August:
-
August 28th, 1995
Monday - Southwest Miami High
Eli arrived at exactly 7:00am. He went to get out of his car to pick her up properly but Karla already spotted him from her window, zoomed through the halls and yelled to her parents last minute that she'd be getting a ride, then bolted out the door in a hurry so she wouldn't have to explain herself. She also didn't want Eli to meet her parents yet. The boy, puzzled by her attitude and burst of energy this early, laughed off his confusion as he opened the door to his Jeep for Karla before he hopped in and drove off.
He came bearing chocolate donuts and an iced coffee for his crush, to which she politely accepted and thanked him with a surprise kiss on the cheek. Eli complimented her look: loose hair styled with butterfly clips on her twists, white short sleeve turtleneck tucked into a plaid pleated skirt, black knee socks and platform shoes to match; Karla complimented his as well: puka shells around his neck, grey and red Abercrombie t-shirt, blue jeans and shiny white sneakers. He cleaned up nice. Not quite charming like Leonardo but close enough!
Eli was too nervous to look at her often, Karla shamelessly stared away whenever she felt like it. He went on about how he wasn't looking forward to practice four times a week but was definitely looking forward to the game this Friday. Karla didn't know enough about Football to give any input, so she happily listened while also drifting off to daydream. Eli expected her to talk about cheerleading but all she had to say was that she liked being a flyer, loved wearing the uniforms, didn't care for the excessive gossiping and admitted the only reason she agreed to the sport was because it gave her an excuse to run around, flip and burn off all the of energy that troubled her throughout the day.
"Hey, what are you doing Thursday after school?" asked Eli while turning into the school's parking lot, driving slowly behind a school bus coming in this way.
"Me?" Karla wiped the chocolate frosting from the bottom corner of her lip and continued chewing. Eli's crystal blue eyes sparkled as he laughed.
"Yeah, you! Who else is in the car with me?" he opened the glove compartment and handed her a napkin. "Jesus, you're a mess. In case you need it."
"I'm sorry," she wiped her fingers, face flushed deep red.
"It's okay, it's cute. I'm glad you like your donut."
"Oh yeah, it's delicious!"
"So about Thursday?" he tried again.
"Uh-huh?" Karla checked her appearance in the side mirror.
"Are you...free? By any chance?"
"Freedom is a concept. I mean, are we really free?" she turned and flashed a smirk.
Eli cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, focusing on the road. "That's not...that's not what I meant."
"I know, I was just messing," she rubbed her arm and cursed her horrible timing for jokes. "Yes. Yes I am available on Thursday night. Or afternoon. Really I'm just available. Kinda makes you wonder."
"Wonder what?" he breathed a tiny laugh, glancing at her.
"I forgot. I had it then I lost it," Karla practically broke her neck following Julian's car making a turn into a spot as Eli drove by him. She searched for Lauren though it was hard to see given the distance between their cars.
"Do you wanna maybe do something with me?"
"What?" Karla whipped around, appearing startled. "Wait!" she jabbed her finger in his face and he complied. "That's right we're doing something today. You're taking me to see a movie, right?"
"That's right," he grinned and parked his car. "After Football practice, yeah. But on Thursday, I was thinking you and me could go to the mall."
"The mall?" her eyebrows quirked.
"You make me so nervous, it's insane. Wow," he confessed, visibly sweating. He'd claim it was the heat if she asked about it. He was also wearing the school's purple and white Letterman jacket.
"Ohh, sweetheart, I'm sorry," Karla reached over and grazed his ear when caressing the side of his face. She didn't realise the affect she had on him or anyone for that matter. In her mind, yes she was flirting but she was mostly just being nice. Eli froze and got lost in her face. "We'll go to the mall, sure. Thanks for asking."
"Yo, yoo!!" Andy's loud, boisterous voice jolted Eli out of his trance and scared Karla to bits. He slapped the car door, the other jocks gathering around the white Jeep to greet their captain. "Outta the car, big man, lovin' time's over."
"What up, Eli?"
"Hey, man."
