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hit another home run.”
    Some of Jamie’s fellow photogs are less charitable. “She’s just a kid who lives at home. Every time she sells a picture, she’s taking bread out of the mouths of guys like me who are trying to make a living,” said one paparazzo who asked not to be identified.
    â€œFace it,” said another. “There’s nothing really exceptional about her photos. If she were twenty-four instead of fifteen this would be a total nonstory.”
    But others offer grudging praise. “Jamie definitely has a knack for knowing where to set up and when to click the shutter,” says videographer David Axelrod. “In this business, whatcounts is being able to anticipate a star’s next move. I don’t know how she figured it out so fast. Guess she’s a quick study.”
    Jamie may be a quick study with a camera, but her mother, Dr. Carol Gordon, would prefer it if she were studying something else. “What she’s doing is unusual and exciting, but it can’t replace an education,” said Dr. Gordon, who is a dentist. She and Jamie’s father, Seth Gordon, a creative director at Shandler Advertising, divorced about five years ago.
    â€œJamie’s curfew is eight o’clock on weekdays and eleven on weekends,” said Dr. Gordon. “If her GPA falls below A-minus, that could easily change.”
    Jamie’s father, Seth, takes a somewhat more laissez-faire attitude toward his daughter. “Obviously I’m biased, but I think Jamie’s very mature for her age,” said Mr. Gordon. “I trust her judgment. I was blown away when they wanted to send her out to Utah to cover the Sundance Film Festival. If it were up to me, I would have let her go.”
    But Jamie’s mother put her foot down. “I didn’t want her to miss school,” said Dr. Gordon.
    Speaking of which, what do the folks at Herrin think of Jamie’s after-school career?
    â€œWe have many talented young people here,” said headmistress Pamela Wickersham. “To be honest, I wasn’t aware that Jamie was selling photographs to the media, but I’m not surprised. Herrin students are encouraged to pursue a wide range of extracurricular activities. Our job is to encourage and foster the pursuit of excellence in whatever fields interest our students.”
    When asked why she spends her afternoons and weekends hanging around restaurants and clubs waiting to photograph celebrities, Jamie said, “This may sound strange, but it’s actually fun and exciting. It’s cool if I make some money, but that’snot really why I do it. There’s something rewarding about getting a good shot. It’s kind of like fishing. You go to a spot and wait and wait. Sometimes nothing bites. But once in a while you catch a fish.”
    And perhaps that’s the answer. If Jamie Gordon lived near a lake, she might spend her time waiting for a trout to bite. But living in New York, she has no choice but to troll for a different sort of game.

OCTOBER OF NINTH GRADE, NYC

    â€œYOU’RE FAMOUS.” THE SPEAKER OF THOSE WORDS WAS MY boyfriend, Nasim. It was the first time anyone ever said that to me, and I had to admit that it felt good. Right up there with “You’re pretty” or “You’re smart.” No, even
better
than “You’re smart.”
    â€œThank you,” I replied.
    â€œYou’re welcome.” Nasim was Persian and a sophomore at Herrin. He was tall and thin, yet broad shouldered, with long, straight black hair, olive skin, and the darkest almond-shaped eyes I’ve ever seen. Personally, I thought he was the best-looking boy at Herrin.
    At the moment of Nasim’s proclamation about myfame, we were hurrying along the sidewalk toward school, clutching paper cups of cappuccinos, and dodging the briefcase crowd trudging toward the subway to work. Nasim reached into his backpack and pulled out a copy