FORGET YOU LAUREN

CHAPTER 10

At that time: 15 and a half years
(Well, Camila is still 15 and a half years old. I'm 16 years old. That's why I'm much more mature than her...).
Lauren POV
SUBJECT: RIDING IN YOUR CAR
Dear Lauren,
It's bad enough that I don't have a driver's license (by the way, nobody cares that you take one of the last tests before our county changes age) and my parents insist that I take a ride to and from school with you every day, but the least you can do is not be rude as hell to me all the time.You could at least give me time to get your car and not start driving once I step out the front door.But you know what? Since I am clearly the adult, I think the time has come to be cordial with each other and nothing else. Since I will have to wait another year and a half to get my permission, do me a favor in the coming months and don't talk to me unless we're in your car. And yet, anything other than "Hello" and "Goodbye" would be awesome.

Fuck off and forget you,
Camila
***
SUBJECT: RE: RIDING IN YOUR CAR
Dear Camila,
First of all, it's bad enough that we know each other, the specifics of why they really don't matter. If you started leaving your house in time, I wouldn't have to do that.
You are not the BIGGER person at all. I told you I wanted to be "just cordial" to you weeks ago, before you snitched on me about seeing cigarettes in my room. Cigarettes that weren't even mine. (Is your life really that dull to where you have to look out your bedroom window and into mine for entertainment?)Your latest snitching stunt has ended any shit about us ever being cordial again.

Fuck off and Forget You, Too, 

Lauren

PS—We both know you're never going to get your driver's permit because you consistently fail the written exam in Driver's Ed. (Newsflash: The shit isn't that hard)

PSS—Congrats on learning how to use spellcheck for the first time in an email this year. 

***
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RIDING IN YOUR CAR
Dear Lauren and Camila,

Please log off your computer stations and report to the principal's office right now. I've warned you two, time and time again, to stop using the school's server to email each other these petty little notes.

Do you have any idea how this can be misconstrued as cheating? Any idea how reckless you two are?

You're in the middle of taking an exam!

Forget BOTH of you,

Miss Washington

***
I looked at Miss Washington's email yesterday, wondering why she didn't end our conversation early because we sent twenty-five emails earlier than she decided to randomly interrupt.
Thanks to Camila's pettiness, we were forced to leave school for a suspension for the rest of the day, and today should be a "new beginning".
And, of course, she was late.

I honked my horn at 7:05, knowing that she was just standing in her living room and staring at the clock. Waiting until her "preferred" pick up time of 7:15.

At exactly 7:15, she opened the door and let up her flimsy umbrella, rushing across her front yard and into my car.

"Would it kill you to pull all the way into my driveway?" She shook her hair, getting water all over my dashboard. "Especially on the days when it rains? That's what a true gentleman would do."

"I never said I was a gentleman, especially not for you."
She rolled her eyes and buckled her seat belt. Turning up the music, she took a bag of doughnuts out of her backpack and handed it to me. I pointed to the cup of vanilla coffee I always picked up at the new corner coffee for her.
Although we were almost never talking, we had an unwritten rule between us for morning walks. She was responsible for having breakfast the night before and I was responsible for getting the hot chocolate (well, coffee for her) before I honked at her house.
We didn't have to like each other to adhere to this.
I went to my girlfriend Valerie's house and entered her garage (I was a gentlemen to her). I opened an umbrella and walked to the balcony, smiling at the bright pink dress and gray raincoat.
"Good morning, Lauren". She blushed and kissed my lips.
"Good morning". I returned her kiss and took her backpack.
"Wait, before we go can I show you something?"
"Now?" I looked at my watch. "We'll be late if we don't leave right now."
She kissed me again and bit my lower lip, whispering. "It will be worth it. I promise."
I sighed and obeyed, following her inside her house and in her living room.
"What do you think?" She pointed to two paintings on canvas. One of them was the photo of a couple kissing (I thought...) and the other was the new hotel that was in front of our school.
"I painted 'we' as a gift to you!" She smiled. "And since this hotel always distracts us during lunch, I decided to paint it for you too. Do you want to put them in the car now or later?"
"Later," I said, quickly softening my tone. "I mean, it's raining outside and I don't want them to get wet."
"Oh yes". She smiled. "Good point".
I held the sigh when she covered them with a sheet. Camila would never stop talking shit about these photos if she saw them this morning. Mainly because Camila knew how to draw better than anyone in our school and she never let me forget.
Ugh. Camila is good at almost everything. Except spelling...
"OK!" Valerie kissed me again. "I'll take them to your house this weekend."
We took our time walking to the car and I opened the back door to her.
"Ugh!" She snorted and slid in the back seat.
I didn't bother asking what was wrong. The rain was falling even more now and now we were late thanks to it anyway.

As I pulled onto the street, she cleared her throat.

"Lauren," she said, sighing. "Why does Camila always sit in the front seat of her car?"

"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why is Camila, the girl who is not your girlfriend, always in the front seat when you pick me up?"
I looked at her through the rear-view mirror, noticed that her arms were crossed and her face was red as beetroot. "It's because Camila lives next to me and has always been sitting in the front seat since I took this car."
"That's not a good reason, Lauren." She narrowed her eyes at me. "I'm your girlfriend and you claim she's your enemy, but you definitely treat her better than any enemy I've ever had. You treat her like she's your best friend, more than just your best friend."
I rolled my eyes. This was the third time she had a fight with me about Camila and I wasn't sure what else I could say to convince her that Camila was just Camila.
There was nothing but hatred between us and there would always be.
"Don't you think this is weird, Camila?" She was still talking. "How would you feel if your boyfriend... Well, girlfriend, because you're a lesbian, right?"
"I'm not a lesbian." Camila shook her head, looking completely undisturbed.
"Well, that's what the school rumors say. Based on the way you dress and the fact that you only go out with men, I'm sure you can understand why people think that way. Not to mention the fact that you don't have a single girl as a friend." She threw her hair over her shoulder. "Would you mind if I sat next to Lauren, please?"
"Whatever". Camila let go of her seat belt as we approached the next red light and jumped into the back seat. Valerie took a while to open the umbrella and leave to take two whole steps to get into the front seat.
She kissed my cheek before buckling her seat belt and smiled as I walked away. So she took the donuts bag. "How nice of you, Lauren! Did you buy me these donuts and coffee?"
"Actually, these are mine and Camila's," I said. "Do you want me to stop somewhere so I can buy some?"
She gave me an empty look, and then her face turned red. "Are you fucking serious?"