Dorin woke up early the next day. He took a quick bath and hurried to the kitchen, leaving Sebastian snoozing in the top bunk.
The kitchen was still under renovation, so he made his way outside to the canteen. It was still closed. He sighed, stifled a yawn, and waited for the cook to arrive with the key. He was getting hungry. Good thing he brought some snacks. He was humming while he ate, squatting on the ground, when a pair of rugged sneakers stood in front of him.
"What are you doing there?" asked a frowning guy in a frayed shirt and faded jeans. "The canteen won't open till 7 am."
"Oh, I'm here for kitchen duty." Dorin said with a smile. "Do you have the keys?" he asked.
"Only the head cook has the keys." the guy said, squatting on the ground away from Dorin. He had close cropped reddish dark brown hair, a dark complexion, and sunburnt arms. "You aiming for scholarship too?" he asked, eyeing Dorin's new clothes.
"Scholarship?"
"What brings you to the kitchens?" he asked again.
"I had some trouble in the kitchens so Ms. Ermingard told me to work it off..."
"Oh, so you're the idiot who blew up the oven?"
Dorin looked at the guy again. He was tapping out a thin white cylindrical stick from a small rectangular box with a hole on top. He placed the stick in his mouth and touched the end with his finger. The tip started to smoke, leaving a sharp menthol scent in the air.
"What?" asked the guy noticing Dorin's stare.
"What... is that?" Dorin asked, pointing at the white stick.
The guy snorted. "Are you serious?!" he asked back, laughing so hard that he starts coughing. He extended a hand to Dorin after he finally got his breath back. "Johan Ignacius."
"Dorin Silvius." the two shake hands. Dorin was about to ask about the stick again when Johan suddenly looks up and stomps it to the ground.
"Is that cigarette smoke I smell?" It was the cook, Mrs. Cooper, waddling into view. She is a very plump woman with rosy cheeks and very curly hair that she tries to tame with a yellow bandana. Her apron looks immaculate, as well as her kitchen, and anyone who tries to mess it up would feel her wrath. "Johan. How many times do I have to tell you not to smoke near my kitchen?!"
"Sorry Mrs. Cooper." mumbled Johan.
"So, you two met each other?" she looked at the boys before her, "Johan usually works mornings. And Dorin here will only be staying `till tomorrow."
"Mrs. Cooper." said Dorin, "Can we start soon? I have a class at 8 am..."
"Patience." the cook cuts in. She waddles to the door and pulls out a ring of keys, then choosed one to open the door.
"So, you a 1st year too?" Johan asked as they enter the canteen.
"If you mean, am I new here, then the answer is yes." said Dorin, "But I'm only here for the Photography Camp."
"Hmm." the other replied.
"Okay now, you two," the cook called their attention, "I don't want anymore trouble today. I swear, you two bring more problems in my kitchen than actual help. If Johan isn't burning something down, then it's Dorin blowing things up! Sometimes I think Ms. Ermingard sent you here to torment me..." she went inside, leaving the 2 students standing in front of the kitchen counter.
"You burn things?" Dorin asked.
"Just a batch of pastries... or two..." said Johan with a scowl. "And you?"
"Well..." Dorin hesitated, "I had that... accident with the oven, and last night, with the dishwasher..."
"Now I want absolutely NO SPARKS in my kitchen." said Mrs. Cooper, coming out of the kitchen with a tray of dough she have left to rise over night. "NO MAGIC WHAT SO EVER." she stressed. "If I so much as sense a thread of thaum from either of you, I'm gonna take you by the scuff of your neck and lock you inside the freezer." and she looked like she meant it, too.
"Yes, Mrs. Cooper." said the 2 boys in unison.
All morning they cooked porridge, baked bread and pastries, and fried bacon, sausages and eggs. When the canteen opened at 7 am, Sebastian was one of the first students to arrive.
[A sausages, an egg and a muffin please.] he said, the slate raised.
"Good morning Seb." grinned Dorin, placing food on his friend's tray.
[I'll wait for you at the back.]
"I'll be joining you soon!"
The two went straight to the Photography Club after breakfast.
"Good morning!" Anastasia greeted them, "don't forget attendance, and here's your pack of photo paper for printing later." she handed a pack to each of them and led them into the back room where Josiah was tinkering with the enlarger machines.
"Since there are quite a number of us here, we'll be printing 2 at a time," Anastasia stood in front of one enlarger while Josiah stayed with the other. "Please watch as we print the 1st picture, then you can print the rest with your partners."
"You will be printing a total of 6 photos each. " said Josiah. "Later in the afternoon, we will be inviting some people to judge the photographs, the winners will receive prices from our sponsors, the 1st price being a high-end TLR camera."
"We're 3rd in line!" Dorin told Seb excitedly. "This is really so much better than books!"
[Yes, practical experience is always better than theoretical knowledge.] thought Seb, what he did not write was, [Stay in University. There is so much more you can learn, so much I can learn from you.] He watched as Dorin fiddled in his seat, too excited to stay still, and couldn't help but wonder if this was the same person he had a discussion with the night before.
