"Good, you're here."
"What's the emergency meeting all about?"
"Where's Aisha?"
"She texted—says she's on her way."
"Good." I grabbed my notepad and stood before the lad. I initiated my questions.
"Remi, what do you do when you wake up in the morning?"
"Uh… I pray, study the word of God…"
"No, like body care."
"Uh… I take my bath, brush my teeth…"
I interrupted again, "what's your favourite meal?"
"I've got none."
"Oh, right. So what soap do you use?"
"Papaya mix."
"Pa-pa-ya. Terrific," I scrupulously took down notes.
"What lotion do you use?"
"Lotion."
"Lotion lotion?"
"Affirmative."
"That's a dumb name." I took more notes. "Well what sponge do you use in scrubbing your body?"
"Sponge."
"Sponge sponge? Very weird."
"No…" he slapped his face. "is it supposed to have a name tag or something?"
"Yes! So you don't know the name of the company that produced the sponge you use?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"Anyways, have you got any other stuff you apply to your skin like a skin care product or something?"
"No. My skin colour and flawlessness is completely natural. You of all people should know that. Temi, why are you asking these questions?"
I grinned. "Cause I want to be as light skinned as you are.
He covered his mouth in stupefaction then burst into laughter.
"Why would you want to have my skin colour. I hate it. Guys tease me a lot."
"Well Tasha is light skinned and people compliment her pictures a lot."
"You're not Tasha."
"Well, most of the social media queens with slamming photos are light skinned."
"You're not them either. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are perfect just the way you are and you don't need to change a thing about you for likes."
"Do you have to always act so righteous?"
"This has nothing to do with righteousness… well, it kind of does but it's also common sense."
"Oh, so I don't have common sense?"
"𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑦𝑏𝑏𝑒𝑒… 𝑦𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑠."
I whacked him on the head with my notepad.
"Ow! For a lady, you sure do hit pretty hard!"
"Aww, thank you."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"I'll buy some skin care products to make me look as bright as the sun." I motioned my hands out in the air, in his face.
"I can't wait to see you looking like a burnt plantain."
I whacked him on the head again and he yanked the book from me and flung it to a corner of the room. Aisha arrived.
"What's up?"
"Temi here wants to bleach her skin to look like the social media queens."
"Queens you say."
Aisha pulled out her android and showed me several pictures of charming melanin ladies. "That's Scarlet, Phoebe, Aliya and that's me. Check the comment section."
Her picture had over thousands of reactions on Insta.
"Now that's a Fulani queen!"
"Hmm, what soap do you use?"
"Evergreen. Why?"
"What lotion?"
"Evergreen."
"Special lotion?"
"Evergreen. Girl, why?"
"I want to be just as dark as you."
"Yikes!" they both chorused and slapped their faces. (－‸ლ)
Pictures seemed really powerful and I wanted to take the perfect picture.
•>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>•
𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑
•<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<•
𝐏𝐏𝐏—𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫.
Every picture sent a message to my mind. I could tell one's mood, needs, once thoughts or even one's financial status through an image of them, thus pictures were really powerful.
Everyone around me did their possible best to take the best shot often with the trending wears, because we were all seeking likes and validation and a perfect photo turned out to be the key.
It was sorta weird how I envied people through glaring at their pictures alone. Their lives seemed so faultless in those images they posted online for the world to see. They seemed better than me, and I could tell all of that just by their pictures.
People mostly posted images of their success so it was easy for anyone to get envious and insecure.
•>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>•
𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑
•<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<•
𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞; 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝.
I heard the footstep of insecurity each time my friends posted the pictures of their perfect life; the places they were at, the things they ate, the people they hung out with, the outfits they put on, the luxurious apartments they lived in. It felt to me like a competition.
I used to think that pictures were taken to store up and recall memories but now, it just seemed like the only reason people took pictures was to post them online, show off and seek validation.
*𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡*
I arrived from the kitchen with a cup of yoghurt, only to find Remi staring intently into his phone's screen. He had a 𝑠𝑚𝑙𝑢𝑠𝒉 on his fair face. I walked up to him and said, "What's making you blush like this?" catching him off guard.
"Nothing," he covered his phone.
