Through The Lens | ✓

11

^ Payton Larson ^

Thursday. The day I got a horribly blurry photo because of one person.

Payton.

I grabbed my purple bag and coat before heading to the small cafe on 31st Street. It was colder that day. The wind blew through my air, bitterly cold, sending a shiver down my spine. I picked up speed, wanting to get to the cafe faster.

I pushed open the door of the cafe and welcomed the smell of coffee beans. I went to the cashier and ordered a chai tea and a warm brownie.

I went to my usual table near the window, and I spotted Finlay right away. He was sitting at his usual table with a new book, The Chronicles of Narnia. 

I smiled at his choice of book, because that book just happened to be my favorite book. I had shamelessly spent a total of over one hundred hours reading that book for the past few years.

I took a sip of my tea as I pulled out my camera. I brushed off a fleck of dust before removing the lens cap. The lens found Finlay, and I readied myself to take the perfect picture.

Ready, perfect, snap. I pulled back, then furrowed my eyebrows at the blurry picture. A figure had stopped in front of my camera right when I took the picture.

I looked up from my screen to see who the innocent person was. 

I was slightly surprised to see Payton standing there.

"Were you just taking a picture of that guy?" he asked, jerking a thumb towards Finlay. I sat my camera in my lap.

"No," I answered nonchalantly. I hoped he didn't notice the lie from my strained expression.

"Mhm. Sure." He sat down at the chair across from me, sitting down his mug on the smooth tabletop. "Why were you taking a picture of him?"

"I said, I wasn't taking a picture of him," I repeated. I hated lying to people, and I had been having to do it a lot, but I had no other choice. Did I?

"It was obvious, Camilla," he said bluntly. 

I narrowed my eyes at him. "How so?"

"Well, first of all, I was standing right there when you pointed your camera straight at him, second, you're just a horrible liar."

I groaned, and dropped my head into my hands. "I know I am." My voice came out muffled, and I hoped he didn't hear me. 

"So, you were taking a picture of him?" Payton asked.

"Yes."