SENIORS | shawmila

two.

"Thanks." Camila smiled, shoving her bag down in the floor by her feet.

Jade was already in the backseat. Shelby turned the radio up and grabbed her iced coffee from the cup holder.

"Bitch, you're lucky I'm being so nice to you." Shelby gave her a fake glare before laughing. "Where were you last night?"

"I would have come by, but you know how my parents are." Camila shrugged. "They never let me do anything on school nights."

"That's because they're loca, chica!" Shelby said and Camila couldn't help but laugh. Spanish sounded so funny coming out the mouth of a white girl with a southern accent. "Well, you didn't miss that much, I guess."

"Aren't you gonna tell her?" Jade looked up from her phone in the backseat.

"Tell me what?" Camila turned around in her seat.

"Okay, listen." Shelby sighed. "Brad was there last night, and I saw him go upstairs with someone, a girl. I'm sorry, babe."

"Oh. I don't care." Camila said. "We broke up, I really don't care what he does."

"You're already over him?" Shelby looked over. "But he was so super cute."

"It just didn't work out." Camila shrugged. She had a feeling all Brad did was talk about football with that girl anyways, whoever she was.

Camila looked out the window as they passed Shawn's house. His bike was gone, meaning he'd already left for school. Camila felt a slight pang of guilt every time she thought about him having to ride it all the way to school and back every day, but Shawn seemed to always pick buying new camera equipment over saving for a car whenever he had money.

Her heart pounded when she thought about him now. Having slept on it, it felt so real and special, what had happened last night. She wondered what he thought, and if everything could really go back to being normal.

"Camila?"

"What?" Camila looked back and Shelby laughed.

"You're coming when Robert's back, though, aren't you?"

"Of course. Wouldn't miss it, just let me know when."

Shelby's older brother had been Cedar Wood's star quarterback for years, and now went to Laney College nearby. He and his friends would always bring beer and weed back for parties on the weekend and Camila knew she'd need the wind-down after a few weeks back at the hell that was high school.

"Good." Shelby smiled.

They gave a few more friends a ride and Camila watched them all squash into the backseat, talking and laughing loudly about last night. Camila felt a little like she'd missed out on something, until she remembered what she'd gotten up to.

She wished she could tell Shelby she wasn't a virgin anymore, but as much as she wanted to brag about it, she couldn't do that now. The setting had to be just right, and Camila had to have a good way to spin the story so that she wouldn't have to mention Shawn by name, just for his own privacy. That meant keeping it all in until at least the next big party.

They got to school and were all ushered until the gym for an assembly. Camila followed her friends to a spot at the top of the bleachers. Everyone was talking excitedly about what they'd done over summer break or what they planned to get up to that weekend.

Camila scanned the crowd of kids but didn't see Shawn. She wasn't sure why she was even looking. It was pretty normal for them to go a few days in a row here and there without talking. It didn't mean anything, just that they had their own circles. She just really wanted to at least wave to him this morning.