The Candid Keeper

Chapter 2

Once Camila had gotten back into her dorm room she found her roommate cleaning up her side of the room that she had left a complete mess before she left earlier. It was almost like spring cleaning in there.

Lauren had almost every cleaning supply set out on her desk, she was scrubbing down the wooden structure that her mattress was resting on with a Brillo pad and some strong soap (the kind that she wasn't allergic to). She was using her other hand to spray disinfectant on the walls, gloves clothed both of her hands and she had on a face mask. When she heard the door open and close she automatically knew it was Camila and only slowed down a bit to look over her shoulder and address her. A small smile would suffice for now, but she had to finish cleaning her side of the room before she could wind down and relax.

For Camila though, a smile wouldn't do, she rushed up towards her best friend and roommate, wrapped her arms around her waist from behind and pulled her over to her side, throwing her over her shoulder and slamming her (gently) onto her bed instead, making sure not to crush the girl's glasses in the process. A loud whine tumbled from Lauren's lips and she struggled to push her crazy roommate off of her only to fail because she wasn't as strong as Camila.

"Where were you?" Camila asks once she had finally gotten Lauren to stop struggling under her by pinning her hands above her head and straddling her waist.

"When?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"When? Like five minutes ago. I came in and you weren't here, your side was a mess and I started to freak out looking for you." Camila explained. "I didn't know what to think, I ended up running around campus until I found your sister, who didn't really help by the way, then came back here."

Lauren frowned at the thought of Camila worrying about her so much but smiled before forcefully pushing Camila off of her, making the younger girl roll off of the bed as she ran to her side of the room and opened her drawer, picking out a paperback book and then rushing back over to the girl who was now picking herself up off of the ground.

"I went to the library." She smiled that toothy smile that ignited a fire in the pit of Camila's stomach.

"...You hate going to the libraries if you don't have to, you order everything offline." She furrows her eyebrows.

"Well yeah, but they had this new release that I was recommended and I would rather just go down and buy it when I know they have it than pay for shipping and handling and waiting for a few weeks."

"How'd you get there?"

"Bus." She says simply, plopping down on Camila's bed and sighing dreamily at the new, fresh material in her hands.

"...but busses make you cringe. Your claustrophobia is horrible on these Miami public transportation systems." Camila reminds her, only getting a glare in return from her best friend.

"Why are you worrying so much? Like whatever, I have problems." Lauren shrugged. "I can still handle myself, you know?"

"Well yes I know that, but-"

"Then stop worrying so much, your worse than my mom sometimes." She laughs, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "So what's the assignment this time?" She asks. "I see the polaroid camera sitting on your desk."

Camila's face instantly lights up when she thought of what she was originally going to tell her best friend, and she quickly ran over to get the small camera, taking a quick picture of Lauren. The flash caught the older girl off guard and she shielded her eyes from the brightness that came her way.

"Um, why did you just snap a picture of me?" Lauren questioned her, rubbing at her now irritable eyes as Camila sat back down beside her on the bed.