Lauren's POV
I cried in her arms for ten minutes straight, arms wrapped around her waist while hers gripped my shoulders gently, her delicate hands smooth against my skin. I didn't care that she saw me this way, I really didn't. I didn't care that there were tears streaming down my cheeks and mascara staining my cheeks, or the fact that I was shaking uncontrollably in her arms as she embraced me tightly. I didn't even care that she knew about my mothers death at this point.
Once again my emotions turned jagged and my insides tight. I let out a hushed sob, convulsive gasps repeatedly pushing past my lips as the girl continues to whisper sweet nothings into my ear. I try swallow down the pain, I try to eat it up into my belly and wear a passive mask, a tentative smile and act meek, just like I always do. I slowly pull away from her arms and roughly wipe the tears off my face with the sleeve of my jacket.
I now knew why I hated to shed a single tear because of my mother's death. I didn't want to cry because I couldn't accept the fact that she was really gone, that she was dead.
I did now.
Lucy had explained that everyone knew, that it was all over the news. Clara Jauregui takes her life in courtroom after her husband is taken to death row. Not only did they know I was left alone with no parents, but Camila had spilled to everyone that she had known them and that they were my real parents. That the man that arrived the day the principal called him in was someone else, not my father.
Everyone was skeptical about her claim at first because maybe it was just a coincidence; but my photograph had been flashed on the news, stating they tried to contact the daughter in need to tell them more about my past. That just crushed me.
"I'm so sorry," Lucy whispers, wiping away her own tears that tricked down her cheek as she watched me silently sit down. I stay silent and stare ahead, trying to calm my breathing down as much as I can.
"I'm so depressed, Lucy." I admit, frowning at my own words and how idiotic I sounded. "I can't eat, I can't sleep anymore, I can't even talk to my friends like I used to. I don't want to feel anymore, I don't know what to do. I don't even trust to talk to my parents at this point."
"Wanna talk to me about it?" Lucy soothes my arm with her own warm one, her brown eyes staring into mine in a concerned matter. "I know you don't really trust me, but I really do care about the things you--"
"It's okay," I cut her off shortly, wiping my eyes softly. "I just don't really know how to tell you this."
"Just start off by telling me how you're feeling. You feel depressed, you say. Talk to me about it, I heard it helps a lot with your emotions." Lucy suggests, her hand still gripped tightly in my own.
"It just feels heavy," I admit, gripping my chest tightly. "I have to carry it around everywhere, even when I don't want to. It's always over me, casting this shadow that no one else can see but me. That thing hangs by a thin thread right above my head until it just completely gets cut off by--"
"Camila?" Lucy whispers.
"Yes," I answer with no hesitation, "It's like, every time I see her, I get this weird feeling. You know that feeling when you feel like you're about to cry but you hold it back, then you feel like your chest is filled with lead and your throat is desperately trying to free those tears--it's just...I really don't know how to explain it."
"It's okay," Lucy pats my lap gently, noticing my frustration. I sigh softly and chew on my lip as I watch her think for a moment, confusing me profoundly. I kink an eyebrow when she gets up, pointing a finger at me as if she had discovered something. "I know what you can do. Wait right here, and I'll be right back."
I watch with wide eyes as she storms out of the room with an excited look on her face, my hands slightly moist with anxiousness as I hear loud footsteps downstairs.
Soon enough, I hear the door to my bedroom open after a few minutes and I'm comes Lucy with a small smile, holding what looks like a small journal in her hand. I raise both eyebrows and watch nervously as she walks over to my slowly, her lip caught in between her two front teeth as she hands it to me. I stare down at the small journal, a spiced aqua color with a small silver handle shaped into a flower. I glance up at her, "What's this for?"
"A friend gave this to me once," She grins softly, watching as I slowly grab it with a shaky hand. I take it in both my hands and look down at it, running my thumb over the leather cover with a small grin, listening attentively as she continues. "She's a songwriter and a writer, and she has loads of these in her room. This one was empty and she gave it to me because she wanted me to express myself through it and write something. I just never got the chance to..."
