The alarm clock is flashing red when Camila wakes up, which means the power must have gone out during the night. She notices the sun is brighter than usual and when she checks the time on her phone, she realizes she slept in. Camila jumps out of bed before waking up Sofia and walking back to her room to change into the first clothes she finds, then brushes her teeth and pulls her hair up in a ponytail. There’s no time for makeup or coffee, so she just gathers her stuff before rushing her sister to do the same.
“ But I ride to school with Aaliyah in the mornings.” Sofia wines as Camila helps her with her jacket.
“ Not today.” Camila says. “ We slept in.”
Camila looks through the window and notices Shawn’s car is still in his driveway, making it clear they are not the only ones who slept in. She can’t just leave and not wake them up.
“ Sofia, go knock on their door and wake them up.” Camila says, watching as her sister crosses the street and knocks on their door repeatedly while she starts her car.
“ No one answered the door.” Sofia walks back to Camila. “ I think they’re still asleep.”
Camila tells Sofia to get in the car and walks to Shawn’s house, heading for the side of the house since her sister already tried the front door. She has no idea which window is Shawn’s, so she knocks on all three of them to make sure they wake up. She makes her way back to the front of the house exactly when the door opens, finding Shawn standing there shirtless with his hand over his eyes because of the sunlight. She has to force herself to look away and stop her mind from thinking that her hands touched those abs before.
“ Power went out. We slept in.” Camila tells him, feeling weirded out by her use of ‘we’. It implies that they’re a team, which doesn’t sound right.
“ What?” He asks groggily as his hand rubs his face. “ What time is it?”
“ Almost eight.” Camila says.
“ Shit!” He says as he remembers something. “ I’ve got a conference at eight!”
Shawn walks back inside, leaving the door open as Camila stands there.
“ Do you need me to take Aaliyah to school?” Camila yells.
“ Can you? You don’t mind?” He asks frantically, reappearing at the living room where she can see him. He has a tie around his neck, but still no shirt.
“ I don’t mind.” Camila says, stepping inside the house. “ Which one is her room? I’ll get her ready.”
“ Oh, that would be great. Thanks.” He says, walking back into the hallway. “ First one on the left. Thank you.”
Camila follows his instruction and enters Aaliyah’s bedroom, shaking her awake.
“ Aaliyah, I’m taking you to school.” Camila says. “ You need to get dressed.”
She helps Shawn’s little sister get ready, catching glimpses of Shawn running back and forth until the front door eventually shuts and his car drives away. Suddenly he’s gone and she’s alone in his house. Could things get any more awkward?
“ Ready?” Camila asks the girl.
“ I’m hungry.” Aaliyah says still half asleep.
“ Oh, yeah. Food.” Camila says, pulling the girl to the kitchen. “ Let me see.”
Camila starts looking in the kitchen’s cabinets, noticing the amount of past in it. It’s easy to cook, so it makes sense they would have that much. She’s impressed by how clean everything is, definitely what she imagined a twenty-one year old guy’s kitchen would look like. She finds some pop tarts above the fridge and grabs one for both Sofia and Aaliyah before dragging the girl out of the house.
••••
Camila is half an hour late for first period when she finally arrives at school, so she decides to just sit on her Jeep before second period. That’s already two classes in two days that she skips. She’s becoming quite a rebel.
“ You skip math and you don’t even take me with you?” Maisie asks when Camila takes her seat in History, making her turn around to look at her friend. “ Oh. You slept in.”
Camila suddenly remembers she forgot to bring makeup, but Maisie immediately reaches into her backpack and pulls out a cosmetic bag like she just read Camila’s mind.
“ My hero.” Camila says, taking it from her and turning around before pulling out a lipstick and mascara along with a small mirror. She applies it quickly, just in time for the teacher to walk in.
As she walks with Maisie to third period, Shawn makes eye contact with her and mouths a ‘thank you’. Camila smiles and shrugs to let him know it was not a big deal. Maisie pokes her arm as she walks past Camila, letting her know she saw their exchange.
Once inside the classroom, Camila observes Shawn, thinking no one would have guessed he got ready in less than three minutes. His black pants are wrinkle-free and his white shirt is perfectly tucked in at the waist, but Camila lets out a small laugh when she notices his tie. Shawn looks at her direction and she tugs at the collar of her own shirt, then points at him. He put his tie first in the morning, so now it was barely visible underneath his shirt.
Shawn looks down and touches his chest, where his tie should be, laughing before turning around to fix it. The other students are still taking their seats and talking, but Camila knows Maisie saw what just happened. She can feel her friend's eyes burning a hole on her back.
••••
Camila watches as Noah takes the seat next to her during lunch, while Maisie sits across from her. She's expecting the blonde to glare at her, but she doesn’t. Maisie already knows too much and Camila is afraid she might assume this thing is more than it actually is. Camila was late for school and Shawn obviously got dressed in a hurry, so she can already imagine what her friend might be thinking.
“ New girl, what time are we leaving?” Noah asks as he starts eating his food.
“ I don’t know.” Camila replies. “ Who’s driving?”
“ I’ll drive.” Connor says.
“ No way, man.” Noah protests. “ We’re taking my dad’s car.”
“ What’s your address, Camila?” Maisie asks, and Camila is shocked that her friend didn’t already manage to obtain that information.
“ Oh, I know where she lives.” Noah says. “ I gave her a ride home. Same street as Mr. Mendes. We’ll pick her up.”
Camila feels her face flushing as she looks down at her mashed potatoes, doing her best to ignore Maisie’s stare.