Cyanosis | Revising

[Revised] 04

"Hey mom, could you look over my application before I turn it in?" Aria came downstairs with her completed application hoping to get both her parents to give their approval.

"I see you've finally chosen a picture," Her dad came into the living.

"Dad! You're still here," Aria was ecstatic that her dad was still at home. He usually is always out on business trips or at work, making it difficult for her to get his opinion at times.

"Your application looks great darling!" Aria's mom was very proud of Aria. Aria really wanted to apply to the program when she turned 16; however, her parents told her that it would be better if she waited and gained some more experience. With the more experience, Aria was able to learn various techniques and she opened up her own studio. She was a successful 17 year old in the town of Holloway.

"Is this one of the photos you took in Millbourne yesterday?" Aria's dad asked.

"Yes, Jonah was very kind to suggest going to Millbourne for inspiration. It was definitely worth it," Aria rarely left the town of Holloway to take pictures. She did go to the conventions, but she always used the learned techniques in Holloway. That was something that limited her potential. Jonah helped her realize that a change in scenery is not a bad thing.

Holloway had a sense of gloominess, where not many people interacted with each other unless necessary. When Cassie was around, she made the world a little bit brighter for Aria. Moreover, the main reason why Aria consistently utilized her photography techniques in Holloway was because she wanted to capture the brightness that Cassie once made her feel in this somber town.

"That's great, honey. You should call Jonah over for dinner sometime, so we can thank him properly," Aria's mom was always showing her gratitude. Making people fit in was what she was great at, making her one of the more talkative people in the town.

"For sure! I'll probably ask him in a couple of days. I'm gonna head back to the studio to finish editing," Aria left with a smile. With her meeting Jonah, visiting Millbourne, and finally finishing her application, the thought of Cassie's death wasn't affecting Aria's mood significantly.

Once she reached the studio, she noticed that Natalie was already there working on the pictures.

"Natalie!" Aria mildly yelled.

"Yes, Aria?" Natalie was startled. She just wanted to help Aria because of the way Aria's been feeling recently.

"It's an off day for you, yet you're still here why?" Aria was confused. She didn't understand why Natalie tried to help Aria all the time. They weren't exactly friends, but Aria still gave her the assistant job because Natalie had just moved to Holloway. Even though Natalie had an outgoing personality, she didn't have very many close friends, so she was living alone in her apartment for the time being.

"You seemed stressed yesterday, and I wanted to take some of the workload off of you," Natalie shrugged.

"Thanks Natalie, but you know I can't pay you for overtime. I appreciate your help, but you really don't need to do more than your job description requires you to do," Aria clarified.

"Yes, I know that Aria, but I honestly don't have anything better to do. I haven't even made friends in Holloway yet, and if you don't let me help you a little more than usual, I'm going to go crazy here," Natalie tried to find friends to spend her free time with, but she had no luck. The friends that she was going to move to Holloway with had a prior issue that they had to deal with, so they would only be moving in 4 months later.

"You don't have friends? I thought you moved to Holloway with some of your closest friends," Aria was surprised. Aria remembered Natalie being a very outgoing person when they met, surrounded by people at all times.

"I know it sounds crazy. I'm always around people, but I haven't made any close enough friends to hang out with during the summer, and my friends are only moving in a few months later, so as sad as it sounds, I've been a bit lonely," Natalie was just hoping that Aria lets her keep editing the pictures.

"I'm sorry, if I had known that, I would have definitely hung out with you. Come over for dinner tonight, it'll be great. Also, you can stay here as long as you want. I'll start editing the second batch of photos since you've already started on the first batch. If you need anything, I'll be in my office," Aria walked away, letting Natalie finish editing the first batch of photos.

Aria decided to text Jonah, just to say thank you again for taking her to Millbourne, but then she realized that she didn't even have Jonah's number.

"Hey Natalie, did you get any of guys' numbers yesterday?" Aria rushed out of office, in hopes of finding Jonah's number.

"I think so. You can check the appointment records. I did get one of them to put in their information, even though they didn't have an appointment at that point," Natalie replied.

Aria found Carter's number, and she wondered whether she should call Carter to get Jonah's number. On the way to Millbourne, she did talk to Carter quite a bit. He was very friendly and only wanted the best for Jonah.

"Hello? Is this Carter, Carter Jones?" Aria asked.

"Yes, this is he. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

"Aria, I came to Millbourne with y'all yesterday. Do you remember me?"

"Oh yea! How could I ever forget such a pretty voice?" Carter chuckled.

"Haha, well I was just wondering whether I could get Jonah's number," Aria quickly said.

"Awh, you're only using me for Jonah. That's a low blow Aria. I thought we connected on the way to Millbourne."

"We did! I enjoyed talking to you. I just wanted to thank him for suggesting to go to Millbourne."

"Oh sweetie, I'm just kidding. I'll text you his number, don't worry. I gotta go now. I'll talk to you later." Carter sent Aria Jonah's number right after he hung up.

Aria sent Jonah a short and sweet message and went back to editing the photos. After she finished, she went to go check on Natalie only to find her gone. She probably went back home to get ready for dinner, it was getting late anyways, Aria thought. Aria checked her phone to see whether Jonah had responded to her message, but there was nothing. Feeling a little defeated, Aria decided to take a Uber back home.

"Hey sweetie, it was very nice of you to invite Natalie," Aria's mom said right when Aria walked in, hinting that Natalie was already there.

"Let's eat, I'm starving and all of this looks scrumptious," Aria's stomach started to grumble; she had not eaten much throughout the day since she was busy with editing the photos. She almost regretted going to Millbourne because of how far behind she got in her work, but thankfully, with Natalie's help, they got everything done so the customers could pick their prints up as soon as possible.

They all delved into the food and started talked about their days. Natalie fit in well with Aria's family because of her talkative and open personality

"How did you two meet?" Aria's dad asked Natalie.

"Well, we were in multiple classes together at the summer program last year, but we never really got the chance to talk. This summer, we were digital media together, and we ended up being partners throughout the semester. We worked so efficiently that we never had to take a single project home. It was great, wasn't it Aria?" Natalie replied.

"Yea, it sure was. We definitely worked well together, which is why I asked you to be assistant at the studio. Thank you so much for doing that," Aria expressed her gratitude. She would have never been able to manage the studio on her own during the school year. Fortunately, most of her business peaks during the summer when she doesn't need to worry about her school work, but the bulks of pictures she has to edit definitely require assistance.

At the end of night once Natalie had left, Aria sat down with her parents and let all her stress out. With finally turning in her application, her fear of not getting in had developed. The possibilities that she wouldn't get in were limitless, but her parents still consoled her as best as they could. They wanted her to know that no matter what happened, they would still support her.