Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 1

Part 1

Late September, 2012

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP! TODAY'S THE DAY!" I screamed excitedly as I barged into my brother's room.

"Lauren, it's seven in the morning," he groaned from underneath his comforter.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him from the doorway. I was a little disappointed in his lack of energy on such a momentous occasion, so I decided that I'd give him a little pep talk to wake him up. I scurried quietly over to where his unwanted pillows were stacked against his wall and picked out the thickest, heaviest one I could find. I turned toward him again only to find that he was peeking out from underneath his comforter, staring at me intently with nearly the same glare that I wore only seconds ago.

"Don't you dare hit me with that," he warned, his voice low and cautious.

"Then get out of bed," I sassed.

He let out a long sigh and pressed his pillow over his head, attempting to block out any and every sound around him. "The auditions don't start until noon. That's..." he paused to throw the pillow off of him and look at his imaginary watch. "Oh yeah, FIVE HOURS AWAY."

I dropped the pillow at my feet and crossed my arms over my chest, not very pleased with his lack of energy. We stared at each other intently, neither of us breaking the other's gaze until finally, I thought it would be better to give in than to attempt to take on my beast of a brother.

"Fine," I huffed. "But I'll tell you now, Chris, if you're not up and as excited as ever in an hour you can stay here while I audition. I don't need that kind of negativity in my life."

"Deal," he answered quickly. "Now get the hell out before I make you."

I turned on my heels and stomped out of his room, shutting the door behind me loudly enough that he knew I was unimpressed with his charades. I wasn't paying attention in the heat of the moment and nearly smacked head on into my younger sister, Taylor, as she made her way sleepily into the bathroom.

"Good, you're up!" I squealed, clapping both of my hands together in front of me for emphasis.

"Yeah, thanks to you and your loud mouth," Taylor snapped.

"Oh, come on Tay, cheer up a bit, would you? Today's the big day!"

"Your big day," she reminded me. "I don't see why everyone else has to wake up at the crack of dawn."

I furrowed my brow and stuck out my bottom lip, giving her my best puppy dog face. "You're not excited for me?"

I saw her relax, realizing how her rant must sound to me, and she ran a hand through her bed head before placing it reassuringly on my shoulder. "Of course I'm excited for you, Lauren," she smiled. "I'm just nervous, you know? Whereas you're all bright and bubbly, and quite frankly, it's annoying."

"Quite frankly, I don't care," I retorted with a sly smirk, skipping away and downstairs where hopefully my parents would be waiting for me in better moods than my younger siblings.

I slumped against the wall at the bottom of the stairs upon noticing that my parents were nowhere to be seen anywhere on the downstairs level, meaning that they were still asleep upstairs with everyone else. What was with everyone? Couldn't they be happy that my big day was finally here? Whatever the case, I knew I had to cheer them up before my audition for fear that their mopey attitudes might affect my performance. I quietly made my way over to the pantry and pulled out pancake mix, chocolate chips, and maple syrup, preparing to make everyone a delicious breakfast to get the day started. I sifted around the cabinets for mixing bowls, trying not to make too much noise but evidently failing when my dad came running down the stairs, a frustrated aura surrounding him.