Photography Class (Jade)

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina sat in the small photography studio of the University. She placed her bag on the ground, hoisting out her camera to set down on one of the few desks in the room. There were a couple of white sheets pulled down, cameras flashing as students posed for one another. Kristina smiled slightly, looking around the familiar room with a satisfied sigh. She easily spent hours a week here, developing her film in the darkroom, shooting in the room as well as discussing with other students their muses and difficulties. 

She grabbed the film camera off of the desk, placing the strap safely around her neck as she went to go sign up for darkroom time. The closest slot was in fifteen minutes. Which was good. Close to finals, when the photography students had to submit their portfolio, was when the time slots would be filled for days ahead. She had some film she wanted to develop and look at closer, seeing if they met the Czech girl's ideals. Minor details and the quality had to be impeccable, with no faults. Photography wasn't just a hobby, it was her passion, her everything. She took it seriously, unlike other students who goofed off and wasted time.

For mainly that reason, Kristina preferred staying alone. She went back to her table, sitting by herself, casually waiting for the fifteen minutes to lapse. 

[Jade Parrish]

Jade needed to get into the dark room and preferably soon. She'd been running around like crazy for the newspaper and had to start on layout after going over articles with the writers on the staff and now she was scrambling to finish assignments for other classes, including her Intermediate Photography class. She'd taken the Beginner's Course and it was kind of fun and would come in handy with journalism so she'd decided to take the next level for one of her electives this semester, but it was crunch time for the portfolio and she needed to develop her photos and see which ones she wanted to use.

She walked up to the sign up list and scribbled her name next to another for the slot in fifteen minutes. She sighed in relief and stood around waiting, boredly. Everyone was taking photos of each other and talking except for the one brunette girl sitting at her table. "If you're looking for someone to photograph, I volunteer," she told her, walking by her table and striking a pose that involved running her hands through her hair.

[Kristina Novak]

Normally, Kristina would be flipping through her digital camera, deciding which photos were best for other assignments. She hated carrying around both cameras though, and left the digital camera back at her apartment. Of course, she couldn't see the film camera sots before developing though, so she was stuck sitting quietly all by herself and blankly flipping through her phone to kill time. The fifteen minutes seemed to be going by agonizingly slow.

Until she was approached by a pretty girl with black hair. Kristina looked up from her phone, with a hint of a smile on her face. "I'll take you up on that offer." Her hands reached for the camera, going through the mechanics. She raised the camera up, focusing on the girl's hair and the one side of her face. Snap. Kristina smiled wider. "And in about... ten minutes, we'll see how it turns out." She stated with a smile. Kristina didn't remember seeing the girl, but she was often in her own little world that she never noticed anyone unless they were the subject of her photos.

[Jade Parrish]

Jade was presently surprised when the girl brightened and actually snapped her photo as Jade struck a pose that involved putting her hands in her hair and making a completely serious vogue-like face. She was also amused. Every now and then people did surprise her. They weren't always predictable. After all, it got boring after a while,being able to figure out people so easily. Maybe she should have gone into psychology.

"Awesome. Bet I'll become a model from that photo," she joked, which for Jade meant she said it completely seriously. "You've got the dark room in ten too? Sweet. I was worried I'd be stuck with the weird guy who tries to smell my hair again. Besides, you're much more attractive," she added with a smirk.

[Kristina Novak]

A smile appeared on Kristina's face. She didn't have develop the photo to know it was going to turn out great. Unless something happened, like light entering and ruining the film. The black haired beauty had command of the camera, something Kristina commended her for. She normally hated scripted shots but... exceptions could always be made.

"You're not already a model?" Kristina asked with a rare laugh. "Nice. As long as you're not one of those stuck up students who hog the dark room the entire half an hour." She hated those kids, shoving their way in the cramped space. Taking out papers early to put their own in. Kristina always rolled her eyes and got super frustrated. Whatever happened to manners and common courtesy? "Fortunately, I've never met the hair smelling guy."

