March 29, 2017

ONE SHOT
By Caitlynn Russell
Drops of dew covered everything. The year was slowly melting over from the chill of

winter into a blooming spring. However, it was never truly that hot in late March.

A girl, no older than sixteen, sits alone. She sits upon an old porch swing, the chains

rusted and the wood splintered. The porch itself connected to an old house, two storied and

decrepit. The house was a grey-white in color that has flaked away over the years and an old

chimney breaks through the tattered roof, which seems to have lost multiple, if not dozens, of

shingles.

Dustings of new leaves sweep over the cold ground as the wind picks up, and the oaks in

the woods nearby creak with the push and pull of the breeze.

Excellent, Daniella!

A flash of lights and the click of a camera echoes through the steady silence. The bustle

of metal equipment fills the void as people being to mull about.

The girls in the club rush over to Daniella. Each giving a bit of praise for a great photo

shoot. Andrew, the club leader, stiffened up as one girl reached for Daniellas curled, black hair,

Stacy, careful with her curls! The blonde girl quickly raised her hand to him and went back to

fixing one of the earrings in Daniellas right ear.

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 With a huff, Andrew turned to Daniella and smiled, We got some really amazing shots

this time. But, then again, they are of you. Andrew did an awkward finger gun and chuckled at

his own stupidity.

Gross. Daniella deadpanned.

The girls around her finished their chatter and skittered off the fix the set. Andrew pouted

and turned the tablet in his hand towards her. He quickly swiped through a few pictures of the

scenery until he reached their latest shoot.

Wow! She cooed, These look amazing! Andrew gave her a pristine smile and turned

the tablet back towards himself, You did a great job.

Thank you.

Youre very welcome.

The pictures themselves were of Daniella on that rickety porch with the wind sweeping

her black curls over her left shoulder and the trees dancing in the background. It all centered on

Daniella, after all, what is a photography club without a muse?

Andrew quickly saved the pictures and slid the tablet into its case. Daniella followed his

lead and began to help the rest of the club members gather equipment. Tripods, cameras,

backdrops, and they had even brought a green screen with them. The team quickly packed the

equipment into their respective boxes and back into boxes and cases. Daniella grabbed a box and

hauled it into the car waiting at the driveway.

Well have to thank Mr. Ramirez for signing us out so we could do our shoot, Andrew

called out the window from the front seat.

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 Okay, she called back as the other club members climbed into the car. A simple tan

minivan he had borrowed from his older sister, Jane. Daniella quickly hopped into the passenger

seat and closed her door.

Ready? Andrew asked them.

The group mimicked his in unison. Andrew started the car and they set off back to their

high school. The trip was not exceptionally long, but it gave enough time for Sabrina and Lucy,

two of the clubs makeup artists, to belt out the entirety of Lane Boy by Twenty One Pilots.

When they returned to school, Andrew drove through the bus lane and dropped them off

at the entrance before heading back into the packed parking lot to find a place for his van. The

group buzzed themselves in and began heading down the cream hallway of their high school

towards the photography clubroom. The hallway was line with posters the student council had

made and newsletters stocked the bulletin boards. The clubroom was actually an old classroom

converted into a clubroom for the use of the writing and media clubs.

When the group arrived, the Media Club was sitting back in the far corner of the room

working on the new morning announcements. The Photography Club quickly unloaded their

equipment and went about checking for any damage. Mr. Ramirez, the club sponsor, was

humming to himself as he graded papers, not sparing the group a glance. Andrew arrived shortly

after the rest of the group with his tablet.

Mr. R. Check out the shots we just took, Andrew suggested and handed the tablet over

to the teacher. Mr. Ramirez scanned through the photos, his glasses falling low on his nose and

he smiled, Great work! These are wonderful takes. You all did really well this time around.

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 The team smiled and thanked him quickly. The group milled about for a while and

Daniella decided to check her portfolio. She smiled at the old candid photos that she had added

to it, they we mixed in with the clubs summer photo shoot file. The mix of sun, blue sky, and

smiling group members reminded her of why she loved photography so much. She closed the

folder and quick slipped it back into her file in the filing cabinet. As she closed the cabinet, she

caught the last bit of Stacy and Aubreys conversation by the bulletin board before she walked

towards them.

the prize is apparently a one photo shoot and a front page in National Note

Magazine, Aubrey was saying.

A one photo shoot? Stacy questioned.

