The Story In His Picture

Chapter 1

Song- Anchor by Novo Amor

…/…

I have always had a thing for boys with dreads. Luke, my best friend and neighbor says it will be the death of me one day but I really don’t mind.

My other best friend, Julie supports me. Julie is old. Not so old though, she’s 86. Okay, maybe she’s really old.  She was a photographer in her prime, and truth be told, she is my role model.

Luke and I met her when we went to help my grandparents pack their stuff from their old house. We’ve been close ever since. My grandma is totally jealous of our relationship, Luke too. Don’t tell him I said so.

During this summer, I met a guy where I worked. I wouldn’t say I stalked him but yeah. You can’t blame me, my life is sad, I know. I almost died the day he said hi to me, it’s pathetic but Chris doesn’t have to know that. I always acted like I wasn’t affected by his charms so he couldn’t tell.

Today is the last day of summer and the only place I can think of spending it, is at the beach with my camera, my book and my pencil. Luke barges into my room and I sigh.

“Don’t you understand the concept of knocking” I say sitting up. “Why should I have to knock when I’ve seen you in your ups and downs?” “Get it? Get it?”

“Of course, I get it but…” I shake my head. “Too much?” Luke says. I don’t want to spoil his mood so I just say “Nah, it’s okay”.

“So, as you know, today is the last day of freedom” Luke says while laying down on the bed and my mind wanders to how quiet the beach would be. It’s almost like I can feel the wind on my skin. “You can’t possibly tell me I’ve been talking to myself the whole time” is what I hear when I’m snapped out of my reverie.

“Sorry Luke, you were saying?” I say facing him. “What were you thinking of?” he says. “Well, I definitely know what I want to do today. I’m going to the beach and you’re coming with me” I say and Luke groans

“I wanted us to watch reruns of Friends, our favorite episodes and eat chocolates till we pass out”

“That sounds really amazing Luke but I wasn’t done. You’re coming with your swimsuit, Surf board and ball” Luke sits up smiling “When are we going?”

We go downstairs to watch some episodes of Friends before Luke leaves to get his stuff. I go upstairs and change into my signature baggy shirt. I only wear that shirt when I feel inspired and today, the inspiration is coming off in waves from the atmosphere.

Luke yells my name from downstairs and I roll my eyes. “You could’ve just called me, on my phone. You know that’s what phones are for, right?” Now, it’s his turn to roll his eyes. I walk past him grabbing a banana from the brown kitchen counter.

My house is what you would call a decent house. Even though we’re extremely rich, my mum wanted a home and my dad created a duplex. It’s cozy but spacious. There are 5 rooms upstairs. One master bedroom for my parents, another equally as big room for my twin brothers, two guest rooms and my room. The sitting room, kitchen and dining room are downstairs and we have this big open space at the back of the house.

…/…

We got to the beach as soon as the last set of people were leaving. Luke ran to our spot and as he pulled off his shirt, I saw some of the girls stare at him. I rolled my eyes because I knew he did that on purpose.

Luke is your definition of above average. He’s really tall, 6ft to be precise. He has black short hair and his eyes are a mixture of green and blue, that’s definitely what I love most about him. Today, he’s my muse. He had worn his swimsuit under his shorts so he just had to strip. I sat down on one of the rocks close to the water. I grabbed my camera and I let Luke perform wonders.

He went to surf at first, and I made sure I got every moment. The wind aided a lot. Then, he decided to play ball, majorly practicing his skills. I shot from a distance and then up, close and personal pictures were taken.

Luke later got tired of playing. According to him, he was reserving his strength for tomorrow.

“Are you still eating your banana?” Luke says as he sits beside me. “Nah, you can have it”

He shuts up after that, he knows better than to disturb me when I’m in my zone. I take pictures of the sun setting and the waves, not like I don’t have enough pictures of those but each sunset feels different from the last.

Luke and I talk for a while, mostly about summer before deciding to head home. On our way home, we get ice cream and chocolates.

Luke parks the car in their garage and follows me to my house. I see the particular black car my parents took to the airport and I immediately squeal because that means my brothers are back.

We open the door and everywhere is pitch black. “Are you sure they’re home?” Luke says walking in before me.

“Something is not right” I say scanning the sitting room. I see my mum’s glasses on the center table and I immediately get scared, she never takes off her glasses, “Mum! Dad!” I shout as I race up the stairs. “Wait up” Luke says running after me.

I open their room door to find my mum, dad and brothers sitting on their bed, discussing. “Uhm, is everything okay?” My mum says with a new pair of glasses sitting at the bridge of her nose.

I ignore her completely and run to hug my brothers. They engulf me in their arms and Luke joins in later when they signal him to.

I hadn’t seen them in months, almost a year. “Look who’s gotten bigger” Jaden says. “what’d you mean? She’s still small” Jace replies

“I am not small” I say as I drag Luke to my room. Somehow, Luke talking makes me edit better. It’s weird, I know.

“Good night, little one” Jay says, that’s Jaden by the way.

“How do you feel about your brothers resuming at Kinston tomorrow” Luke says while stripping into his boxers. He’s staying the night, it’s a tradition. 

“I don’t know, I feel normal, I guess”. That was the truth, I didn’t feel any different. I just hope tomorrow isn’t a typical first day for me. I hate first days.