Chapter Text
Arcadia Bay was beautiful, if not monotone; at least that’s what Max thought as she went through her camera’s gallery. It was almost as if a dreary filter had etched itself into every nook and cranny of this strange place. She’d never visited before, despite having spent a quarter of her life meandering throughout the globe. If she scrolled down further in her gallery, she’d see pictures she’d taken from years before spent backpacking through Europe (a trip sponsored by Caledon) or South-East Asia (this one she sponsored herself). In these places she’d captured colors she never thought ever existed, places you could only dream of. Nothing like the unique grief Arcadia Bay seemed to hold.
Perhaps that’s why she jumped at the opportunity for Blackwell’s invitation for a teaching opportunity, a trial run for the new 2-year specialized program. Caledon had tried to bribe her to stay, but she assured them she’d return after a while. Her friends, Safi and Moses, were decidedly not happy she chose to leave them.
“You’re abandoning us.”
“I am not!”
Safi sighed dramatically, slumping in her chair with a groan, “You totally are.”
Max cradled her mug (that read ‘Nerd Superior’ in bright red color) close to her chest, “I just think that I need a break from teaching undergrads.”
“Oh please,” Moses laughed, looking through his telescope at the stars above. “We all know it’s because you’re waiting for Loretta to graduate before coming back.”
The other woman barked out a laugh as Max rolled her eyes.
“If that’s true,” Safi shook her head, getting up to stretch, “you’re one petty professor.”
“Don’t you go using iambic pentameter on me, miss poet.”
"Literally one sentence and you go off on me using it." She rolled her eyes, “That’s soon-to-be-officially published poet to you, professor Caulfield.”
With Safi’s back turned, Max gathered some snow into her hands and flung a snowball at her back. Her friend shrieked and laughed in response, before swearing vengeance and retaliating. As the two chased each other around the firepit, Moses remained seated in his seat with his eyes glued onto the stars. Their laughter and antics didn’t phase him anymore, but he still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he drank from his own mug (that read ‘Nerd, Less Superior’ in dark blue).
Now, unpacking all her things in her accommodations on Blackwell’s campus, she lifted the polaroid they’d taken together that night. The three of them had their mugs raised high, with Safi’s raised the highest (that read ‘Supreme Nerd’ in bright purple text). Max promised them that she’d text and call often to keep in contact, despite being the worst texter known to mankind.
To ensure she’d never forget, she pinned the picture on the wall beside her bed alongside a sticky note which read:
'Make sure to check in with your friend's Max!!!! ’
“Good morning class,” Max smiled, standing before her full class of students. She paused for effect, surveying their wide-eyed and hopeful gazes upon her. “Welcome to your first class in photography! Before we begin, let me introduce myself –”
After class rules had been settled (the usual raise your hand before answering, no interrupting each other when talking, etc.) and it’d been firmly stated that nobody was to call her Miss Caulfield (Max didn’t want to feel that old) but rather professor instead, she gave each student an opportunity to introduce themselves.
“Start with your full name, the name you’d like me to call you, your hobbies, then what you hope to get from this class.” Max began with a pen and a copy of the attendance sheet in hand.
The first person to raise their hand was a blonde girl with a pixie-cut. Max noted she dressed prim and proper, her clothes looking similar to the ones she’d seen on a magazine from somewhere - branded most likely.
“Victoria Chase. Victoria is fine, my hobbies include photography, reading, and oh - traveling.” She said, shooting a practiced and dazzling smile at Max. “What I hope from this class is to be able to learn what differentiates a good photographer from an excellent one.”
Max’s eyebrows shot up as she smiled, “Interesting, thank you Victoria.”
On the attendance sheet, she wrote: ‘Ambitious, hungry for recognition, controlled.’
“Nathan Prescott,” the boy next to her began, lifting his eyes to meet hers but then breaking eye contact almost immediately. He was bouncing his leg rather rapidly, making Max wonder. “Just Nathan. Hobbies, well uh – photography, listening to music, and reading I guess. What I hope… yeah, same with Vic.”
The two shared a glance and Max watched as Nathan’s gaze softened ever so slightly.
Next to his name, she marked: ‘Anxious, close friends with Victoria. Prescott.’
As the rest of the class offered their introductions and hopes, Max noticed that one girl had remained most silent out of them all. She had her blonde hair piled up high and wore modest clothes, as well as a cross around her neck. Max noted her body language, shoulders pushed forward and legs squeezed together, like she was trying to make herself seem small, unnoticed.
Deciding to take pity, she leaned forwards in her seat a bit and gestured to the girl, to give a little push where needed.
“And last but most certainly not least…?”
The girl looked up suddenly at her, looking a lot like a deer caught in the headlights. There was a vulnerability in those murky blue eyes of her that hit Max with a pang of nostalgia, like she’d seen them before – but, for the life of her, she couldn’t remember from where.
“Kate Marsh,” she said in her quiet voice. “Kate is fine, miss – I mean, professor. My hobbies are… drawing, volunteering, and um - uh…”
“Go on.” Max urged.
“... reading my bible and spending time with God.”
The whispers and snickers began and Max frowned. She’d met a handful of students back at Caledon who were as devout as Kate was, the social scene – even there – were never all too kind towards them. Here as well it seemed, perhaps even worse considering these were literal teenagers.
