The Exchange Student // Camila Cabello

Chapter Four

Noah's POV
"So you actually started a fight?"

"No, I did not start a fight." I corrected him. "I was trying to stop the guy. He was being a complete ass."

Aiden laughed and rolled his eyes. "Leave it to you to start a fight on your first night. Hell of a way to make an entrance."

I groaned and put my head in my hands. He was right. That was a horrible first impression. "I'm such an idiot."

"That's an understatement."

I sat up and glared at him. Even though he was a brat it was nice talking to him. I didn't think I would miss my family as much as I do.

"So, do you like the family?" he asked, ignoring my glare and running a hand through his curly brown hair.

I shrugged. "They're nice, I guess. Except they have this daughter who doesn't want anything to do with me."

"A girl who doesn't want to be around you? I'm shocked." He laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "Very funny. But it's different than usual. Most girls just ignore me, but she doesn't even try to hide the fact that she hates me."

"Hey, Noah?" Alejandro's voice called from outside my door. "It's time for breakfast."

"One sec," I said to Aiden. I opened the door and smiled at him. "I'll be right up."

Alejandro glanced at my computer where I was FaceTiming Aiden. He looked at me and nodded, then walked back upstairs. I closed the door and sat back down.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Alejandro," I said. "He's my host-dad . . . I guess."

It all felt too weird. That these strangers I was living with were supposed to be my family, or at least some form of family.

"Hey, listen, before I forget, Mom sent your keyboard overnight, so it should be arriving today."

My face lit up and I beamed. That was the best news I've heard since I got here. "Thanks, Aiden." I grinned and ended the call.

I glanced at the clock. It was 8:30 and already incredibly sunny. I opened the door and ran upstairs.

Alejandro, Sinuhe, and Sofi were sitting at the table eating breakfast. They all looked at me when I came in.

"Good morning, Noah." Sinuhe smiled. "We were wondering when you'd get hungry."

I smiled and sat at the open seat next to her. There was a bowl and spoon in front of me, and a variety of cereal choices. I settled on Froot Loops and poured myself a bowl.

"I didn't mean to barge in on you," Alejandro said as he sipped his coffee. "Who were you talking to?"

"Oh, it was just my brother. He's been wanting to talk since I left so I figured I'd give him a call."

"Your brother." He chuckled. "Well you two seem close."

"Yeah," I nodded, "we are." I took a long sip of orange juice and looked at the open spot next to Sofi. "Where's Camila?"

"She's at early morning cheer practice," Sinuhe said.

I nodded and focused back on my cereal and eating the colorful loops. Alejandro finished his coffee and stood up. "Well, I better get going," he said, fixing the collar of his shirt.

"Have a good day at work, dear." Sinuhe smiled and gave him a quick kiss. He grabbed his briefcase and walked out the door.

The sound of a car leaving the driveway faded away and I quietly ate my cereal.

"After breakfast I'm going to take Sofi to the store with me. You're welcome to come or you can stay here and get settled while we're out."

"No!" Sofi groaned. "I wanna stay here with Noah."

"Sofi-"

"I can watch her." I cut Sinuhe off. She looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, Noah, you don't have to do that," she said, but I shook my head.

"No, really, it'd be fun." I smiled and looked at Sofi. Her face lit up and she was smiling cheek to cheek. Her missing front tooth made me smile even more.

"Well, thank you," Sinuhe said. "That's really kind of you."

I nodded and finished my cereal. I poured another bowl and watched as Sinuhe grabbed her purse. She said goodbye to Sofi and me and left for the store, leaving us alone.

I took another bite of Froot Loops and looked at Sofi who was staring at me.

"So . . . what do you wanna do?" I asked, swallowing my Froot Loops and wiping my mouth.

She shrugged. "I don't know."

I sighed and finished my cereal. I put the bowl in the sink and leaned against the counter. Sofi was still staring at me.

I rattled my hands on the countertop. "You wanna go to the park?"

"Yeah!" She cheered and jumped up and down. "I'll go grab my shoes!"

I laughed as she ran down the hall to her room. She came back a minute later and we went outside. She got on her bike and I got on my skateboard.

"Lead the way, Sofi," I said. She flashed me a cheesy smile and started to bike. I followed her as she rode on the sidewalk, leading us away from her home and towards the park.

Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead as the sun beat down on us. It was extremely hot. Mom warmed me about the difference in weather between Seattle and Miami, but I didn't take her seriously until I was out in the 88° heat in jeans and a Henley shirt.

We crossed the street and arrived at what appeared to be the high school. It was really big with blue stucco and red brick as the siding. On the brick it displayed the words:

MIAMI PALMETTO SR. HIGH
COMMUNITY SCHOOL
7460 SW 118 ST

A massive green field was connected to the school, wrapped in a chain-link fence. The football team was outside practicing.

Even though it seemed like Sofi had no intentions of stopping us here, I pulled to a stop and watched as the team ran plays.

I looked across the field and my eyes fell on the cheerleaders. They wore tight work out clothes that showed off their bodies. I rubbed the sweat from my forehead and smirked as I watched them cheer.

My eyes fell on Camila and I gulped. She was wearing black booty shorts and an old maya-blue Palmetto High School T-shirt that was cut into a crop top. She looked really . . . good.

"What are you doing?" Sofi asked, pulling me from my stare. I raised my eyebrows and looked at her.

"Uh . . . nothing."

"What were you looking at?" she asked innocently, peering out onto the field.

"The, uh, football players." I cleared my throat. "They look like they're having . . ." the whistle blew and someone was tackled to the ground, "fun."

"If you say so." She shrugged. "Hey, that's Camila!" She cheered, her little voice getting higher with excitement.

I wet my lips. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

"Let's go say hi."

"Oh, we don't . . . we don't need to do that," I said, but she was already walking away.