Picture Perfect (closed for sweetblueeyedgirl)

[BurningMonkey]

Ben Crawford parked in the designated staff lot and got out of the car, leaning into the back seat to grab his briefcase. He had the usual First Day at New Job jitters, but not too bad; this was something he knew and understood. He’d taught before, and he had years of photography experience behind him, so he was objectively confident that he could do this. But that didn’t count when it came to psychology. He’d never started any job in his life without the usual mild back-of-the-mind panic. He shrugged it off, squared his shoulders, and started towards the entrance.

Which was impressive, as he knew from coming for the interview. Brick, and marble, with arabesques and bas-relief and statues flanking a shield inscribed with some Latin motto that he hadn’t bothered to learn what it meant. An old school; a distinguished and well-kept school. A school where they could afford to have up-to-date equipment in the photo lab, which he had made a point of checking out during the interview process.

He bemoaned the modern way of doing things, but it couldn’t be helped—the world moved on, and he had to move with it. So much of today’s “photography” was post-production, digitally playing with backgrounds, changing colors, textures, backgrounds, hazing out this, sharpening that, cropping, cutting and pasting… He cursed the day Photoshop was invented, as he counted the demise of photographic art from that point. These days all the “art” lay in sophisticated algorithms and the manipulation of code.

The one saving grace to all this--aside from the salary, of course--was that his niece attended here. She was a senior, just getting ready to launch herself onto the world, which in her case meant college at a good university. He was looking forward to seeing her again. He'd always liked her, though they hadn't seen each other in almost ten years. Ben had had a falling out with her mother, his sister, over what he considered her crass and shallow pursuit of money. It would be nice to re-establish a connection, there, if it could be done. The sins of the mother shouldn't be visited upon the daughter...

He made his way through the halls swarming with young women in school uniforms to the office, where he popped his head into Principal Mentieth’s office to say hi. Never hurt to schmooze the boss a little. Then he checked his mailbox, checked his class schedule, and wandered off to try to find his homeroom assignment amid the archaic room numbering system that had been put in place when the building went up and no one had bothered to change since.

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

Lily got out of her camero. She grabbed her bags and locked her doors. she smoothed out her bright pink skinny jeans and made sure her top was perfect. Lily brushed her fingers through her blonde and blue hair. Lily walked into her school and looked at her schedule to see what class she had and the teachers.


Lily noticed that her uncle was one of her teachers. she was nervous she had not seen him since she was a very little girl. she sighed as he was her first class. Lily walked in to her photography class. she sighed seeing he was not there yet. she walked all the way to the back and smiled. The class filled rather quickly. Lily was looking down at her laptop when she heard her uncle's voice. Lily smiled and looked up. she wondered of he would notice her.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Ben looked out on a sea of young, female faces. Some pretty, some not so much, but all apparently eager to soak up knowledge. At least that's what he told himself; it was part of what he thought of as "putting on his game face". He knew the reality was that some would be interested, some would be utterly bored, and the majority would be interested only in learning enough to get a good grade when it came to exam time.

But every now and then there was a student who truly got hooked on the subject, and those were the ones that made his job worthwhile. He hoped such a one was sitting here today, but he didn't count on it.

Looking over the names on his student list, he saw to his surprise that Lily was among them. He glanced up briefly and scanned the room, wondering if he would recognize her after all this time. But he didn't see anyone familiar. Oh, well, he would discover her when he called her name.

He began the ritual, looking up each time, trying to memorize what face belonged to what name: "Abercrombie, Sasha...Allister, Kaetlin..."

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

Lily was doing something else when she heard her name being called." here" she yelled she looked at her uncle and smiled. Lily blushed a bit at her sudden yell and sunk into her seat. she sat there and listened to the lesson and the class was dismissed after an hour. Lily was the last one in the class. Lily grabbed her bag and camera bag. she walked down to her uncle and smiled." hello dear uncle. i am suprised to see you here." Lily smiled.

 

[BurningMonkey]

He had looked up when he called her name, and she had answered...enthusiastically. So that's Lily, he thought. A far cry from the 8-yr old he'd last seen. Very pretty, with blond hair streaked with blue the way girls did nowadays, tight pink jeans, gauzy top. Nice tits, too... he couldn't help but notice. I'll bet the boys are all over that. She'd grown up very nicely, indeed.