"Liking the style today. All you need are some frosted tips like mine, you'll be looking super fly," said one of the guys who looked like the ultimate douchebag next to Andy.
Eli cackled and rounded the hood of his car to open the door for Karla. "No thanks, man, I'm good."
"Hey, Camila," Andy beat the other seven guys to the greeting.
"Good morning, Andy," Karla smiled warmly. "Did you sleep well?"
"I don't sleep," he said, tossing his football in the air then catching it.
"I'm sorry to hear about that. You know, I read somewhere—"
"Camilaaa!!!" Carlie ran up and crushed the girl's body against hers. It's only been a day since they've seen one another, why was this necessary? "I missed you! Ugh, I've had the worst Sunday ever, I need to tell you all about it. You HAVE to come meet me and the other girls in the bathroom second period, you will not believe who I just ran into after all these weeks."
"Let her hurry up and get it out of her system 'cause I don't wanna hear about it during cheer practice today," said Normani, looking as beautiful as ever in a cute pink and white polka skirt and blouse that outlined her statuesque body perfectly. She had her hair styled in a high pony with the rest falling neatly in luscious waves with two twisted strands in the front. The head cheer captain folded her arms after giving a two-cheek kiss to Karla and poked out her chin. "Camila, why do you look so worried?"
"Because I forgot we had cheer practice today..." she muttered an unacceptable response.
"But I paged you this morning to remind you. I sent you our code for cheer practice, how could you forget?" Carlie huffed.
"So you don't have your uniform with you," Normani squinted.
"Mani, relax, I'll drive her home during lunch to pick it up. It's not a big deal," said Eli, hanging his arm around Karla's shoulder.
"Watch your choice of words, Martin. I'll shave off all that pretty hair on your head and tell you it's not a big deal, it'll grow back," Normani quipped then snorted, "like, next season."
"Burnnn. Prince charming without his hair? That's horrifying," said Andy, cracking up with the guys on the team and the cheerleaders backing up their captain.
"Ha. Ha. Nobody's going anywhere near my head," said Eli, beginning to walk toward the school's entrance with Karla.
"You sure about that? You won't even let a doctor near it? Because I think your brain is in desperate need of an examination."
"Look at him, Mani, you're making the boy turn into a tomato. Quit embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend," Andy teased Eli behind his back and earned himself the finger.
"They're not dating yet! Don't jinx them," Carlie shoved Andy.
Karla slowed down when she spotted Lauren stepping out the backseat of Julian's car with Danny right behind her, leaving her no personal space. He secured an arm around her waist and made out with her for everyone to see and, like usual, Lauren seemed very into it. Miles groaned miserably and swung his backpack by the string, hitting the couple who now separated to get him back. Julian threw on some shades to hide his bloodshot eyes and met up with some friends skateboarding toward his car. Marilyn remained seated in the passenger seat, gazing out the window, surveying the area as students from all over pooled into the school. They were the only ones who weren't in a hurry.
"...I'm only saying it's not hurting anybo—aye yo, check out these losers. Bet they're all loaded right now, I can smell the stench of skunk from here," Andy commented, bringing everyone's attention to the silver Honda Accord.
"Don't know why they even bother coming to school when all they're gonna do is waste the day and cause trouble," said Carlie.
"They're only here because it's the law," said Eli.
"So they won't break the law about neglecting school but they'll break the law that says no bringing drugs on school grounds and everything else that's illegal? Talk about backwards," Normani scowled at the group not paying attention to the preppies headed their way.
Lauren stopped kissing Danny's lips for two seconds and did a double take when she glanced elsewhere and spotted Karla. They locked eyes and resisted the powerful urge to smile and wave to each other. Lauren, standing in her boots and overalls with one strap dangling by her waist, squinted in the sunlight and leaned back against Danny's chest as he held her in his arms. Just to piss Eli off, she didn't take her eyes off of Karla. Karla frowned from the jealousy plaguing her heart and Eli mistook it as her feeling unsafe.
"That dyke is checking out my girl, look at her. She's not even bothering hiding it this time," he grumbled.
