Chapter 2 part 4

Kevin told us he had picked a few spots around campus as possible locations for our shoot and we should just follow his lead. Gray and I walked a few steps behind him, Charles right next to us.

“Anna, I thought I told you to call me Christian.” Gray opened the conversation.

“You did, yes.” And out of sheer rebellion I had decided against it.

“Have I offended you somehow?” He asked, looking genuinely puzzled.

“Why do you say that?” I tried to look puzzled as well. I truly deserved an Oscar for my performance in “The Gray affair”.

“You seemed very tense during our interview on Saturday, almost hostile” he explained.

“Funny you should say that.” I mumbled.

“Is it the tabloids? Or do you have something against publishers in general?” he asked.

“I really don’t feel any hostility towards you, Mr. Gray. I am sorry if I gave you that impression. Ah, look, Kevin is putting down his equipment” I hurriedly changed the subject. “This must be our first location.”

Kevin took a few pictures of Gray alone and then some pictures of him and Charles under a pretty looking cherry tree. Gray seemed very familiar with the procedure and posed almost absent-mindedly, like it was something he had to do a lot.

Soon enough Kevin was satisfied and packed up his things again. “The next location should be the library” he announced, mentioning us to follow him.

“You seem very much at home in front of a camera.” I said to Gray when we were trailing behind Kevin.

“I used to work as a model in university to pay the bills.” He didn’t seem to mind sharing that information with me, even though I hadn’t seen it on any official CVs.

“No kidding.” I didn’t know what to say to that. Did he expect admiration? Curiosity? I decided to just stay quiet for the rest of the walk.

I had to wait outside the library with Charles because he wasn’t allowed inside. He took it with dignity and sat calmly at my feet until Gray and Kevin returned ten minutes later.

“I think our last stop should be the campus coffee shop.” Kevin suggested. Gray was fine with it so we strolled there, Charles taking regular bathroom breaks on the way. Gray and I stayed silent the entire time.