I rolled my eyes and forcefully pulled the phone from him. To my surprise, it was a picture of I and him. A picture we had taken few days ago. It was the closest we had ever been in that picture. I leaned on his shoulders and with a beautiful smile on both our faces, he took a perfect shot.
The picture was one of a kind and for the first time, I actually uploaded a picture that wasn't Perry, or a drawing or an anime on my social media.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡?
"𝑂𝑘𝑎𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦𝑦?" I arched my brow, perplexed.
"I just really love the picture. We look so adorable."
"Well, I'm taking it down."
"What?! Why?"
"Can't you read the comments? Everyone thinks we are dating."
"I don't mind," he said with a fish-eating grin.
I knew I had to work on taking more pictures of myself, regarding Mr Isaac's speech. But how?
I loathed taking pictures. It was the reason I started using the pictures of things and people that weren't me, on my social media in the first place.
I was completely 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑝𝒉𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑐.
•>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>•
𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑
•<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<•
𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬. 𝐎𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐲. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦.
I had to fight my 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑝𝒉𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑎 because tons of my online friends desired to identify me through an image of me. And that was totally cool. Who wouldn't be freaked out by one who never posts pictures, who wont even send you one picture and whose face you cannot imagine?
I also was aware that the more I took pictures, the more I'd become camera-friendly so I started taking pictures frequently but they still weren't perfect enough to be stored or posted. I needed more filters for my insecurities but it still didn't work out.
•>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>•
𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑
•<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<•
𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬.
Remi said to me, "just be free."
•>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>•
𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑
•<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<•
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?
"𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞."
𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐌𝐨𝐨𝐝
𝐎𝐮𝐭𝐟𝐢𝐭
𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐮𝐩
𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
I and Remi sat out doors, on a fence, that day. I leaned on his shoulder and he said, "you don't have to be all about perfection. Don't force it. Smile."
I gave a light smile and with his index and middle finger both raised before his face as a "peace" sign, he took the shot twice then we selected the best. It was perfect!
"New wallpaper."
"Wallpaper? New profile picture! This is 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 cute."
I couldn't quite comprehend why people made certain signs in pictures.
What I could not comprehend the most was why everyone, just everyone around the internet was so fond of displaying a middle finger in pictures. It happened all the time and I really wanted to understand.
I knew what the sign meant but I was unable to fathom why people chose to send such a message in pictures. Why ALWAYS that particular sign? Was it just cool? Was it okay?
I and Remi decided to take more pictures. I was getting a hang of it!
"Just keep snapping and snapping till you get used to it and eventually become photogenic."
I took more pictures by the minute, even of foolish things.
I sat in my room really bored. I went to the mirror and decided to take a picture. I took lots of pictures. How I detested using a phone with a cracked screen! I managed to lie to everyone about how that happened.
Suddenly, I didn't know what got into me but I wanted to take a picture of me naked which id eventually delete. I was just really bored. And I did just that.
"So are you and Remi like a couple now or what?"
"Arrgh! Why does everyone keep asking that? There's nothing too special about that pic. We are just really close friends."
"Have you checked your comment section?"
"I know, I know. I wanted to take it down but Remi insisted I ignore the comments."
"Am I the only one getting the real message from all of this? Anyways, nevermind. Send me more of your pics. You look incredibly gorgeous. I've been drooling. I wonder why you never post yourself. BRB."
I hurried off to select some of my hottest pictures, about ten. I sent them to Oliver in no time. He had gone offline and after responding to few of my other texts, I went back to his page to await him and re-read our texts. It was then I found three pictures of me half nude, on Oliver's page!
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⚘𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙇𝙀𝙓𝙄𝘾𝙊𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙋𝙃𝙔⚘
*𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀*
ΩThe fear of taking pictures.
ΩThe idea or mindset of not looking good in pictures this avoiding taking or sharing any.
∆I was completely 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑝𝒉𝑜𝑏𝑖𝑐.
*𝐒𝐌𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐇*
ΩA smile and a blush.
∆He had a 𝑠𝑚𝑙𝑢𝑠𝒉 on his fair face.
::♥• 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐓𝐀𝐆 "𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐂"
»» #𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐂
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