Guys Our Age (Wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Chapter 44: Picture Perfect (Hailey)

"Okay." I told Mason. "It's even."

"And it's not coming home with us, right?" He stepped back from the portrait and looked over at me.

"Only if someone buys it." I ran my hands down my jeans in hopes of calming down.

"If no one buys it then we can donate it." He shrugged. "It can hang in the scary section of art in Goodwill or whatever."

"It's not scary." I said and looked over at it. "It's just a bunch of pictures that were cut up and put together, like a quilt."

"Don't ruin quilts for me." Mason walked over to me and was about to say something else when the gallery owners walked over as well.

"Hello." I greeted them with smile.

"I'll leave you to it." Mason kissed my cheek before walking away.

"Hello, Miss Jacobs." Ms. Peters held her hand out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." I shook her hand then her brother's.

"Please explain your pieces to us." Mr. Peters walked over to the white stand that Unfinished Manuscripts was on it.

"This one is Unfinished Manuscripts." I told them. "The side facing the walkway is The Emerald Legend and the other side is Death of a Beauty Queen."

"And are the manuscripts of your own writing or someone else's?" Ms. Peters asked.

"They're mine, as are the photos used for a visual for the dialogue lines on both sides." I told them.

"And the subtitles for them." Mr. Peters said. "What are they for? A metaphor?"

"Not really." I shook my head. "Emerald Legend is finished but unedited where Beauty Queen is edited but unfinished."

"Why did you choose pictures from your childhood and preteen years for one side and pictures of your teen years for the other?" Ms. Peters asked.

"Because one story is about a set of young sisters finding themselves in the land of Oz." I pointed at the side with The Emerald Legend. "And the other story is about a teenage girl leaving behind the only life she knew."

"That's an interesting photo choice." Mr. Peters gestured towards a line on Beauty Queen.

I tried not to blush when I noticed he was talking about the selfie I sent to Mason forever in Victoria's Secret that was below 'Even virgins can be stupid sluts.'

"It's the only picture I have that goes with the last line of the manuscript." I spoke calmly.

"And what's the story behind this?" He walked to the piece Mason hates.

"That's Mother and Daughters." I followed him. "It's a portrait made up of over a dozen pictures of my mother when she was eighteen, my twin sister, and I."

"Why are some pieces black and white?" Ms. Peters asked me. "Are they of your mother?"

"No, they're of my sister." I told her. "I applied the same edits and filters to the pictures of my mother and I."

"Is she the one who introduced you to photography?" She asked. "Your mother."

"Yes, she taught me how to use a digital camera and a polaroid camera as well as basic drawing and painting skills before she left." I nodded and glanced at the family portrait.

"She would be proud of you." Ms. Peters gave me a sad smile and rubbed my arm.

"Oh, she's not dead." I rushed out when I realized she misunderstood. "She left us years ago."