She set down her phone, smirking afterwards with a faint blush. Kristina tried to play it off the best she could, dismissing the compliment with a wave of her hand. "Have you looked in the mirror?" She asked innocently, the smirk still toying around on her lips. Hell, Kristina would indulge in playful flirting. It was nice to flirt with a girl again and, well... the stranger was hot.

[Jade Parrish]

"I like you," Jade declared, adding a wink for the effect at the model comment. "But no, journalism is my calling, but that doesn't mean I can't look good." She grinned at her. "No way, I'm one of those students that waits until last minute to sign up for a dark room time because I'm preoccupied with the college newspaper."

"Consider yourself lucky," she told her, looking around the room for the guy, but not spotting him. "Looks like we're safe today."

Throwing compliments at people was one of her favorite things to do. She loved to see how they reacted. Blushing, stuttering, silence, changing the subject. But she liked how Kristina acted the best. She smirked.

"Yeah, sometimes I even say Bloody Mary a few times to make it interesting." Her jokes were in no way conventional and they often earned her strange looks, but Jade didn't care. This girl was gorgeous with her long brunette hair and dark skin. Exotic looking. "Something tells me you're not from around here. Maybe it's because you're not as pale as me."

[Kristina Novak]

Journalism. That had interested her before discovering her passion of photography. Plus, her English still wasn't all that good. She probably wouldn't get too far in that business. Kristina smiled, chuckling under her breath. "Exactly. Who says you can't be a pretty face as well as something else?" Kristina mused. She nodded. Most students were the last minute type. They either didn't care about the class or got preoccupied with other matters, such as Jade. Sometimes, Kristina was the only one in class, and that didn't bother her.

She sighed in relief. The Czech girl would rather not have her hair molested by some weirdo. "Lucky for us."

Kristina raised an eyebrow at Jade's joke, smiling. She didn't have a strong sense of humour, which put off a lot of potential friends. She just never understood a lot of jokes or how the majority of them were suppose to be humorous. "Has she ever appeared?" Kristina asked, smiling. She shook her head. "No, I immigrated here when I was younger. From the Czech Republic, originally."

Smirking, she eyed up the girl. "Bledě vám vyhovuje dobře." (pale suits you well.)

[Jade Parrish]

"And this is why I like you. You get that. People think you can only be one thing. It's so high school, that way of thinking." Jade shook her head and then realized that her joke was lame and obviously hadn't done anything for the dark brunette.

"Nah, but it's about the thrill of it possibly happening," she said with a wink before listening to her. "Ah, and you picked Vermont to go to college in...?" She had no idea what she said next and Jade wasn't used to feeling lost, so it was kind of awkward. "Uh, I know french, but that's about it."

[Kristina Novak]

"It is." Kristina agreed with a nod. At one point, she had wanted to be a painter like her mom during the day and a night nurse. The dream was childish, but she remembered how excited it had made her. She decided against sharing the embarrassing fact though. "It's why I love university, there's some much freedom in choosing. I can study photography and take a physics lab without anyone batting an eye."

She snorted, shaking her head with a smile. Kristina realized with her ethnicity, it sounded... odd that she would be in Vermont. "Oh, uh, well I went to Hammel." She said casually, watching for Jade's reaction. Some people had the impression it was an elite private school.. but if this girl was a meta she would understand too. "My older sister Sofie went to school there too. We both decided to stay here for our education, and I plan on moving back to the Czech Republic after graduation." She explained with a nod. "You from around here?"

Her smile turned into a smirk for a split second. Should she tell the truth? "Ah, french. Always wanted to learn. Anyway, just said you suit pale really well. Still better at speaking in Czech."

[Jade Parrish]

"Exactly. College is freedom," Jade agreed. Not to mention, people weren't nearly as weird or cruel about sexuality or other things. Not like Jade ever really cared what people thought about her being bisexual.

