Perfectly Wrong

14. Eye Contact

The next three weeks fly by as Camila gets a lot of homework and feels isolated in Shawn’s class. They haven't spoken since their sister murdered the snowman and he hasn’t made eye contact with her either. He’s been avoiding her like the plague.

 Camila wasn’t adjusting very well to Michigan and everything that happened with Shawn made it even harder for her. She felt like sleeping all the time because then she just wouldn’t feel anything at all.

 Maisie was determined to find someone to fill the role of her boyfriend, but Camila rejected all of them. Her friend even switched places with Noah during Shawn’s class hoping something would blossom there. It definitely wouldn’t.

 “ Hey, Camila.” Noah smiles at her, sitting in his new seat close to her. “ Got another one for you. Wanna hear it?”

 Noah has been trying to make her laugh with his stupid jokes for a least a week now, so she just nods her head. She’s not really paying attention though, because her eyes immediately go to Shawn once he enters the classroom. She notices as Shawn looks at them, so she laughs and leans towards Noah, pretending to find whatever joke he made funny. She hates how badly she wants Shawn to feel jealous and she knows she shouldn't do this in case Noah got the wrong idea, but she just couldn't stop herself.

 “ Get out your notebooks, we’re writing songs today.” Shawn says as he takes his seat. Camila hears half of the class groaning, but Maisie starts clapping with excitement.

 “ Can we have partners?” Noah asks, moving his desk closer to Camila’s.

 “ No.” Shawn says, glaring at him. “ Each of you needs to write short lyrics, maybe just the chorus or a verse or two of a song, which you will perform in front of the class tomorrow.”

 Camila starts taking notes on what he’s saying, not wanting to watch him as he speaks. It was a bad idea for her to stay in his class because she can’t focus on anything besides wondering what’s on his mind. She wonders if he’s thinking about her when they’re in class and she wonder’s what he’s doing in his house when she’s at home. She keeps stealing glances across the street whenever she can and deep down she knows she would keep doing it even if she wasn’t in his class. She would probably just run back home after class in time to watch him pull up in his driveway through the window. It’s exhausting the way she can’t keep him out of her mind and she wishes she could just let go of him. He seems to be doing a way better job than her in moving on.

 “ This might help you prepare for the music competition just in case.” Shawn says. “ Don’t think I’ve forgotten about it. So far no one in here has shown up at Club N9NE.”

 “ You said we just had to observe.” Connor and a few other students start to protest. “ Now we have to perform?”

 “ Well, technically not. You’re not required to perform, but you have to attend the competition at least once. There’s a chance you could be chosen to be the sacrifice, though, so it wouldn’t hurt to have something prepared.”

 Several students ask what is the sacrifice and Shawn explains, saying anyone can be chosen from the audience randomly, so he wants them to be ready just in case.

 “ What if we want to perform?” Maisie asks.

 “ I’ll tell you what. We’ll make one more deal.” Shawn says. “ Anyone who willingly performs at the competition won’t need to do the final exam.”

 “ I’m in.” Maisie says with confidence.

 “ What if we don’t go?” Jake asks from his seat.

 “ Then you’re missing out on something amazing. And you’ll get an F for participation.” Shawn replies, making Jake roll his eyes.

 “ So, what kind of things can we write about?” Maisie asks, looking really interested in the assignment. Shawn moves to the front of his desk and sits, only inches away from Camila.

 “ There are no rules. You can write about anything. Love, food, your hobby, something important that happened in your life.” He says. “ Write about anything as long as it is something you’re passionate about. If the audience doesn’t feel your passion, they won’t feel you. And that’s never fun, believe me.”

 “ What about sex? Can we write about that?” Jake asks, clearly trying to annoy Shawn, who remains cool.

 “ Anything as long as you’re parents are okay with it. I’ll be sending permission slips home for the competition at the end of the week.” Shawn says.

 “ What if they don’t let us go? I mean, it’s a club.” A redheaded girl asks from the back of the classroom.

 “ I understand if they have hesitations. If there’s any parents that don’t feel comfortable, I’ll talk to them about it.” Shawn says. “ I also don’t want transportation to be an issue, and this club is a bit far, so if it is the case, I’ll take a school vehicle. I don’t want any of you to miss the chance to experience this in person. I’ll answer questions throughout the week about this, but for now, let’s get back to today’s assignment. You have the entire class period to work on it. We’ll start presenting them tomorrow, so get to it.”

 Camila opens her notebook and stares at the empty page in front of her, not knowing how to start writing a song or part of one. She’s been playing and singing since she was really young, but she never actually wrote anything herself. She tried for sure, but it just never came that easily. The only thing in her mind lately is Shawn and there’s no way she’s writing a song about him.

 By the end of the class period, Camila had written only her name on her notebook. She looks up and her eyes immediately find Shawn, sitting behind his desk and biting the corner of his bottom lip. His eyes are focused on her desk, looking down at the non-existent lyrics on her notebook. He glances up and notices her watching him. It’s the first eye contact they had in three weeks and for her surprise, he doesn’t look away immediately.

 The way he looks at her makes her cheeks burn and her face flush as the room suddenly becomes warmer. He only looks away when the bell rings, standing up and walking to the door, holding it open for the students to leave. Camila puts all her stuff back in her bag before standing up and walking out of the class without looking at him again, but she can still feel him watching her.

 She was so sure he had forgotten about her, that he had somehow moved on, but then he had to do something like that. She spends the rest of her day overanalyzing his actions and comes to the conclusion that he might be feeling just as confused as she is.