picture of a sleeping angel.
My fingers slid around the camera lens, holding it firmly in my left hand. The feel of the notches in the lens sent goosebumps across my skin. Looking through the viewfinder, I found myself staring at the most beautiful creature in the world. His eyes were shut, delicate eyelashes brushed against his white canvas skin. Skin that begged to be painted with kisses.
I held my breath, as if breathing would wake him from his peaceful slumber, and pressed down onto the shutter release. Ka-chck! Smiling to myself, I let out a sigh. My fingertips tingled down to the palm of my hand. The sound of the shutter fluttering calmed me.
He stirred a bit, and pressed his forehead onto the school desk. His dark hair swept against the wood. "Mmph," he grumbled.
Suddenly, the door shook and slid open. I jumped in my seat, holding my camera close to me. "Kiyoshi is sleeping again," Tomomi groaned as she sauntered in the class room. Her long locks of hair swayed gracefully, violet tinged eyes surveyed the room. "Were you taking pictures again, Shizuka-chan?"
"Yes," my own voice startled me. I could feel my cheeks burning. Quickly, I got up to my feet and bowed, camera still in my hand. "Forgive me, Miyagi-senpai."
Tomomi chuckled. The smile on her face was small and dainty, like a doll's. "Silly girl, don't apologize. This is a photography club after all." Her delicate pixie face turned to Kiyoshi. She rubbed his head affectionately and winked at me. "Plus, I don't blame you. Oroshi-san is cute."
"Eh?" Kiyoshi slowly sat up, scratching his head. His eyes were half closed, brown and misty. Hair fell across his forehead, sticking out in all directions. "Ah, Miyagi-senpai is here. But where's Yamashiro-sensei?"
We both shrugged. I sat back down in my seat and watched Kiyoshi pull out a worn notebook from his school bag. Yamashiro-sensei was the supervisor for the photography club. He was always late every club meeting, but I didn't mind. It meant more time with Kiyoshi.
On cue, sensei same bustling through the door. His bag was overflowing with papers, some even scattered across the floor. Like always, his thinning hair was a mess. Despite being in his forties, sensei was undeniably handsome. Maybe it was his prominent chin, or the soft lines at the corners of his eyes or maybe the curve of his lips or long delicate hands that played the piano so beautifully. Whatever it was, the girls would stop and stare.
"Sorry, sorry," Yamashiro panted. Flustered, he picked up the papers. "I was held up by the Shiro girls.
I giggled to myself. The Shiro girls were his fan club. We made up the name for it. They followed Sensei around the school, showering him with gifts, taking pictures, confessing their love. It seemed odd for a teacher to have one. Usually fan clubs were reserved for the school's most beautiful students. I personally thought fan clubs were ridiculous and a huge turn off.
"It's okay. We're used to it," Kiyoshi grinned, dimples appearing on his cheeks. He rested his chin on his hand. I clutched at my camera, tempted to take a picture. Kiyoshi had a fan club of his own as well. He could understand.
"Don't take pictures just yet," Sensei said, as if he read my mind. His voice was low and sultry. I turned red. No wonder girls fell for him. He ran his hand through his greying hair. "Um... Today, let's go around to watch the other club activities. Whenever you see something you like, go ahead and take a picture."
I nodded my head and looked down at my camera. A Nikon F6. My father and I had saved up money for years just to buy a camera. When we finally went out to buy one, I saw it sitting on the shelf and felt an urge to pick it up. My left hand curled around the lens, and it fit perfectly. The shutter release felt natural under my index finger. That was when I fell in love with my camera. I named it Hatsu, which meant "first" as it was my first camera.
"This club is very unstructured," Miyagi sighed as she stood up. I jerked up and looked at her. She stared back, an amused look on her face.
"You love it," Kyoshiki peered down. He dug out his camera and pointed it at the scribbles on the desk. Ka-chk! "Besides, I just want to take pictures. Isn't that the point?"
"I'm just here for Shizuka-chan," she purred, and tugged on my ponytail. I turned red for the second time. "But I guess taking pictures is fun too. So, let's go shall we?"
Yamashiro-sensei settled down into the teachers desk. Yawning, he took out a bundle of sheets. "Do whatever you want. Just bring back some pictures. We'll develop them today."
A smile immediately went up on my face. We only used cameras that used film, as they were the best kind. The only time we ever got to develop pictures was once a month. Every time we did, it was surprise to see what kind of pictures that were taken.
"Let's go then," Kiyoshi stood up as well. He was so much taller than me, but then again, I was short.
I smiled as wide as I could at him. "Alri-" I turned my head and coughed into my sleeve. My stomach twisted at the realization. Not another cold. Miyagi clamped her hand down on my shoulder.
"You okay?" her voice crooned, stroking my hair. Her eyes went wide.
"Yes," I nodded and dug my trembling hand into my school bag. "I'm fine. Now let's go."
Silently, I followed the two throughout the school. I took a couple of shots of the kendo club. They looked so fierce. No, passionate, at what they did. Their swords sliced through the air, focused eyes on the opponent. I wonder if I looked that determined with my camera.
"Shizu-chan!" Yukihiro waved at me from inside the archery club. I waved back at him, camera in the other hand. When I was in middle school, he and I were good friends. Lately, he's been busy with his basketball and archery. I grabbed at the rusty wire fence. I missed him.
I put the camera to my eye, and aimed at him. His short messy orange hair contrasted the neatly pressed white kimono and black hakama. Yukihiro gently pulled back his bow. His lips softly curved into a smile, eyes distant and focused onto the target. Ka-chk! He released the bow, and struck the middle of the target.
"Shizuka-chan, let's go," Kyoshi put his hand on my shoulder, sending tingles up my neck. I nodded and took one last glance at Yukihiro. He wiped his brow and smiled at me. Ka-chk! I couldn't resist to take another picture. My fingers twitched on the metal. It was a great shot.
But at the end of the day, my favourite picture was of the beautiful sleeping angel.