Light in the Dark Room [Kia]

[Lara Daae]

There was darkness. Yet unlike the darkness before the dawn, there would be no break in the dreaded emptiness. Lara could feel her hand raise in front of her eyes, could feel the movement as she waved it back and forth, but there was still nothing. Of course, this was exactly what she had been hoping for. To process color photos there needed to be an absolute darkness, as color photos were susceptible to all colors within the spectrum of light. Then again, it would be easier if she was processing black and white photos. But where was the fun if there was no challenge?

She pushed up her sleeves and got to work, humming under her breath as she relaxed, going through the motions that her body knew well enough to do in reflex. There was no place as relaxing in its solitude as the dark room at Silas Academy. Photography was not a particularly popular subject at the school, so it was almost always empty, allowing her a reprieve from all the noise. All the lying... Her mind blanked and her hands stilled at the thought, but she sighed, and just like that her power washed away the negativity. What was there to be upset about even? She had a perfect job at a wonderful academy, where she got to be around students who wanted to learn. Students who were like her in so many ways.

Her phone buzzed with a message and she reached out to flip it open, stopping herself before the harsh glow could harm the photos. With a deep breath of relief, she peeked out the door of the dark room into the empty classroom. She'd switched the lights off so as to not cause any unintended damage. Creeping out of the classroom and into the well lit hallway, she flipped open her phone, glancing at the message. It was one of her students, asking about an assignment. With a smile lighting up her face, she sent them a quick response. Maybe it was unprofessional to have given her personal number out to students, but she wanted to be available if they needed help. Speaking of which, a girl from her Introduction to Photography class had recently asked for out of class assistance. Maybe she would stop by today to get help. Bouncing on her feet, she skipped back inside, immediately regretting the over happy decision as she collided into one of the many desks. Hopping around and muttering as foul of a word as she could bring herself to say, 'crap', she berated herself for being an idiot. There never seemed to be a moment of peace without some act of stupidity marring the moment. At least no one was around to witness her current coordination woes....

[Kia Bailey]

Kia dragged her feet up the stairs to the second floor. Once at the top, she made a face and turned to stick her tongue out at the stairs. "Here's what I think of you!" she exclaimed to the stairs. Facing forward again, she noticed a girl sitting on the hallways bench, textbook opened in her lap with pen poised over notebook, staring at her with a why-did-you-do-that-you're-so-weird expression. The blonde bundle of purposeful sunshine simply smiled and waved at her as she walked by with a "Hiya" as she passed. The other girl only mumbled a noncommital greeting in response, but Kia was already halfway down the hall. It wasn't like she actually cared what other people thought of her. As long as she did her best and what she thought was right, that's all that mattered to her. She'd always been that way.

Almost to Ms. Daae's classroom, Kia hesitated in a slightly nervous way which involved tugging on the edges of her long sleeves. She had asked Ms. Daae to help her with developing film in the dark room because the last time they did it in class, she had proven that she really sucked at it. None of her pictures came out right, and she needed at least one decent picture in order to get a good grade on that portion of the class. She couldn't understand why she wasn't succeeding, but being the perfectionist she could sometimes be, she wanted that good grade. Kia Bailey did not give up easily.

Inhaling with a sort of 'all right, let's do this' sort of attitude, the teenager stopped at Ms. Daae's classroom door... just in time to see the older woman collide into one of the desks. She had to resist the urge to laugh before she stepped inside, saying, "Ms. Daae, you okay?" She couldn't entirely keep the hint of amusement out of her voice, however, and she was trying hard to keep the smile off her face. Kia wasn't exactly the most graceful and had had plenty of moments like that.

"You mentioned yesterday that I could stop by today to get help on developing film." Because she honestly wasn't trying to be mean, she tried to contain her half-snort, half-chuckle and asked, "Is.... this a bad time?"

[Lara Daae]

"Oh, Kia." She looked up mid-hop and nearly crashed back into another desk, dodging to the side just in time to avoid the collision. Unfortunately, the quick movement sent her in a spiral, making her flail her arms and legs as she tried to regain her balance. "Eheh…" With an awkward laugh, she brushed brown hair away from her tomato-red face. "Now that you mention it, this probably wasn't the most opportune moment for you to drop by." Rubbing the back of her neck, she motioned for the girl to enter the room. "Now that you're here though, we can get to work on that project of yours, just… watch your step." She narrowed her eyes, and looked around, eyeing the dark shapes of the chairs and desks. "It's like a mine field in here."

With a cheerful smile, she sidestepped a few more chairs on her way towards the dark room. Being a photography teacher, and nearly always being in the dark… Well, by now Lara felt that she should be a pro at maneuvering in the darkness. Instead, she was a stumbling klutz. Oh well, nobody could do it all. She looked back at Kia, one of her favorite students, despite the fact that she was struggling with her work in the dark room. Still, she was always so cheerful compared to the sullen crowd that usually darkened the door of Lara's classes.

"Now remind me, what film are you trying to develop right now?" It was getting hard to keep all the students straight, particularly with the number of projects that she was required to assign by the school. "If it's black and white we can turn on the amber lights so we'll be able to see better, but if it's color well… As you know color film is too sensitive to have any light in the room." She placed her hand on the door handle and turned back to Kia with a smile, "I'm sure the out of class practice will be exactly what you need to polish up your dark room skills. Did you bring the film with you?"

[Kia Bailey]

Kia did manage to take half a step toward her photography professor in a futile attempt to somehow steady the older woman. However, her advance quickly ceased as she realized that Lara was regaining her balance. The blonde teenager really was trying to keep her amusement under check. After all, laughing at others wasn't exactly considered polite. It's just that Lara so resembled a flailing helicopter--at least for those few seconds--that it was very difficult.

A smile tugging at the edges of her mouth, Kia entered the dark classroom. Maneuvering around the desks until she was standing next to Lara, she dropped her backpack onto the desk closest to her and dug the film out of one of its front pockets. "It's right here." She held up both rolls of film for her teacher to see. "It's for the collage assignment you gave us two weeks ago. The one that's supposed to combine all the different photography media. I've got everything finished but this film." Her expression slightly hinted at her frustration. "But every time I've tried to develop it myself... I don't know. I either leave it in too long or not long enough. For all I know, I don't even get the chemical mixture right. I've tried like three times before, Ms. Daae... and, argh, I keep messing it up. I try to follow the instructions you gave us... but... I don't know. I suck at it."

Leaving her bag on the desk, she followed Lara toward the darkroom. "It's black and white. I... uh... kinda decided to give up on the color. At least for now. The colors kept bleeding together and coming out like it looked like I dipped it in water. I thought it would be best to, like, get the black and white down first then maybe try the color thing again." Kia tugged on the end of her ponytail with one gloved hand. It was a nervous gesture... and a frustrated gesture. And her inability to develop a roll of film with any skill definitely frustrated her desire to be perfect at everything. She usually hid it well. She tugged again.

"Is that okay, Ms. Daae?"