The Next Big Thing

Chapter 4

Monday morning Lauren arrived at the office bright and early, signed contract clutched tightly in her hands. She didn't have a lawyer and her mother would understand it even less than she did. Still, she tried to read the whole thing, to make sure what she was signing.

And okay, she may have skipped a bit of it—or most of it—but it was really long, and really boring. Most of what it said was the stuff Simon had told them anyway. So she scrawled her name on the dotted line, and hoped she was making the right choice.

Keana was beside herself when Lauren told her she got the job, celebrating all weekend with barely a sober moment between parties and toasts. In the face of that kind of excitement, it had been hard to maintain doubts, and now Lauren was about to commit herself for at least six months to the Camila Cabello Band.

She braced herself and pushed through the office door.

"Good morning, Miss Jauregui."

Lauren frowned, trying to remember if she'd seen the girl at the front desk before. They all just looked so much alike. "Morning?" She offered.

"Mr. Cowell has asked that I collect your signed contract and direct you to rehearsal room number three," the girl said with a smile.

"Oh, sure, of course," Lauren handed over the contract with sweaty palms, hesitating slightly as she dropped it into her hands. There went her life for the next six months—or longer, if everything went well.

"Rehearsal room number three," the girl reminded her

"Right. Thanks." Lauren set off through the double door and down the long corridor, having no idea where she was going, but hoping she'd find it in the end. The soft sound of drums caught her ear and she followed the noise until she came to a door that was slightly ajar, with a large "3" printed on it.

Inside, Dinah was already seated at the drums, running through a few beats. "Hey!" She grinned.

Relaxing slightly, Lauren smiled back. If nothing else, at least the other girls were in this with her

Normani and Ally arrived in short time and Lauren couldn't help but grin at the three of them, Ally excitedly recounting the breakfast place she had found down the street while Normani slumped over, dozing on Dinah's shoulder. Dinah held herself perfectly still, trying to be a good pillow. They were good girls. Lauren thought fondly, and somehow she got to be in a band with them. That certainly counted for something.

"Good morning!" A sunny voice drew their eyes to the doorway, and Lauren felt the smile fall from her face as Camila practically skipped into the room, her perfect hair bouncing around her face like a goddamn Disney princess. Her eyes were bright brown, that made her look even younger and more innocent than Lauren knew her to be.

She couldn't believe this kid was the face of the band.

"Morning Camila!" Dinah grinned widely, making Lauren snort. If the girl wasn't so nice, she'd probably hate her. She was just too damn earnest.

Camila looked to each of them in turn, but Normani slept on, and Ally merely mumbled around the half a snickers sticking out of her mouth.

The girl looked a bit helpless as her eyes travelled around the room, only Dinah acknowledging her arrival. She pulled her lower lip into mouth, chewing on the flesh. "Everyone have a good weekend?" She asked after a moment.

"Fine, thanks." Dinah again. "How was yours?"

"Good. Busy." Camila shrugged. "Lots of meetings."

Meetings, Lauren thought, shaking her head. The kid had meetings. She couldn't imagine what Camila needed to be consulted on—it's not like she was writing the album, or playing an instrument or anything. All she had to do was show up and look cute. But Lauren supposed they liked to make it seem like she had some input.