Through The Lens

Chapter Two

"No." I huffed.

Reed groaned. "Mari. You are overthinking this whole thing and quite frankly, it's unnecessary. Just call the guy back and find out what the deal is. I bet you it's not going to be as bad as you think."

I shook my head. "No Reed."

"Look, I know your anxiety makes it nearly impossible to do things like this, but I'm right here. I won't leave you to do it alone, okay?"

"What if it's a prank?" I wondered out loud.

"I bet it's not."

"Yea?" I challenged. "How much do you want to bet on that?"

Reed thought a minute. "$25."

"$25? That's it?" I confirmed.

"Yes."

I grabbed her hand and shook it. "Deal." I got up and walked over to my dresser. I picked up my phone and typed in the number that my grandmother wrote down for me.

I pushed the green call button and put it on speaker. Reed chuckled and I rolled my eyes. Her sitting beside me is the only reason I'm able to make this call.

"Hello, this is Jeff."

I took a deep breath. "Hello. My name is-"

"Marina Hall." The voice cut me off. "It's nice to hear from you."

"Uh, yeah." I chuckled. "How did you know?"

"Your grandmother passed along your personal number when I spoke with her."

I let out a nervous laugh. "Oh. That's something she would do."

"Yes, well, I'd like to get right into it. I was advised not to bombard you with this, but I need an answer. I have a client that is in Los Angeles for the weekend for a photoshoot. Unfortunately though, we had to fire his last photographer due to legal issues. So I need to find someone to fill in for a while. We can start out with just this first photoshoot and then go from there is you'd like. We already have everything set up, we just need you and your camera."

"Uh." I hesitated. "Um, I need some time to think about it."

"Okay. Well, please let me know before 5pm today. Our first session is at 7pm."

"I will. Thank you."

"Talk with you soon!"

"You too, bye."

I hung up and sighed heavily.

Reed leaned over and put her head on my shoulder. "It sounds exciting."

I nodded. "It does, but I'm not good with meeting new people, Reed."

"You seemed to do fine with Harry yesterday."

I glared at her. I almost regret telling her about Harry. She hasn't left me alone about it since. "Can we just get to campus now? I only have one class and then I can do whatever I want for the rest of the day."

Reed sighed. "Okay Mari. We can go, but don't let this opportunity pass without really thinking about it, okay?"

I gave her my best fake smile. "Okay, I promise. Now let's go!"

We grabbed our bags and walked outside and got into our respective cars. I followed her to campus.

***

"Marina, can I see you before you go?" Dr. Taft caught my attention as people filed out of the classroom.

I nodded and walked over to her desk, separating myself from the crowd leaving.