"Why are you giving it to me?" I almost whisper, feeling my heart swell at the sweet gesture, not understand why she was being so kind when all I did was push her away.
The girl only smiles weakly, shrugging her shoulders. "I think you need this more than I do. I can tell that it's difficult for you to communicate with others and keeping all of that inside of you is unhealthy. All of that you're storing inside you will one day burst and it won't be pretty. So anytime you feel like you're sad or angry about something, you write about it or even write your own song, you know?"
I take a good look at the journal in my hand and feel my heart tighten inside my chest as I look up to meet her hopeful, brown eyes. I bite my lip and set the journal down on the bed beside me, taking one last glance at the girl before swiftly wrapping my arms around her neck, holding her tightly without wanting to let her go. I can feel her stiffen as soon as I hug her, her arms slowly wrapping themselves around my waist. I try not to let the tears sting my eyes again and sigh softly into her neck, smiling softly as I pull away soon after.
Her vibrant brown eyes stare into mine and she smiles softly, my own green ones flickering between both of hers. The girls smile slowly vanishes and her eyes stare into mine, slowly wandering over my face until they're set on my lips.
I swallow hard and lick them involuntarily, feeling her arms pull me closer to her than before. I can't help but blush when she leans in closer, her eyes fixed on my lips like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. I want to close my eyes and lean in as well, slowly bringing her in closer.
"Lauren?"
A small gasp escapes my lips and I push Lucy away too harshly, sending her tumbling over the bed before she sits up quickly with a rushed smile. I turn to look at the wide eyed man in the doorway with tinted cheeks, who stutters his response in attempt to smile. "I-Um, I'm about to start dinner right about now and- I-I just wanted to know if you wanted to help me?"
"Oh," I feel my cheeks flush.
"Actually, it would be my pleasure." Lucy's breath is uneven and her cheeks are flushed beyond red. My father nods slowly and his blue eyes meet mine before smiling at the brown eyed girl behind me. I watch as he walks away from my door and I turn to look at Lucy again.
"I should help--"
"No," She quickly shakes her head. "I want to meet your parents while you stay and write me your first page on that journal. One page is all I want when I come back, okay?"
"Can I do it tomorrow?"
"Nope," She quickly dismissed me before walking away from me and out of the slightly opened door. I stand alone as I hear her footsteps descend down the steps, glancing down at the small journal before sighing. I walk over to the desk on the other side of the room with it in my hand and sit down slowly, placing the journal down before grabbing a black pen from the small cabinet beneath me.
I click the pen and open up the new journal with a small smile, running my hand over the black sheet that was smooth against the flesh of my palm. I hesitantly let the black pen hover over the sheet and bite my lip, thinking for a moment. What should my first page be about? Who should it be about?
I nod softly after a few seconds and right away, a certain brunette popping into mind and what our encounters are like. I sigh sadly and begin writing, wiping my stinging eyes before writing away all the words that spill from the depths of my mind onto the sheets that will now be the key to my soul. Every single word will be me. I start:
I'm not the only kid who grew up this way.
People used to always say that dumb rhyme to me, of sticks and stones. As if broken bones hurt more than the names I get called during school, and I've got called them all. I always grew up believing that no one would ever love me, just like many kids around the world. Maybe even kids walking the same halls as I am, who go through more than my "problems." I thought that I would be lonely forever. I thought someone would never make me feel like something or someone had built the sun for me in their tool shed. So broken heart strings bled as I tried to empty myself so I would feel nothing. Don't tell me that hurts more than a broken bone. Don't tell me that an ingrown life is something surgeons can cut away, that there's no way for it to metastasize. It does. I feel like no one in this world can look at me and forgive me for the things I did in my past, one thing in particular that haunts me everyday up until now.
I remember what I did to her.
