Monday, February 3rd

A long, lanky arm waved to him as he entered the classroom, and a few steps in, Eden could see Justin’s cheerful smile.

“I wasn’t sure you were gonna show,” his friend joked, slapping his shoulder as he sat. “You looked like shit all weekend, but you seem better now.”

He only nodded, not really wanting to talk about it. After almost three days of internal struggle and shameful wallowing, he had finally forced himself back into reality. He wasn’t a child, but his behavior had been entirely idiotic and immature. Being surrounded by teenagers didn’t mean he needed to act like one.

< Are you on campus for lunch today? >

The only thing he hadn’t settled was that night with Dean. He’d stayed and tried to sleep, but his mind was too chaotic and he spent an hour staring into the dark instead. So he had quietly snuck out and walked home. They didn’t live far from each other, but he never told the men he slept with where he lived.

< Yeah. I have to TA an afternoon class >

It wasn’t until the next day that he realized he’d never even texted or left Dean a note. From beginning to end, he had been an asshole.

< Let’s grab something together. My treat. 12:30? >

Regardless of their relationship, he needed to at least apologize properly. They rarely met out in the world, but lunch was the least he could do and he wanted to get this over with.

< Sure. Meet you at Frankie’s >

At least Dean didn’t seem too angry in his texts. Not that Eden could really tell from soundless words on a screen.

Glancing around, he noticed the small classroom was full, everyone chatting and laughing. It was the most energetic group of students he’d been with and Justin chuckled at his confusion.

“The instructor for this class is a really well-known photographer. He doesn’t normally teach, but he’s installing a permanent exhibit here, so he agreed to stay for a semester.”

“Really?” Eden wasn’t as impressed as everyone else, but he supposed that was interesting.

Justin’s smile warmed. “I really like his work. I usually prefer other mediums, paintings and such, but his photos are really moving.”

He nodded again. That was another discussion he didn’t want to have, so he let his eyes wander the room instead. It was an eclectic group, not all artsy, hippy types like Justin, and he wondered how famous this photographer really was.

Bringing his gaze up the steep steps of the small, tiered lecture hall, he stopped suddenly at the entry, staring at the figure leaning in the doorframe. Playful smile, mischievous dark brown eyes, and then a hand raising just high enough to tell him hello. Eden froze, swallowing hard.

The man glided over. He had never seen him walk before and it matched his personality exactly. Beautiful and graceful, yet still casual, and the sway of his hips had the smallest hint of seduction. With a soft bob of the head, he took the empty seat beside him, resting an elbow on the long desk and a cheek on his hand. Eden turned toward the front but could still feel those eyes locked on him.

“Oh,” Justin said, pleasantly surprised. “It’s you. The one who paid our bill.”

The man didn’t speak, only humming and nodding softly to confirm, his smile and gaze not leaving Eden.

“Huh?” Alex peeked around her boyfriend but didn’t recognize him. “You mean when we were at the Thai House?”

Eden cleared his throat, turning to raise an eyebrow at her. “You were too drunk to remember.”

She huffed and tried to slap him, but Justin blocked her. “Babe, you should thank him. He bailed us out.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Alex agreed sweetly. The man glanced at her to nod yet again, then looked back at Eden. “Uh, do you two know each other?”

“No,” Eden blurted out quickly before the man could say anything in reply. “I thanked him for paying and paid him back, but that’s all.”

That got him a questioning squint of the eyes, but then she shrugged the suspicion away. “You just seemed to be familiar. I thought maybe, since he’s older like you...”

The man chuckled quietly and Eden swallowed again, glaring at her. “I’m not that old.”

“Oh? Am I that old?” The man finally spoke, teasing, and the voice was as soft and warm as he remembered. Head moving from his hand and elbow leaving the table, the man leaned back comfortably in his chair. “Well, I suppose thirty-one is a bit old for a student, huh?”

Justin waved at him, giving Alex a quick frown. “Sorry about her. She tends to say whatever’s on her mind. Are you in this class too?”

“Something like that,” the man said, his smile widening a bit. “I’ll admit, I was surprised to see you here.” His “you” was directed at all of them, but Eden could tell he meant him specifically. “Small world.” His dark brown eyes glanced at the clock on the wall and he sighed. “That time already?”

He flashed another playful grin and stood, heading down the narrow stairs to the front of the room. After fiddling with a computer in the corner, a photo was projected onto the white board. Eden’s breath caught in his throat. The chitchat that had filled the room only moments ago was gone, replaced with complete silence.

On the wall was a child no older than five or six, obviously malnourished, with a distended belly and flies dotting his face. He was a dark brown in front of a collection of other browns – a dry, cracked, dirt ground, a dilapidated hut, an old, rusty barrel, and dust-swirled air. It was a scene Americans were used to, the most common marketing for a multitude of international charities, shown so often that most had become numb to the sight.

But that wasn’t what had silenced Eden and the students. The expression on the child’s face was one of pure joy. It radiated from his smile, with rows of teeth showing through wide stretched lips. His cheeks lifted up into his eyes, large and shining and squinted in laughter. The photo should have been depressing. Instead, Eden’s chest tightened and warmed, and he struggled to keep himself from smiling along. It felt wrong to feel so happy looking at this boy, but that innocent glee was difficult to resist.

The man chuckled loudly this time, and Eden’s stare shifted, locking onto him. As if reading his mind, the man said, “It’s alright. There’s nothing wrong with smiling at this photo.”

Others in the room began to murmur, broken free from their collective daze, and Justin leaned over. “Amazing, right?”

Eden only nodded, unable to move his gaze from the man, but then those brown eyes darted around the room. Clapping his hands together to get everyone’s attention, the man stepped in front of a long table, resting casually and crossing his arms.

“Let’s start then, shall we?” He seemed to always be smiling, but the one he wore now was a simple, kind smile for everyone. “I’m Keller and will be your instructor for this course. Most people call me Kell, but you can call me Keller, Kell, or Kelly. Do NOT call me sir, mister, doctor, professor, teach, or any similar title. It makes my skin crawl.”

There was more mumbling and he huffed out a small laugh. “I’m not really a teacher, so we’ll be keeping this informal.” He pointed behind him to the giant photo. “I’m a photographer, and I’m sure some of you know my work. Why photography? A painter, illustrator, or sculptor will show you what they see, through the lens of their own experience. It’s beautiful, but always clouded by their own style and influences, hopes and dreams, worries and fears. But the lens of a camera is clear, and a photo like this shows you humanity as it is. Raw, and real. This child isn’t happy because I wanted him to be or because I created him that way. He just is, and I merely captured that moment.”

His eyes sparkled, just barely squinting, and his smile was more genuine. He had always looked playful before, but he wasn’t playing now.

“In this class, we will explore this humanity. Not just how to use a camera and digital editing techniques, but how to recognize those moments that speak to us as a species. The moments that teach us about ourselves.”

The mumbling and murmurs grew and Eden snapped out of his stupor. Only now did he accept that this mysterious man, the one his brain had been screaming to avoid, wasn’t a student in this class. If he stayed here, not only would it be impossible to avoid him, he would be forced to see him multiple times a week for months.

Letting everyone chat for a moment, those brown eyes locked onto him, and the man was playful again, sending him a quick wink. Eden swallowed and sunk heavier into his seat. His eyes moved between the man and the photo behind him. He wanted to stay.