Worthless (Camren)

"You were looking out for me"

"No offence, Keana, your tea is excellent," she added when she saw Keana's face darken.

"I'm sorry Lo, I didn't mean to ...I just", Lucy's eyes were getting watery "Just talk to me, please! I miss my best friend!"

Lauren took a deep breath and counted to ten. Lucy had been her friend for a long time. However, they had a fall-out a few weeks prior due to their vastly different views on slave ownership; she had refused to hang out with her best friend ever since. She looked at Keana who was observing the scene in front of her with curious, somewhat calculating eyes.

Lucy had gotten Keana on her 14th birthday. Keana was an entertainment slave, whom Lucy's parents had thought would be a good companion, friend, and maid for Lucy. Which Lucy of course took to mean Keana was there to do her bidding and cater to her every whim.

Lucy had always had a hunch that Keana didn't exactly appreciate how Lucy treated her. She was actually quite convinced at times that Keana didn't even like her owner or anyone else for that matter. What she hadn't known, however, was that once a month Lucy's parents took their slaves, including Keana, to the professional punisher. It was a lazy way for rich people to deal with their slaves misbehaviours, where the owners handed in a list of offences explaining how they wanted them punished and someone else did the punishing for them. She had been livid.

In retrospect she couldn't recall why, but she had assumed the Vives were treating their slaves much better than most people did. Then again, people didn't actually discuss slave punishments openly, since people liked to impress others with their perfectly behaved slaves.

Her silence prompted Lucy to try to convince her harder. "I haven't-.... we haven't taken them there anymore since... I told my parents I didn't want it anymore." She tried. "Tell her, Keana."

"I haven't seen the corrector in two months, Miss Jauregui." Keana said in a neutral tone.

Lauren sighed, taking a long look at Lucy, before admitting "I do miss you."

Lucy squealed in excitement, clapping her hands gleefully. "I miss you too! Can I please hug you now?" Lauren rolled her eyes; she wasn't happy by far, but she really did miss her, so she nodded and found herself with an armful of  Lucy .

Over Camila's shoulder she saw Camila watching the scene with thoughtful big eyes. Lauren gave her a smile when she looked up.

"Alright, okay that's enough," she said, extracting herself from her a minute later. "How about coffee instead of tea though? I only just got up from a nap." Lucy nodded and followed her to the kitchen. Lauren stopped at the door "If you want to, you can go and get some more sleep Camila." She said facing the girl who was trailing behind Keana.

"Please, Miss Jauregui, may I make your coffee for you?" Keana interrupted before Camila could answer.

"It's alright, Keana, I can make my own coffee. Would you like something to drink as well?" Lauren asked. "I'm afraid it's still tea for you, Camila."

"Thank you, Lauren." Camila said, stepping into the kitchen with them.

Keana was already at the cupboard pulling out cups before Lauren had even gotten halfway through the kitchen. She sighed; Keana was nothing if not persistent.

"I know how you like your coffee, Miss Jauregui, you can just go to the living room while I fix everything for you." She insisted, turning on the coffee maker and pulling the milk from the fridge at a speed that made Lauren suspect that Chris let her fix stuff for him in the kitchen a lot more often than he let Lauren believe. She sighed "If you insist."

"I can help, Lauren!" Camila blurted out. Lauren turned to look at her. The look on Camila's face was eager and hopeful. "You really don't have to, Camila." She said with emphasis.