Suddenly, Max Caulfield found herself woken up by a the strange occurrence where she found herself completely shocked that she was exactly where she was fifteen minutes earlier. She looked so lost and confused as her eyes darted across the room at everything and then the clock. It read that it was ten to four. Max pondered about how such a thing could've been possible and reviewed her recent actions that lead to her reversing time.
"... can frame us in our glory and sorrow; from light to shadow; from colour to chiaroscuro. Now, can you give me an example of a photographer who perfectly captured the human condition in black and white? Anybody?" The teacher addressed his students.
Suddenly, as soon as Max predicted something that was about to happen, she was startled. Her camera flew off the desk, breaking as soon as it hit the tiles. While nobody really bothered to pay attention to what happened, Max revised over what she did that commenced time reversing before she did it again. And so, the camera was back on her desk without a scratch on it. She zoned out every now and then while Mr Jefferson lectured his students.
"I'll know this is for real if (Y/n) comes through that door." Max thought to herself.
"Diane Arbus." Victoria answered confidently.
"There you go, Victoria! Why Arbus?" Mr Jefferson appraised.
"Because of her images of hopeless faces. You feel like, totally haunted by the eyes of those sad mothers and children."
"She saw humanity as tortured, right? And frankly, it's bullshit. Seriously though, I could frame any one of you in a dark corner, and capture you in a moment of desperation.
To Max's successful prediction, (Y/n) entered the room when Mr Jefferson gestured for him to enter where he gave a nervous smile towards everyone. But that didn't stop her teacher from calling her out for her zoning out as he asked Max a question she didn't quite grasp the answer to straight away. As (Y/n) was settling in, Max found herself making a fool of herself a second time. However, this time it would be different.
Upon the third sharp inhale, Mr Jefferson asked a question Max was confident with her answer to. "Now Max, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?"
"The Daguerreian Process. Invented by a French painter named... Louis Daguerre, around eighteen-thirty." Max answered with a raspy voice.
Victoria scoffed in disbelief that Max managed to answer perfectly. She rotated her body so that she was more easily staring at the brunette without having to strain her neck as much while Max ignored her glare. There were times when Victoria loathed the silent picturesque girl. This was not one of those times that Victoria really wanted to bug Max simply for doing better than her.
While (Y/n) settled into his spot, he noticed Max out of the corner of his eye reaching across her desk to hand him Mr Jefferson had his back to them. He hesitantly took it and examined what he was handed when he realised it was a friendly note for the dirty-haired blonde. He slid it over to Kate which caught her completely off guard to find that he was being nice straight off the bat. Kate looked at him sceptically yet accepted the note and smiled at it.
"Somebody has been reading as well as posing. Nice work, Max. The Daguerreian Process made portraiture hugely popular, mainly because it gave the subjects clear defined features. You can learn more when you actually finish reading the assigned chapters. Max is so far, way ahead of everybody."
Then, the school bell rang.
"And guys, don't forget the deadline to submit a photo in the Everyday Heroes contest. I'll fly out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be feted by the art world. (Y/n), come see me so I can fill you in on all the work you'll be needing to fill out. It's great exposure and it can kickstart a career in photography. So Stella and Alyssa, get it together. Taylor, don't hide. I'm still waiting for your entry too. And yes Max, I see you pretending not to see me."
As the students in Max's class flooded out the door in haste to a free afternoon, she herself lingered behind, slowly enough that she missed out on joining the herd. As a result, she got called out by her teacher who lightly scolded his favourite student. Seeing as how Max had a quite unlimited use of her newfound power, she decided to reverse time once again in order to make herself yet another outstanding student in Mr Jefferson's eyes.
While Max reversed time to favour herself, (Y/n) continued to pester the dirty-haired Christian girl in Max's class. She barely paid attention to the matter as she was persistent in heading to the bathroom. Once she was free to leave, (Y/n) found himself on the receiving end of Kate's aggression for being a caring person. Yet for some reason Kate apologised for her negativity, whether that be out of guilt or fear in case her teacher reprimanded her for doing so.
"Are you okay? Why are you crying?" (Y/n) asked concerningly.
Kate sighed, her droopy eyes fell onto her sheet of homework that she'd been busting her hump off to finish in order to satisfy her teacher with her work ethic. (Y/n)'s hand reached for the chair next to hers and took a seat as he listened closely to her when she spoke; as if he were listening to and witnessing an angel in person.
"Just... stuff." Kate replied lazily.
"Well, do you want to talk about it?"
Kate looked at him upset which caused him to panic.
"I-I-I mean, you don't have to if you don't want you, I just want you to know that you've got somebody to talk to if you ever need to get something off your chest." (Y/n) explained as he let out a nervous chuckle. "I think I'll go now. You clearly want some time alone. I'll give it to y--"
"Mr Donohue. Miss Marsh. Come here, if you please?" Mr Jefferson sang out.
The two students looked at him in surprise before they got up from their seats and approached the teacher who stood behind his desk, moving some papers into his leather briefcase. Mr Jefferson met Kate's stare and addressed her with as much politeness as he could muster.