She was eleven years old and started her first year of middle school when she was called ugly. She got moved to the back of the class so she would stop getting bombarded with spitballs. I remember watching her and knowing that the school hall was a battlefield, where she found herself outnumbered day after wretched day. She used to stay inside for recess because, outside? Outside was worse. Outside she'd have to rehearse running away and learn to stay still like a statue, giving no clues that there she stood, lonely and afraid. In grade seven I taped a sign to her desk that read "Beware of Dog" because it fed the emptiness and fear of what they would do to me when I got to school with new bruises. Since then, she had never felt beautiful. We used to tell her that she looked like the wrong answer that someone tried to erase but failed miserably. But I never truly understood that she was the most beautiful girl in the entire school and the most pure soul I ruined.
Because I saw her skin before I saw her heart.
But I? I was a broken branch grafted into the wrong family, where I never felt like I belonged. Started therapy in tenth grade. Had a personality of tests and pills. Lived like the up hills were mountains and the downhills were cliffs. For the first suicide attempt, a tidal of anti-depressants and an adolescence of being called a "pill popper" in high school. One part because of the pills and ninety nine parts because of the cruelty. I tried to kill myself in tenth grade when I was a kid who could still go home to mom and dad who had the audacity to say, "Get over every dramatic little thing." As if depression is something that can be remedied by any of the fucking contents that are found in a first aid kit. To this damn day, I'm a stick of TNT lit on both ends...I could describe to you in detail the way the sky bends in the moment where it's about to fall on top of me. And despite an army of "friends" who called me an inspiration at school back then, I now remain a conversation piece between people who can't understand! Sometimes becoming drug free has less to do with addiction and more to do with sanity.
It never stops.
To this day, I am still being called names. The classics were "Hey stupid", "Hey loser". Seems like each day has an arsenal of names getting updated every single time. And if I ever break in school and no one around chooses to hear, do I make a sound? Am I just background noises of a soundtrack stuck on repeat when people say things like, "Kids can be cruel"? Every school was a big top circus tent and the pecking order went from acrobats to lion tamers, from clowns to carnies. They were all the center of the show. But me? I'm a freak.
I'm just a freak juggling depression and loneliness, playing solitaire, spin the bottle, trying to heal the wounded part of myself and just pretend all is well. But at night while the other slept, I kept walking the tightrope in the dark and yes, sometimes I fell. But I built a cast around my broken heart hoping it would heal in time for anyone to notice and signed it myself. I no longer belonged to a group or a clique, now I just bring bruises and broken teeth to show and tell but never actually tell. Because I know I can't hold my ground when everyone around me wants to bury me beneath it. I know everyone else thinks I'm just a waste of space and I have to believe they're wrong.
They have to be wrong. Why else would I still be here? I live in a stem planted in the root of belief because I want to believe that I'm not what everyone else calls me. I want to believe that I'm not some abandoned car sitting out empty on a highway and if someway I am...then I have to push it away. I can't continue to think that I'm a graduate of the class "I'm a freak", that I can't hear the voices each king in my head telling me that I'm nothing and no one.
I have a hope. I have hope that one day our lives will have less to do with position and reputation...but more about beauty and who I am. More about the girl I once thought I knew, that now thinks she knows me. This will always be about her. More about what I turned her into...
I stare blankly at the pages I had taken up, four to be exact. I swallow hard and ignore the pulsing throb coming from the skin in between my thumb and forefinger where I tightly gripped the pen. I drop the pen onto the side of the desk and read over each word, feeling this sense of relief as I spill each word I'm dying to yell on the inside. Maybe this does help, maybe Lucy is actually right.
I bite my lip and let my eyes linger over the pages for a few seconds before picking up the pen again, smiling softly as I let the ink stain the clean sheet of paper again. This time my hand doesn't stop:
If I treated you the way you treated me now, you would hate me...but I don't know if I can.
