Perfectly Wrong

7. First Day

Monday morning Camila wakes up feeling slightly nervous. She had been so preoccupied about anything related to Shawn that she hadn’t even processed the fact that she’ll be starting in a new school. She had finally gone shopping for new clothes with her mother, so she steps on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt before putting on her new coat and pair of boots. She leaves her hair down, but slides an extra band onto her wrist because she knows she’ll want to pull it back at some point during the day. 

 When she’s done in the bathroom, she moves to the kitchen with her backpack and class schedule in her hands. Her mother just started a new night shift at the hospital, so she’s responsible to take Sofia to school. As soon as she pulls up to the elementary school, Sofia is already out of the car meeting Aaliyah in front of the school without saying goodbye. Her sister makes life look a lot easier.

 The High School is just a few blocks away and when she drives into the parking lot, she takes a while to find an empty spot. When she finally steps out of her car, she notices how the students chatting next to their cars don’t even look at her. It’s nothing like in the movies where everyone stares at the new girl. She actually feels pretty invisible and she likes that.

 She goes through first period without getting any homework, which is good, considering she’s planning on spending her evening with Shawn. He texted her saying he missed her and that he would be home by four, so there’s still seven hours and three minutes to go before she sees him again.

 Her next class is History and it’s not that hard since the teacher is talking about something she just studied in her previous school. She finds it hard to focus, though, and counts down every single second. The teacher is very monotonous and her mind starts wandering back to Shawn and their incredible date when she feels someone poking her back.

 “ Hey, let me see your schedule.” The girl says and Camila tries to discreetly hand it to her without the teacher seeing it. “ Oh, please! Mr. Anderson is half blind and can barely hear. Don’t worry about him.”

 Camila takes another look at the teacher, who’s facing the board before holding back a laugh.

 “ I’m Camila.” She tells the girl.

 “ Maisie.” The girl says. “ Cool, we have the same third period. It’s a bitch to find, so stick with me after class and I’ll show you where it is.”

 Maisie leans forward to write something down and Camila observes as her cute short blond hair wigs forward with her. It reaches her chin with asymmetrical bangs that give her an edgy yet cute style. Her nails are each painted in a different color and she has over ten colorful bracelets on her wrists, making sounds everytime she moves. Camila also notices a small simple outline of a black heart tattooed on the inside of her left wrist.

 The bell rings and Camila walks out into the hallway with Maisie by her side, who hands her schedule back. The blonde reaches for Camila’s phone in her back pocket and asks her to unlock it before typing her number and saving it.

 “ That’s my instagram, but I never post anything there.” She says, following herself through Camila’s profile. “ I’m also on twitter, but don’t follow me unless you’re okay with me complaining about my life every second of the day.” She goes back to type a number, then looks at Camila like that’s the most valuable piece of information ever. “ That’s the number to Getty’s Pizza.”

 “ Is that where you work?” Camila asks.

 “ No, they just have great pizza.” She says with a serious expression. “ I just called myself so I have your number too. Oh, and you need to go to the office before next period.”

 “ Why? I thought you wanted me to follow you?” Camila asks, feeling a little overwhelmed by the friend she just made.

 “ They have you in B lunch. I’m in A lunch. Go switch yours to A and meet me in third period.” She says and two seconds later she’s already gone.

••••

 The administration office is just a few doors down the hall and Camila watches as Mrs. Fisher, the secretary, rolls her eyes and changes her to A lunch like Maisie wanted. She prints Camila’s new schedule just as the second bell for third period rings.

 “ Do you know where this Music elective is located?” Camila asks before leaving.

 Mrs. Fisher gives her a long and confusing explanation like she was supposed to know where ‘Hall D’ or ‘Hall A’ are, making her even more confused than she already was. Camila wanders around several hallways, entering two wrong classrooms and a janitor’s closet before finding ‘Hall D’. She sets her backpack on the ground, place her schedule between her lips and pulls her hair up, tying it into a ponytail with a rubber band from her wrist when she hears someone call her name.

 “ Camila?”

 Her heart races when she recognizes his voice, finding Shawn standing just a few feet away from her with a confused look on his face. She pulls the schedule out of her mouth and smiles at him, instantly wrapping her arms around him.

 “ Shawn! What are you doing here?” She asks, just as confused as him.

 He hugs her back for a second before wrapping his hands around her wrists and removing her arms from around his neck.

 “ Camila.” He says with hesitation. “ Where… what are you doing here?”

 “ I’m trying to find this stupid elective, but I’m lost.” She whines. “ Help me, please.”

 He looks down at the schedule in her hands before stepping back against the wall.

 “ Camila, no…” He says, looking away from her and clasping his hands behind his head. He looks horrified to see her.

 Camila doesn’t understand his reaction and just stands there, waiting for some sort of explanation. The first thing she comes up by herself is that he might have a girlfriend that he forgot to mention somehow, so she takes her backpack from the ground and starts to walk away, but he reaches for her arm and stops her.

 “ Where are you going?” He demands.

 “ I get it, Shawn. I get it.” She sighs and rolls her eyes. “ I’ll leave you alone before your girlfriend sees us.” She suddenly has to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall from her eyes.

 “ Girlfr-...no! No, Camila. I don’t think you get it.” Shawn says as she hears footsteps coming from the other ending of the hallway.

 “ Oh man, I thought I was late.” A student says as he spots Shawn and Camila in the hallway, stopping in front of the classroom door.

 “ You are late, Jake.” Shawn replies, opening the door behind him and pointing for the student to get in. “ I’ll be there in a few minutes. Let the class know they have five minutes to review before the exam.”

 Camila feels like she can’t breathe when Shawn closes the door and looks at her, the hallway empty once again. There’s a pressure on her chest as she realizes the reality of their situation, thinking there’s no way that can be happening. How is that even possible?

 “ Shawn.” She whispers, trying to breathe properly. “ Please, don't tell me…”

 He’s pacing back and forth in the hallway, his face red and a horrified look on his face as he bites his bottom lip. He rests his head against one of the lockers and looks up at the ceiling, rubbing his hands on his face before walking again. Each step he takes is like a knife on Camila’s heart as he confirms exactly what she suspects. He rests both of his hands against the metal of the lockers next to the classroom door and taps his forehead against it repeatedly.

 “ How did I not see this?” He says, dropping his hands and turning around to look at her. “ You’re still in high school?”