Yana was grinning as she led the way to the Admin building. She said we had to drop by somewhere first before going home.
I was wondering where it could be as the three of us followed Yana to the Annex side. Upon entering, we immediately spotted the Head Administrator’s Office. Next to it were the Staff Management and the Property & Maintenance Divisions. Students usually don’t have business in this part of school which made me more curious to where Yana was taking us.
“Here we are,” Yana announced in a sing-song voice as we reached a smaller, ancient-looking room.
“Woah, there sure is a studio here,” Kira said, gaping as we got inside.
“It’s actually the office of our school photographer. And yes, it is also his personal studio. This is where he’s processing our IDs and class pictures,” Yana told us. We usually had our ID pictures taken in the auditorium so I really had no idea that this place existed.
“The large room after this is the tailors’ workshop and if you go further, you’ll reach the back side of the cafeteria where they do the laundry (of curtains and such),” she added.
I grinned, feeling like a kid on a field trip, and Yana was the tour guide.
“Since we’re not allowed to hang out outside of school on weekdays, I thought we could do it here,” Yana proudly said.
Not to those rule-breakers, though. I was amused at how Yana had found a way to have fun without breaking the rules. And the fact that she wanted to do this with the three of us made me appreciate the gesture more.
“You can choose the accessory you want here.” Yana showed us a box of props. “I borrowed them from the Arts Club.”
Yana was looking at animal ears while the other two were trying out hats. I had never been to a photo studio before, it must have looked obvious to them.
“Actually, I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time,” Tessa said in a small voice.
“Me too! But when it’s just the two of us we’ll just end up not doing it,” Kira seconded and then laughed.
What they said made me feel less awkward about myself.
We used a lot of props (I somehow got the hang of it in the long run) and Sir Lance, the photographer, was very kind as usual when he was taking our pictures. We then chose the effects we wanted to add on the print and then looked around the studio while waiting for the pictures to come out.
“Woahhh, you sure have a lot of cameras here, sir,” Kira remarked upon seeing a variety of cameras on the shelf. “Do you use all of these?”
“Some of them, yes. The others are vintage so I just put them there as part of my collection,” the photographer replied from his desk. “For work, I usually use this one.” He pointed to the bulky camera connected to his computer.
“May I touch them, sir?” Kira asked, pointing at the collection on the shelf.
After getting permission, the rest of us examined the cameras as well. I hadn’t seen those types before. I only knew the old camera we had at home; the one that needed film to work and to be developed afterwards.
“Look at meeee. Do I look like a professional photographer now?” Kira made some cool poses with a camera around her neck. “Woah, it’s heavy.”
“Let me try,” Tessa said to Kira who passed her the big camera. “It really does feel heavy on the chest. I think I’ll just take that small one with me,” Tessa said, pertaining to the pocket digital camera she saw first.
“Hey, sir, if something goes missing, the culprit is this little girl over here,” Kira joked, pointing to Tessa, which made us all laugh.
We stayed a little bit longer to take a look at the pictures and distribute copies to each of us. We paid the fees and thanked Sir Lance for the trouble.
“I never thought we could get our photos taken this way,” I said to Yana as we walked to the jeepney stop. Tessa and Kira shared a ride home so I assumed they were living near each other.
“Well… It’s actually not encouraged to use his office just whenever a student wants to. I just asked him a favor, and he agreed as long as we keep quiet about it.” Yana chuckled.
“You sure are a charmer.” I smiled and noticed how our arms lightly brushed against each other as we walked.
“I just want to have fun today. Also, we didn’t get to celebrate your birthday last year, so I want something to remember this day by,” she said. “Plus, have you seen how we had fun with those two? I noticed they’ve been keeping to themselves since school started, and they don’t have any friends yet in class. I thought it would be nice to get to know them, too.”
How thoughtful. She had probably seen herself in their shoes when she was still new to the class so she helped them be at ease.
I went home later than usual but I didn’t mind at the very least. I did my usual stuff and went to my room afterwards. I took out the pictures from my bag and looked at them again.
And again. And again. I had already memorized the details of each one but I couldn’t get enough of it. It was something new.
Having friends other than Yana.
Spending time with them.
And I found myself liking this feeling, cherishing it even.
Of all the photos, there was this favorite of mine where Yana was clinging to my arm, her head tilted to my side.
I could still remember when she laughed upon seeing how stiff I was in the photo.
“Hey Rin, let’s do one together. We still don’t have a photo with just the two of us,” she said.
“Well, the two are still busy anyway so…”
“1, 2, 3… Say cheese!”
I was smiling the whole time I was looking at it. She looked so happy. And I was happy, definitely. But I think it was the way she was holding me.
It made me feel so special.
I wished I could get to hold her like that too.
I wanted to make her feel special too.
Because she was, to me.
Maybe next time. I'll try not to be so tense, or too stiff, like what she said.
I went to bed and closed my eyes and in the dark, images started to surface. One by one, they piled up. Spread out. Shuffled wildly.
Stopping only to fall down, piece by piece, as if creating a mosaic.
It was only until one has found itself at the center that everything finally went still.
It was that one photo—the one with just the two of us.