walked onto the meadow, they were greeted by a different clear vista of the falls. They laid their backpacks on some large boulders and walked toward the ridge to view the sublime waterfall. They all stood there for a few minutes silently taking in the overwhelming perfection of nature.
Mia pulled out her Nikon SLR and started to take pictures of the falls. She used a low broken branch of a pine to set her camera on and act as a tripod. She pulled several lenses out of her bag. Schooner realized that he had seen her around campus shooting.
“That’s a nice camera,” he commented.
“Thanks. It was my birthday present to myself,” she offered proudly.
“What do you most like to shoot?” Schooner was enjoying learning what made her tick.
“This,” she gestured to the scenery around them. “I love landscape photography. If anything comes out good from today, I’ll make you a print.”
“You make your own prints?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a great dark room on campus. So, I roll my own — umm, film that is,” she chuckled, “ and then develop it and print it. Right now, I’m shooting black and white.”
“Are you going to teach me how to shoot one of these days?” Henry nudged her.
“Any time you want,” she responded, clearly too focused on the falls to continue the conversation.
“Just make sure she’s behind the lens,” Henry clued Schooner in, “she hates having her picture taken.”
How odd, she’s comfortable behind the lens and I’ve spent my life in front of it, Schooner thought. He wondered how she would see him through her lens, what she would see. Would she see him or just his brilliant disguise?
After a few minutes more of shooting scenery, Mia turned the camera to her compadres playing in the snow, rolling in the snow, making lewd snowmen with giant erections and pretending to throw one another off the mountain ridge.
Mia turned and walked away from the group to go put her camera back in her backpack, where it would be safe. A moment later, Schooner heard her call his name and turned as a snowball whooshed past his head, missing him by mere inches.
“Oh, so that’s how you want to play!” He gathered up snow in his hands and packed a snowball quickly and winged it at her.
“Ouch,” she screamed, getting nabbed in the arm, “son of a bitch!”
“You started it,” he laughed.
Henry and Rosie joined in the fun with Henry chasing Rosie down and stuffing snow down the back of her jacket. “I hate you!” She screamed at him and smushed snow in his copper hair.
Schooner flung snowballs like he was serving tennis balls and Mia was being bombarded. When he decided she’d been pelted enough, he walked over to her and smushed a handful of snow in her face.
“Oh man, you play dirty! I give up.” She held her hands up in defeat and he beamed at his victory.
He put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “Body heat,” he whispered in her ear. She looked up at him and he pulled her cap down over her face playfully. This was the first time either Henry or Rosie had seen him be physical with Mia. He wanted to kiss her in this light, perfect, fun-filled moment on a mountain alongside a waterfall. But they weren’t alone and he didn’t want to cause anyone any embarrassment. And he wanted that moment to be just theirs alone, shared with no one, when the time was right.
They went back to the rocks where their backpacks were and sat down. Pulling out their cassette players and notebooks, they started listening to music and discussing how tracks would either fit in or not fit in with their group project. After about thirty minutes, their butts and fingers and toes were so cold and so wet from their snowball fight, that they decided to bail on studying in the mountains and finish studying in a nice warm dorm room.
CHAPTER 15
The dorm room didn’t feel much warmer than the mountaintop and the gang all changed into dry, warm oversized sweats and thick socks and lounged
Mia pulled out her Nikon SLR and started to take pictures of the falls. She used a low broken branch of a pine to set her camera on and act as a tripod. She pulled several lenses out of her bag. Schooner realized that he had seen her around campus shooting.
“That’s a nice camera,” he commented.
“Thanks. It was my birthday present to myself,” she offered proudly.
“What do you most like to shoot?” Schooner was enjoying learning what made her tick.
“This,” she gestured to the scenery around them. “I love landscape photography. If anything comes out good from today, I’ll make you a print.”
“You make your own prints?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a great dark room on campus. So, I roll my own — umm, film that is,” she chuckled, “ and then develop it and print it. Right now, I’m shooting black and white.”
“Are you going to teach me how to shoot one of these days?” Henry nudged her.
“Any time you want,” she responded, clearly too focused on the falls to continue the conversation.
“Just make sure she’s behind the lens,” Henry clued Schooner in, “she hates having her picture taken.”
How odd, she’s comfortable behind the lens and I’ve spent my life in front of it, Schooner thought. He wondered how she would see him through her lens, what she would see. Would she see him or just his brilliant disguise?
After a few minutes more of shooting scenery, Mia turned the camera to her compadres playing in the snow, rolling in the snow, making lewd snowmen with giant erections and pretending to throw one another off the mountain ridge.
Mia turned and walked away from the group to go put her camera back in her backpack, where it would be safe. A moment later, Schooner heard her call his name and turned as a snowball whooshed past his head, missing him by mere inches.
“Oh, so that’s how you want to play!” He gathered up snow in his hands and packed a snowball quickly and winged it at her.
“Ouch,” she screamed, getting nabbed in the arm, “son of a bitch!”
“You started it,” he laughed.
Henry and Rosie joined in the fun with Henry chasing Rosie down and stuffing snow down the back of her jacket. “I hate you!” She screamed at him and smushed snow in his copper hair.
Schooner flung snowballs like he was serving tennis balls and Mia was being bombarded. When he decided she’d been pelted enough, he walked over to her and smushed a handful of snow in her face.
“Oh man, you play dirty! I give up.” She held her hands up in defeat and he beamed at his victory.
He put his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. “Body heat,” he whispered in her ear. She looked up at him and he pulled her cap down over her face playfully. This was the first time either Henry or Rosie had seen him be physical with Mia. He wanted to kiss her in this light, perfect, fun-filled moment on a mountain alongside a waterfall. But they weren’t alone and he didn’t want to cause anyone any embarrassment. And he wanted that moment to be just theirs alone, shared with no one, when the time was right.
They went back to the rocks where their backpacks were and sat down. Pulling out their cassette players and notebooks, they started listening to music and discussing how tracks would either fit in or not fit in with their group project. After about thirty minutes, their butts and fingers and toes were so cold and so wet from their snowball fight, that they decided to bail on studying in the mountains and finish studying in a nice warm dorm room.
CHAPTER 15
The dorm room didn’t feel much warmer than the mountaintop and the gang all changed into dry, warm oversized sweats and thick socks and lounged
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