WONDER | shawmila

sixteen.

"Is this really the place?" Camila asked.

"It's the address they sent us." Shawn said from the driver's seat.

Camila looked out the window as they drove through one of the nicest neighborhoods in LA. These houses seemed just as big as Ashe's, if not bigger, with huge elm trees and plenty of space in the yards, so no one's house was too close to anyone else's.

Camila grabbed Shawn's phone from the center console and checked the maps app, seeing they were only two minutes away.

They were on their way to Shawn's interview and photoshoot and Camila wondered now what kind of pictures they wanted to take of him. Were they trying to trick their audience into thinking Shawn lived somewhere like this? What was wrong with the condo he shared with her?

Tarzan barked from the back seat, his wagging tail hitting against the back of her headrest as he scratched at the window. Camila leaned over, laughing as she saw a family walking a big dog on the sidewalk. Tarzan kept barking until Camila reached back and grabbed his collar, yanking him to sit back down.

Shawn had been so excited when the editor told him he was free to bring his dog. Camila knew he was hoping they'd let Tarzan be in some pictures with him and she did too, as that would be really adorable if Tarzan was in the magazine too.

But she knew that even if he was, Tarzan was just happy to get out of the house and explore somewhere new, as well as spend the day with his parents.

"Okay, that's it—there's Andrew's car."

Camila looked and saw the familiar car among the several ones in the double-wide driveway. As they pulled in, Camila could see Andrew in the yard with some people who must be from the magazine. A man and a woman were talking with them and Tarzan barked when he noticed another dog sniffing around in the yard nearby.

Shawn parked the car before grabbing Tarzan's leash to keep him from bolting as Camila got out. Shawn followed behind, holding the leash tight as Tarzan strained and barked. Everyone looked over at the sound as the white dog stared back, its tail and ears straight up.

"Shawn, nice to see you." The man approached, smiling at her too. "And you must be Camila. Oh—don't worry about Chico, he doesn't bite, you can let your dog go."

Shawn reluctantly let go of Tarzan's leash and he bolted towards Chico. The two dogs began chasing each other around before Tarzan stopped to roll around in the unfamiliar-smelling grass.

"I'm Josiah, I'm with Music Mash, and I'll be the one taking your picture today." He shook Shawn's hand and then Camila's. "This is Erica, she'll be the one interviewing you."

The woman with him came forward and shook Shawn's hand too. She was really beautiful, Asian with long silky dark hair. Camila felt a slight twinge of jealousy when she touched Shawn's hand, but then she turned to Camila and smiled too, offering her hand.

"I watched that interview you did with Shawn, and I was very impressed! I just loved it—tell me, do you have any background in media like that?"

"Um—" Camila was about to say no, but something told her not to be intimidated by Erica, and it was maybe okay to embellish the truth just a tad. "Sort of. I used to work for a radio station. I interned on a morning show for a while, so I guess that's where I picked it all up."

"Oh, that's interesting." Erica smiled. "Please, feel free to sit in on everything today. You probably want to make sure Shawn comes across in his best light."

"Yep." Camila nodded. She was also interested in seeing more of the industry—how the promotional side of music worked.

"Speaking of which—Greta should be just about finished inside." Andrew said. "She brought tons of boxes."