"And she had the nerve to lie and say she isn't a lesbian," Carlie snickered. That got Karla's attention and her mind racing with a million questions.
"Wait, Lauren's a lesbian? What do you mean, how do you know?" asked the Latina, stopping in her tracks ten feet from the Honda.
"Oh right, you haven't heard what happened last year. I'll tell you all about it in homeroom," Normani waved.
"Thank God Marilyn isn't one," said one of the jocks, August, inviting himself into the conversation he heard on his way over. He was a best friend to Andy and Carlie's secret crush, so as his buddies fist bumped him Carlie lost all confidence and turned into a puddle of mush Normani quietly teased her for. He didn't notice her though. A shy grin stretched his full red lips as he gawked at the Jauregui twin pretending to no longer care that he was there. "Lucky enough the hottest one with the huge rack is—"
"Miami's hot dog eating champion, if you know what I'm saying," Carlie cut him off, fuming with jealousy. She flipped her hair and clung to August's arm, feeling his rock hard bicep. "She's a skank, there's nothing lucky about it."
"August isn't lying though, Marilyn is a total knockout. All the guys rated her the hottest chick in the school. But since she is who she is, it doesn't really count," said Andy.
"Dude, you're buggin', it totally counts," August defended.
"No it doesn't. Replacing Marilyn on that list would be Camila. She got runner up," said Eli.
"You guys are pigs, I hate that stupid, sexist list," Normani sneered. "Camila, walk me to homeroom, I wanna talk to you."
"Mila?" Eli gently squeezed her shoulder. She appeared to be spaced out. "Earth to Mila, hellooo."
Karla exhaled deeply as she longingly stared at her crush—fuck it, she was going to call it for what it was now and deal with it—run her slender fingers through her hair and bring it over her shoulder in a stylish mess. Lauren's light green eyes lit up as she twirled and shuffled across the concrete, dangling her backpack while waiting for her friends to relocate beneath the bleachers with her. She tucked her hair behind her ear and winked at Karla when nobody was watching them then ignored her completely.
"You're so out of it today, aren't you? That's okay, we have our days," Normani excused her and took her hand. "Come on, Cabello."
"Huh? Where are we going?" Karla asked though it was useless. She was already being dragged away.
"Hi, hoochie!!" Carlie waved to Marilyn as the giggling cheerleaders walked by the burnouts.
Marilyn, unphased, folded her arms over the rolled down window and blew a kiss to Carlie. "Looking hideous today, Scarface. Loving the consistency! Bitch," she muttered the last word then got out of the car.
"That girl is so weird," Danny shook his head. "Don't know why she hates you in particular so much."
"It doesn't keep me up at night," Marilyn slung her backpack strap over her shoulder and jerked her head to the bleachers. "Let's roll. Julian, lock your car and shit. Catch up with us when you're done running your mouth."
"I'll be two minutes," said Julian. He snapped his fingers and turned back to point at them. "Don't spark up without me."
"We will if you don't hurry up. Class is in eleven minutes and I still haven't had any breakfast yet," said Miles.
"Well whose fault is that?"
"I did offer you a slice of pizza on the way to school," said Danny, walking in between him and Lauren.
"Bro, you must not know me if you think I'ma eat a day old slice," Miles flipped his basketball in front of him and caught it as it bounced back to him.
"Pizza is pizza, it's still good as long as you kept it in the fridge and used the oven to reheat it! What do you think they do at pizzerias?"
"Make fresh pizza."
"Yeah but they reheat it because it's been out," said Lauren.
"But it's still fresh."
"Guys, enough of the pizza talk, I'm trying to lose weight and you're making me wanna stock up on a couple of slices instead," Marilyn groaned, squeezing the fat on her stomach beneath her flannel shirt for emphasis.
"Are you kidding? Marilyn, you have the perfect body. You're not exactly a size zero but you're not rated zero either because of it," Miles praised and she smiled at him.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. And so does that guy that's been checking you out for five minutes now. I think he likes you," Miles points him out by thrusting his basketball in his direction. August threw the football he just caught on the grass then returned to watching Marilyn like his friends weren't around.
