The Photographer Read Free

headed for their subdivision, Megan teased him. “Wow, you’re really talkative today, Derrick. Asking me if I wanted a ride home took three words.”
    Derrick grinned in his funny way, raising the corners of his lips about an eighth of an inch. “Good show.”
    â€œThanks. I think I’ll enlarge that picture of us on elephants crossing the river in Tiger Tops. The fog makes the picture mysterious.” Megan thought out loud, knowing Derrick probably wouldn’t answer. Being with Derrick wasn’t like being with Cynthia, or even Robert; she and Derrick weren’t surrounded by a comfortable silence. So she chattered, a habit she disliked in others. She wanted to ask him about Cynthia, but she didn’t have the nerve.
    He seemed terribly absentminded, in the fashion of real genius. Like now. Even with her talking, it was obvious his mind was a million miles away. He was probably thinking about a photo he wanted to take. Sometimes Megan thought the word obsessed would be a good tag for Derrick. It had taken very little time around him to realize that his work obsessed him. He had his own darkroom and said he spent a lot of time there.
    â€œIsn’t Bunny Browne the dumbest blond you ever knew?” Megan attempted to lure Derrick into a frivolous conversation. She’d tried it before, just to see if she could. “She’s that cliché personified.”
    No luck. The funny smile again. No comment.
    â€œMakes me glad I got brains instead of beauty.” Megan wasn’t fishing for a compliment. She knew she wasn’t beautiful. Only her dark red hair saved her from being a real disaster. Her figure was what some would call pleasingly plump, and she didn’t care. She had no desire to become prom queen or win a beauty contest. She had developed her artistic talents instead. She also knew that Derrick wouldn’t lie and tell her she was attractive to make her feel better. She knew him that well. She sighed. Maybe he picked up on her feelings.
    â€œI like you, Megan.” Derrick stopped the van at her house.
    â€œWow! The famous photographer Derrick Ames likes me! Wow!” Megan laughed as she lifted the two boxes of slides and climbed off the high seat onto the sidewalk. “Thanks for the ride, Derrick.”
    â€œThanks for being such an inspiration,” Derrick said in response.
    â€œI’ve inspired you?” Megan asked. “To do what?”
    â€œYou’ve reminded me of how talented I really am.” Derrick grinned and pulled away from the curb.
    Megan watched him leave, feeling again the magnetic pull Derrick had on her. He was talented, and his pointing it out, even in teasing, didn’t bother her at all. She grinned and shook her head. Derrick was something else. She had mixed emotions about him sometimes, but she was glad he had come to Boulder High. He was a fascinating person.
    Megan turned the front doorknob. Locked. Even though she was late getting home, neither her mom nor her dad was there. She could get some homework done. Quickly she fished her key from her purse and let herself in. As soon as she stepped inside, however, she felt a dizziness and a fatigue overtake her. Maybe she’d been more nervous about showing her slides than she’d realized. Or her restless nights were catching up with her. She decided to take a quick nap and do homework after dinner.
    Her legs turned to jelly halfway up the stairs. It was all she could do to reach her bed. What was the matter with her? She felt as if she had no control of her body at all. Losing sleep shouldn’t make her feel this awful. If she could just sleep without dreaming for a night or two, even an hour or two, she knew she’d feel better.
    Collapsing on her peach-flowered spread, she hugged her stuffed killer whale, the worn toy she’d had since a childhood visit to Sea World. Almost immediately she was asleep.
    She smelled the smoke then. But she