A Secret About a Secret (Jayne)

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Olivia tramped into her bedroom, shedding her jacket almost instantly, along with her camera bag, which she lay carefully on her desk. Conceding to her wet pant legs, from a morning in the snow, Olivia walked to her dresser and pulled out a new pair. After changing and pulling her hair away from her face, Olivia felt like working in the common room, with a hot chocolate, after her snowy morning. Sighing, she picked up the laptop bag from where it leaned against her desk and set it onto her chair. After sticking her Ultrabook into the case, she crawled under the desk, grabbing the cord and winding it before resurfacing to stick it into the bag, before throwing in a tablet and a mouse, as well as tossing in a select few of the black cables that lay in a tangle on the desk. She zipped up the pockets and then slung the bag over her shoulder. Picking up her camera bag carefully, she added it to her load, then grabbed a mug from atop her dresser. Hoping that no one had emptied out the hot chocolate powder in the common room, she left her room, letting the door fall closed behind her.

Setting her bags down at one of the study desks downstairs, Olivia made her way towards the kitchenette, setting some water to boil in the tea-kettle. She rummaged through the cabinets, finally finding what she was looking for. She spooned a generous helping of powder into her mug, then stuck in a few miniature marshmallows. While the water was boiling, she walked back to 'her' appropriated desk and started setting up her laptop. When the machine was starting, she went back and poured the hot water onto her hot-chocolate mix, stirring it for a moment before picking up the mug and heading back to her desk. She set the mug far away from her laptop, then pulled her camera out of its case. After connecting the camera and turning it on to start it communicating with the laptop, she started setting up her mouse and tablet, as well as plugging in headphones to listen to music as she worked.

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne sat in her dorm room, actually feeling pretty sorry for herself. She was still trying to get used to boarding school. For as long as she could remember, she had always lived in a home where she was loved and adored. Here? She felt like a leper, where she didn't know anyone - well, other than that girl a couple of doors sown that she had met on her arrival - and it didn't seem like anyone wanted to know who she was. Then, there was the case of her social worker, the man had never really been a part of her life, but now he seemed to be calling her every moment that she wasn't in class, and alone, pestering her about dropping track and talking to the gymnastics coach about joining the team. Gymnastics? Sure, she'd dabbled in the sport as a child, what girl hadn't? However, she didn't have a love in the sport the way she loved running, but she knew that she was almost at the point where she was about to cave in and give the man what he wanted.

Not able to stand the solitude of her room any more, she stood up, selected a packet of Motts Hot Apple Pie, Spiced Cider and a packet of cinnamon sticks from her cupboard. She then picked up her What Would you Do mug, and headed down to the common room, walking through the halls as though she owned the place. She didn't want to be the Queen Bee of the school, even if she walked like she was, she just didn't believe in letting herself to appear weak to anyone, let alone to herself.

Entering the room, she caught the sweet, almost tempting, scent of freshly made hot chocolate. At least she now knew that the kettle had recently been put on to boil. Not bothering to glance around the room, to see who had made the drink, as that could wait until she was holding her hot drink, she walked over to the kitchenette and emptied the paper packet of spicy powder into her cherished mug and popped in a couple of cinnamon sticks before she poured water into the mug and stirred it quickly for thirty seconds before she picked it up and turned away from the bench.

Her eyes swept across the room and quickly landed on the one girl in the room sitting at one of the study consoles with a laptop. "It's Olivia, right?" She said as she walked across to the other girl, blowing on her drink. "You look like you're getting ready to do something big." She didn't share any classes with the other girl, so she was intrigued to know what the girl was up to.

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Olivia had just called up her Firefox window for some music when she heard someone else clattering around in the kitchen. Shrugging to herself, not bothering to turn and investigate, she put in her right earphone, leaving the other one hanging. She disliked having anything plugged into her left ear, ever after having an ear-infection in it and getting used to listening to music one-eared. After typing in one letter and hitting return, pulling up Pandora, she minimized the window and then clicked over to her 'Computer' window. Hearing her name, Olivia turned, dislodging the earbud from her ear. She smiled at her neighbour, "That's right, and you're Jayne." She had made a point of remembering the girl's name, one of the few people that she had actually interacted with at the school so far.

As Jayne commented on starting something big, Olivia shrugged, "It may or may not be big, depending on how well I work on autopilot in the morning." She grinned and gestured at the camera, "I went out to a meadow that didn't have too many footprints yet and spent the morning out there. I was just going to go over the photos." Considering, she used her foot to kick out the chair next to her just a tiny bit, small enough to be an invitation, without it being too obvious if the girl didn't want to sit down, "If there's anything worth printing, I'd email it to my dad to print, but usually there isn't anything good enough for that." Not that she would throw them away... But if a photo didn't have that spark, there was no point to wasting the ink and paper in printing it, so it would be stored away on one of the many flashdrives in Olivia's laptop bag and in a box up in her room. Looking at Jayne, she asked, "Have you ever done any photography?"

