Behind the Lens

Chapter 1

On arrival at work, an impulsive young man, walked briskly past a sexy lady, both moving in, with the breeze swallowing everything they wore. The dress of the lady swift past him leaving behind the strong roseling odour emerging and traveling with her.

His ankle crossed hers and she nearly tripped but got her balance. She turned briskly at him with the most precious sexy face, coloured with zero blemish, almost glassy.

Tripping her glowy eyeglasses off her eyes a bit with her finger, she enraged at him in the meanest of manners. All the workers in the surrounding tried calming her down but all she could do was continue to rampage over how he almost crippled her.

Alex: "I could tell you're not in for an apology, so you ain't gonna get one" confidently, looking closely into her eyes following her drama.

Jordan: "Oh! I see that's how you were taught to treat women. You almost crippled me right here in front of everyone and yet, they take your side as if I was the perpetrator."

The whole group could see the level of her exaggeration was off limit, and gently left the two newcomers to settle their feud.

Alex, a young man from a very large family whose parents were never learned, had been taught all his life to always strive to be the best at whatever he does and leave no room for failure. A father and a mother, with children of five, Alex being the eldest, took on the responsibility to take care of his own siblings. He started his photography lesson just after his university degree, studying business administration.

Jordan, on the other hand, came from a very poor background. Being only the child of her parents, she learned to grow up really fast, but not with the same pace as Alex. Her mother sells clothes in front of their house inside a shop with a tethered roof and cracked wall around the building, almost seemingly collapsing. Her father had been out of the picture from childhood stamping on her belated for men from such a young age.

They both entered the studio through the opposite side of the room with a friend each.

Micheal: "I know you are going to love this app. I've been on it since I broke up with my girlfriend and I've never thought of her since"

Alex: "Oh I think you just did." They both blurred into laughter as they walked down to set up the camera.

Micheal had been Alex's friend ever since the undergraduate days and got lucky to secure his job earlier before him. They were roommates and would share their provisions together. They were often mistaken to be brothers by their interaction levels.

Cynthia: "You only have to chat with the guy, you have no business with meeting up with him. Just sign up on the app. Surely no man would not wish to talk to you if they see your picture, but that's the fun part, it's totally anonymous, just input the only bits you want to, and no picture. Come on, do this for me, please!"

Cynthia had been Jordan's childhood friend whom they'd been apart for decades but reconnected and got the job to the art studio together. They shared experiences amongst themselves which is where she learnt about her sincere hatred for men.

As Alex came over to their side, Cynthia sharply fired a grin smile and warmed herself towards him.

Cynthia: "hey you handsome. How have you been? You look better than you did all week" she couldn't stop smiling at him.

Jordan couldn't resist the irritation she felt from her friend's action and threw a shirt at her.

Jordan: "Are you ready or you also want to flirt with her? Oh, you probably want to cripple her as well."

Alex: "there are manners with which you speak to humans"

Jordan: "oh I know! I have not just located one yet!"

Alex: "When you're ready let me know. Seems your degenerated brain needs a break," he said as he angrily left the area to go sit with his friend.

Cynthia: "Even if you don't like him, can't someone else do? Must you ruin everything for me?"

Jordan: with agape mouth, "can you imagine what this lowlife just said to me? I'm the one with a degenerated brain?" Fuming with anger, her friend forgot about her plight and gently calmed her so she wouldn't cause havoc in the studio.

A few minutes later, Cynthia went over to call Alex they were ready for the shooting.

As he sets the camera, she sits on the chair majestically, ready for the photoshoot of the month. He gazed through the camera and his face turned sour.

Alex: "turn your head towards south and face the pole over there. Move your back straight a bit and place your hands over the other. One...two..and " SNAP "good. Now, turn to the left and raise the other hand towards the left a bit. Lower your hip slowly and..."

Jordan: "you can simply just tell me you are in to punish me. How long would it take you to just get a picture of me? Does taking pictures really take a toll on you or you're just so whack at your job? I can't keep on with these whining."

Alex: "I think I'm the professional photographer here, if, not when, if I need your opinion on how to do my job, I'd be sure to inform you. Fir now, follow simple instructions. I don't know how that is supposed to be hard," fading his statement out.

They spent hours disputing on how to take the picture and finally came out of the studio.

Jordan: "Why did you leave me in there with him? He could've taken advantage of me, even assaulted me! What sort of friend are you?"

Cynthia could not believe her friend. The doughnut was left hanging in her mouth as she stared into her friend's eyes, looking as if they were being engineered to stiff roll.

Cynthia: "Oh sorry I didn't know I was supposed to babysit you in there, when you both are fighting like tom and Jerry," she muffled with the bountiful of the dough still left in her mouth.

Jordan: "I can't hear a single thing you said. What?"

Cynthia: "never mind. You wouldn't listen to me anyways," she replied, in a much clearer voice.

They left the place and entered into a room. Cynthia handed her the phone. Her profile had been created for the app.

Jordan: "Why did you do this?" About to raise her voice at her friend again, Cynthia gave her a warning look making her back down from the fight.

Cynthia: "if you don't want me to leave you here by yourself, chat with someone tonight and come back here to give me the full gist by tomorrow. If not, prepare to do your own makeup" she said as she prepared to leave the room.

Jordan: "Okay, okay. I'm sorry for being such a nasty friend, who cares for her friend and wants her friend to also be there for..." Cynthia gasped and was about leaving the room but she quickly grabbed the doorknob and closed it. "Alright fine. What do you want from me now?"

Cynthia: "Promise me. Promise me you'd chat with a guy tonight and be here tomorrow morning with the full gist"

Jordan: "I'd do that, on a condition they're not rude to me."

Cynthia: "When has a guy never been rude to you before?"

Jordan: "I don't see how that's my fault."

Cynthia: "Oh you don't? It's all I see" waving around the room.

Jordan: "Are you sure you're my friend? Whose side are you on?"

Cynthia could not take the interrogation any longer and left the room. Micheal had invited the whole squad to a party after work and had asked her to go with. Jordan was no fan of such a gathering and excused herself. She then went home after finishing up at work.

As Alex got home, tired from the party, he was hugged tightly by the mattress of his bed which he sunk into. He could barely make himself anything to eat even though his stomach made a lot of cries his neighbours could hear. He stretched out for his phone after a chiming alert. It was the app Micheal had installed. He even signed up without his knowledge with the username 'Aceking'.

"Aceking is nice," he thought but couldn't stop the feeling of betrayal he felt from his friend signing him up for such. He's never been in a relationship and surely doesn't know how to start one. He struggled to figure out what to type after seeing a message popped up from 'Misshearty'.

Aceking: ["What a nice lovely name. I can bet this name resonates with your beauty already."]

Misshearty: ["that's the sweetest thing a guy ever said to me, though I have never been with one to have the opportunity."]

Aceking: ["You surely don't like the presence of men do you?"]

Misshearty: ["how could you tell? Smiles"]

Aceking: ["Same way I could tell I can be the man for you"]

Misshearty: ["you're funny"]

His heart raced as he stared at the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard. The playful banter had taken an unexpected turn, and he felt a mix of excitement and unease. Just as he was about to type a response, a notification flashed across his screen:

"WARNING: Your conversation partner's identity cannot be verified. Proceed with caution."

His breath caught in his throat. Who was Misshearty really? And more importantly, who did they think he was? As the cursor blinked expectantly, he realized with a sinking feeling that he might be in over his head. But it was too late to back out now...