After Life

34

I leaned my hip against the edge of the counter, my arms crossed over my body as I watched the popcorn turning in the microwave. The gentle hum of the machine was the only sound in the quiet apartment, and I found myself anticipating the first pop of the corn from inside the little bag. Even though it only took a few seconds, it felt endless. Another example of Einstein and his damn theory.

The beer was on the table, along with M&Ms, Chex mix, and soon to be popcorn. Two blankets were draped over the couch, the TV turned on against the wall, the volume low. A gentle breeze floated in through the open window overlooking the street, the warm air from outside cleansing the stale air inside, trapped inside from a long winter. I loved the smell of fresh air, just as much as I loved the fact it was finally warm. The sleep shorts and tank top that covered my body was a tell tale sign that I was welcoming spring whole heartedly.

It was Sunday, which also meant TV night with Harry. The Walking Dead latest season had ended, and where I personally had assumed this would also call an end to our weekly arrangement, he had other plans. He took it upon himself to broaden my cinematic horizons, informing me that until my 'horrible and too fake to ever really happen' favorite show returned to the airwaves in the fall, he would bring a new movie over each week for us to enjoy.

This would be our second week of this enlightenment. Last week, I had been forced to endure Pulp Fiction. Yes, I know it's a cult classic, and everyone seems to love it. But in my opinion....meh. Tonight, he had yet to inform me of what my next 'lesson' would be.

Mia was out with her parents for the night, a pre-finals dinner before she locked herself away in the library for the next two weeks. Finals were to begin the week after next, and needless to say, we were all feeling the tension.

Finals always brought a certain level of stress and all consuming fear to college students. That nail biting anxiety was nothing new. But when those finals were also the last ones you would be taking for your university career, thus also culminating your session of higher learning, it took on a whole other level.

My notes were prepped, all my assignments completed and submitted. Except for my final project, which Harry and I still had to shoot our last session together, of course. But other than that all important step, I was as ready for finals as I was going to be.

In terms of my final session with Harry, however, I was at a loss. After he turned down my only real concept for the shoot, just as I knew he would, I had yet to come up with an alternative. We had to shoot this week, to give me time to edit and compile the images in to a final presentation to be submitted the Thursday after this coming. Which, in all reality, was doable. If I had a theme for the final shoot, which I did not.

I knew I could shoot Harry in basically any setting and it would work. Despite his hatred and hesitation with the camera, it loved him. It drew him out, showcasing not only his physical appeal, but also the qualities he tried so hard to keep hidden.  Those qualities, much to his reservation, were just the ones needed for this particular assignment.

I needed to come up with something, and quickly. And it had to be something grand, something that would be the perfect ending to this journey we had began together. But unfortunately, any time I thought of how I naturally saw this progression going in my mind, it always fell back to the same thing. Showing in clear view why Harry was so wounded. Because he was wounded. In more ways than the emotions he portrayed, and in more ways than the scars on his skin. They were a tangible link to each other, both bringing the facets of each together.