Hey guys! Welcome to "Worth a Thousand Words", a joint fanfiction between Lauren (bestXyouXneverXhad) and myself, Mia (offcourseofcourse). After quite a long process of discussion, auditions, and other planning, we are pleased to finally open the thread. We hope you enjoy reading the story as much as we enjoy writing it!
--Mia & Lauren
(double the trouble, but twice as nice)
"Worth a Thousand Words" Prologue:
Unfamiliar Place.
I stared at the sheet of paper before me, bearing two words from which I was supposed to draw some sort of divine revelation. Inspiration I think it was called. Unfamiliar Place. Mars? The future? My refrigerator? Why was photography so hard? A voice in the back of my head acknowledged that it was supposed to be a life-changing sort of class. You enter with one frame of mind and leave with a whole new way to see the world. I glanced up at my bulletin board hanging above my desk. It was filled with pictures of my friends, cards I’d received over the years, and a few magazine clippings. LONDON one read. Certainly unfamiliar, but how could I justify a trip to England to my parents? Oh yes, mom, dad, can I borrow some money to go to London so I can shoot my photography assignment? For some reason I didn’t think that this would go over so well with them. My phone was sitting on the desk next to my computer which was making whirring noises as it downloaded music. I pressed the number “4” and then hit send, calling my friend, Div. She had taken photography as a freshman. That was what, 3 years ago? I was sure that she’d have some sort of advice. It rang three times before I heard a slight shuffling and then a muted. “Hello? Lisa?”
“Hey! Yeah! How much do you love me?” I asked.
“That depends…” Div trailed off. She sounded tired. Senior year was stressful for everyone, and I pictured Div lying on her beige carpet staring at her ceiling.
“Photo assignment, help? Please?” I didn’t mean to beg, but I barely knew how to work a camera. Mr. Gales, the photo teacher had thrust the 35 mm SLR, whatever that means, at me less than a week ago, and here I was, attempting to prepare for my first shoot.
“Which one was that? The unfamiliar place?” I murmured yes. “Oh...yeah that one was good. I think I took pictures of hardware and the washing machine and stuff.” Sometimes Div confuses me…she’s more artsy than I am. Mr. Gales was heartbroken when he lost her to drawing.
“Oh, yeah…I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do.” It was Sunday. I was supposed to develop my film on Monday. I needed to get this shoot done with. I glanced at my watch to discover that it was already 3:00 PM. Sheepishly, I leaned sideways off my chair so I could catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror hanging on the back of my door. Black school sweatpants, an old t-shirt that said: “Dickens is my homeboy”, and a whole lot of bed-head. I didn’t mind looking like a slob when I was buried in homework, but going out meant that I should actually get dressed.
“Well, whatever you do, you better get on it!” replied Div. “I’d tell you to call Abbie, but I think she had basketball practice.”
“Yeah, I think it’s from 2:30-4:30 today, and I sort of maybe really have get this finished. Any chance of you meeting me somewhere for it?”
“Well, darling, you know I’d love to, but I simply can’t. The mother is dragging me to shop for something or other at the grocery store. Anyways, I think photo’s kind of a solitary thing,” Div said sincerely.
“Okay, well, if you change your mind I think I’m going down to Alden Park and taking a look around. Maybe trees and swing sets will be more enlightening than this piece of paper.” I didn’t mean to sound so pessimistic, but Alden Park was this place where my mom had taken me as a child. It had been redone a year or two ago, in accordance with new safety laws, so a lot of the play structure had been changed. My old favorite slide, the metal one that you couldn’t go down on when it was hot for fear of burning your legs, had been replaced with a plastic version which I was sure gave a person static shock. I hung up the phone and ambled over to my closet, throwing open the double doors to reveal quite a lot of jeans, a few t-shirts and blouses, as well as a pile of sneakers stuffed in the corner. I pulled on my favorite Laurel Canyon Page jeans and a white v-neck cotton t-shirt under an asphalt grey sweatshirt, quickly ran a brush through my dark brown hair, and grabbed my camera case, stuffing my keys, emergency money, and cell into the front pocket along with an extra roll of film. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for at the park, or why I had chosen to go there. It just felt right.
So there you have it folks, the first bit of "Worth a Thousand Words", a prologue of sorts. How will the Jonas Brothers enter? What will happen? Only time will tell. Comments bring smiles, smiles bring posts...you get the picture. 
