Chapter Two

"For my students, you will use your partner as a model and take photos of them with the types of styles I want you to do. Everyone will have different styles and you have to learn to be able to communicate with each other to meet my criteria and the goal out of the whole assignment. The goal is to prepare you to be able to talk to a person comfortably when you are making a photoshoot. For the picture to look as natural as they possibly can to get the best picture possible." Mrs. Clent says to us being completely serious, the most serious anyone has seen her before.

"For my students, you have to get to know your partner, learn their fears, their passions, their philosophy of life, know who they are inside and out. At the end of the week, you will have to perform in front of everyone with Mrs. Clent, your partner, and me as your judges. You have to make us believe you are your partner, that it is who you are deep inside. The one who will count for the most points will be your partner's opinion because they know who they truly are the most. Mrs. Clent and I will each give you a rubric of what we expect, that goes to everyone, the most points you will be able to earn is ninety-three points each, the group with the most points will receive a prize. Now, you will only be able to work on it in class for three days, Today, Monday, and Tuesday meaning if you need more time you will have to find time out of school to be able to perform a good job the next Monday following after that. Any questions?" Mr. Clay looks around the room, everyone seems to get the concept of the project, no one raises their hand to ask and no one looks too confused about it, "Well if there are no more questions than you may begin."

Mrs. Clent and Mr. Clay hand out the forms, once they reach Collin and Matthew they each get a rubric, Collin gets a questionnaire to fill out to help him while Matthew gets the list of the type of photos and how many photos should be taken. Matthew's eyes widen as he read the topic, Summer Vacation.

"Out of all of the topics possible, we had to get summer. It going to be hard to even make it look sunny. I mean it's Kansas for crying out loud. The weather changes more than a girl changes her clothes." Collin laughs at Matthew since it's Matthew's job to work with. All Collin has to do is sit still and look pretty. Collin looks at the packet he got and silently curses to himself.

"What is it?" Matthew asks curiously wanting to know what had disappointed the blue-eyed boy.

"I have to fill this whole packet out with all your info and I have to dress like you when I am going to present."

"What's so bad about that?" Matthew asks confused since the task sounded easier than what he had to do.

"Well the packet has ten questions on each page, each response needs to be five to eight sentences, and there is a total of six pages. Not only that but I am going to have to buy an outfit similar to yours because I don't have clothes that resemble your style, and I also have to get a pair of glasses that look like yours. I'm going to look such as a dork, especially with my body build compared to yours." With that Collin finishes his rant with a groan, finally sitting down on a chair with his head in the table. Matthew rests his hand on Collin's shoulder to comfort him as he whispers.

"Well if you want I can go to the store with you and help you pick an outfit. I mean, no one knows my style more than I do and for the glasses, you can just wear mine, I'll just wear my contacts when you are performing so that I can see you clearly."

"Really? You would do that for me?" Collin says with his voice muffled because he still has his head down on the table. Matthew chuckles and moves his hand on Collin's back.

"Yeah, I would... I would do the same thing for anyone too. Now get up and come with me, you have to pick out the outfit you will wear for the photos while I pick out the lenses I will need and find the lighting that will most benefit out pictures." with that they go get ready and begin taking pictures.

Time passes and surprisingly Matthew is able to get one-fourth of the pictures done in such little time because of Collin's cooperation. They both agree to work on Collin's material on Monday and to split the time evenly on Tuesday.

"I'll see you next period okay?" Collin asks with a reassuring smile. Matthew nods in agreement and heads to Calculus while Collin heads to athletics. Matthew enters the room and after the teacher finishes taking attendance, he hands out the worksheet of the new material so the students follow along with his lesson. Matthew immediately starts working on it, it takes time but he knew what to do. Once he was done he sets his pencil down and starts dozing off.

Why is Collin nice to me out of nowhere? It must be that he is in a good mood because it's his birthday. But still, I find it weird that he gets so close to me, it's like if personal space didn't exist or matter to him. Maybe he...

"Matthew, are you paying attention?" Mr. Peterson says interrupting his thoughts. Mr. Peterson can be so rude sometimes, interrupting my thoughts. That's the third time this week, oh well. With that, he finishes his thoughts with a sigh.

"Matthew, would you like to come up here and answer the problem on the board since you seem to know about all the material we are learning." Matthew nods, it's not like he has a choice he has to go up there and answer anyways.

He gets up from his seat and goes up to the board. Mr. Peterson hands him the pen and Matthew looked up at the board and reads the question.

This isn't what we are learning if anything it is harder than what we are supposed to be working on. He just wants me to fail and make myself look like a fool but I won't let him. If anything I will surprise everyone and show that I know what I am doing.

With that he convinces himself to not give up, to use the knowledge he has to solve the problem. Once it clicks he starts writing, doing all that math by himself to prove he is capable than so much more. Matthew stops writing, he finally knows the answer.

"Matthew, what's the answer?" Mr. Peterson asks with a smirk on his face. He knew Matthew wasn't supposed to know it, I mean it was college calculus. There was no way he could actually know the answer or can he?

"The answer is five," Matthew says and he surprises Mr. Peterson with the right answer. Mr. Peterson hadn't been surprised in years but with that, he was proud of Matthew for being capable of so much more.

"The answer is correct. I am sorry for underestimating you. You may take a seat." and with that Matthew smiles, proud of himself for being able to answer correctly. With that, someone raises their hand for help and everyone returns back to work. Matthew about to take out his book feels someone tap his shoulder. He turns around and sees a pair of brown eyes looking at him with blonde hair, a pale face, and a smile.

