to be so lonely • hs

eight

"Quickly, quickly!" Dennis called, waving his arm at my two coworkers who were hurrying down the hall. We all sat around the big meeting table again, the smell of coffee filling the air.

"How are we all feeling?" He continued once they sat, a smile on his face as he clapped his hands together.

We all responded in a decent mix of 'excited' and 'nervous.' Both of which I could attest to. Dennis laughed and waited as we all quieted again, "Well, as we open the gallery tonight I want to remind you all how extremely proud I am of your work, and that you absolutely deserve that spot on those walls. For some of you, it's your first time being featured, for others, you've been through this before. Something you all should know is, this doesn't end here. You'll get calls, you'll get bids, you'll get clients. You'll get the recognition you more than deserve."

I smiled, wrapping my fingers around my warm coffee mug, drinking it to hide my excitement.

"Printing's been taken care of, and your images should be in the process of being mounted as we speak." He flipped through some papers on his clipboard, then folded a page over and set it down to read from.

"It opens at 7pm, but I expect you all there by 6. We'll have a small champagne toast and hear a few words from the head of the museum, who gave us this opportunity. After that, we'll have a few minutes to walk around before guests are welcome— you've all invited guests, correct?"

For the most part, we all nodded. I'd invited my parents, and though they lived quite far and couldn't make it, they sent their best wishes. I'd also invited a few friends, the models in the images, Mason, and Gemma. I wasn't expecting everyone to make it, but hoped for at least a few.

We continued the meeting for another half hour, basically just going over logistics of opening night. It would be from 7-10pm, and the gallery itself would remain available in the museum for the next month if all goes well.

Aside from the meeting, I spent the rest of my shift editing photos and planning another shoot with a client. It was a short day, as we left a bit early to get ready and then head off to the museum, and all the hard work was basically finished for now.

Once I got off, I hurried back to my apartment for a quick meal and a change. Currently, I was in a pair of light washed jeans and a white t-shirt, which wasn't necessarily the formal wear required of us.

I decided to wear black dress pants with a black mock turtleneck and jewelry— a necklace and the tiniest hoop earrings. I slid on a pair of black heeled booties, then went into the bathroom for hair and make up.

For my hair, I tied it into a ponytail, letting out a few strands in the front so I didn't look completely terrible. As for makeup, I refreshed what I was already wearing and made small changes until I decided I was done, and needed to leave.

It was 5:30 now, and the museum was a little under a half hour away. As I drove off, the nerves really began settling in.

It was a vulnerable thing, showing people your work. They were all pieces really personal to me, and as proud of my images as I was, there was still a bit of fear that others wouldn't like them as much. They didn't get to see the countless hours of brainstorming, shooting, and editing that went into the images— quite often, without pay or any recognition at all.

I arrived at the museum a few minutes before 6 o'clock, with just enough time to find a parking spot and join the rest of my coworkers and other photographers featured by the entrance.

Just as 6pm arrived, the sound of metal tapping glass interrupted our socializing, bringing us to the attention of Dennis, with a glass of champagne and a silver knife in his hand.