When class was ended she came up to the front, smiling. "Hello dear uncle. I am surprised to see you here," she said.

"Hello, Lily. To tell you the truth, I'm a little surprised to be here. Mr. Smith was taken sick at the last minute, and they advertised for a substitute for his class. I interviewed, and well...here I am."

"I'm sorry I missed your eighteenth birthday party," he continued. "That was last week, wasn't it?" The truth was that he hadn't been invited. He never was to his sister's family functions. It was an old scar, however, and one that hardly ached anymore.

"Say, that extra credit project I mentioned in class; do you think you might be interested? I could use someone who knows the school and the ins and outs of how things work around here. That is, if you don't have cheerleader practice or band or something else. I don't want to interfere with your other interests."

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

Lily was a little saddened at the mention of her eighteenth birthday. Lily and her uncle use to be close. Then he stopped coming around. Lily's mother never mentioned her uncle again after that. Lily smiled at her uncle's question." I would love to help you out uncle. Would you like me to start today."

Lily Smiled and randomly hugged her uncle. Having a personal moment. Lily whispered in his ear." i have missed you uncle." she backed off a bit she did not mean for that to seem sexy or a turn on. she just missed her uncle. Lily hopped he would not get mad at the public display of affection in a class room.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Ben was surprised by the hug, and the feel of her firm young breasts pressing against him. When she backed away, he said, "Uh, I've missed you too, Lily. But it probably would be better if you didn't hug me in school, okay? They get sorta weird about that. Not that I minded," he added hastily when her face fell a little. "It's just...school policy, you know?"

"And the project won't start for a few days; I still need to get some things together. Thanks for helping me out with this. I can use the moral support. Oh, and, uh..." he said nervously, "I think it would be best if you didn't mention this to your mom, okay? I mean it's okay to say you're doing an extra credit project, just...not with me. Your mother and I...well, we don't get along so well. But I guess you knew that."

The next class was filing in to take their seats, so he said, "Goodbye, Lily. It was nice to see you again," and turned his attention to the class roster for the next period.

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

Lily saw the next class pour in and smiled." okay i will be sure mom's kept from the loop. she does miss you. she does not act like it but she stays up late watching the old home videos when you two were kids. i know she is suborn but maybe you should give her a call. I will see you tomorrow." Lily walked off to the next class smiling. her uncle was hot and she had noticed she tried not to think of him in this way but she could not help it.


The next day classes flew by and when her art class was over she stayed to help with her uncle. she smiled at him." Hello dear uncle. So you know how you said you needed help well i switched some classes around and now i am your new T.A so i will be with you next period all the time now. so if you need anything just ask." Lily smiled at her uncle and took a seat next to his desk.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Ben smiled. "That would be great, Lily. And thanks for doing that."

When the class was situated, he began his lecture. "All art uses a medium and a tool; painters use paint and canvas, sculptors use stone or metal and shaping tools, and so on. Photographers use cameras and light..."

When class was over, Ben asked Lily, "Can you stay after school today and help me set up the dark room? Most everything these days is digital, but I think it's important for everyone to understand the history of photography and at least some of the 'old school' techniques."

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

Lily smiled although her uncles lesson. she spied a few students who would give him some trouble. By the end of the class she was on her iPad doing an assignment for a class and was started when when he said something." um sure i can stay. but normally putting up a Dark room is a one person job. What do you need me to do." Lily looked at her uncle as she put her things away. she walked over waiting him to get what they needed.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Ben said, "I just need these things moved in; I have to get to my other job, and the quicker this happens the quicker I can get going."

He asked as they shifted supplies and equipment, "So, do you have a boyfriend?"

 

[sweetblueeyedgirl]

As lily carried the equitment from the class to the back of the room she put down the box and blushed at the question." no sir i do not. What about you are you married." As lily said this she walked by Ben and her body was pushed up against his as they were talking through a row of desks.

 

[BurningMonkey]

The feel of her body brushing against his as she squeezed by was electric, and for just a moment he didn't register her question.

Coming to himself, he answered, "Married? No, I'm still single. I've never found a woman that would put up with me, I guess... Well, that's got it. Thanks, Lily. And now I have to get to my other job. I have a client that set an appointment, and I don't want to be late."

He moved to the front of the room, gathered up his things, and turned to her. "Thanks again, sweetheart." He gave her a quick hug--electric again! "See you tomorrow."