"What you did out there was amazing. I could never do something like that on the spot. My name is James, I don't think we have formally met." Matthew shakes his head, the boy seems familiar but he can't seem to figure it out.

"Have I seen you before?" Matthew asks feeling like he recognized the blonde boy in front of him.

"Yes, you have actually, umm... I'm in the orchestra with you. I play the cello, actually, I'm three rows away from you."

"Oh really, I guess I never noticed you. I never really notice anyone because I'm too focused on the music that I am playing to care about my surroundings." Matthew says as he rubs his hand on the back of his neck feeling awkward.

"It's okay, I mean I didn't really notice you until now and the occasional solos you would get when we performed. Hey... Ummm... Do you think you could tutor me with Calculus, I was absent a few days and I'm a bit behind." James says looking a bit shy when he looks at his desk when he asks for help.

Matthew nods, "Sure, I would love to." Matthew wasn't one to try to get along with other people but he thought why not give it shot.

"Great can you come to my house on Saturday to help?" James says with a small smile Matthew thinks about, I mean who would, he's a complete stranger to him but after much debating Matthew nods and with that the bell rings for dismissal. They enter Orchestra, each taking out their instruments, but before they go their separate ways James hands Matthew a piece of paper. Once Matthew reaches his seat he opens the piece of paper. Call me :), was the first thing that he read and following that was James' phone number and address. Well, Saturday will be interesting, with that Matthew folds the paper and puts it in his pocket because they are about to begin.

Once they are done the director lets them talk the last few minutes of Orchestra because of the hard work they had done that day. Matthew gets up and puts up his violin, putting it in his locker making sure that it's safe. He closes the door and turns around and gets startled as he sees Collin right in front of him. Man, what's up with this guy getting in my personal place? I feel like he is following me everywhere. Collin steps aside and puts his music in his locker, which is right next to Matthew's. Oh yeah, I forgot he has his locker next to me. I am really going paranoid lately.

Matthew then shakes it off and sits in the corner of the Orchestra room, it's the place where he can focus and truly feel inspired to compose music. Taking out a pencil he gets to work not erasing anything and only marking out parts with a thin line just in case he changes his mind and wants to keep that part. After a while he has four measures written, working on his fifth one until he feels someone sit right in front of him. He looks up from the paper and sees James. Matthew gives him a small smile and looks at his sheets of music getting back to work.

"What are you working on?" James asks Matthew trying to get a peek of his work. Matthew lifts up his sheets of music towards himself, not letting James see. He doesn't like people seeing his work until the work is done.

"It's music, I'm composing an original piece in hopes that one day I will be able to hear someone other than myself play it. It's slowly developing but it's starting to really come together in my head. All I need to do now is write it down and make sure it actually sounds as good as I imagine it." Matthew picks up his pencil and as he is about to write another note James speaks again.

"Hey, do you think you could play what you have for me?" James asks with hope in his eyes but quickly the hope goes away when Matthew shakes his head in disagreement. Not only did he not like people seeing his unfinished work but he kept distracting him from his goal which was writing down that note.

"I don't like performing anything that I have not finished to anyone. I'm... I would but I mean it's who I am and I don't feel secure playing it in front of everyone without finishing it." He picks up his pencil and hears James speak to him again. Really? I just want to write one note, just one note. Is it too much to ask?

"Well... Do you think you could play it for me on Saturday? I mean it will just be you and me." he feels anxious and doesn't know how to feel about James' sudden interest. I mean they just met and he didn't know if he could trust him.

"I don't think I will be done by tomorrow" Matthew rubs his forearm, a thing he would do to calm down when he was nervous or anxious. He hopes to convince him but James doesn't seem convinced.

"So? You don't have to be done. All I want is to hear you play what you have." James insisted leaning closer to Matthew in hopes of persuading him. Matthew was starting to grow a bit annoyed with the fact that he had been trying to write one note for such a long time but sighs to calm himself down.

"I'm sorry but no. I say no to everyone, it's not you, it's just the way I was taught to do things, to not present anything that is not finished." He lifts the pencil and not long after James' voice interrupts him again. I'm never writing this note. I might as well just give up writing it until he leaves.

"Okay, fine but will you play it for me when you're done?" James asks with a hint of hope still lingering in his eyes. He sighs but just decides to give in.

"Yes," Matthew smiles at James' enthusiasm and the hope that comes back to his eyes "Yes I'll play it for you once I'm done but you have to be patient because I barely started composing. Composing takes a lot of time and effort, especially if it's an original, don't be surprised if you ask if I'm done and I say no." James shakes his head, excited for the end result.

"James! Can you come over here for a sec?" A girl with blonde hair, Matthew recalls her name being Becky, asks waving James to come over.

"Yeah, Becca sure thing. I'll be there in a sec." James says getting up facing her. He turns around facing Matthew and says "I gotta go see you later" Matthew nods and takes a mental note that the girl's name is Becca, not Becky. The second he leaves he writes down the note and feels relief that he could finally put it on the paper. Matthew continues writing, feeling more and more satisfied with the progress he is making, then feels someone sit right next to him. He tries to ignore it and continue writing but finally feels curious as to who it could be.

Matthew turns around and sees Collin, face to face with only a bit of space between them. Matthew turns back around facing his music with a slight about of blush on his cheeks and asks "What... What can I help you with?"

Collin leans into his ear and whispers "You can help me with a lot of things but not here." Matthew's eyes widen, then feels Collin softly bite his ear before he backs up. Chills roll down his spine not knowing what to say or think.