Typically, Max wouldn’t get too involved but there was something about Kate that made her want to care. Like there was a fear something terrible would happen if she didn’t look out for her. But under what basis would something terrible happen? Not even Max knew the answer to this question. After all, she’d just met Kate – right ?
“That’s enough.” She cleared her throat sternly, a classic move every professor knows to shut the class up effectively. “Those are great hobbies, Kate. And your hopes for this class?”
Kate Marsh stared at Max, very much like a deer caught in the headlights once again, unsure of what to make of a teacher who made it quite clear she didn’t tolerate bullying.
“I hope to get started in photography.”
“Well then, I’ll be more than happy to teach you.” Max shot her one of her own dazzling smiles.
The sight of Kate smiling back at her set her soul at ease. A learner’s gaze always made Max feel like teaching was worth it.
‘Shy, complete beginner,’ she wrote on the attendance sheet, ‘Keep an eye out for her.’
At the end of class, Max finished rereading all her notes on her students. A mix of ambitious and advanced photographers, amateur artists, and newbie learners – all of whom were wide-eyed and eager to learn. Then, she circled the ‘Photography 101’ heading, scribbling her summary of the class beside it in concise words.
‘Talented.’ she marked, ‘Brimming with potential. Need to help them grow.’
Now all alone, she slumped in her seat and tilted her head up to stare at the ceiling. Outside, she could hear a group of people gossiping about Kate.
“Great.” She sighed, rubbing her neck. “No pressure, Max.”
Max compared the two ‘how to stop bullying in your class’ books in her hands, squinting at the two in scrutiny. To the right of her, sitting criss-crossed on the hardwood floors of the local bookstore, were a pile of ten other similar books. She’d stacked them into a tower which, in hindsight, wasn’t exactly the wisest decision. A young boy, carrying his own tower of books, bumped into hers and sent both his and hers tumbling down.
“Whoops!”
“Hey!” Max said, already moving to pick up her books. “Watch where you’re – ugh, no, actually that’s my fault. I shouldn’t have stacked them like that.”
“No, that was my fault.” The boy grumbled, kneeling to help find his own books which was easy to do considering they were all either science textbooks or comics. “I should’ve seen where I was – oh hey, aren’t you the new teacher at Blackwell?”
Max looked up from her mess of books, only to meet the gaze of this baby-faced teenage boy. She tried her best to remember if she’d seen him in her class earlier that day, but nowhere did any of her students mention being a fan of comics.
“... You go to Blackwell?”
“Oh yeah, not your class though. Not that big of a photography fan, but film though?” The boy got giddy, rattling off about his favorite films.
Max, for the life of her, was not sure what to make of this teenage boy who’d begun a somewhat one-sided conversation with her. He wasn’t even her student, nor was he even talking to her about photography. With undergrads, nobody would so much as speak to her about anything besides photography.
‘Do teenagers like to yap a lot these days?’ she thought to herself as she stood in line for the cashier, the boy still happily going off about his favorite movies now.
He even followed her out the door to the sidewalk.
“Hey, uh, look it was fun talking to you… uh…”
“Oops sorry Miss Caulfield, didn’t give you my name.” he laughed, scratching his cheek. “Warren Graham, that’s my name.”
She might have not seen him in her class, but that name… Max was sure she’d heard it before. For whatever reason, she suddenly saw strange images in her mind. The sun dipping over the horizon, beached whales, and the strange feeling of being in a body smaller than hers with her hair cut short.
Strange, considering Max always kept it long.
“Nope - no calling me miss. Just professor is fine.” She said, “Well it’s nice to meet you Warren, I’ll see you around campus. I’ve got some reading to do.”
“Oh. Sure, yeah.” Warren’s gaze flicked down to the books in her hand, “Uh, before you go I just wanted to let you know that I think it’s cool what you’re doing.”
Max cocked her head to the side, “Huh?”
“Kate told me what you did, we’re friends. Most teachers don’t really care about bullying. Sure they do a lot of talking about being against it,” he shrugged, gesturing to what she was carrying. “But now that I think about it, you’re the only one I’ve seen actually looking for resources. So like, you know, right on and whatever.”
Max quirked a genuine smile, repeating, “.... And whatever.”
“I mean –”
“I know, Warren. Thank you.”
“Okay um.” He scratched his cheek again before beginning to turn on his heel, “See you at campus, miss – er, I mean professor.”
Max watched him leave before she left for her car, a little bit of pep in her step. She knew taking the job at Blackwell meant having to acclimate to teaching teenagers instead of young adults. She also knew, firsthand, how vicious teenagers could be. With the whole world at your fingertips, you had every opportunity within reach and that kind of power could crush someone. At a time where you stood on the precipice of becoming anything, everything weighs on you.
She remembered that feeling all too well.
And as Max locked eyes with that girl with blue hair across the parking lot (who was, prior to this, speaking to a blonde girl) that crushing weight returned once more. It felt like childhood, like she was back to being 16 again. Breaking eye contact and shrugging it off, she slid into her driver’s seat and put away those two books she’d bought. As Max started the engine, she made sure to do the responsible thing and check her rearview mirror. Nothing seemed unusual as she pulled out of the parking lot, it was only as she was beginning to round the curb that she saw something unusual from the side-view mirror.
That girl with blue hair was frantically pointing at Max’s car, yelling something at her blonde friend. And Max, deciding in a very adult-manner that she wanted nothing to do with this, quickly sped off.