Polar Opposites • [camren a.u.]

3

Camila's mother told her to shut off her lamp five times already. She was confused as to why Camila was not obeying. Camila claimed that she was studying, but in actuality, her mother knew that she had been reading. She sighed and ignored her daughter's behavior.

Camila was in fact reading. The novels that she was reading were very old books that her father had before he died. Her favorites were the Charles Dickens stories. But she also gave some love to Shakespeare of course. Novels like these were no where to be found, which made the hardcovers even more speciality. After finishing one last chapter, she flicked the switch and threw herself in bed.

An alien feeling had taken over her. It was unknown but it started bubbling at the pit of her stomach as soon as she started talking to Alejandro. After minutes of thinking, she finally pinpointed what was wrong. She was doing something illegal. Turning in a convict to the Crime-Controllers was the legal thing to do, and she was doing the opposite.

She disliked this feeling but yet again she did kind of enjoy it. It added excitement to her life. Despite her obedient nature, she was always craving adventure, just like Alejandro.
She fell asleep and dreamed of talking to Alejandro and looking at the journal. She was extremely excited for the next day to come.

At school, she again tapped on the desk with her pen. Mrs. Hernandez demanded her to stop. She stopped and the lesson was continued. After a pop quiz that Camila was sure she aced, Camila was called to the office.

Thousands of thoughts raced throughout her mind. What if she got caught? What if someone found out about Alejandro? She felt like she was about to cry. After her arrival and with a shaky voice, she told the secretary her name.

The secretary smiled and said the principle wants to see you. Camila gulped and ambled over to the office within the office.

The principle greeted her kindly and said, "I did not mean to disturb you, Ms. Cabello, but because of your good citizenship I am allowing you to become an after school rule enforcer." Relief washed throughout her. She nodded and said "Thank you".

When returning to class, Camila thought about how she was not a good citizen and she had broken so many laws in the last couple of days. She was also very guilty because this was the title that Austin wanted so bad. It was the title that Austin had not of got.

                                                                            {••••••}

School was filled with petty guilt. Austin seemed to feel guilty too, but Camila could tell that it was for other reasons other than her own. When they went to their usual spot, the man was already waiting. In his pocket, was his hand, in his hand was his journal.

Camila stared at it. It was old, moldy and beat up. "Sorry about its current state." He joked. He handed it to, now disgusted, Camila. Austin leaned over her shoulder as she flipped pages. The first few pages of the journal contained intricate doodles of a beautiful woman, who look oddly familiar to Camila. Austin complimented his drawings while Camila read the entries.

Some women entered the park. Due to the risk of being caught, Alejandro excused himself and allowed Camila and Austin to borrow the journal. They waved to him and he scurried away.

A realistic drawing of a wall was on the seventeenth page. The eighteenth contained large masses that were beautifully shaded. Alejandro had labeled this as 'ice'. The other pages ahead were irrelevant to the ice, so Camila stayed focused on page eighteen. For hours, Camila and Austin talked about the journal. This was until the hour warning bell rang and signaled that curfew started in 60 minutes. Camila and Austin ran separate ways to their homes. During her run, she could not stop thinking about page eighteen.