MY LITTLE ARTIST

FOURTY

No POV

The simplicity of peace came naturally to most, revelling in the moment something rather enjoyable to many. Unfortunately Camila had never been blessed with such feelings, constantly in a state of chaos she'd grown to appreciate more than calm

She didn't remember much from last night, it seemed that as soon as she had rejoined Summer, her mind decided to switch off. She didn't even remember getting home, the scuff on her left knee and right palm however indicated it wasn't exactly a serene walk

Whatever Summer had offered clearly took its toll as she readied for the day ahead. Her head pained like a bruised peach and her mouth was dryer than the Sahara Desert. She shoved her headphones deep into her ears and navigated the campus with a water bottle stuck to the palm of her hand

"Look who it is!" Olivia giggled beside Melody as the brunette brushed past her shoulder "Crack Whore made it in!" Camila ignored the girls comment, she didn't have the mental space nor the capacity to retaliate

Instead she continued towards the white classroom door, loosening the bag on her back when realising herself to be first in. She hadn't even noticed Lauren when slamming the material beside her desk, but Lauren had noticed her

"Camila?" She hummed, pointing down at the floor gently when the girl made weak eye contact "Come talk a second?" Camila walked slowly towards the woman's desk, stopping with a blank expression the elder recognised after her and Sam's conversation "What happened to your leg?"

Camila looked down at her knee and flailed her arms silently "Your hand too?" Lauren gasped, standing to grab for the girls limp wrist "What happened?"

"Fell over" Camila mumbled, her tone empty and lacking emotion "Can't remember"

Lauren immediately stepped in to grab for the girls chin, her eyes lingering over the brown before darting the entire length of her caramel body "You can't remember? Camila are you drunk right now?"

The girl shook her head without a fight "No"

"Do you feel ok today? You look a little shaken baby?" Lauren's voice was soft and sweet, full of care and oozing with empathy "If you need to get some more sleep it's ok, you can catch up tomorrow?"

"No" the younger backed away "I'm already here, I'm not going" Lauren watched Camila return to her seat with a knotted stomach, something was off and she couldn't figure out what. It's like the Camila she knew was kidnapped and replaced with a foreign alien

She didn't have long to ponder on the difference however as within a few seconds her class began to fill. She simply observed the girl from a distance as they continued their projects and talked amongst themselves

Soon after, Sam entered in on the class and ventured towards her desk "Hey good looking, just a few documents from Roman" he spoke with a soft energy "How's it going?"

Lauren shook her head and subtly pointed at the girl ahead "She's not right, I think she fell over but she's claiming not to remember" she explained, hoping that her eyes had fooled her

Sam sighed, turning his back on the class so that the girl couldn't see their conversation from afar "There was a huge party at the club last night, a few of our underage students went!" He began with a whisper "I've already spoken to a few and from what I can gather, Camila was there too!"

"Thought so" Lauren sighed, twisting her hair around the end of her fingertips "She looks out of it, like she's in a trance or something!" Lauren didn't understand the look from Sam that followed, it was knowing almost, aware but locked behind a quick smile

"Just see how she goes today ok? Maybe invite her over to yours later, give her a bit of love" he added "Like I told you, she's extremely fragile right now!"

Lauren nodded with a sigh as the man left, continuing to look at the girl who sketched away as if nothing had happened at all. She wanted to help her, understand her and take away whatever turmoil laid beneath the surface

When the bell rang and the class emptied, she noticed her to be remained seated, drawing continuously without even a minutes break. Lauren walked over to the desk with a smile, looking down on the incredible work she had so far created

"This is beautiful Camila" she spoke "Really it's amazing, I love the shading already!"

Camila didn't look up, she only dropped her pencil and took a deep breath "It's not finished yet"

"I can see that" Lauren replied "I can't even imagine how good it's gonna look when it is!"

Camila laughed in a strange manner, brushing off the compliment before slamming the sketch book closed to stand "I'm gonna go get some sleep now"

"Wait!" Lauren pressed, stopping the girl from walking away "Camila I can't let you go like this, call me selfish but I just need to know that you're ok?"

Camila swallowed, the life in her eyes still vacant and dull "I'm ok, can I go now?" Lauren shook her head "You're not! I can see that you're not, why don't we go for a drive and talk or something? We could even just listen to music?"

Camila rolled her eyes as she bent for her back pack from the floor "Why do you care?" Her voice finally had a bit of substance "Why does it even matter to you?"

Lauren scoffed back in shock "Why does it matter?" She repeated sarcastically "Because I like you Camila? I care about you?" Camila grunted and began walking away, stopped quickly by the elders hand grabbing a hold of her hot shoulder "No! Don't do this right now, look I know you're going through it right now? But I care Camila! I really fucking care!"

"Well don't!" The younger spat with flailing arms and a raised tone "Trust me, you're just wasting your time!"

Lauren immediately felt the butterflies in stomach turning cold, the look on the Youngers face so blank so couldn't separate herself from her role "I don't consider even a second with you as a waste of time!" She spoke passionately "I want to be there for you Camila! I want to help!"

"Well you can't!" She growled back "None of you can! I don't need any of you to babysit and look out for me, I'm done!" Lauren hated being referred to in the same context as the other teachers and authorities in her life. Rightfully so she considered herself to be way more than just a teacher "What do you mean done?"

"I mean!" Camila scoffed "I'm done putting on the smile and pretending to be ok when I'm not! It's not worth my energy anymore so stop bothering to try and cure me!"

Lauren stepped back as the younger slammed her palm into the desk "Camila-

"Lauren!" The girl interrupted "I'm absolutely fine! I'm going back to my dorm and I'm going to sleep!" She pressed back "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Lauren watched Camila leave with a heavy sensation in her stomach, her feelings for the girl now more intense than she first thought. She felt hurt by her retaliation and wanted only to call her back and yell at her until she returned to normal. Sadly however she knew the impact of a hard time and decided instead to kick her desk and sink back into her chair with a grunt