MATCHED (CAMREN)

CHAPTER 4

YA READYYYY? 😏😏 ENJOY...
----

"There's an opening over here," Harry says, stopping at a game table in the middle of the room. Today we decided to go to the game center since Saturday is for recreations.

"Do you want to go in, Mila?"
"No thanks," I say. "I'll watch this round."
"What about you?" he asks Dinah, my bestfriend, besides him of course.
"You go ahead" She tells him, and we both laugh.

Now, Harry settles himself at the table, saying something that makes everyone laugh.
"So..." Dinah says, "What is it like? Knowing your Match?" I knew she would ask me this. And I answer the only way I can. "It's Harry" I say "It's wonderful" Dinah nods in understanding, she was about to say something when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see an Official behind me.

"Camila Cabello?" She asks.
"Yes" I answer glancing at Dinah. She just shrugs.

"Could you come outside with me for a moment? It won't take long, and it's nothing to worry about."

Does the official know what happened when I tried to view the microcard last night?

"Of course" I say, because there's no other answer when an Official asks you for something. I look back at Dinah and she just nods.

"Let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about" the Official tells me, smiling. Her voice sound kind. We walk across the neatly cut grass toward a metal bench.

"You don't have to tell me what happened" the Official says. "I know. The face on the microcard wasn't the right one, was it?" I just nod.

"You must be very worried. Have you told anyone what happened?"
"No" I say. She gesture me to sit down so I did.
"Excellent. Let me set your mind at ease" She pauses briefly and then continues. "I don't suppose you brought your microcard with you today?"
"Actually, I did" I pull it out of my pocket.

She holds out her hand, and I drop the microcard into her outstretched palm. "Perfect. I'll take care of this" She places it inside her small Official's case. "Now, this is for you." She takes another microcard.

"I've checked it myself. Everything is in order"
"Thankyou."
Neither of us says anything for a moment. I know she's an Official but I'm not sure which Department she represents.

"I'm part of the Matching Department" the Official says. "Matching is so important to the Society, it's very well regulated."

"I've never heard of a mistake like this before" I say.
"I'm afraid it does happen. Not often" She is silent for a moment, and then she asks the question that I do not want to hear.

"Do you recognize the other person whose face you saw?"

Suddenly I am tempted to lie. I want to say I have no idea. But she already knows all of this of course, so there is no point in lying.

"Yes" I answer.

"Can you tell me the name?"

"Lauren Jauregui."

"Yes. That's what was so strange about the whole thing. It makes us wonder if the error was intentional, some kind of joke. If we find the person, we will punish them severely. It was a cruel thing to do. Not only because it was upsetting and confusing for you, but also because of Lauren."

"Does she know?"

"No. She has no idea. The reason I said it was cruel to use her as part of this prank is because of what she is."

"What she is?" Lauren Jauregui moved to our borough back when we were ten. She is good-looking and quiet. She's very still. Does not smile. She is not a trouble maker. I don't see her as much as I once did, last year. She received her work position early and no longer goes to school.

The Official nods and lean a little closer, even though there is no one around to hear us.
"This is confidential information, but Lauren Jauregui could never be your Match. She will never be anyone's match."

"Oh. She chose to be a single, then" I'm not sure why this information is confidential. Lot's of people in our school chose to be a single.

She leans closer to me "No. She's not a single. Lauren Jauregui is an Aberration."

Lauren Jauregui is an Aberration?

Aberrations live among us; they're not dangerous like Anomalies, who have to be separated from society. Though Aberrations usually acquire their status due to an Infraction, they are protected. Only the Officials have access to their information. I don't ask my question out loud, but she knows what I am thinking.

"I'm afraid so. It's through no fault of her own. But her father committed an Infraction. Even when the Society allowed the Jauregui's to adopt Lauren. She had to retain her classification as an Aberration, and, as such, she was ineligible to attend in the matching pool" the official sighs. "We're already checking who could've added Lauren's picture before the banquet"

"I hope you find out." I say.
"Very well"  She nods "Best wishes to you Camila" I thank her one last time and walk away. I wish she hadn't told me about Lauren. I won't be able to look at her the same way again, now that I know too much about her.

I made my way inside again. There are so many of us inside the game center. Someone bumps into me as an Official makes an announcement over the main speaker. The crowd goes quiet. "SOMEONE HAS DROPPED THEIR TABLET CONTAINER. PLEASE STAND COMPLETELY STILL AND DO NOT SPEAK UNTIL WE LOCATE IT"

Everyone stops immediately. No one moves. Everyone is quiet. My mind begins to wander, to escape this place and hold still. Are there any unknown Aberrations in this room? Swimming---Water. I recall another memory of water. A day when Harry and I were ten. The first time I saw her....

Back then, we always spent our recreation time at the swimming pool. Harry liked to swim. I was sitting on the cement side of the pool when Harry appeared next to me with a worried look on his face. "I've lost my tablet container" he told me quietly. I glanced down to make sure mine was still hooked in my swimwear. It was.

"It's probably under water" I said. Before I could speak he was already swimming under. After a few minutes I still couldn't see him. Did he drown? I immediately stood up but before I could shout a voice I did not know asked "Is he drowning?"
"I can't tell" I said. A girl stood next to me. Pale skin, dark hair, green eyes. A new girl. That was all I had to notice when she suddenly dived under in one quick motion.

Harry's head popped up above the water grinning "Got it!" he said. Just then the girl broke the surface of the water coughing, her hair glistening. It took her a few moments to catch her breath and when she did she looked at me but spoke to Harry "You didn't drown"

"No" Harry said "You almost did, though"
"I know" the girl said "I meant to help you"
"Don't you know how to swim?" I asked her.

"I thought I did" the raven-haired girl said, which made me and Harry laugh. The girl looked into my eyes and smile. The smile seemed to surprise her, it surprised me too, the warmth of it.

"Are you visiting someone?" I asked her, hoping she was staying for a long visit. I already like her because she tried to help my best friend.

"No" she said, though her voice sound quiet, she looked right at me "I belong here"

Now, my eyes fixed on the crowd in front of me as I see a familiar face.

Lauren Jauregui is here and she looks right at me.

Without thinking, I take a step toward her. That's when I feel something burst beneath my foot. The lost tablets crushed under my foot. I stop in my tracks but Officials swarm toward me "OVER HERE! ITS BROKEN!" I have to turn away when someone asked me what happened.

When I looked back at where Lauren stood, she has disappeared. Just like she did that day in the pool. Just like her face did on the port at my house.

--------

Woaaah alright we're finally seeing some Camren in here. Ha ha. I had fun writing this. But I think the next chapter would be more exciting. So stay tuned! See yaaa later bananaaaas 💓

-H