asked. She rolled her eyes at me.

'It's Christmas. We're all going to the Sidemen house.' She said.

'Oh.' I turned around in my desk chair once and enjoyed the slight dizzy effect it gave me. But the feeling didn't last long, and then I was faced with answering her question again. 'Okay,' Is all I said.

'Thought so,' She dipped her head and then headed back out, closing my door behind her. I stared down at my lap, and when I looked back up, I looked directly into the polaroid that caught my attention earlier.

It was a picture of Simon and I in the flat we used to live in together. He was holding a champagne bottle, whilst I was drinking some from a fancy glass. He had one arm around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. We both had the biggest smiles on our faces, and the flash of the camera in the darkly lit room captured his bluest eyes. It was a small party we held in the evening, to which we invited all the Sidemen and close friends. The caption was scribbled in Simon's handwriting in thick black marker:

ONE YEAR TOGETHER 14/2/15

My eyes were then led to the one next to it, which was a picture Callux, Sarah's boyfriend, took of us. The four of us went for a walk in the country side after we all claimed we were in need of some fresh air. I loved spending time like that with Simon. It was rare for him to be out of the house and not filming anything. The picture showed Simon and I walking down a muddy stone road, hand in hand, my hair flying in the wind. There were green fields that were topped off with a thin layer of frost on either side of us. We were both still wearing our big winter coats. I was the one who wrote the caption this time:

TWO YEARS 14/2/16

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Sorry for not updating the last two days 😂😬 I only realised I forgot about it this morning. I feel like I've said before in this book that they dated for one year instead of 2 and if I did, please tell me where and I'll change it :)

Mel xx