The redhead nodded, Yeah, it means you get one chance to take a perfect photo.

Mr. Ramirez nodded along to her explanation, The office gave that to me this morning.

The magazines publisher had sent it. He said he had seen the candids you all took first semester

on the schools website. He said we should try to win the prize. If we won, the photo would

probably be on the front cover. I think it would be fun. What about you Daniella? Andrew?

Andrews eye lit up and he grinned, That sounds awesome! It would be nice for the club

to get some recognition, and it could help us with internships later on, too, probably. Daniella

smiled and quickly agreed

The rest of the club nodded and Mr. Ramirez grins widely before standing up and writing

on the white board Brainstorming.

So, how about we get to planning?

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 The club stayed until 5:00 oclock when the late bus ran. Daniella followed the group out

of the school building and boarded the bus. She ran her hand along the navy, leather seats until

she reached the last four. She quickly grabbed a window seat, stretching her legs to cover the rest

of the seat, and Andrew climbed into the single person seat in the back. Stacy and Aubrey

grabbed the other back seat and the other two club members took the one to Daniellas left.

Today had been progressive for the club. The group had decided on one of their most

recent shots to send into the competition. It was one of Daniella at the house and the lighting was

perfect. Daniella could only hope they won and got to take the main photo shoot.

Daniella yawned, her eyes felt like lead after the busy day she had endured. She stifled a

second yawn as Andrew filled the group in on plans for next week.

The next week arrived in a flash and she could not be more terrified as Mr. Ramirez

called a group meeting before school began. He held up an orange-yellow envelope and smiled at

them. The group had been on edge since they had sent the photo into the publisher. Mr. Ramirez

quickly opened the envelope and took some papers from inside. The letter was printed on photo

paper and was creased carefully. The black, Time New Roman stood out on stark white paper

and stamped in the top corner was the National Note logo.

Mr. Ramirez took a deep breath and read the letter.

Dear Lukewell High School Photography Club,

We are glad to inform you that the photo that you sent to our publisher was outstanding and has
been chosen for our One Shot photo op.

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Our publisher is sending a team of professional photographers to Lukewell in order to help you
capture this amazing achievement. The photo op will take place on April 8, 2019, but the date
may be changed if necessary.
We thank you for sending in your photo.
Sincerely,
Clark Novell, National Note Magazine Publishing CEO.
If you have any further questions, please contact me at Clark_Novell@national.note.com
The room was silent before the club member erupted into cheers.

Throwing his hands into the air above his head he bellowed, We won! He turned and

high fived Oliver, the only other boy in the Photography Club.

Daniella was almost in tears; the other girls were no better. The group was quick to

spread the news around Lukewell High. The Media Club was chomping at the bit to interview

and post on their clubs blog and maybe even the school announcements.

April 8th arrived faster than anyone wanted it to, and being dragged around by the club

girls and dolled up caused Daniella to smile. When they arrived at the decided location, a

gorgeous park in the center of town, Daniella and the group were stunned to witness all of the

fancy equipment set up. Well-trimmed hedges surrounded the park and large oaks dotted the

scenery. There had been a picnic blanket laid out in front of the camera and Daniella took a deep

breath to steady her beating heart.

The rest of the group met with each of the photography team and the lead photographer

quickly called over Andrew and began to instruct him on the right angles and what light to avoid.

The girls of the group ran off with the makeup director and Daniella herself readied herself for

the actual picture.

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 The photographer had given Daniella some instructions. The instruction was to sit on the

picnic blanket among a large array of wild flowersall of which we not wild at all, but store

bought and replantedand to simply pose. Daniella did as she was told, and watched as the

makeup arts showed each of the club girls how certain powder brushes worked on certain types

of makeup. Andrew and the rest of the club was huddled around Mr. Ramirez.

Daniella sighed, messing with her hands, and waiting for something to happen. She

jumped slightly as a cheerful voice suddenly broke her from her jitters. A platinum blonde

woman was smiling down at where she sat and asked, May I sit with you while we wait?

OhOf course, Daniella sputtered.

Oh its fine, dear. After all, this is a great moment for your group!

I guess so.

Well. I am Janessa, one of National Notes cleaners. I mean, I clean up photos for big

stories. The smiled as Daniella listened intently. Janessa continued, But, the thing about this

shoot is that if you mess up, I wont be able to fix anything for you without getting in some

serious trouble. So, Im going to wish you some luck.