***
After both my parents allowed me to stay home for two days in a row, I decided it wasn't very smart to keep hurting my grades the way I am by not going to school at all. Both Normani and Ally visited me right after school these past few days and they even had the pleasure to meet Lucy when she payed me a visit.
All four of us have hung out for a while now and it's finally time for me to go back to school, not giving any fucks if I got stared at or talked about today.
I sigh as I make my way down the end of the corridor, feeling my blood run cold when I push past the front doors and walk in, the whole hallway going completely silent as soon as my presence is spotted. Despite the loud beating inside my chest, I try to keep from showing any emotion from the whispering groups, walking down the hall with my eyes fixed onto the floor. I feel my limbs begin to almost tremble and I try to hold back a deep breathe, swallowing harshly when I push past the steel doors to the choir room.
I let out a long sigh and look up. I feel my lips twitch into a small grin when I spot a familiar blonde preparing the instruments on the other side of the room. I instantly drop my bag onto the empty desk next to hers and walk over with my hands folded behind my back. Sensing my presence, the girl turns around and her eyes meet mine with a bright smile.
"Lauren!" She squeals, wrapping her short arms around my waist and kissing my cheek playfully. I laugh softly and pull away after, noticing the surprise in her features. "You finally came! I was wondering when you'd finally come back."
"So did I, honestly. " I chuckle with a small grin. "I think it's time I boost up those grades. Can't stay at home forever no matter how much I want to."
"It's good that you did," Ally nods, handing me a small flute with a bright smile. I take the delicate instrument and place it gently into its leather case. "I was actually really worried, I just wanted wanted you back."
"Well, I'm back now." I smile softly, rubbing my neck with a small sigh. I was hoping I wouldn't have to see Camila today, so I could at least stand this whole day without wanting to leave this place. "I'm just hoping I don't have to see Camila's face today."
I look up at Ally with a sad smile and her face falls, her eyes softening with a small frown. I kink an eyebrow and she slowly begins to turn around completely, her lips trembling. "I-I...Can I talk to you a-about something?"
"Sure?" I nod unsurely.
The girl sits quietly in front of me over the large desk, clearing her throat before rubbing both hands back and forth over her thighs. I bite my lip in confusion and the girl finally speaks out, "Normani had to switch someone's schedule so now their first period is here with us--"
"Ally! Ally she's back, everyone's talking about it, where is she--oh my god, Lauren!"
I spin around swiftly and a wide smile tears at my lips when I spot the familiar dark skinned beauty, her curly black hair pushed against her shoulders as she pushes past every single desk until she stumbles towards me. I laugh softly when she trips over her own bag, wrapping her arms around my neck to keep her balance as I wrap my own arms around her slim waist.
I can smell the faint scent of her sweet perfume and her hair trickles my nose, and I can almost feel her smile against my neck. I smile sweetly once I pull away from the girl. The smile on her face is enough to brighten mine as she grips my hand tightly, "I can't believe you finally came back, we were so worried!"
I pout slightly at the concerned look on her face, waving it off with a smile. "I'm here now, Mani. There's nothing to worry about, alright?"
"I know," The girl smiles teasingly, tossing her bag into the chair next to mine and Ally's. I sit in between them both and try to ignore the look on Ally's face, noticing the way she would occasionally play with her fingers nervously and simply offer a smile when I catch her.
"You missed a lot of assignments while you were gone," Normani shakes her head, "You're not gonna like the project you missed out here in choir, Laur."
"Why?" I ask slowly.
"Mani," Ally trails off, shaking her head softly. She almost looked like she wanted Normani to stop talking, a look of fear crossing her sharp features. Normani only waves it off with her perfectly manicured hand, "Oh relax, Ally. She's gonna do great."
"Confused here," I confess with a short laugh.
Normani only laughs and claps her hands with an amused look on her face. "You're gonna have to perform in front of the class, the song you pick out of the basket over there." The brown eyed girl points at a small basket in the far end of the large class and I sigh loudly.