Dorin and Seb worked on developing their photos. After dipping the film in solution and pinning the photo paper on the clothes line, they went back to their seats and waited for them to dry. They were allowed to step out of the room while the others were still working on their pictures. Josiah and Anastasia estimated that it would take them about 6 hours to print all the photos. They told the others to take an early lunch, and for those who have finished to be back by 3 pm.
Seb and Dorin decided to spend their time looking at the other photographs. The dry ones where taken to the main lecture hall to be displayed. They studied the compositions as Josiah and Anastasia put them up, one by one, ready for the guest judges to view.
"Look at this one Seb," Dorin called his friend's attention, "He used the light coming in from the window, you could see the dust mites in the air floating down on the doll on the chair..."
[I like the composition of this picture better.] Seb points the slab on the picture of a tree full of lanterns. Several insects were attracted to the light.
"Oh, look at this one... the front and background are both blurred... so you can do that with a wide aperture, huh?"
[Yes, there are many more stuff you can try when you have the time.]
"And this tree silhouette against the moon..."
[That's typical. Try this one, mist rising in the graveyard.]
"There's a graveyard here?"
[Just outside town. Perhaps the photographer lives near there.]
"What's this one? Some kind of colored lines?"
[Those are headlights.]
"Headlights?" Dorin thinks of people with their heads lighting up.
"Electric lights on vehicles." said someone from behind them, "Taking photographs of light moving at high speed will result with that kind of image." Dorin turned around and was face to face with a tall man in his mid 20's. He wore his long blond hair in a loose pigtail and had thick silver rimmed glasses on.
[Professor Dupont, are you here as a judge? You're here early today?] asked Seb. The professor looked at the slate, a bit surprised, then smiled at him.
"Why yes, as one of the consultants in the Photography Club, I guess they have no choice. I've even suspended all my classes to be here today." he gives off a hearty laugh. "That's a mighty fine trick you've got there, Sebastian," he gestures at the slate, "did you get an artificer to modify it?"
[Something like that.] wrote Seb, [I had no choice since I got my writing hand injured.]
"Yes, I heard that there was an accident down at the military division, I had no idea it was you..." he frowns, then looks at Dorin who was staring at Seb. "And who might this young fellow be?" he asked with a friendly smile.
[This is Dorin, he's here for the Photo Class.]
"Dorin Silvius, sir." Dorin extends an arm and shakes hands with the professor.
"Professor Jacob Dupont, alchemy department." replied the professor. "Ah, static!" he suddenly said, as the two pull their hands apart.
"Oh, you teach alchemy?" said Dorin, rubbing his hand. "There are so many things I've been wanting to learn about chemistry and stuff..." the professor laughs.
"Is that so?" he says with a grin, "Then I suggest you join my class this coming semester. Right now, I'm enjoying the pictures in my Photography Club!"
"Oh, sorry, you're right, this isn't the time or place for that..."
"It's fine, a mind that is constantly in wonder is a mind that is never idle." he declares, "...or vise versa..." he added, "and as the school motto goes, 'True education, never ends!'"
[Here's another one with headlights, and another with a light drawing.] Seb calls their attention, pointing at 2 pictures side by side. One showed headlights going through the flyover highway, the other was the silhouette of a man holding a light stick, drawing images in the dark.
"I tried to do something like that, but the image didn't come out that well." said Dorin. "I guess my hand wasn't steady enough. I didn't bother getting them printed."
"You should use a tripod when it comes to photos such as these." Dupont suggested. "I would like to see your shots after the class..."
"I can show you the negatives now..." Dorin was about to take them out, but the professor stopped him, holding his arm.
"I much rather not," he said, "as a judge I would like to be as un-biased as I can." he explained, "As you can see, the photos don't have names written or pinned next to them. That way, us judges wouldn't be able to distinguish who took them and choose the best picture based on what we actually see, not who we know."
[That way new photographers and professionals a like, would have the same chance at winning.]
"Hmm, that does make sense." says Dorin
They spent the rest of the morning looking at the other photos. They were appreciating a photo of a woman, half her body in darkness, a light behind her, and a lacey shadow covering her intimate parts, when Dorin's stomach began to grumble.
Professor Dupont laughs. "I think it's time for a break," he says, "Why don't you guys join us for lunch?" he called to Anastasia and Josiah. "What say we have some lunch in the main building?"
"The others are still printing their photos..." says Josiah, sticking more dried prints on the bulletin boards.
"It's okay, president, I can handle them," said Anastasia with a smile, "Just bring me something back to eat!"
"I'd much rather you go with them..." Josiah frowns, looking at Dorin.
"Nonsense!" insists the vice president, "You've been here since morning and you haven't even had breakfast yet!"
"You haven't?" Dorin asked wide-eyed in disbelief.
"It's okay, we won't be long," said the professor, "Besides, the Magic Division's main dining hall is nearer compared to going all the way to the Science Division's building."
"Question!" Dorin raises his hand, "Isn't it forbidden for non-magic students to enter the Magic Division's main grounds?"
"True," the professor answers with a grin, "but not when a professor is with you."