Why we were chosen.

Chapter 47

"Sorry I'm late." Lauren softly spoke, fiddling with her backpack. She stared down at the gravestone with rheumy eyes. "The game was longer than expected." Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out Camila's softball glove. "We won." She placed the glove beside the gravestone. "I'm sure you know that though." She sent the stone a gentle smile before closing her backpack and sitting cross legged.

"The others are out celebrating, but I'd rather be here with you, babe." She bit her lip to stop herself from crying once more. "I-I didn't play my best, but I think the new girls picked up the slack for me." She looked down at the grass and reached out to feel one of the flowers from the mini garden surrounding Camila's gravestone. "My mom is really good at this kind of stuff. Your garden looks beautiful." 

"My mom said that the chrysanthemums are going to bloom soon, so it'll look even prettier." Lauren smiled at the stems. She was excited to see the flowers sprout. Lauren wanted Camila's garden to be just as beautiful as she remembered her girlfriend to be.

"I didn't pass the French test I told you about. I just don't get it." Lauren sighed before looking down at her feet and playing with her shoe laces. "I did try to study, but you always made studying fun. Now I just get frustrated because I don't get it. I don't get anything anymore. But I'm trying." Lauren smiled sadly at the gravestone. She admired the memorial portrait of Camila before looking down at her backpack.

"Let's watch some Kim Possible." Lauren said before reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone. After starting the show and placing her phone against a water bottle, Lauren fell into a silent homework session. She laid on the floor while working on her homework, Kim Possible in the background. She liked to believe that Camila was laying beside her watching the show as she worked on her homework. It gave her a sense of peace.

"You're going to celebrate our first win by doing homework?" Lauren heard Amy's voice, making her snap her head behind her. She smiled softly when she saw her friends standing behind her with pizza boxes, drinks, chips, and board games.

"I've been behind." Lauren replied as she sat up.

"It's a good thing we know how to change your grade then huh?" Zendaya sent her a wink before laying out a large blanket beside Camila's garden. Lauren watched in confusion as all eight girls placed what they brought onto the blanket and situated themselves.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought you were out celebrating."

"What do you think we're doing right now?" Olivia sent her a smile before opening a pizza box and grabbing a slice.

"I thought you were going to get pizza."

"And we did." Ally replied, serving herself some food as well. "To go of course."

"But I thought," Lauren started until Normani cut her off.

"Laur, we won our first game. It's only fair we celebrate as a team, and that includes Mila." She looked down at the portrait of her friend, smiling sadly at the picture of a happy Camila. "She will always be part of our team."

"Exactly!" Dinah said before raising a bottle of vodka. "So she takes the first shot. Here you go Chancho!" She smiled widely before pouring some alcohol over the garden.

"Isn't that going to kill the flowers?" Alyssa asked.

"Oh, maybe." Dinah made a face before pouring herself a shot.

"My mom has worked so hard to make sure they bloomed." Lauren couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that they were always somehow ruining her mom's flowers. 

"Eh, you can just buy more at the store and plant them." Amy shrugged before throwing herself onto a cushion. Becky rolled her eyes at her girlfriend for taking her spot, but opened her second cushion for herself.

"Where are the kiddos?" Lauren asked her friend as she accepted a pizza slice from Normani. She remembered giving the twins a hug after their game so she figured her friend would have been with them.

"With their dad. His parents are visiting so they wanted to be with them, but I wanted to celebrate our first win with my girls." Amy smiled up at her friend.

Lauren could only smile widely. She was glad that her friends were here with her. It made her feel warm knowing that they still included Camila when celebrating.

"Put your homework away and play connect 4 with me." Zendaya held the game up, making Lauren smile at her before doing so. 

The nine friends sat together, playing board games, catching up on school drama, playing a game of catch, and drinking a bit of alcohol. They all knew that Camila was forever going to be a part of them, so it only felt natural to celebrate where she rested. Sure, to others it seemed strange to see a bunch of teenage girls laughing and playing games at a cemetery, but they didn't know. They didn't know they were there to include one of their best friends, a sister to them, in their celebration. Only they would understand the planning of going to a cemetery late in the afternoon to have a good time. It just made sense to them.

Lauren felt it that afternoon. A sense of peace. She felt genuine happiness after what felt like forever. Her friends were there with her, sharing a laugh and remaining true to a friend that had been taken from them. It made her wonder. Maybe everything would be okay at the end.