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne flashed a smile, pleased that the girl had remembered her name. She saw the chair move and took the subtle invitation as she pulled it out some more and carefully sat down, making sure not to spill any of the scolding liquid over her hand.

Jayne nodded as the other girl spoke, not quite understanding what she was saying until Olivia pointed at the camera and it made perfect sense, the girl had obviously been out taking photos of something. "They don't let you print your photos out here?" She asked before she lifted her mug to her lips, inhaling the spicy scent before she took a sip and released a sigh of pure pleasure.

She looked at the girl's camera, not that she knew anything about the device, and was suddenly curious. "I'm sorry, but I know nothing about taking photos." She apologised. "My... dad gave me a camera for Christmas but I've never really taken it out of the box." She didn't like having to explain to people that she had a foster father, and it wasn't the current dad who had given her the camera, but the one before that, and the Christmas before her pony had been stolen and when the man had suddenly changed his opinion on the girl. And the main reason she hadn't removed it from the box was in case Greig asked for it back.

She shook her head to clear it. "Sorry." She mumbled as she took another sip of the cider to try and get her mind back on what they were talking about. She wondered if she should go upstairs and dig out the camera box to get Olivia's opinion on it.

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Olivia grinned at the computer screen as she saw Jayne take the proffered seat, glad that the girl hadn't walked off as she had said what she was doing. At the girl's question about printing her photos closer to the academy, Olivia shrugged and smiled, "Half it's easier to get him to print them and send them down here, since I can't get to any of the good printing shops, and half of it is to share the best shots from the academy to let him know I'm doing well." She knew that the cost of postage from Canada could be offset by the bus fare to get to one of the printing centers in Kentucky, but her father knew how she liked her photographs matted and did it for her, and secretly, she loved showing off to him how much better she was getting.

As Jayne apologized about knowing nothing about taking photos, Olivia shrugged, "That's alright." She heard the other girl's slight hesitation at revealing who had given her a camera, but ignored it. As the blonde apologized again, Olivia grinned at her friend... Was Jayne a friend? She wasn't quite sure yet... Before she pointed at the large button on the right of the camera, "That's the one you hit to take a picture." She chuckled and smiled, not meaning offence, but testing the other girl. Shrugging, she offered, "I can teach you a bit, if you'd like, as long as your camera isn't too exotic."

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne nodded as Olivia explained why she sent the photos to her father to get them printed. "You actually make a very good point." She said with a warm smile. "It'll also give you a good reason to email your dad for no reason too." She nodded before she finished her cider and pouted as she looked into the bottom of the mug, as though she was hoping that some might have been hiding.

She leaned forward as the other girl pointed to her camera and she laughed. "Oh, I didn't realise that you were also a comedian." She chuckled, there was no sarcasm in her voice. She had a good look at the camera on the desk. "Mine's a Canon, but it's a bit like yours." She said, commenting to the last thing the girl had said before she went back to the offer. "I'd love it if you could teach me how to use it though." She gave a bright smile. "I haven't used it a lot since I don't really know how and I feel bad not using it since I'm guessing these things aren't on the cheap side of things?" She was wondering what things she could take photos of, thinking of the different things around campus.

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Olivia smiled as Jayne managed to almost figure out the second of her reasons for sending the files to her father. She raised an eyebrow as she saw the other freshman's reaction to finishing her drink, but then remembered that she had actually made her own drink. Reaching over, she picked up her own mug and took a sip of the chocolate, noticing that it had cooled off enough to be able to enjoy it without fear of burning her tongue. After replacing the mug far away from her camera, she turned back to her laptop.

She grinned at Jayne as the girl took the joke, "Well, you know, it's one of those things that people tend to overlook." As the girl named the brand that her camera was, she nodded. While her dad had instilled her with a deep love for the Nikon brand cameras, she knew that Canon's were of good quality as well, although it would be hard to get her to vote for anything but her own Nikon. "Well, it can't be perfect, but most of the Canons are pretty similar." She grinned, "I'm sure we could puzzle it out, I think the shutter-release is just about the same." As the girl questioned the price, Olivia nodded, "They don't sell them for peanuts, that's for sure." She smiled, "Why don't you bring it down? I can point out the other parts of it, and then we'll take a field trip."

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne perked up and bounced out of her seat. "I'll be right back." She said with a huge grin as she scurried over to the kitchenette and placed her mug on the bench - she'd also return with another cider packet and make herself another drink - and then rushed out of the room. Taking the stairs two at a time, she bounded down to her suite and, fumbling for the keys in her pocket, opened the door.

Her room looked like a freight train had been through it, there was stuff everywhere. The girl shrugged as she stepped over a pile of clothes, making a note to clean the room later - and if her enthusiasm failed her, she could always pay someone to clean it for her. Walking over to her desk, she pulled open the cupboard at the bottom and pulled out a box. Opening the box, she pulled the camera out and fitted the lens into place - she hadn't used it, but she'd had the camera out, played with it and charged the battery on the day she received it. Then, hefting the camera and CF(compact flash) card, she grabbed another drink sachet from her stash, left her room, making sure to lock the door, and headed back down to the common room.