Daniella grumbled, Thanks.

Janessa chuckled and stood up, Alright, Daniella. Are you ready?

Yeah, I guess so.

Okay then. Janessa threw thumbs up towards a tall man standing near one of the

cameras, before waving and walking off to the sidelines. The man called Andrew over and

instructed him on something.

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 The photographer quickly called out, You have only one chance alright, Daniella?

Got it! she answered.

She took a deep breath, sitting so that she was sitting up straight, and nodding. Mr.

Ramirez watched from the sidelines, a proud look plastered over his features, while Andrew

steadied the shot, his concentration solely on the camera screen.

This is it, she thought.

It only took a few seconds.

One.

The breeze swept through the set as Andrew clicked the capture button.

Two.

Daniellas curls whipped up and around her face at the exact same moment, and the flash

blinded her for a moment.

Three.

Andrew gasped and Daniella pushed her hair from her face. She stared forward and

watched as Andrews eyebrows scrunched and she jumped to her feet.

No, no, no, Andrew pouted, You can see your face and your hair is in the way. He

glares at the camera and then at the screen showing the photo he had just taken.

Daniellas eyes widened and she asked quickly, We can retake it right?

The photographer shook his head and sighed, Sorry, no can do. You only had one shot.

Were not allowed to redo it. Sorry kids.

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 Daniellas eyes widened and she turned to Mr. Ramirez. His eyes were wide and shocked.

Daniella quickly looked away, towards Andrew. His hands clenched into fists and he was visibly

shaking while trying not to be upset. She whipped her head towards the rest of the club girls;

they all were on the verge of tears. Daniella finally turned to the camera panel.

On the screen was a photo. It showed a girl in disarray. Hair flying towards the sky

blocking out her features. Her hand had reflexively flown up to move the hair away, only to have

the camera capture a blurry swipe around the girls middle. It was the worst photo Daniella had

ever seen, and now everyone would see it. They would see it splayed out along the front of the

nations biggest magazine. The clubs future careers would be ruined.

Its my fault, she though as suddenly a sharp stinging in the back of her head snapped

her out of it, black flooding her vision.

The first thing she noticed was that she jumped eyes wide. Andrew was tugging on a

piece of her hair and was snickering from behind his bus seat.

Wake up, sleepy head! Your stops next, the brown-haired boy informed her. She

blinked a couple of times, the heaviness of sleep draining from her. She looked up to notice that

Audrey was also asleep in her own seat, but the other club members had already been dropped

off at their own stops.

Did I fall asleep? Daniella yawned.

Andrew nodded quickly, before flipping through his tablet and snickering at something

on the screen.

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 Whats so funny? she asked him, eyes brimming with curiosity overpowering her tired

mind.

Andrew grinned and turned the tablet towards her. A photo was clearly displayed on the

screen. It showed a girl in disarray. Black hair flying towards the sky blocking out her features. A

blur of white covered most of the girls middle. It was the same picture.

When was this taken? Daniella asked quickly, her voice slightly off pitch from the

shock.

Andrew shrugged. He took the tablet back from her and stated, Probably last month

during the cultural festival. Remember the flower bed we used as a backdrop? His question

quickly brought back the memory of the festival. The club had set up a photo booth and used one

of the schools flowerbeds as their sitting area. The wind had caught Daniella during one of the

pictures.

She sighed in relief and she smiled, I suppose that is a really funny picture.

Remembering her dream she spoke, I hope we hear back from the publisher soon. I really want

to see if we win.

Me too. Andrew smiled and slightly fell in his seat as the bus came to a halt. Daniella

stood up and grabbed her bag. She waved to Andrew and quickly said her goodbyes before

walking down the bus isle and off the bus. The driver waved his goodbye to her as he shut the

doors.

Daniella smiled and began walking up the driveway to her house. Her eyes looked

towards the flowerbed beside the walkway. It reminded her of her dream. Yellow, orange, and

white blooms spiraling up towards the sky. She quickly brushed past them and up the cobble

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porch steps, and then passed the porch bench sporting a thin, red and white checkered blanket

over its back. As she pushed the front door open and entered the living room, she quickly

hollered, Im home, which got a motherly welcome in return.

Her eyes lit up as she smelt ham and cornbread. Her mother must have been making

dinner. As she sat her bag down and kicked off her shoes, she noticed the mail sitting on the

living room table. Grinning, she thought of her dream, Maybe well see that letter again soon.

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