As the sun set, the wind on the beach grew even colder, and the scent of salt grew stronger. The peaceful, mild waves washed in and out, sparkling under the light with every surge.
Narrowing my eyes against the bright, burning red of the sunset, I dropped the bags I was carrying on the sandy beach with a thump. I made the gazebo near the top of the beach our waiting spot as I got things ready for the shoot.
I thudded down the tub and the multiple hot-water pots I’d borrowed from the school, plus the disposable heating pads I’d bought from a hundred-yen shop. People swam here in the summer, so there was a public shower nearby, but obviously we weren’t going to use it at this time of year. So I’d brought the basin and hot water to wash off a little of the seawater and sand, if the girls got wet or dirty. We also needed hot water for serving warm drinks to our models, so I’d brought quite a bit.
Zaimokuza, who’d carried everything this far, seemed mildly disturbed. “What incredible potential you have as an assistant director…”
“Not at all. I would have liked some blankets or long down coats, if I could have gotten them.”
That, or a campfire stand… Maybe I should finally start conditioning myself for solo camping. I mean, if I was sending these girls out into the raging winds, that level of preparation would be essential. I would have liked to be perfectly ready for the cold, but my time and funds were limited, after all.
At my comment about the coats, Zaimokuza immediately clenched the collar of his own. “I-I’m not giving you this!”
“I don’t want it…” I obviously don’t want that. That goes double for the girls.
Now how are our models doing? On the benches a ways away, I saw Yumiko Miura, constantly rubbing and hugging her arms to keep warm.
“Agh! It’s so cold! Yui, gimme a hot pad, c’mon!”
“On your back? Or stomach?”
“Both!”
Miura flipped up the bottom of her blazer and exposed the back of her blouse, and Yuigahama stuck the hot pad right there. There’s something strangely naughty about that image. I feel like I’ve seen something I shouldn’t… Not that it’s gonna stop me from watching.
Anyway, they were apparently done getting ready, too.
I asked Zaimokuza to handle carrying things, while I headed off toward Yuigahama and the girls with the camera. “Your help is appreciated. Thanks for today.” I bowed my head casually.
“…What?” Miura seemed incredibly skeptical, staring at me like you’d stare at a muntjac in the city. Come on, it’s not that surprising; there’s more muntjac in Chiba lately—there’s too many, and people are always going “Oh! Deer!” and I wonder what I did wrong this time.
“Thanks for having us.” Next to her, Ebina waved a hand with a bright smile.
Miura froze for a moment but then snapped out of it. “…Ahhh, mm.” She jerked her face away and glanced over at Yuigahama, but then she suddenly said, “Well, it’s just ’cause Yui asked,” as she boinged her curls. Maybe it was just the sunset, but her cheeks were kind of pink. My, my, it seems as if you’re a teensy bit shy there? Tee-hee-hee…
But it wasn’t the time to be enjoying such heartwarming scenes. The sunset wouldn’t last forever. “Then can we get started?” I said.
“Ah, yeah.” Yuigahama nodded back at me, then prompted Miura and Ebina to follow her a bit down the beach. I trailed after them, feeling the crisp sand underfoot.
Once they were down at the water’s edge, I called out to them to stop for a moment, took a few steps back, and raised the camera.
First, I wanted to get a rough idea of the image I needed and get a sense for the composition.
I set the lens to a wide angle, capturing a big swath of the sunset, and focused slightly over the horizon. That pale boundary between the sky and ocean was sparkling with reflected light. The sandy beach lay in front of them, just growing dark, while the water’s edge was beginning to ooze orange, and then the gradation was complete with the crimson melting between the clouds. I was capturing Miura’s and Yuigahama’s backs such that the right side of the camera screen was a little out of focus.
With the sunset in the background, even the way the two girls stood was unique.
Miura’s hands were thrust into her coat pockets as she gazed out over the twilit sea, sighing with awe, while Yuigahama kept glancing back like she was concerned about me.
I snapped the shutter a bunch of times, waving them over to where I wanted them to stand or focusing on my own positioning. It was obviously cold this whole time, so I made sure they wore coats, and sweatpants under their skirts. …This might be a thing, in its own way. Kinda like I’ve sneaked into a girl’s school, you know!
So I was thinking, peering through the finder, when Miura muttered, “Ugh, so cold,” for my benefit and flicked a glare back at me. “Hikio, hurry up.”
“Yes, ma’am…” I raised my camera once more.
The red glow of the sunset drew closer, seeping into the clouds.
I tried taking a bunch of test shots, but they were mediocre. I’d meant to make them the same as the reference photos, but the framing just wasn’t working.
Girls in uniforms standing side by side on the coast in the sunset—it should have been the simplest thing in the world, but I couldn’t pin it down. To put it bluntly, it was all blah. But I wanted to make the kind of thing you’d see in a pamphlet at HIS with text like Trip to Hawaii!! or a cover like We were here…
Camera in hand, I was twisting my brain when Ebina popped up from behind me. “Let me try,” she said, immediately snatching the camera out of my grasp. “For this, you do it like this, here.” She snapped the shutter a few times, then returned the camera to me.
I checked the previews and sure enough, she’d totally nailed the composition I’d had in mind. “Ohhh, this looks kinda pro…”
“Right?” Ebina puffed out her chest with a smug chuckle. “Aaand next…,” she said in a singsong tone, then trotted over to Yuigahama and Miura. Then she attacked the both of them with a cry, ripping off their coats and sweatpants.
“Hurr-hurr-hurr, let it happen, let it happen!”
“Hey, hey, hey! Ebina, you jerk!” As Miura resisted, Ebina kept coming after her, pulling off her shoes, then trying to get her socks off, too. Is she Datsue-ba? A scene like something out of “Rashomon” was unfolding right in front of me.
“I’ll take them off myself! I got it, okay?!” Yuigahama flailed and scampered away, pulling off her shoes and socks and tossing them aside. Miura’s resistance was in vain as Ebina shoved her down and yanked her socks right off.
Thereupon I was humbly witness to Miura’s exalted legs. I may have also borne witness to a flash of what was under her skirt, but I instantly jerked my face aside and snapped the shutter. It’s not like that! My fingers just, like, happened to go snap, snap. Reflexes, you know.
“It’s cold!” Yuigahama hopped around on the spot, while Miura shivered, confused by this fresh surprise.
“Eek! Huh?! The sand’s so cold!”
“Tee-hee-hee, if you’re in uniform on the beach, you’ve really got to be barefoot!” With a satisfied meh-heh-heh, Ebina pattered back toward me. While I was nodding with understanding, Ebina extended a hand. It seemed she was going to take pictures for me. Excellent. It’s best to leave this sort of thing to someone with taste!
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