"It's come to my attention that with the lack of eagerness from the class, nobody has shown support to forward their support to Mr Donohue here. And since you are the only other person who was so kind as to stay behind, Kate. I'm asking you to devote some of your time to helping (Y/n) here get accustomed to life at the academy. Now, I bet you're wondering, 'what's in it for me?' Well, I'd be willing to give you an extension on your homework by one week. No more. Do we have a deal, Miss Marsh?"
Being in his company made Kate very nervous, fearful even for being in his presence. Kate pondered on what her teacher was asking of her. However, she felt he wasn't just throwing obligation at her face, but also in the manner that he made it sound he was ordering her to do what he said lest she face even more bullying and harassment; even from a teacher.
"Y-Yes sir. I'll do my best." Kate answered, stammering.
"I know you will, Kate. The times you've helped me with school events really means something to me. I'll see you two tomorrow." Mr Jefferson said with sincerity.
(Y/n) and Kate returned to their desks and began to pack up before they walked out of the room, into the hall filled with immature teenagers who clearly had nothing better to do when they noticed Kate walking down the hall. People slandered her with abuse and mockery that cut deeply into Kate's skin. The faster she walked, the more people sang out to her.
Upon reaching the staircase, Kate began rush ahead while (Y/n) lagged behind as he watched the angsty dirty-blonde flee to her dormitory. Suddenly, the alarm was triggered which didn't seem to stop many from evacuating the building unless there was certainty and proof of a real emergency. (Y/n) made his way around for a bit until he was lost. After reading his room number multiple times, (Y/n) still couldn't quite find his room.
The only logical explanation was the one with the first three numbers. Room 231. By the time he found his room, (Y/n) announced himself by knocking on the door before entering. A boy who appeared to be slightly older than he looked up at his guest and noticed the nervous expression on (Y/n)'s face. (Y/n) noticed how decorated the room was with with rock posters and that of bikini models.
The room was divided by the middle. Two separate beds on either side parallel with the wall. As (Y/n) could already tell, his roommate had already picked which side he wanted to have. While he was observed quickly from head to toe before he was greeted warmly by who would be his new roommate. (Y/n) was welcomed with open arms by his new roommate who seemed to have already taken a liking to the brown-haired boy.
"Hi! Welcome to Blackwell Academy! You must be my new roommate. Come on in and make yourself at home." The boy spoke gleefully.
He and (Y/n) shook hands with a firm grip that they both appreciated.
"Good grip. I'm Esteban. And you are?"
"(Y/n). A pleasure."
"So, (Y/n). I heard rumours that you hail from Chicago. You're a long way from home, my friend."
"And you're a long way from Mexico, amigo."
Esteban let out a hearty laugh. "Touché. So what brought you out here to Arcadia Bay?"
(Y/n) shrugged his shoulders and began to set up his side of the room. Seeing as how Esteban already vacated the left side, (Y/n) chose the right side of the room and unpacked - even though he still had the rest of his belongings to bring up in order to make him feel at home.
"I just needed a new change of pace, y'know. Just wanted to get away from the city and move here where I can make a fresh start. Arcadia Bay has so many opportunities for me that I'm not going to miss out on." (Y/n) answered truthfully.
"Well, you won't find anything better than this."
"Hey, Esteban? You know that Kate Marsh chick, what's her deal?"
"Oh her? It's just about her video. Wait, you haven't seen her viral video, have you?"
"No. Am I supposed to?"
Eagerly, Esteban showed him the source of Kate's depression. By watching the video of Kate make out with a bunch of boys, it confused (Y/n) as to why she felt so ashamed for it afterwards. He pondered about how it could've come about but his theories all ended up with him thinking it didn't commence very well. It worried him about the depression she was going through.
"That doesn't seem right." (Y/n) spoke up.
Esteban looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean, man? Look at her go!"
"No. I mean, this doesn't look like something Kate would do. Now, I haven't known her long enough but to me she doesn't perceive me to me as the type of girl to do that."
"But she did it."
"Yeah, but who's to say she was probably drunk? Or drugged?"
Esteban pondered on his theories and let the topic slide so that he could continue relaxing. He noticed (Y/n) already settled at his desk, wondering how he was to complete his homework when they heard a knock at their door. (Y/n) got up to answer where he was met by Kate herself standing outside his and Esteban's dorm. The two greeted each other timidly.
"Hi, Kate. Surprised to see you here. What's up?" (Y/n) spoke shyly as he attempted to comfort her with a simple smile.
The dirty-haired blonde gave a weak one in return. "Hi. Umm... Mr Jefferson said that I should help you with your catching up. Can I come in? I don't want to let people see me right now."
"Oh, sure. Whatever makes you feel better. I just settled in myself, but you're welcome to come in. I think?"
(Y/n) pulled the door wide open at the same time he moved backwards to allow Kate to enter the room. She made quick eye contact with the boy lying on his bed listening to music through his earphones.
"Don't worry about it. I won't be sticking around too long. Hi, Esteban."
Esteban waved. "Yo."
(Y/n) pulled his chair out for Kate to sit while he temporarily occupied Esteban's so they could study together with Kate as his unofficial tutor.