MY LITTLE ARTIST

THIRTY

Lauren

Seeing Camila this morning had me confused beyond belief, we had such a great night even to the point of us falling asleep. When getting up however, her mood drastically changed. She was absent and quiet, painting her makeup with glazed eyes and a reluctance to speak with me

I don't know why she was late either, she'd left twenty minutes early and walked the short way back to campus. As soon as I saw her in class I knew her to be troubled, maybe it was a text? A phone call or a memory upon waking up

Still, I continued the class and tried my best to keep my brain occupied. When the bell rang I raised my chin and grew the balls to call Nova towards the desk. She looked bored, without her little friend she too was absent "Yes? Everything ok?" She asked sweetly

I waited for the last person to leave before leaning forwards over my desk "Did Camila say anything to you when she came in?" I asked sheepishly "You know, she seemed really off?"

Nova shook her head with a defeated shrug in response "I tried to see what was up but she just said she felt weird" her reply didn't help ease my nerves at all "She was pretty quiet"

I sank back into my chair with a tap to check my phone "She's been weird all morning" I sighed back "Hardly spoke to me" I could tell the conversation felt strange to Nova, it felt the same for me too in all honesty. Between me and Camila it was familiar now, but to her it was still rather unusual

"I can go to her dorm after class?" She asked quietly "See what the deal is?" I shook my head with a small sigh "Maybe give her some space, I'll give her a text tonight" I smiled, watching the girl nod back "Sure, I'll see you tomorrow"

I glanced down again at my phone, the text from Sam not yet present which led me to stroll slowly towards his office. When opening the door I could see him picking up a few pencils and eyeing my body with a huff of tired air

"Hey" he smiled "I was gonna come find you after I'd cleaned up" he stood to brush the lining of his suit, his expression exhausted and his voice unusually quiet "How was class?"

I shrugged as I ventured to sit on the nearby couch "Quiet without Camila, she normally fills the silent gaps" I laughed weakly, knowing that something was wrong "So, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I gave her some bad news" He gasped with raised brows, walking to slump into his chair. Of course I knew that already, I wasn't stupid but still it hit the pit of my stomach like a bag of bricks "She lost her shit as expected and well" his hand reached for the pot of pencils he'd just finished clearing up "Busted her hand up pretty good too!"

My body felt tense simply imagining Camila in such distress. I'd met her smile a few times now and couldn't bare thinking of it replaced with anger "Where did she go?"

"It's not my job to follow her Lauren" he sighed, shifting an ounce of rage within my chest "I assume back to her dorm, given her outburst, I'm not really jumping to chase her and talk!"

"So you let her go?" I asked with a slightly defensive tone "Knowing she was in crisis?"

Sam rolled his eyes at me with a sharp expression of power "I went to school for four years to do this job Lauren, I think I know what I'm doing!" He barked "Besides, following her in that mood will do nothing but chase her further away!"

"Maybe she needs someone to chase her Sam?" I blurted out, shifting to the edge of my seat "I don't know! Maybe she wants someone to show her that they're not just gonna watch her leave!"

He flailed his arms with a grunt, lifting his fingertips to straighten his brow "She has some pretty severe trauma Lauren!" He protested "I'm intelligent enough to realise that people like me, aka, an authority figure is not someone she's craving to come and save her!"

"So what!" I hissed "It's better to let her run out of here with an emotional grenade sitting in her palm!" His eyes refused to meet my own "I don't know what you told her, but maybe having a contingency plan in place is better than just seeing how shit goes!"

"You fucking chase her then!" He yelled "You're the one that knows her better than anyone else in the world apparently?"

"Oh fuck you!" I retaliated "I'm sorry if getting to know her hurts you so bad Sam! Jesus Christ, I could tell you a million things that you have no idea about!"

He stood from his chair and paced the back of the room, his eyes rolling in his head while his hands flailed to make his point "I bet I could tell you a billion that you don't know Lauren! That is the fucking problem here!"

My mind instantly went to the file sitting at home beside my couch, I knew that was what he had meant but I refused to let him win "What was the bad news then" I asked bluntly, lowering my eyes into my heels "You might as well tell me so I can deal with it in class"

Finally the man sat back down within his seat, pushing a few pieces of paper around before sighing to reluctantly look at me "I told her there was a possibility that she could see her little sister again" he began "Turns out, it's not really possible right now"

My heart dropped into my stomach, knowing how painful such a thing must have felt to hear. I never really though about Camila's life outside of school, mainly on purpose but partly due to my own stubborn intentions. She had a sister that she couldn't see, she was in agony clearly

"Why not?" Sam sighed again "Legalities of her foster situation" he mumbled "It's really proving to be a pain in the ass"

I nodded to myself with a now aching stomach, glancing at the door as I stood to grab for the handle "Can you fix it?"

"I'm trying" he replied, his tone not as confident as I'd like it to be "It's just a minefield getting through all of the red tape"

I huffed a deep breath, only thinking of a billion ways to make things better "Well, keep me updated" I spoke before leaving the room to walk the hall leading into my class. I grabbed for my bag and keys and made an exit towards my car

Being in this school for another second, I'm sure to have lost my mind. When getting home my stomach again sank, the scent of Camila's perfume still present from getting ready this morning. I pulled out my phone to text her but waited hours with no reply. Eventually I went to bed and fell asleep with nothing but an ache to hold her