"Fuck," I breathe out, not finding the idea very comfortable. Despite the fact that I hated singing in front of people, I could always go on without making a fool of myself. I was in fact very comfortable with my voice but it was very weird to share it with people I don't know. "I hate this."
"It's not that bad," Normani admits. "Half of the people here don't even pay attention."
I nod softly with a small sigh, plopping down onto the chair closest to the front of the class, where we always sat. I pull my phone out of my back pocket and place the device, trying not to eavesdrop on what Ally was whispering into Normani's ear in a rushed matter. I furrow my eyebrows when I see that Normani has now cupped her mouth and has tensed up from the corner of my eye.
"What's wrong?" I ask curiously. Normani simply stares at me with a pale face and I raise an eyebrow, "You good?"
"Lauren, I'm so sorry! I forgot to tell you about Camila--"
"Morning, ladies." I hear a familiar voice rasp out lowly. I freeze and sit straight up, noticing the looks on both their faces as they spot the brunette behind me. I swallow hard and try not to let my cheeks heat up as they both turn to look at me again, my gaze set on the phone in front of me. I breathe in sharply and feel my heart sink again when her voice echoes loudly again,
"Morning, Lauren."
Normani glares at the girl, not knowing if she was actually being respectful or if she was just teasing me for being back in this hell hole. I simply turn around to greet her with a small smile, not wanting her to see that she affected me in any way.
Be the bigger person, Lauren.
"Good morning, Camila." The grin on my face is convincing and I take the time to take in her appearance. The girl only kinks an eyebrow and crosses her arms over her chest with a false smile. She adjusts the banana snap-back on her head and her Ed Sheeran hoodie as she sits alone with nothing or no one else beside her but her phone and backpack as she sits quietly.
I turn away quietly once she looks down at her phone and let out a loud breath, clearing my throat with reddened cheeks. Ally looks down at my with red cheeks and whispers, "I wanted to tell you..."
"It's okay, Al." I whisper, looking down at my hands. I just didn't understand why she wanted to charge at me even under the circumstances, when she knew what I was going through. I lick my lips and try to nod to the apologies of both girl as I listen,
"She came to the office yesterday morning," Normani whispers so the small boxer doesn't hear. "I kept asking her why she wanted to switch to our first period and she threatened to tell the counselor to take my position as office aid away from me. I had to."
"It's okay, Normani." I mumble, realizing it was only us four in the room. It was an hour before the first bell rung and we were always the earliest ones. It was like she came alone to bother me. "I understand."
"I just don't know why she would do this," I state coldly. "She knows my mother-...she knows what happened to my mother. And my father. She knows I'm adopted now. She knows half my life right about now and it hurts me."
"It shouldn't," Normani states with a frown. "If she were to make any comments about any of that, then she's an ugly person. She's a horrible person for doing these things, Laur."
"I don't blame her," I reply softly. "I know she's hurting too...but she needs to at least take my situation under account. Just for today at least."
"No matter how shitty your life is, you should never take it out on someone else." Ally states, shaking her head in disapproval. I nod and sigh, already learning that lesson.
"Not to be rude, but my life isn't shitty." Camila calls out from the other side of the room, right behind us. I inhale sharply and roll my eyes, not enjoying the tone of her voice which sounded a bit too conceited. Normani and Ally glance at each other and then take a small look at me for any reaction but I simply bite my lip, impatient.
"Eavesdropping much?"
"I'm right across from you and you're telling her this like she's a mile away, so it's technically not my fault." Camila relies calmly, her voice steady and quiet like she spoke to Lucy two nights ago. Ally scoffs and Normani's lips part open defensively.
Both girls don't know what to say and I stand, turning around before sitting over the desk while still facing the brunette who was now staring directly at me. I cross my arms over my chest and kink an eyebrow with my lip in between my teeth, "You don't necessarily have to be in here, I'm sure your friends are waiting for you out there somewhere."