"A Hammelite, huh?" Jade asked with a grin. "Why didn't you go to one of the sister schools in Europe of Hammel? Like the states?" And she had a sister. Jade had no idea girls from the Czech Republic were such bombshells. Their complexion was gorgeous...

"No, well not really. I'm not as far away as you. I grew up in Texas. I was the palest girl there," she stated before grinning at her comment. "I think so too. Everyone's considered with tanning or turning themselves orange."

[Kristina Novak]

"Freedom." Kristina repeated with a soft smile. She wasn't bound by high school and required classes. "I love university more than I ever liked high school. More stressful but..." She trailed off, shrugging.

Jade's answer gave no indication but Kristina figured she also went to the school. A fellow meta; the thought was reassuring. "Yepp. I assume you are as well?" That's why everyone was in Pilot Ridge right? "Well... my sister was recruited before me." She hesitated, trying to choose neutral words. Just in case. "The school in the Czech Republic is a graduate school so they gave us a few options. My mother is originally from the US and her father still lives around Boston. So, financially it made sense and I think my parents wanted us to get a good education." Kristina rambled, her cheeks flushing pink.

She chuckled, shrugging. Pale wasn't bad. As stated before, this girl could certainly pull it off. "Orange on the other hand..." It was another lame attempt at a joke, but Kristina was trying. "Everyone should just... embrace themselves."

[Jade Parrish]

"True, but stressful with the work load, not with the people. Usually anyway." Some people still liked to act like they were in high school, they never grew out of it.

"Yes, just glad I'm out of there. Teenagers with powers does't make high school any better," Jade mused, listening to her explanation. "Well, on behalf of America, we're glad you've decided to grace us with your presence, or at least I am." Innocent flirting. It was so much fun. And the girl didn't seem to responding negatively.

[Kristina Novak]

"Exactly." Kristina agreed with a nod. She liked to think that she got along with most people, and was able to be friendly with the majority. The work load, especially as her first year, had been a hard one of adjusting but Kristina managed to organize her time well.

"No kidding." She laughed. In fact, the whole powers thing probably made high school even more dramatic. A bunch of kids with uncontrollable powers? Kristina could remember a few times where she had accidentally touched someone and knocked them out for a couple of minutes.

Kristina blushed, clearing her throat as she struggled to think of something to say. "Well, I'm glad I came cause I wouldn't have met you either. And that would've been a shame."

Her eyes glanced at her phone, and Kristina cursed. "Shit, we totally just missed our time slot by five minutes. We still have time but..." She frowned, not really in the mood to go develop photos anymore. She just wanted to talk and flirt with the pretty girl.

[Jade Parrish]

"Everyone was running around with raging hormones and powers they didn't know how to control. So it was kind of a danger zone," Jade agreed. "Not to mention, I kind of contributed to the danger...on accident of course." She smirked at Kristina as she blushed. Did she know how adorable she was?

"A real shame. Can't say I'm an ace photographer like you probably are, but I write a mean newspaper article and do a kickass layout." An idea was already brewing in her mind. Recruiting her like she had with Zach. They needed more talent in the photography area of things and something told Jade that she was passionate as well as talented.

Then Kristina had a small outburst about missing their time slot to which Jade brushed off. "Well, I am running short on time to develop my photos before the portfolio is due, but I could put it off longer." After all, shew as a college student and procrastination was what they did best, even if it wasn't usually Jade's style.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina giggled, smiling at the dark haired vixen in front of her. "I can see that." she said. Her own power had once been unmanageable. She'd put people to sleep all the time, had she not worn her gloves as a layer against the anesthesia.

"I'm sure you're plenty good." Kristina assured her. Photography itself was an art that could take years to master, but the majority of people could take a few snapshots of a significant event or bullshit a story to give it meaning. Jade had mentioned journalism previously in the conversation, and Kristina asked "I assume you work on the school newspaper?"

She chuckled, running a hand through her waves. "Yeah... I can afford to skip out for now." Kristina admitted with a shrug. She had plenty of already developed photographs anyway, the girl was just painstakingly meticulous.