Folding the drink packet, she placed it inside the mug on the bench and then walked over to Olivia. Holding the camera up in one hand, she wiggled her eyebrows. "Did someone mention a field trip?"

[Deleted]

Olivia grinned as she watched her friend hurry out of the room, glad that she had found someone who was interested in photography as well. She didn't mind teaching, if Jayne really did want to learn, although she was surprised at how easy it was to find a friend at the school, once she had actually talked to someone.

As she waited for the other freshman to come back down with the promised camera, Olivia turned back to her pictures, renaming the files that she liked with an asterisk to note them. If she came out with too many of them, she would have to cut it down some, but the morning had obviously not been wasted, as she didn't have to cut nearly as many pictures as she had feared. By the time that she heard Jayne's footsteps on the stairs coming down, she'd nearly finished the entire batch. She looked up as the girl asked about a field trip, "Well, unless you'd rather learn to take pictures of the wonderful model, Mrs. Couch, that we have in here, your choices are limited." She grinned, "We can either go out towards the pastures, or down to the trails, whichever you'd rather."

Looking at the camera in the blonde's hand, Olivia nodded, "It's a nice one, for sure." She patted the table, scooting away her own camera to make room for the other one, "Again, big round button, shutter-release. This wheel spins, here, so you can set it to the modes, and you can set your apeture and shutterspeed presets for A and S. M is completely manual, which means you set both, whereas on A and S you would only have one setting, and the software figures out the other based on what you're doing." She grinned, "Unless you're planning on photographing a hummingbird, you can just stay on P, they're well-programmed to deal with almost anything." She tapped the front lens, You turn this, so it'll expand to zoom, and I would leave it on automatic, single focusing, so you don't have to worry about the other ring." Grinning, she turned back to Jayne, "Any questions, or you ready for a field test?"

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne's face lit up when the other girl spoke of their limited choices for models whilst inside. "As much as I admire Mrs Couch for her style and flair, I would much rather head outside to try this baby out." While she kept herself in check around the other students, she had given herself permission to relax when she was around Olivia, as she quite liked her Housemate and neighbour. "I don't mind where we go." If she were honest, she would request not to use the pastures, but as the other girl was being so kind as to teach her, she wasn't going to make any demands as she still wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about horses. Every time she looked at the beautiful and powerful animals, she saw the beauty and grace that they held, but she was also consumed by the shame she felt when she thought about her beautiful pony. He foster father had blamed her for the loss of the pony and she had taken the blame to heart.

She leaned forward as the other student explained about the camera to her. The blonde nodded her head as she took it all in, hoping that she would be able to remember it all when she was trying to take photos by herself. "So, I turn it on, twist the lens and click the silver button?" She asked. She studied the camera, trying to repeat to herself what Olivia had said, but most of it was already a blur to her. "As ready as I'll ever be." She replied as she scooped the camera up, and almost dropping it when she forgot how heavy it was, and readjusted how she was holding the neck strap.

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Olivia grinned as Jayne 'complimented' their makeshift model, "That sounds good to me, you can photograph her when it's raining or something, it's too nice out." She cast another glance at the plain couch, something that she would never think of photographing. If it was raining, she'd most likely be at the window, taking pictures of the water patterns instead. As Jayne didn't choose a place for them to go, Olivia deliberated for a moment, "How about we head down to the meadow? I know the conditions are pretty good there, since I was there this morning." She smiled at the solution. She didn't know how the pastures would be, since both Blue and Bar were inside, and she didn't want to take the chance of taking pictures of an empty, muddy field.

Unplugging her own camera from where the cable was, she closed the laptop and pushed it into her laptop bag, before throwing in the cables as well, "You've just about got the hang of it." She smiled, "Hang on, let me put this stuff upstairs, and then we can head out." It only took her a minute to throw the laptop bag onto her bed before she made her way back downstairs and grabbed her camera bag and camera. Grinning at Jayne, she led the way out of the door, holding it open for her friend before taking the paths towards the Green Hill Trail.

OOC;: If you want to make your reply a new thread, maybe, or I can do that my next turn? (And I didn't want them near the horses yet... Round pen, here we come.)

[Jayne Doe]

Jayne curled her nose at the thought of actually photographing the couch, even when it was raining, while the academy had so many other things that she could photograph, no matter what the weather. She smiled and nodded at Olivia's words. "The meadow sounds good." She replied.

She glanced down at the fuzzy animals slippers she was wearing. "I'll follow you upstairs." She said with a chuckle. "I probably need to change my footwear before we head outside. These slippers aren't made for wet ground." She chuckled again as as she followed the other girl up the stairs and slipped into her room to kick the slippers off and grabbed a pair of leather boots before she ran back down the stairs in her socks and once back in the common room, she then slipped her feet into the boots and pulled the zips.

She grinned as Olivia walked back in and then followed the other girl's lead, walking out the opened door. "Where is your favourite place to take photos?" She asked as they crossed the campus. "And what, or who, do you think is your best model?"