Chapter 1 - Founding the Club

The rest of the weekend passed uneventfully, and when Monday rolled in, Zachary drove to school with Lydia, picking up Chloe and her sophomore sister, Holly, on the way. He had reflected about Madison’s suggestion the whole weekend and came to the conclusion that he really wanted to start the photography club. He truly enjoyed Photography and capturing beautiful sights around him, not to mention the chance to share his passion with other people as Ashley suggested, enticed him too much not to give it a try. The first few periods came and went, and right now, he was in the Literature classroom, the last period before lunch, watching the lovely teacher make her final considerations of the lesson.

“And that’s what Shakespeare meant at the end,” Mary Moreau concluded with a smile before glancing at the watch on her wrist. “And right on time! We still have a minute, so pack up your stuff and don’t waste a second of your lunch.”

Zack smiled as well at the sight of the beautiful 30-year-old woman heading back to her desk. With long auburn hair that was always tied up in a bun above her head, blue eyes, pale skin, and a slender build, she wore a button-up white shirt and a dark-blue skirt that reached about an inch below her knees. According to his classmates, Ms. Moreau had come to Sunset Haven High School the previous year, replacing their old Literature teacher, and quickly stole the heart of everyone around the school with her sweet personality and the compassionate and understanding way she treated her students. Zack could easily believe it as he was experiencing that since this year started and he had his first Literature class. Yes, it was hard not to have a crush on the sweet teacher, especially for someone who loved reading such as himself.

Madison caught his eye from a few rows to the front of him and nodded in the direction of their teacher, urging him to stand up and follow her. He briefly noticed his classmate was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, as it was a bit chilly that morning, and snug jeans that denounced a firm ass, as they walked to the teacher’s desk. Her dark-brown hair was tied into a ponytail.

“Hi, Ms. Moreau,” Madison grinned as she addressed the older woman, her hands linking behind her back.

“Oh, if it isn’t two of my best students,” Mary took off her thin glasses, making Zack think she looked even more stunning. “What can I do for you? Did you have any questions about what we covered today?”

“Uhn, actually… no questions, Ms. Moreau,” Zack was the one who answered. “We’re just wondering if you’d be willing to supervise a club we’re thinking about creating.”

The auburn-haired woman smiled possibly even wider than Madison. “Oh, this is the first time someone asks me to supervise a club,” she chuckled, setting her glasses on the desk. “There’s not many clubs that are actually operating right now. Besides the traditional organizations, all the other clubs have been running for longer than I’ve been here and already have their established supervisors.”

“Yeah, that’s why Zack here was feeling bored, so we came up with this,” Madison piped in.

“It’s a photography club?” Zachary tentatively said, unsure if she would actually accept their request.

“Hmm,” Mary slightly cocked her head to the side with a pensive look on her face. “Well, I’ll admit that I’m not that big of a photography expert, but I can do this for you two, no problem. I assume at least one of you knows what you’re doing?”

“Yeah, I am,” Zack grinned, feeling more relieved now that she agreed. “I mean, I’ve enjoyed Photography since I was in elementary school, I think. My aunt is a professional photographer and taught me some stuff.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Madison raised an eyebrow before she realized who he was talking about. “Ooohh, the Serena Bishop who has a studio near the lake?”

“Yeah,” the young man confirmed.

“That settles it, then,” Mary smiled at the two of them. As she mentioned, they were two of her best students, and the fact that she could say that about Zachary after a little more than a month and a half of knowing him spoke volumes about his performance in her class. “You two should find more members now. Maybe put up some posters around school, post about it in the online forums?”

“We’ll definitely do that, Ms. Moreau,” Madison beamed. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Yeah, it means a lot,” Zack nodded in agreement.

“It’s my pleasure,” their teacher’s smile never left her beautiful features. “Now go, the bell is about to ring and you don’t want to miss the best spots at the cafeteria.”

The cafeteria had a warm atmosphere, kind of like an old tavern, due to the old, stony architecture of the school. Zachary found it a bit strange on his first day of classes, but was quickly growing used to the place, perhaps due to his fondness for medieval fantasy and all things related to it. He thought that a certain friend from one of the towns he lived in during his time away from Sunset Haven would have loved to see it. Madison split from him to find her friends and Zack headed to his usual table, where his best friend, Chloe McRose, was already seated with a teammate of hers from the soccer team.

“Oh, hey,” the cute, athletic redhead greeted with a smile, her sky-blue eyes brimming with curiosity. “So, how did it go?”

“Ms. Moreau agreed to be our supervisor,” Zack told his friend as he sat down next to her. “Sure you don’t wanna join?”

Chloe let out a brief chuckle and shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I definitely don’t wanna be photographed and I don’t think I’ve got the eye to be behind the camera either,” she responded, the baggy hoodie over the large swell of her chest a hint of why she terminantly refused to be photographed. The most she could take was the occasional selfie with friends for the Pulse. “What about you, Lisa? Zack’s doing a photography club and needs some members.”

“Me?” The beautiful black-haired Latina blinked in confusion. “Jeez, I dunno. I don’t think I’d be good with a camera, but it could be fun to pose for pics sometimes, maybe,” she giggled, her olive-skinned arms crossed over the table. “I could probably be in, as long as it doesn’t clash with soccer practice. Oh, and sometimes I help my Mom at her ice-cream parlor, so there’s that too.”

Zack lightly coughed, it was hard not to ogle someone as voluptuous and attractive as Lisa Rivera, but he didn’t have much contact with her beyond being a person Chloe sometimes hung out with due to the soccer team. She brought up a point he hadn’t considered until now, photos with people in it. In his mind, they were only going to take pics of landscapes and buildings, maybe some historical spots. It could be interesting, though.

“Well, you’re friends with Madison, right?” He inquired, having seen the two of them hanging out sometimes. “She’s in the club too, so maybe you can coordinate a schedule with her. I’m good with whatever, I’m not in any other clubs or teams.”

“Only because you don’t want to,” a friendly male voice said from somewhere behind him before a well-built, dark-skinned boy with short black hair plopped down next to him.

“Oh, hey, Kev,” Zack greeted the handsome boy with a grin, the two girls nodding as well. Yeah, the guy would never stop trying to get him to join the basketball team. Not since he agreed to an impromptu game with him and a few friends a couple of weeks ago.

“So, what’s new?” Kevin Jackson inquired.

“Not much, I’m trying to set up a photography club.”

“And let me guess, you’re looking for members?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it. Just a handful to maybe get things started,” Zack met the other boy’s grin with one of his own. “You know of anyone who might be interested?”

“Oh, I definitely do, man. Me!” Kevin made a show of pointing both thumbs at himself. “Basketball practice hasn’t started for real yet and this sounds like it can be fun. As a plus, I can use the extra time to bug you to join my team.”

Chloe and Lisa laughed at that as the latter excused herself to go meet Madison. Zack just chuckled in amusement. “Fair enough. As long as you’re really into it.”

Lunch period was almost coming to an end, and as Zack went to dispose of his tray, he almost bumped into none other than Ashley Woodsen.

“Oh, sorry, Ash, almost didn’t see you there,” he laughed.

A cute smile grew on the petite blonde’s face. “It’s okay, no worries,” she was wearing a light-blue top and jeans, highlighting her fit, perky body. “So, Madison told us you got Ms. Moreau as supervisor?”

“Yeah, yeah, she agreed,” he scratched the back of his neck. “Now we’ve gotta find more members. But I think I got lucky, found two just in this lunch period.”

Ashley giggled and crossed her arms. “Yeah? Well, then let me boost your luck a little more. I wanna join.”

“You do?” Zack frowned in confusion, but there was a small smile on his face at the thought.

The cheerleader nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I think capturing what our town has to offer is something not many people do, and we’d get to spend more time together,” she gave him a mock punch on the shoulder. “We’ve barely talked since you came back to Sunset Haven.”

“Yeah, I’d definitely like that,” the young man nodded, thinking back to a time, several years ago, when she was a great friend to him and Chloe, despite all the other friends she had. “Okay you’re in. Do you know about anyone else?”

Ashley playfully rolled her eyes at that. “Well, Logan prefers to stay out of clubs, and now even more after he and Amber started going out. Heather said no because she’s cheer captain, and Vicky said the same thing about the paper. Seb’s busy trying to recruit guys for the male soccer team, and… oh, yeah, Sharon thinks clubs are a waste of time. How about that?”

“Ouch,” Zack laughed. “Well, the club will always be open in case someone changes their mind. I’m just happy you wanted to join.”

“Thanks,” she softly replied, very pleased with her decision as well. “I might ask the other cheerleaders, but I don’t think any of them will be interested.”

“Hey, you guys,” Madison said as she walked over to the two of them.

“Hey, Madison,” Zack nodded at her. “Ashley wants to join our little club. I assume Lisa already told you about her too?”

“Yeah, both of them told me,” the shapely brunette grinned. “All my other friends said no, though.”

“I got Kevin, from the basketball team,” Zachary revealed before his face took a thoughtful expression. “Maybe five is a good number for now?”

“Yeah, probably,” Ashley agreed. “Let’s see how we handle things with a small group.”

“I told Lisa to coordinate with Madison here, but I guess all of you guys are in other teams and squads, so I think I’ll probably leave the schedule to you,” Zack told them. “I’m the only one with a completely clear schedule. I help at the ranch sometimes, but that’s not set in stone.”

“Hmm, okay, how about Wednesday afternoon for our first meeting?” Madison proposed. “There’s no drama class, no cheer practice, and I can ask Lisa about soccer.”

“No need, I know Chloe doesn’t have soccer practice on Wednesdays,” Zack informed them. “I just gotta ask Kev. I have no idea about his schedule.”

“Yeah, it’s fine by me too,” Ashley said.

“Alright, now for a bit of an obvious question,” Zack reached back to scratch his neck again. “Do any of you own a digital camera?”

Ashley looked at him with a quizzical smile. “Aren’t phones enough?”

“I thought that too,” Madison nodded, turning to him as well. “I just assumed they had caught up to digital cameras by now.”

“The short answer is yes, I’d say, but the cameras have a few more options and the photos do have better quality,” Zachary explained. “Phones should be fine, though. It’s just a school club, it’s not like we’re gonna make an exhibition or something.”

“It could be fun, though,” Madison shrugged and Zack successfully avoided gawking at how the lines of her bra were almost visible underneath her snug, long-sleeved t-shirt.

“Let’s just keep things simple for now,” Ashley giggled. “We can see how it goes later.”

“Yeah, it’s no use planning too big right now,” Zack nodded, wondering what he had just got himself into. He guessed that it had all the potential to be a lot of fun, at least.

The turn that things ended up taking hadn’t featured in any of the young Bishop’s wildest dreams, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves, we gotta see how things got there for Zachary and his friends at the new Photography Club first.