Behind The Camera

Irritation & Inspiration

"Dez…" a whisper of a voice calls out to him. But from where? The boy looks about him. No one to be seen. He's alone – nothing but blue sky above and sand beneath him going on for miles in every direction.

"Dez…" the voice calls out, once again. It sounds strangely familiar. He feels a presence near him, yet sees no one.

Suddenly, the world around him starts to shake violently.

"Aaaaah!" Dez screams aloud, awakening from his dream in a cold sweat. He finds his friend there, arms on his shoulders, shaking him. She ceases upon hearing him cry out.

"Good, you're awake," Ally lets out a sigh of relief as she releases her grip on Dez's shoulders. "I was starting to get wor-"

"-Ally, you scared me!" Dez shouts at her, as he tries to catch his breath. Ally jumps a bit at his sudden aggression. He then instantly calms and puts on a cheerful smile, "Anyway…Hi Ally!" He walks over and pulls her into a hug. Ally looks confused at first, but returns the hug with a smile.

"Hi, Dez," she says, pulling away. "Trish said you weren't feeling well and asked me to check on you."

"Oh, I'm fine now. I just needed a good night's sleep is all," Dez replies, yawning and stretching out his arms. "Thanks anyway, Ally."

"I'm sorry I've been so busy lately and haven't had a chance to help you out with your career trials. I'm sure Trish has been a handful…" Ally apologizes, feeling the guilt set in. She knows her best-freckled-friend had been going through a tough time lately, but between song-writing for Austin, and working on songs for herself – as well as piles of school work she needed to keep up with – she simply had no time. Their week-long break is almost over, and she had taken on a lot of extra credit work that she still had yet to complete.

"It's fine, Ally, really. Trish has actually been pretty helpful," Dez nods, looking up at the ceiling in thought.

"Uh, Dez?" Ally waves her hand in his face after a few moments of silence with Dez continuing to stare at the ceiling. "Dez!"

"Hm? Oh, sorry," he shakes off the thought, then asks, "So, you and Austin finished with the song yet? Austin told me a little about it when he drove me home last night. I got some ideas for the video that could work."

"That's wonderful, Dez! I'm glad you still want to help Austin out with his music video, he was really hoping you would," Ally squeals in excitement, knowing how much Dez making the video meant to Austin. "And yeah, I can get a copy of the music and lyrics sheet to you by tonight."

"Sounds good to me!"

"We'd like you to help us record the final version of the song, too, along with filming the footage, if that's okay. Maybe this weekend?" Ally adds on. Dez nods, actually feeling enthusiastic about making the music video. Not stressed, not worried – but eager and inspired.

It's been a while since he last felt that about filmmaking.

"Greaty-great-great! Well, I should get going. I have a lot of homework to get done before school starts," Ally hugs her red-headed friend once again.

Dez hugs her back, then lets go – crossing his arms and shaking his head in what seems to be disappointment. "Ally, Ally, Ally…Homework? Over the break? We talked about this! You've done more extra credit than you actually need. And you don't even need it, in the first place!"

"Would it kill you to try and do some, yourself? It can be really helpful, you know," she chides her tall friend, her finger raised in a parental manner.