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Zach

After three more weeks of feverish work, Zach still hasn’t found any more Red Sox Guy pictures. It’s mostly his fault, as negatives that might be good for Nathaniel’s gallery show, especially the ghost photos, keep snagging his attention from his primary search. Zach is itching to print them but manages to stay away from the enlarger. Again and again, he shakes and fills and rinses. No printing allowed unless it’s Red Sox Guy or until every roll is developed. This has the unfortunate effect of forcing him to reschedule the meeting with Nathaniel again, as he still only has three new prints to show.

He’s in the darkroom for as many hours as his body will allow. The bin is slowly emptying, and soon all of Serge’s photos will be developed. But No Red Sox Guy. Zach would be crushed, but he’s not the crushed type and he’s determined to land on his feet. Given the quality of the negatives, he has no doubt that when Nathaniel sees the photographs, it will be the beginning of an illustrious career for Serge Laurent and Zach’s retreading as a talent manager.

His meeting at Nickerson & Hagan is next week. He’s been putting aside the negatives that might work for the show, and he’s got to get cracking on printing them. There’s no doubt that representing Serge’s photos has a far greater chance of success than finding some workman in a T-shirt, and that he should do this first. Instead, he pulls a marathon session to complete the developing. It’s still his best hope.

When, with seven rolls remaining in the bin, Zach finds half a dozen shots of Red Sox Guy, he laughs so hard he almost cries. It’s better than he could have imagined.