Clearly We Should Give Up

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

"Clearly we should just give up," Zoe said with forced cheeriness as she stared at the photos propped up around her. Her section of the photos took up a fair portion of the art room; Quinn Wiley's took up another slight section. It should've been relatively simple for the two major photographers: just projects that they had to work on toward the end of the semester. Zoe's happened to be her actual senior project, the thing which was supposed to be her capstone before graduating. She knew that Quinn's was fairly important as well, though she didn't quite remember whether it was as "make or break" as her own. It still took up a lot of room and required a good deal of work.

"I'm honestly not sure we'll ever finish," Zoe said again, still forcing some cheeriness as she looked at her displays. "It feels as if I've been working on this project forever. At least three years," she gave Quinn another smile before leaning over. "How are things coming on your end? Are things better? You're usually so much more together than I am..."

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn never would have thought being away for about two years would show so much once he’d return but it did. For example, Zoe, who had already been a year ahead of him was now in her senior year of college while he just started. What upset him a little about it was not that she would leave soon after. He refused to think of that. Besides, it might mean nothing. He was certain he’d never see Erin once they would graduate yet he found out she was still here in Kalispell. He didn’t want to think about that, it would just remind him he didn't cope well with loss. Plus there were pictures to be looking at.

Quinn didn’t think he deserved that big of a spot in that project. Not only was he just starting but it was not even his major. It was the only way for him to come back here, pick a major he might find work in. You could find work in communications, right? It just that it was in his very short list of majors that wouldn’t just bore him and make him quit halfway through.

He was glad though that he was given some space in that project, no matter how tiny. He never gave up his dream of becoming a fashion photographer, even when it didn’t work out well. This could help, if anyone ever bothered to pay some attention to it. Of course, for them to, he had to remind Zoe she shouldn’t give up. He looked at her as she complained on the amount of work she put in already and what little seemed to have been done compared to what still remained to do. Three years of her life doing that. Yeah, it was a long time. And the amount of photographs scattered around proved it. “I’m just starting,” he pointed out as she asked about himself. “And I want to make new material, not used what I took in New York.” If it had not been good enough to open him the doors of the fashion industry, it did not deserved to be here. He let his gaze go from the pictures to Zoe. “You know you won’t give up, right? It’s your nerves again.” He always knew her nervous and that was for things far less important than this project of hers.