I crinkle my nose when her lips pull into a smirk, my nose ring scraping the delicate skin softly. I breathe in sharply and place my chin over my palm. Camila simply leans back and licks her thump slowly, wiping away some dirt on her pair of new, white shoes. "I said I didn't mean to be rude, and my name has been rolling off your tongue for a while now. I'm just stating the truth, again, not trying to be rude."
"I'm sure you weren't trying to be rude when you told half the school's population my mom died, either." The words roll off my tongue and I feel my heart sink as soon as I say them. I swallow hard and ignore the fact that I had mentioned my mother, staring into a pair of wide brown eyes.
The boxer recovers and quickly shakes it off, furrowing her eyebrows and leaning in defensively. "Don't bring this up."
"Why not? You sure didn't mind bringing it up as everyone else talked about it."
"I was shocked, okay?" Camila glares at me, "I took in consideration that your mother has passed and I'm trying to give you a chill day so you don't have to worry about me--"
"So that you can beat me again in a week from now?" I whisper and it's almost not loud enough tor her to hear but she hears it. I swallow the lump inside my throat and breathe in sharply, "I don't need your pity, Camila. My father is dead, my mother is dead, yes I am fucking adopted, and you can stop worrying about not being able to fuck me up everyday."
"You're hurt," Camila states with almost no emotion. "I can let a few words slide past me because you're going through shit, but I'm trying here. So do your part Jauregui."
"Don't play nice just because my mother died," I shake my head. "I don't need that."
Camila seems to react to this, her features softening and her throat flexing as I continue to gaze at her pleadingly. I watch as the girl quickly covers it up, clenching her jaw and her brows hardening as she glares at me. The smaller boxer quickly grabs her backpack and stands from the chair, giving me one last glance. "I tried to be nice, but that's obviously foreign to you."
Leaving me stunned and somewhat confused, the beautiful brunette quickly storms past both heavy doors and out of the silent classroom. I watch with stinging eyes and let out a deep breathe, not wanting to meet the eyes of the two girls currently looking at me. I rub my eyes with my palms and swallow the lump in my throat, slowly sitting down before thinking.
It had to be done. She can't begin to fall for pitying me.
***
"Pick your song!"
I cringe inwardly when a high pitched voice eagerly urges me on, my eyes settling onto the small basket in her hands. I stare at the middle aged lady again and mutter out with tinted cheeks, "Can I pick out my own song?"
Quickly she nods, apologizing and pulling the basket away and back towards the desk in the front of the room. I was grateful that she allowed me to pick different but everyone had been doing the same, letting me do things the way I wanted because word has been going around about my mother. I offer a small grin and whisper, "Thank you."
I can feel all eyes on me as I make my way to the front of the class, my heart beating quickly under the supervision of all these people. I sit over the piano with a small grin when I look up to see Ally and Normani both clapping quietly to themselves. I offer a wink and look at my hands before waiting for the middle aged lady across from me to set the camera up.
Apparently she was saving this for the end of the year tapes?
My eyes wander over the class nervously and my stomach feels heavy when my green eyes come in contact come in contact with a pair of intense, brown ones. Her throats flexes visibly and she quickly looks away, her jaw clenched tightly and her face blank of any expression. I look away with hot cheeks and crack my fingers with a small frown when Mrs. J looks up again, "We're all set. Whenever you're ready. Once you're done, you tell the class why you picked this song."
I look down at the keys with a small sigh and take a deep breathe, feeling so anxious with almost all eyes on me as I begin to lift my hands. I knew what song I was going to sing for them, and it was one my mother used to hum every single day after my twins death. I always thought she sang it because she was jealous that he was finally happy and safe, while she mourned and cried about not being able to see him. Now, I interpret the words into my own after her death. There was no other song that I could relate to.
I take a deep breathe and let my fingers trail across the keys as I gently press down onto the smooth material.
(A/N: Inspired by the actual audition, which was emotional asf)
I sing softly, "I'm jealous of the rain..."
