(Untitled)

[lionelthayer]

Lionel isn't sure why he's even brought out his old camera in the first place; it's not as if he can take any pictures that won't do anything but sit on a roll of film he can't develop. It's probablya bit for nostalgia's sake - taking Mark's cinematography class has been putting him more in mind of his own college years. It isn't homesickness so

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[belongsomeplace]

It's just coincidence that Jim's there to witness the whole thing. He didn't even know Lionel was around, he was just heading in to look for a book for his psychology class.

"Hey," he says, book forgotten as he weaves his way to Lionel's side. "Hey, is everything okay?"

[lionelthayer]

"Everything but my pride," Lionel says, feeling his face grow a bit hot as he looks over at Jim. "Uh, you didn't see all that, did you?"

[belongsomeplace]

"It was entirely the cat's fault," says Jim solemnly, eyeing the damage. "I'd swear to that in court."

[lionelthayer]

"You're a good friend, Jim," Lionel says, smiling.

It fades a bit when he looks down at the camera in his hands. There's a crack in the lens, with smaller cracks growing away from it, and in some spots the glass is chipped. "I can't believe that just happened."

[belongsomeplace]

"I don't know if there's anybody here who can fix that," says Jim, even though he knows the truth might not be the best thing to share right then. "There might be, though. You never know. They can do all kinds of crazy things here now."

[lionelthayer]

"Maybe," Lionel murmurs, wincing as he takes a closer look. There's no way of fixing it outside of getting a brand new lens, and that's all but impossible, here. "I know someone makes glass, but it's not the same thing."

[belongsomeplace]

"No, it's really not," he has to agree, wincing at the broken camera. "Maybe there's someone else, though. You never know, right? Somehow there's lots of people on the island I don't know."

[lionelthayer]

"It's alright," Lionel says, reassuring Jim (and maybe himself, a little) that it isn't as bad as it looks. "Even if I could fix it, I wouldn't be using it."

[belongsomeplace]

"Yeah, maybe," says Jim, "but sometimes that's not the point. What are you up to, anyway? You have class tonight?"

[lionelthayer]

"Cinematography," Lionel nods. "But it's less class and more like hanging out and talking about films, since there's only two of us and Mark." Which is mostly the same way it is with the class he shares with Jim. If only college had been this easy.

[belongsomeplace]

"Maybe I should've taken that one too," says Jim. "I just wanted to start small, you know? I haven't been in a classroom since I showed up here. Almost forgot what it was like."

[lionelthayer]

"Yeah, I can't imagine going back to a bunch of classes when it's been so long since I was even in one," Lionel admits, suddenly feeling a old. He isn't that far along in years, but he misses the days before Ann ran away. "I never even finished college."