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| orphic |

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orphic
(adj.) mysterious and entrancing;
beyond ordinary understanding

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Rue didn't arrive early to class that Monday.

In fact, she made it a point to arrive late, earning a look of suspicion from June. She'd waved her off, saying that she wanted to see what it was like not being first. But she wasn't entirely convinced if her sharp roommate had bought her story or not.

And the reason for this change in behaviour?

It had a name composed of five letters and three syllables, with a mane of unnaturally coloured hair.

Avery.

His actions deeply confused her, to say the least.

At least the project is over now.

She thought.

But the memories of the weekend kept playing inside her head like a film roll that was stuck in a loop of infinity. She wasn't sure what to feel or say. So she decided to stick with what she did best, at the moment.

And that was photography.

Today morning, her choice of outfit was a bit different. She'd worn her short hair half tied up and half loose. A plaid skirt covered the very tops of her knees, with a olive turtleneck tucked under it. Black socks and shoes warmed her toes against the rapidly dropping temperature.

She stepped into the noisy classroom, feeling a pang of regret at missing out on her peaceful solitude at the beginning of class that she usually experienced.

She crossed past Avery's desk, without muttering a word and sat down at her own. He turned his head, following her with his eyes, an eyebrow raised.

Had he done something wrong?

Or maybe it was his imagination...

Or was it those boyish impulses of his?

The boy wasted no time in waddling up to her and presenting six neatly printed out photographs; a set for both of them.

'Morning,' he said cautiously.

'Oh... uh, hey. Morning.' She replied, a bit frazzled. 'Thanks for printing them out.'

'We have to name them don't we?'

'Yeah, and then stick it in our individual files.'

'Do you want to name them?'

'How about we alternate and decide on the, um, last one together?'

'Uh, sure thing.'

It took them a while to figure the names out. Their professor walked around the classroom, observing the pairs of students as they worked. Finally after a ton of debating, they came up with three names.

When it was their turn to go up and present their photographs before the class, Avery suggested that they do the same thing with speaking in turns.

'The first,' Rue said, 'Is called Spiced. We decided to take a new outlook on this assignment, the credit for which goes to Avery.'

He flashed a smile which she tried her hardest to ignore.

'We wanted to portray autumn by portraying our childhood memories of it. So this, represents the hot chocolate and cinnamon that I always loved to have during autumn.'

Avery took his turn.

'The second,' he continued, 'Is titled Insulation. And I think you all have had experiences of your mothers and fathers tucking you into sweaters and scarves no matter how much you protested.'

The class laughed and their professor gave them a slight smile of approval. Avery was able to sway the crowd with his words, a skill Rue hoped she could attain too.

'And lastly,' he added, glancing back at her, 'My brilliant classmate shall tell you the name of our final piece. Spoiler alert, the girl in the picture is her. And yes I pushed her...'

The class laughed yet again.

He mouthed a sorry.

'This one,' Rue said, flustered yet proud of their concept, 'Is the best I'd say. We decided to name it Orphic.'

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