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My mom replied with a sigh. “People who follow a job in the arts are the same people who beg for food and money on the streets.”

“That’s a generalization.”

“The real world is a cruel place, I don’t want her to fall victim to it.”

“Well, I don’t want her to fall victim to misery.”

I gulped down the lump in my throat. Did I cause Tita Maricel to spend too much money on me, only for my mom to get mad? I wondered. Guilt stormed through my body. Using that camera, though, melted away any negative feeling I had.

Now, I gaze at my camera, warmth filling my body. Salamat po, Tita Maricel.

My phone chimes, and a text from Nora banners across my screen.

Nora: Star Lakes tomorrow right?

My eyes ping-pong from her text to my camera. My Tito Rommulo’s words continue to echo like a school bully making fun of a poor, defenseless child. My mom’s, “The real world is a cruel place, I don’t want her to fall victim to it,” intermixes with my Tito’s words.

Then I recall the sign-up sheet, one phrase flashing in my mind.

Jansen School of Arts wants photographers who are not only creative but distinctive.

To Nora, I reply: Right!

Chapter Seven

Me: Wake up! I insert a smiley face.

Nora: Ugh so early

Nora: Why did I agree to this?

Nora punctuates this last text with a smiling emoji. I snort and shake my head. Never thought there’d be a day I’d text Nora at 6:00 AM. She always arrives to school five minutes before the bell rings, and either her mom or her older brother Marcos yanks her out of bed.

I never paid much attention to my room this early in the morning. Everything—the walls, my closet doors, the textbooks stacked on my desk—is cloaked in shadows. I can only make them out if I squint to see the tiniest detail, like the drawing of a flower’s pollen on the cover of my AP Bio textbook, the beautiful part that’s often outshined by the petals, sometimes even the stem. But it’s only an image. No matter how hard I squint, it can’t look real unless I walk outside and see them up close. Because I’m up so early on a summer day, I can spend more time outside, taking photos and frolicking in whatever I capture through my lens. It’s the most excited I’ve felt at 6:00 AM.

I reply to Nora’s last text with: Bc we’re besties!

Nora: I’d like to submit my letter of resignation.

Me: You can’t! You signed a legally binding contract to be my bestie forever! No resignation letters allowed!

Nora: I don’t remember signing such a contract.

Me: You don’t remember a lot of things!

Nora: LOL! VALID! XD

I almost punch in another text until I hear an egg beating against a pan, followed by a crack, then a sizzle. Crap, is that my mom? I was hoping she would leave for work by now.

Me: Why is my mom still here?

Me: What am I gonna do?

Nora: Just lie!

Me: You know who you’re talking to, right?

Nora: First time for anything!