Only a split second after my first line, there are hushed whispers and gasps around the room. I look up briefly to see Ally and Normani both give me encouraging smiles, my eyes trailing behind them to find a pair of shiny brown ones. My eyes look away quickly and I sing louder, yet smooth with the notes to the second stanza.
That falls upon your skin,
It's closer than my hands have been, oh
I'm jealous of the rain
I'm jealous of the wind
That ripples through your clothes
It's closer than your shadow
Oh, I'm jealous of the wind, 'cause
I breathe out the next line and look down at the keys, feeling my heart pound hard against my chest. There was this slight sting that continued to remind me how heartbroken I felt, and I tried to give it all I had to keep myself from crying.
I wished you the best of
All this world could give,
And I told you when you left me,
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me,
All you found was, heartbreak and misery. It's hard for me to say, I'm jealous of the way,
You're happy without me,
I feel my heart skip a beat when a few kids clap around me, some whistling and the loudest pair cheering my on in the front with thumbs up and bright smiles. I close my eyes when I feel them sting in tears, furrowing my eyebrows to keep from showing my painful expression. And even with my eyelids closed, I could feel a certain pair of brown eyes set on me from all the way in the back.
That just made the tears pool behind my eyelids.
As I sink in the sand
Watch you slip through my hands
Oh, as I die here another day
'Cause all I do is cry behind this smile
I wished you the best of all this world could give
And I told you when you left me
There's nothing to forgive
But I always thought you'd come back, tell me
All you found was heartbreak and misery
It's hard for me to say,
I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me
I breathe in sharply, pausing briefly to catch my breath and calm the erratic beating of the organ inside my tight chest. My eyes flutter open and I smile softly, looking down at the keys with heated cheeks as all kids stare at me in awe. My fingers are gentle and smooth against the soft material of the piano keys, my mouth dry as each word spills out of me. I inhale sharply before my lips part open again, my tongue rolling against the roof of my mouth in a soft hum.
It's hard for me to say,
I'm jealous of the way
You're happy without me
I breathe out a soft laugh, feeling my stomach flutter as the rest of the class claps only a split second after, cheers and whistling erupting from my own classmates as I slowly stand from the wooden chair. My cheeks burn with embarrassment and I fold my hands behind my back, offering a shy smile to the rest of my classmates.
"Wonderful! Wonderful, dear." The middle aged woman claps, smiling widely. "Best I've heard this week, I can sense how much this song means to you. Would you mind sharing out loud or would you want to turn it in as a private assignment?"
I purse my lips and decide there's no need to hide what's already traveled around every ear of half the schools population, maybe even more. I swallow hard and watch as all eyes meet mine and a pair of brown eyes stare into mine with such intensity that it surprises me when I see the worry flooding through them.
I take a deep breathe before croaking out in a soft whisper, "I'm jealous that the one person that truly cared about me, I lost, and she's now in a better place without me."
The class erupts into a few whispers and I can see a few girls tearing up, some staring at me with pure pity and sorrow for me. I frown slightly and decide it's best to sit down, in between Ally and Mani who clap me up and congratulate me for my performance.
I turn when I hear a small sniff erupt from the brown eyed girl behind me. I turn quickly and my feel my throat tighten and my mouth go dry when Camila stands up, swinging her bag over her shoulder before storming out of the class. I notice the way she wiped her eyes before my green ones met her brown ones, jaw clenched and her lips parted as loud breathing escapes her.
And I swear I can hear a small sob right before the door closes behind me.
***
A/N:
This chapter was shit, next chapter will contain a bit more action. I still have yet to update an actual written chapter after the story has been published, because all of these chapter have been prewritten. So excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.
Of course, as always, please let me know what you think of the story so far because I've been getting so much support and feedback from you guys and I love it. Your comments really do brighten up my day and I'm extremely thankful for having such passionate and crazy readers :)
So with that being said, vote on today's chapter and comment something crazy because I do respond to any questions or sweet feedback (: