lauren.
"Yes mom, everything's fine, New York has been great." I said into the phone, pushing an empty box towards the corner. "Okay mija but remember, if you need money, call me." Mom replied. "I know, you've said that many times." I said, entering the bathroom. "Oh and remember to take time off to come home and visit." She added on. "Yes, I'll put the dates in my calendar, I promise to try to FaceTime you at least twice a week, it's getting late now so you should go to bed and tomorrow's my first day at the internship so I need to sleep too." I told her. "Okay mija, goodnight, love you." She said. "Goodnight, love you too Mom, tell Dad I love him." I replied and the call ended. I let out a sigh and placed the phone down to get ready for bed.
---
I woke up to the chilly weather of New York and picked up my phone to check the time. It was 7 am and I had to be at work by 8.30am so I decided to get up and start getting ready. I saw I had extra time so I decided to organise my things and unpack a little more then got changed. I went for a red plaid shirt, black skinny jeans and a nice brown coat to keep me warm for the weather in New York then headed out of my apartment.
At the same time, my next door neighbour also left her apartment and was locking her door. "Good morning." She greeted. "Good morning." I smiled, looking up at her as she walked towards the lift lobby. She was dark-skinned, about my height, beautiful and paired with a bright smile. We got into the lift and stood in silence as we reached the ground level. I let her go out first and she thanked me before we went our separate ways. I picked up a coffee from Starbucks then was on the way to my workplace.
"Hi, I'm Lauren Jauregui, the new intern." I said, passing the receptionist my ID and letter. She looked at her computer then passed me a lanyard. "You can wait over there as I call and Ms Kordei down." She told me. "Okay, thank you." I replied, walking over to the couch in the corner. I looked around at the gigantic print out of magazine covers all over the walls. I got an internship at a big magazine company called Capture under the photography department.
"Are you Lauren?" I heard someone ask and looked up to see my neighbour standing in front of me. She smiled and I let out a laugh. "Coincidence huh?" She asked. "Yup." I replied, getting up. "Well, I'm Normani Kordei and you'll be with me for your internship." She introduced, sticking her hand out. "Lauren Jauregui." I replied, shaking her hand. "I'll give you a tour of the office." She said and I picked up my bag and coffee. "So what do you do around here?" I asked. "I do model runway gigs all around New York and occasionally out of the state or country and photoshoots so you'll be following me throughout your internship." She replied and I nodded as we entered the elevator.
She showed me around the office and then to my table. "I sit opposite you so if you have any questions, just ask away." She said. "Okay." I replied. "You said you have a laptop?" She asked. "Yea, you said I needed the latest Photoshop software and a laptop for all my projects and things." I replied. "Great so right now, we're going to head down to a venue for a photo shoot then to a model runway during the evening." She said. "Okay, sure." I replied, finishing my coffee as I waited for Normani to pack up.
"I need your help with the equipment." She said. "Okay." I replied and followed her to a room with all of the cameras. "Oh my gosh..." I said, looking around at the shelves of the various lens and cameras. I looked over at Normani who was looking at me and I blushed. "I'm sorry, I'm just fascinated." I said. "It's okay, we have time, look around." She replied, urging me to continue to look around. I smiled at her and looked at the shelves. "These are for close up shots, my personal favourite." She said as she passed one of the camera lenses to me. "It's beautiful." I replied, making sure I don't drop it as I studied the lens.
"Then these are usually for outdoor photoshoots." She said, pointing to the big lens on the shelf. "That's cool." I replied. "And that's what I need today for the photoshoot, mind helping me?" She asked, pointing to the small step ladder. I nodded and grabbed the ladder, placing it in front of her. "You seem to have steady hands, mind grabbing it for me?" She asked. "Erm, okay." I replied, climbing up the steps and grabbed the lens. "Anything else?" I asked, passing her the lens. "That one too." She said, pointing to the one, next to the one I passed to her. I took it and went back to the ground, placing it into the lens bag.
"Let's go meet up with the rest." Normani said, passing me the lens bag and I took it, slinging it over my shoulder. I nodded and followed her out of the room. "This is Ally, she's in wardrobe and props and Lucy, who is doing lighting." Normani introduced. "Hi, I'm Lauren." I introduced to the two of them, shaking their hands too. Ally is about my shoulder height but she looks very friendly with her bright smile. While Lucy looks really cute but yet intimidating. She kept shooting me looks as we went to the company car to head to the venue for the photo shoot.
"So Lauren, how old are you?" Lucy asked as I was setting up the camera tripod. "I'm 21." I replied. "Cool, me too." She said. "How did you get this job?" I asked. "I'm actually also an intern." She answered. "Good to know, are you from New York?" I asked. "No, I'm from Florida, Miami to be exact." She said. "Oh cool! Me too." I replied and she smiled. "Alright ladies, stop the chit-chatting, the model is coming in soon." Normani said. "Okay, Mani." Lucy replied. The model came in and fuck, she was beautiful. "Ms Keana, this is Lauren and Lucy, my interns." Normani introduced. "Hi, I'm Keana." She said, shaking Lucy's and I's hand. "Hi." I replied, smiling at her. "Shall we begin, Ms Keana?" Normani asked. "Sure." She replied and walked over to her position.
"Let's take a break." Normani said and Ally came out with a coat for Keana. "I have pizza delivering in 10 minutes for everyone!" Keana said and everyone cheered. She looked at me and I smiled when she walked up to me. "Lauren right?" She asked. "Yes, Ms Keana." I replied, blushing a little. "Relax, just call me Keana." She said. "Okay." I replied. "I've never seen you before with Normani." She said. "Yea, I just started my internship today." I replied, scratching the back of my neck nervously. "Relax Lauren, I don't bite." She said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Yeah." I replied.
"Thanks for the pizza Keana." I said, offering a slice to her. "No thanks, I went on a diet for this photo shoot, don't want that to go to waste." She replied. "A slice won't hurt, you look beautiful anyways." I said. "Okay then." She replied, taking the pizza. I took another slice for myself and took a bite. "Is it good?" She asked. "Yeah, you can never go wrong with pizza." I replied.
---
"So are we heading for the runway gig now?" I asked as we dropped off Ally and Lucy at the company. "Yea, but we'll grab dinner first if you don't mind." Normani said. "Sure." I replied and she drove off. I looked down at my phone to see a message from my mom and another from Keana. She asked for my number before she left so I decided to give it to her. I opened up mom's message first and she was asking if it was convenient to call now. "Mind if I call someone?" I asked. "No, go ahead." Normani replied and I dialled my mother's number.
"Hi mija, how was the first day of work?"
"Hey, erm, I'm still in the middle of work but it's been great so far."
"Okay then, have you eaten dinner?"
"Not yet but I'm about to."
"I'll let you continue your work then."
"Okay."
"I love you mija, bye."
I looked over at Normani who had her eyes on the road. "Bye Mom, love you too." I whispered then ended the call. "That's your mother?" Normani asked. "Yeah, she likes to check up on me since I moved to New York." I replied. "Where are you from exactly?" She asked. "Miami, Florida." I replied and she nodded. "You're from New York?" I asked. "Born in Houston, Texas but moved to New York when I was 3." She said. "Cool, I've spent my entire life in Miami but just moved here two weeks ago." I replied. "Do you have any siblings?" She asked. "A younger brother and sister, what about you?" I asked. "Single child." She said. "Cool." I replied.
We had a quick meal and headed to the runway gig. "It might seem boring but look the part, the designer is watching the runway and we might get a bad rep." Normani warned. "Okay." I replied, looking at my camera and adjusting the white balance and such. "Remember, just take a picture however you like and we'll see how it goes." She said and I nodded.
"Mind if you save my seat? I need to make a call." She asked and I nodded. She smiled and got up from her seat and left. She came back about ten minutes later with a big smile on her face. "Significant other?" I asked. "Girlfriend." She replied. "How long have you two been dating?" I asked. "Just recently about, 3 weeks." She replied and I smiled. "Are you dating anyone?" She asked. "No, haven't dated since college actually." I replied. "It's starting." She said and I picked up my camera to get ready.
When Normani said it was boring, it was fucking boring. It was interesting at first then it slowly got boring, how the hell do people sit through this? Thank god I have a camera to do something. "Told you it was boring." Normani said as I let out a long sigh. "The next is the last one now." She told me as the model returned to backstage. The last model walked onto the runway and she caught my eye. "Fuck." I mumbled, watching her walk down. Our eyes met and I snapped out of my thoughts and picked up my camera to take a few shots of her. She went back in and all the models came out and I kept a lookout for her to take more pictures. She came back out and our eyes met again and I took more shots of her.
"Hey, do you want to go backstage?" Normani asked. "We can?" I asked. "Yea, I have permission." She said. "Sure." I replied, in hopes of meeting that beautiful model I saw. I followed her backstage and Normani quickly ran over to a tall blonde woman and I chased up to her. "Babe, this is Lauren, my intern. Lauren, my girlfriend, Dinah." Normani introduced. "Hi, are you one of the models?" I asked as I shook her hand. "Nah, I'm a manager of one of them, let me call her, Chancho! Come here!" Dinah called. "Hold on!" Someone replied. "I want you to meet someone!" She said. "One sec." The person replied.
"Sorry, I had to go remove my dress and heels." A brunette ran towards us wearing a thick maroon robe and slippers. It was the model I saw. She noticed me and offered me a smile. "Mila, this is Lauren, Mani's intern." Dinah introduced. "Hi, I'm Camila." She said, sticking out her hand. "I'm Lauren." I replied, shaking her hand, smiling at her. "Mila, you did great out there." Normani said. "You think so? I was given the heels this morning and felt like I was wobbling down the runway." She replied. "You did amazing, I couldn't see any wobbling." I said and she smiled at me, making me blush slightly. "Thanks." She replied.
We talked for a little while more and we had to leave to return the equipment and company car. "Your girlfriend is nice." I said as Normani drove. "Yea? You seem to be very shy about Camila." She replied and I blushed. "She's cool." I said. "Yea, cool." She replied in a teasing manner and I scratched the back of my neck. "Do you want me to drop you off at the apartment? I'm meeting up with Dinah later so I won't be going home straight away." She asked. "But the equipment?" I asked. "I can manage, it's fine." She said. "Okay then, thanks." I replied.
I unlocked the door to my apartment and went straight to my bedroom. I pulled out my laptop, plopped down on the bed and begin googling.
'Camila model'
The first things that came up were her social media, her name Camila Cabello and a bunch of websites with articles about her. I clicked on her Instagram and started scrolling down. My phone went off and I picked it up to see a text from an unknown number.
From Unknown:
Hey Lauren, this is Camila, I asked Mani for your number.
To Camila Cabello:
Hey.
From Camila Cabello:
What are you up to right now?
To Camila Cabello:
Nothing just got home. You?
From Camila Cabello:
Same as you.
To Camila Cabello:
Cool.
From Camila Cabello:
Can I call you?
To Camila Cabello:
Sure.
My phone started ringing and I answered it. "Hey." I said, turning on the loudspeaker and placing my phone on my bed as I continue to scroll through Camila's Instagram. "Hi." Camila replied, her cute voice making me smile. We talked till the wee hours of the morning and I felt that we really clicked since the time we've met.
---
"So you and Camila." Normani said as she drove us to another model runway. "What about her?" I asked. "What's going on between you two?" She asked. "Nothing." I replied, blushing slightly. "Well, Dinah says she has been very distracting because she keeps texting you." She said. "So? We're friends." I replied. "Oh really now?" She asked. "Yes, friends, now shush." I replied and we kept silent for the entire ride. "Dinah wanted me to ask you if you want to grab ice cream with us." She said. "Camila's coming?" I asked. "Yea, you think I'll let you third-wheel us?" She asked. "Okay then." I agreed.
We finished work and went back to the office to return the company car and camera equipment then waited for Dinah and Camila to pick us up. "They're here." Normani said and we got up. "Manibear!" Dinah called, rolling down the window. Normani ran up to the window as I rolled my eyes and got in the backseat of the car. "Hey, Lauren." Camila said. She was just in joggers and a large hoodie with running shoes but she still looks amazing. "Hey, Camila." I replied, smiling at her. "You look great." She said. "Thanks, you too." I replied.
"Dinah Jane! Are you done with eating Mani's face?" Camila asked, kicking the seat in front of her. "Shush Karla." Dinah replied as she pulled away from Normani. Normani got into the passenger seat and Dinah started driving.
