“This is where I usually sit when we are working on our photos because I can look out the window to gain inspiration,” she paused.  “Or maybe the outside gives me a distraction for when Mrs. Jang is ranting.”

Kwangmi led Minwoo around the room, pointing out significant attractions.  Computers rested on desks in rows, dark computer monitors staring on like blank faces, watching every move.  Large photographs hung on the cream walls, boasting the students’ best work and other famous photos.  Various props lined wooden shelves, available to any student’s disposal.  Minwoo perused the items, finding them interesting.  An old, red rooster with hinged legs and wings supported a three-legged piggy bank, one ear chipped off and all but one hoof cracked.  Toy blocks, their once vibrant colors now dull and peeling, were stacked into a simple tower.  A delicate gold-covered porcelain angel rested serenely, its baby face staring blankly, one wing chipped.  Minwoo reached out to pick it up, but as he lifted it, the head rolled away and Minwoo barely caught the severed cranium before it smashed into the linoleum floor.

“Oh, yeah, that angel has been decapitated,” she informed, a little too late.

“What happened to it?” Minwoo asked, unsettled.

The girl shrugged.  “I don’t know.  It was like theat when I started the class.”

He observed the two objects in his hands.  “This is really creepy.”

“I think it’s cool.  Check this out.”

Kwangmi stole the two parts of the angel from him and set it on a nearby table.  She went back to the shelves, lifting a sheet of heavy white cloth.  Walking back to the table, she draped the sheet over a chair, adjusting it so that it folded in on itself, sticking up in various places.  Minwoo watched in fascination, curious by her actions.  When she stepped back after having positioned the angel amongst the folds, Minwoo realized why she took this class.

“That actually looks pretty neat,” Minwoo complimented, examining the contrast of the bright color against the stark white, the soft folds of the sheet alluding to the clouds of heaven.

“I know, right?” she squealed, stepping back and admiring her own work.

A figure walked into the room, stopping at the threshold of the door.  It watched on in silence as the two teenagers interacted, scrutinizing their familiar gestures with another, their touches, their closeness.  The shadow’s blood boiled.  It would seem as though certain measures would have to be taken…

As the hour wore on, more students trickled in, taking residence at their computer, starting it up and bringing life and light to the previous dark and dead screens.  A few looked over in curiosity at the new face, but no one questioned it.  They had work to do.  Mrs. Jang walked into the room, a commanding aura radiating from every pore in her body.  A tight bun held back her dark hair from her angular face and cold, sharp eyes.  She glared at Kwangmi and Minwoo, showing her displeasure in that one look of disgust.  Kwangmi pulled Minwoo to her computer space, sitting him in an extra chair.  Though obviously not approving of the situation, Mrs. Jang held her tongue and ignored the unexpected visiter.

“Right now, we are working on a nature assignment,” Kwangmi explained as she inserted her thumb drive into the computer, bringing up her photos.  “Basically, all we do is take photos that go along with our theme and touch them up.  We turn them into black and whites and color.  We used to do high contrast, but it seems like Mrs. Jang has filed that under black and white now.”

“What kind of nature assignment are you doing?” Minwoo asked, wanting to see the pictures that she took.

She showed him her pictures, flipping through them on the screen, explaining the emotional meaning behind the picture –the main reason for the assignment.  The girl paused on her favorite ones, explaining what made it so special.

“I’m almost done with this assignment.  All I have left are these three photos and that won’t take long.  Watch.”

Minwoo gazed in fascination.  She seemed so confident in what she wanted, so familiar with the program.  Some parts she would fly through while others she would go agonizingly slow, making sure every detail was perfect.

“You have to be precise when editing and covering.  See, look here.  This dark spot on the leaf right here needed to be taken out,” she brought up the original photograph, comparing the old with the new.  “But when editing it out, I need to make sure the color and value levels are the same so that it is even and looks natural.  It takes a lot of concentration and focus.”

“You’re really good,” Minwoo murmured agreeably. 

Kwangmi smiled satisfactorily.  “Thank you.  Like I said, I’m one of Mrs. Jang’s top students.  She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Minwoo chuckled at her blunt confidence.  He had to admit, looking around at the others’ pictures on their screens, Kwangmi’s work was some of the best.

“There, done,” Kwangmi sighed as she leaned back in her chair.  “Now that I’ve finished that, want to go take some pictures?” she turned expectantly to the boy next to her.  Minwoo shifted uncomfortably.

“I’ll just be taking the pictures, right?” he clarified.  “I don’t have to be in any of them?”

Kwangmi laughed.  “It’s kind of hard to be in the picture when you’re the one with the camera.”

He took a big breath and pushed himself from the chair, a determined expression on his face.  “Let’s do this.”