Thayer Gallup
He was currently walking down to the fire as he was a little late to show up because he had been setting up his new camera his parents had just gotten him for a "congrats, you're a senior!" present. Now it was clean and tucked away in his case, slung over his shoulder and swinging as he stepped through the trees and into the clearing. The lake was glimmering underneath the stars and he made a mental note to step back to this spot a little later in the night and take a picture, as it would make for a good cover photo for tomorrow's Breadbowl edition.
Nearing where the students had gathered around several individual fires that were much smaller than the towering one in the middle, Thayer kept sweeping his eyes back and forth. He was trying to find Keevan but was also searching faces for any of his other friends, wanting to say hello before the dance started. Just to the right there was a group of five or six of his schoolmates who were beckoning him over.
"Thayer, my man! Is that your new camera? I saw your picture on Instagram about it! Gotten to use it tonight?" A boy whom Thayer didn't recognize called out as he neared their fire. It wasn't unusual for someone to know something about his life even if he himself didn't know the person. His Instagram was very popular and most students at Laurel seemed to follow it, most hoping a picture he's taken of them will end up on it.
Patting his camera bag, Thayer shook his head and grinned, "Nope, not yet! You want to be the first?" His eyes sparkling with the anticipation of taking his first picture of the night, he began to unzip his bag before the students had even gotten to respond.
Two of the girls who were sitting there had giggled excitedly almost immediately and hopped up out of their seats. The boy who had first spoke raised his cup full of what Thayer guessed was beer, "F*ck yeah! Let's pop that camera's cherry!" The group around the fire were all standing now, some with drinks in their hands, the others throwing up peace or "rock on" signs. Thayer removed his camera, fiddled around with the lense and the buttons to figure out the lighting, held it up to his eye, and counted down from three before pressing the button on top and taking the picture.
The flash went off and he pulled his face back slightly to examine the picture on the camera's screen. The detail was stunning! You could see all the different reds, oranges, and yellows that were dancing in the flames of the fire and the sparks flitting down above the students were visible as well. "Looks great, guys, thanks!" Then he turned and walked off, still looking to find Keevan.
Lucy Wood
It was more fear of Brooklyn than her at this point, and she knew that. She was still new, having only been at Laurel for the previous spring semester. Her face and name were known around the school in direct relation to first, her famous father, and second Brooklyn Winslet, the school's queen bee. Lance Aguilar was a close third as he was the only friend in her own grade she'd really made and the third of Brooklyn's posse. Thinking of the two of them reminded her that she hadn't seen them yet. They had planned on meeting at the bonfire instead of beforehand.
Lucy took her phone out of her bag and typed out a message in their group chat:
Third fire on the left, right by the drinks table. Prime seating. You're welcome. x
After replacing her phone into her bag, she stood up and walked over to the table to pour herself a drink. While filling her cup with Grey Goose vokda, her eyes once again scanned the crowd. She told herself that she was only looking for Lance and Brooklyn, when deep down she knew she was actually hoping to catch a glance at the cute boy who had been in her Science class the term previous. She was pretty sure his name was Drake. They had spoken a handful of times when he'd leaned over to nervously tell her that what she had written on her homework was incorrect and had given her the right answers moments before the instructor had collected the papers. Science wasn't one of her strong suits but it had obviously been his. One time she'd mentioned the boy to Brooklyn to ask more about him and had quickly regretted opening her mouth.
Brooklyn had this strange vendeta against Drake, finding him very untrustworthy and suspicious because next to no one actually knows the reason he's in Laurel. He's very secretive about what his power is. While Lucy agrees it's odd and told Brooklyn she'd stay away from him simply because she doesn't want to end up on her bad side, she can still sneak glances at him.
Taking several giant sips through a straw she'd slipped into her cup, a smile formed on Lucy's face as warmth from the alcohol filled her insides. She was planning on having several servings of Grey Goose and cranberry, wanting to make the most out of the night before classes begin. Lucy turned to return back to her seat and caught the eye of a cute boy whom at first she believed was Drake. He was standing at a fire not far away with his camera pulled up on his face, taking a picture of the students who were gathered around it. Her heart sped up and she bit her bottom lip a bit.
The excitement faded slightly as the boy lowered the camera and she realized that it wasn't the cute boy from science class but a senior, whose name, she thought, was Thayer. He was a friend of Brooklyn's, one whom she enjoyed heavily flirting with, and who was himself very cute. She debated going over and flirting with him a bit herself but thought Brooklyn might not like that and walked back over to the log, sucking down the rest of her drink and batting her eyelashes at a sophomore who had just walked by, asking him to make her another.