"We don't have security so Mila, you'll stay with Lauren while we get the ice cream and wine." Dinah said. "What? I thought we were going to some ice cream place?" I asked. "Nah, we can't, because Camila's famous." She said. "Who's place are we going?" I asked. "Mine, because Dinah claims that it's bigger." Camila replied, glaring at Dinah and Dinah and Normani got out of the car and headed to the grocery store. "So...how was your day?" I asked, turning down the volume of the music. "Tiring, I had to stand in the same position for thirty minutes because the photography says he can't get the right angle and it was the most uncomfortable position ever." She complained. "He's pretty shitty for a photographer." I replied and she chuckled. "How about yours?" She asked. "Boring, unlike yours." I said. "Boring is better than my day." She replied and I laughed.
Dinah and Normani came back with a fuck ton of ice cream, snacks and wine. "What are we doing? Preparing for an apocalypse?" I asked. "Shush, Lauser." Dinah said, passing me the bags. "Whatever." I replied as she started to drive.
"A condominium?" I asked, looking out of the car window. "Yea." Camila replied. "It's really nice." I said. "Thanks." She replied. "Hey Chad, Camila's in the backseat." Dinah rolled down the window to talk to the security. "Okay, tell her I said hi." The guy said and I looked over at Camila who rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm just not interested in him and he's always trying to ask me out." She explained when she noticed me looking at her. "Why not Mila? He's a fine man." Dinah said. "Hey, your girlfriend's here." Normani replied. "Because I'm not fond of dicks." Camila said and I frowned. She won't like me because of my anatomy... "Are you okay Laur?" Normani asked. "Yea, I'm fine." I replied.
It was uncomfortable, hanging out with the three of them but as the wine started to kick in, I slowly relaxed. "Guys, let's play a game!" Dinah said after Normani whispered something into her ear. "Okay." I mumbled, sitting down on the floor. "What game?" Camila asked. "Truth or Dare!" Normani replied. I grabbed the empty wine bottle we finished and spun it. It landed on Dinah. "Dinah, truth or dare?" I asked. "Dare, duh." She replied. "I dare you to continue the game on Normani's lap." I said and she got up, plopping down onto her girlfriend's lap. She grabbed the bottle and spun it and it landed on her and Normani. "Wait, who does it land on?" Normani asked. "Mani, we'll assume Dinah's there." Camila said, pointing to the empty spot beside Normani. "So Mani, truth or dare?" Dinah asked. "Truth." She replied.
"Camila, do you want to ask?" I asked. "First impression of Dinah." Camila said.
"Oh fuck, beautiful, so fucking beautiful, I even thought she was Beyoncé." Normani replied. "Aw, thank you baby." Dinah said, kissing her girlfriend. "This is truth or dare, not making out." I replied and she flipped me off as she reached for the bottle. She spun it and it landed on me. "Truth or Dare Lauser?" She asked, cocking her eyebrow. "Truth." I replied, sipping my wine. "Tell us something about you that we don't know." Camila said. "Chancho! This is my question but whatever." Dinah replied. "Well... I'm gay." I said. "I already know that so you need to tell us something else." Normani replied. "How?" I asked. "Too much flannel, too many beanies, you always and only look at the female models on the runway and you just give the gay vibe from a thousand miles away." She explained.
"Okay then, let me think..." I said, pouring more wine into my glass and I offered to pour for Camila which she accepted. "Well...this thing, only my family knows." I said. "We promise we won't tell." Dinah replied. "Okay, so I have this thing, I was born with a Y chromosome, well, technically I have an extra X chromosome but I identify as a female although I have male genitals." I said. "Is there a name for that?" Camila asked. "It's known as Intersex but in medical terms, it's called Hermaphroditism." I answered. "So you have a penis and balls?" Dinah asked. "Babe, don't be rude." Normani said. "Yes, but I have a low percentage of being fertile." I replied. "Can we see it?" Dinah asked and I blushed. "Dinah Jane! You're gay for a reason." Normani said. "I'm curious." She shrugged her shoulders. "Forget what I said about dicks just now in the car. Sorry if I hurt you." Camila whispered to me and I smiled. "It's fine." I replied.
---
Okay. This is my first book and I know the first chapter is probably a mess. Please tell me how I can improve and give me a vote if you want me to continue. Thanks!!