Are we really doing this again?
The shift in temperature is what Max noticed first; the storm was gone, and so was her Chloe.
The swirl of grey and blues is what she saw first, as she travelled through the polaroid.
The whispers, yells, bangs and groans of all sorts was replayed, reminded, reversed and distorted, is what she heard.
Though, Max couldn't tell you she noticed anything more than that, as she was already brought back into the classroom, once more.
Max
Oh dog... my head's throbbing, I'll never get used to that...
Okay, okay, Max, focus.
You're back here again... This isn't new to you, but it isn't to everyone else. Don't mess up...
"Alfred Hitchcock famously called film, "little pieces of time",
But he could be talking about photography, as he likely was."
Right... Jefferson again... I should've let David kill his rotten ass.
...Don't be selfish Max, you know what that would've meant for David...
He would've known that Chloe was dead, because Jefferson shot her...
Snap out of it.
I look around the room.
Victoria to my left,
so is Taylor, though one row ahead and a seat to the left...
Kate to my right, one row ahead...
Nothing bad will happen to you this time, Kate... I promise.
I think back to the Chloe I had to leave behind...
Think about our final moments on that cliff...
With a storm heading towards us, which I had to escape...
Did she still have to endure the storm when I photo jumped?
Is she still real in that alternate reality out there?
Does she still exist, but we're just separated?
And is she now wandering around the world alone after everything we've been through, what she's been through?
Snap OUT OF IT.
Victoria, Taylor, Kate, Alyssa, Stella, Daniel, Hayden and Jefferson. All check.
I ignore Jefferson's teachings, which I now compare the experience to nails on a chalkboard, and decide to focus on Kate, who has just had a paper ball thrown at her by Taylor.
This annoys me more and more each time...
I begrudgingly settle on just glaring at Taylor, earning me a demeaning look up and down from her.
Looking away from Taylor, instead to Kate. I try to get her attention with a nod, and silently pull a face whilst making a 'cuckoo' sign towards her.
I see a cute grin pull at Kate's lips and am glad I could distract and cheer her up there.
My momentary happiness had come to a halt once Jefferson put me on the spot again, though it wasn't from taking a selfie this time.
"Sh Sh Shh, I believe Max has pulled, what you kids call a 'funny face'. A dumb word for the wonderful gift that is self-expression.
We can use this new topic of self-expression for our photography itself!
One well-known photographer by the name of Ansel Adams has a very specific quote, amongst the lines of what I can remember:
'Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation, and execution.'
Though not using the specific word 'self-expression', what he is saying is a very clear definition of the word.
Now I must agree with Ansel here, photography is truly one that is powerful when it comes to evoking all forms of emotion from the viewer, and from the birth itself by a simple photo.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
The point remains that self-expression has always been a vital aspect of art, and photography, for as long as it's been around.
Now, Max, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of a specific movement in time which helped shift the process, that is self-expression through photography?"
Wow, he sure can talk...
I held back an eye roll.
Although it is a new question and topic this time, bonus points.
Wait...
Aaargh crap.
"You're asking me? Let me think... Um..."
Jefferson raises his tone
"You either know this or not, Max. Is there anybody here who knows their stuff?"
Victoria raises her hand, though she doesn't wait to be asked to speak.
"The shift was influenced by movements like 'Pictorialism', which emphasized the aesthetic and emotional qualities of photographs, rather than their technical accuracy."
She turns her head and gives me that taunting, smug look... Ugh.
"Now you're totally stuck in the Retro Zone. Sad face."
Taylor laughs bitch-ily.
Mr Jefferson gave a pleased nod as he started to go back to swinging his arms around and talking to himself.
"Very good, Victoria. The Pictorialism movement was. . ."
I began to block out Jefferson and the rest of the classroom once my lines were done...
This is starting to feel like I'm playing a role...
I'm not though. This is all real life, just on repeat for myself, and myself only.
Everyone around me are not actors.
They are living their lives, and I'm back here to make sure they keep living those lives.
↺
I waited till the bell rang and immediately got out of my seat, messily putting my messenger bag over my shoulder as I sped walked over to try leave the classroom.
Of course, I couldn't leave just like that, it would be too easy.
"I see you, Max Caulfield. Don't even think about leaving here until we talk about your entry."
I hold back myself from cursing the man in every language I know as I had to make the staggering journey back to Jefferson's desk. (So just the one, but you get what I'm getting at)
"I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture."
"With all due respect sir, I must take a shit this instance, or so God help me. The photo entry can wait"
I quickly made a beeline to the girls' bathroom out the door, for real this time, leaving a stunned Jeffershat and Victoria in the Art class. (No nickname for Victoria... She's not too bad, as I've previously discovered through realities.)
Avoiding all the people around me, and their questionable conversations through the halls, I managed to turn the corner right and locked my sight on the bathroom...
I stared for a moment, preparing for what I would hear and see all over again.
Preparing for my next moves after the bathroom,
how things would go down with Chloe this time...
What were my next steps for a plan...
Opening the door, I walked down to the end of the bathroom, right over to the corner with the bucket,
the fire alarm, ...
... And there's the butterfly...
Get into position, Max.
↺
The door opens, and in comes a heavily breathing Nathan.
He paces up and down, inspecting every stall to ensure there's nobody inside with him.
Never checked the end corner though...
"It's cool, Nathan.
Don't stress...
You're okay, bro. Just count to three...
Don't be scared...
You own this school...
If I wanted, I could blow it up...
You're the boss..."
In comes Chloe Price through the door, ready to fuck shit up in Arcadia Bay.
"So what do you want?" Nathan grits out, staring down at the sink, which he grips ahold of.
Chloe talks as she walks down the bathroom's interior, pushing each stall open and looking around.
Neither she nor Nathan checked the end corner.
"I hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness—"
"I got nothing for you."
"Wrong. You got hella cash."
"That's my family, not me."
"Oh, boohoo, poor little rich kid. I know you been pumpin' drugs 'n' shit to kids around here..."
"I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now—"
"Leave them out of this, bitch."
"I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself—"
Chloe's cut off as Nathan suddenly pulls out a gun from his varsity leather jacket pocket, aiming it directly at Chloe's head as he starts to snap at her.
"You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!"
Nathan stalks closer to Chloe, trapping her against the bathroom's walls with his arm as he presses the gun into her stomach with his other hand.
"Where'd you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!"
"Don't EVER tell me what to do. I'm so SICK of people trying to control me!"
"You are going to get in hella more trouble for this than drugs-"
"Nobody would ever even miss your "punk ass" would they?"
"Get that gun away from me, psycho!"
↺
"҉G҉e҉t҉ ҉t҉h҉a҉t҉ ҉g҉u҉n҉ ҉a҉w҉a҉y҉ ҉f҉r҉o҉m҉ ҉m҉e҉,҉ ҉p҉s҉y҉c҉h҉o҉!҉"҉
I put my raised hand down to the floor behind the mop bucket and grabbed hold of the fire alarm's hammer with such strength, that would put even a babies grip to shame, and those little suckers sure got some grabbers.
After I smashed the alarm's glass casing and smacked the big red button, it set off a thundering ringing throughout the school's grounds.
I waited till both Nathan and Chloe scurried out of there to eventually make my own escape.
"I know, I know! I'm getting outside, the alarm was just timed well with my toilet break, Madsen!"
Rushing past David and his questions,
I did, in fact head outside,
down the steps,
past students and teachers alike.
Just rushing towards anywhere alone as I go through my next steps, in my head first...