"He looks like he just got of bed," Lauren referred to his messy textured blonde hair. She must admit though, it worked on a guy like him. He was just as hot as everyone thought Eli was.
"He's also a stupid jock so move on," Marilyn grumbled and pushed harder, walking ahead of the group. The sooner his eyes were off of her the better - she wouldn't have to pretend not to care.
"Is it just me or is your sister uptight this morning?" Miles continued bouncing his ball as they made it to the track and field.
"Think she's on the rag?" Danny asked him. They snickered together.
"If she's on the rag, then I'm on the rag and you know what that means," Lauren shoved him off.
"No, no, no! No periods!" Danny tried reeling her back into his embrace but was shoved away again.
*
11:27am
"Rather than focusing on what's next, focus on the emotions that you're feeling; what the context of the scene and the dialogue makes you feel. Too often when one picks up a script, the actor or the actress, they tend to just be reading off of the page and thinking too much about how they're going to act out the words or what their lines are after their partner goes rather than simply feeling and being present as if it were the real thing. It's boring to watch, isn't it?" Mrs. Moore sauntered up and down the aisles of desks in her classroom, closely monitoring each student and reprimanding the goofballs with a simple but firm gesture.
"Like Shakespeare," piped up Andy, his snarky remark both rewarded with fits of laughter and a warning from Mrs. Moore.
"One more comment out of you and I'm afraid that's a detention, mister McIntyre."
"Oooo."
"Oh shut up."
"But, miss, if you really wanted us to feel what we are supposed to be acting then why assign us something like Shakespeare? Aren't actors supposed to be interested in the scripts they're investing time in? And not only are the words ancient, pretentious and complicated, we can't be moved by it because we're waiting for what we don't understand to be over. Plus there are too many mistakes to be made when reading, it's ridiculous," Lauren ranted. Most agreed with her.
"Fair point. But may I remind you that making mistakes is normal and welcomed in an acting environment. You're supposed to be making mistakes as well as being comfortable with making a fool out of yourself—which a lot of you are quite familiar with doing on a regular basis, so I'm certain there is no more suitable time to take advantage than right now, in this classroom," the brunette halted at the front of the class and clasped her hands together. "Now back to your point, miss Jauregui, about being assigned Shakespeare. It's always been part of the syllabus and I don't intend to change it now. Suck it up or accept an F."
"Well then I guess I'm getting an F 'cause I'm not taking part in something that makes my head hurt."
Karla couldn't help but be disappointed in the girl sitting two seats behind her to her left, cheek propped into the palm of her hand, body slumped and leaning to the side. She peered over her shoulder and got to briefly stare at Lauren who was too busy singlehandedly writing something on a tiny slip of paper to catch her. She wanted to be acting partners.
"So then leave. Save everybody else the headache of you complaining about it," said Andy.
"You know what, dillhole, you seem to have a lot of crap to say about me or to me all the time. Why don't you try not having your world revolve around me for once, the obsession is getting kinda sad," Lauren retorted, stirring up commotion in the classroom.
"Guys! Lauren, can we not disrupt my class today? Do you think you can handle that?" Mrs. Moore strained.
"Whatever," Lauren got up and secretly dropped a small crumbled up ball of paper onto Karla's desk while on her way to the pencil sharpener next to the chalkboard.
Karla's breath hitched and, quickly, she covered the paper before anyone could see. She slid it toward her and dropped it into her lap then she unravelled it while keeping her eyes fixed on the teacher.
"For twenty minutes we will be doing improv to help everybody get used to feeling their lines and focusing solely on the emotional responses. And before you respond to what the other person has said to you, you are going to say 'what you're saying makes me feel...' and come up with something as you go along..."
In surprisingly neat handwriting, Karla read the scripted letters:
Meet me in the media centre for lunch? I'll wait 10 mins for you to show.
Just in time, Karla met Lauren's eager gaze once she looked up, and she curtly nod her head 'yes'. Lauren smiled and removed her pencil from the sharpener, hummed in approval, the sauntered back to her seat but slowed down when she reached Karla's desk just to tease her. Karla's eyes fluttered shut and her lips pressed together as she deeply inhaled Lauren's clean scent with traces of weed smoke. May have been unpleasant to most but she found it to be charming—anything having to do with Lauren's presence was.
"So who would like to start? I need two people," Mrs. Moore sat at her desk, surveying the classroom for any volunteers. "Anyone?"
"I would!" Karla's hand shot up.
"Karla! Lovely, come on up!" Mrs. Moore chimed. "Would anyone else like to—"
"I would!" All the men in the class responded, not missing a single beat. Mrs. Moore chuckled, Karla appreciated the flattery, Lauren snorted and put her head down.
*
Lauren got out of eating lunch at the cafeteria with her sister and friends by claiming she was sick and needed to go to the nurse. They believed her and gladly ditched her, as there was no way they were going to miss out on grabbing some food and slacking off beneath the bleachers. Danny offered to accompany her but Lauren insisted that wouldn't be necessary. As of right now, she had been waiting at the table she and Karla talked at for the first time for exactly ten minutes. Lauren checked the clock on the wall and frowned. Clearly she wasn't going to show and she got way ahead of herself for even assuming she would; Karla had other obligations difficult to get away from, and surely her friends would ask a lot more questions than Lauren's. So she understood but it still stung.
Lauren jerked out of her chair and shoved it back into the table, creating a ruckus that earned herself the annoyingly distinct 'shh!' from the school's librarian. Lauren ignored her and returned the book she used as a prop back to its designated shelf then started toward the exit. She stopped instantly when Karla came rushing through the door like a tornado, completely missing Lauren who stepped off to the side so that she wouldn't be knocked over, and she frantically searched around the fairly empty spacious room for any sign of Lauren - afraid that she was too late.
"Crap!" she hissed underneath her breath.
The softball player tittered and walked right by her, giving her a tap on the hand, signalling to follow her lead. Lauren didn't look back, she kept on going. Karla lingered behind and waited to see where exactly Lauren wanted to meet, then she took a different route and finally joined her all the way at the back where a very large, packed book shelf hid them. Once the coast was clear, the cheerleader threw herself into Lauren's arms. Stunned, Lauren took a few seconds to reciprocate her hug.
"Hi!" Karla said too loud.
"Shh!" Lauren pulled back and giggled with her finger to her lips. Karla tensed and covered her mouth, repeatedly apologising. "It's okay, it's okay," Lauren whispered.
"Hi," Karla whispered back.
"Hi."
"Was it all right that I hugged you? I know we're not friends yet and we—"
"It's fine, don't worry about it. A hug is just a hug," Lauren waved.
"Yes but hugs typically indicate that you miss someone or are very close."
"Then that means you missed me, doesn't it?"
Karla averted her eyes to her shoes. "Kinda? Yeah."
"I kinda missed you, too."
"Really?" she looked up again, talking somewhat above a whisper now.
Lauren loosely shrugged. "Yeah. I'm still pissed that we couldn't really enjoy that party the way I wanted to. I wanted to show you what you were missing and failed miserably."
"I'm glad that night ended the way it did for us though—"
"Yeah, me too, I heard a bunch of your friends crashed the party and things got pretty ugly. If you were there..." Lauren sucked in a breath, "yikes. Not a good look. But anyways, what are you doing today? Wanna come over?"
"Today?" Karla smiled awkwardly, bracing herself to disappoint Lauren. "I have cheer practice after school and then Eli's taking me to see a movie. Sorry."
"Oh," Lauren's eyebrows lifted. She nodded and scuffed her boot against the carpet. "That sucks. How about tomorrow?"
"I have cheer practice again. I actually have every day of the week except for Thursdays."
"Well then come over Thursday," Lauren rushed out. Judging by the look on the younger girl's face, she was about to receive a rejection again.
"Eli's taking me to the mall, I can't. I'm sorry, Jauregui."
"Can't you just cancel on him? What's the mall experience got on listening to kickass music you haven't heard yet with me? It's not like you haven't been shopping or walking the food courts before."
"Aren't you and Danny always doing something together? What about him?" Karla deflected, rocking side to side with her fingers interlocked.
Lauren huffed, "Please, I'm dying for an excuse to be away from him. He's too clingy and never lets me breathe."
"So you want to use me as an excuse?"
"Huh? No! Obviously not, I didn't mean it like that. I just want something else to do—something new and not boring. Am I wrong to assume that I can have that with you? Because I had a feeling but I don't know...feelings can be wrong," Lauren rubbed the side of her neck, glancing elsewhere.
"Tell me about it," Karla paid attention to her racing heart and struggled to keep her cool around Lauren. She began to fidget and occupy her mind with some book about Science-Fiction. "You're not wrong. I like that you think spending time with me won't be a waste of yours. I got the impression that pretty much everything is a waste of time to you, so thanks for clarifying."
"I don't think everything is a waste of time, I just can't be bothered to care about stuff I'm not interested in like everybody else does," she inspected random books with her.
"Can I ask you something and can you promise not to take it the wrong way or get all mad and assume the worst of me?" Karla turned her whole body to face her.
Lauren slowly put back a book and froze out of fear of what that question might be. She panicked and began assuming the worst anyway. "Sure..."
"I was talking to the girls at the beginning of second period, in the bathroom, and they said some things about you that I didn't participate in or anything like that because it's not my place to. Frankly, it's none of my business but—"
"You can't help but stick your nose in it," Lauren finished and shook her head, tonguing the inside of her cheek. "Go ahead and ask me."
Karla hesitated upon sensing her hostility. She just wanted to hear it from Lauren—the truth, not the hundreds of different stories from everybody else. "Do you like girls, Lauren? Before you answer, just know that it's okay if you do and that I'm not uncomfortable with it! And I won't tell on—"
"Why do you wanna know? Whether I do or I don't, what are you gonna with that information once you have it? Is it important to you or what?" Lauren came closer, her face hardening and her eyes ice cold.
"I...I just...well, nothing, I guess I just wanted to know. It's not a big deal to me or anything. It's like asking somebody if they're pregnant or not when hearing it from somebody else or asking what their preference of pizza topping is even if you won't do anything with that information. It's only curiosity, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Karla stammered.
"Are you gonna be my friend because they made you go undercover to find shit out about me or are you for real, Cabello?"
"I would never do something so cruel—"
"You don't wanna come over because you're afraid I might make a move on you or make you feel uncomfortable in any way, isn't that right?" Lauren spun on her heel and clenched her fist and teeth. "God, I am so sick of these rumours!"
"Hold on a second..." Karla cocked her head. "How would you making a move on me be uncomfortable in any way?"
Lauren paused and loosened up again. She slowly turned around, squinting with suspicion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean why would that make me uncomfortable?"
"Because you're straight? Meaning you have no interest in the opposite sex?"
"That's a fair assumption."
"Assumption??"
"There's being flattered and then there's being uncomfortable. I would be flattered, not uncomfortable. That works for all sexes regardless of sexual orientation," Karla folded her arms. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't assume the worst about me?"
"I didn't agree to shit."
"Well maybe you should start."
"Try you, you're the one who refuses to hang out with me."
"I will cancel my plans with Eli on Thursday and come over to your house. Fine. Happy?"
"Not quite," Lauren closed in on her and quickly glanced around before looking her dead in the eye. She said seriously, "I need you to know right now and going forward, I'm not gay."
"Okay," Karla shrugged.
"You got it?"
"Yeah, I got it. You're not gay."
"Exactly. I'm not gay."
"Hmm," she hummed seductively, her eyes flickering constantly to Lauren's parted lips. Karla made it a point to confuse Lauren when she brushed her fingertips over her hand, tracing patterns, and murmured with a coy smirk, "Neither am I."
Lauren subconsciously leaned in like she was some sort of magnetic force and stopped breathing momentarily. Her vocabulary failed her as did her mind that had been full of thoughts and words just two seconds ago. Lauren tore her eyes off Karla's peachy lips and furrowed as the cheerleader was backing away from her.
"Enjoy the rest of your lunch period, Jauregui."
***