Visitor (Normila / Laurmani)

Chapter 5

A/N: For future reference, this story will not have any trigger warnings. 

After Camila performed her "magic trick," she held Normani in her arms for a little while to comfort her. Afterward, they ate lunch, and Normani showed Camila how to play checkers. Normani took this opportunity to try to learn more about Camila.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"In Earth years? I mean...hold on." Camila paused to calculate her age. "I'm 23."

"Oh! You're just a year younger than me and Lauren," said Normani. "So, what are your plans? Are you going to college?"

"I thought I already told you, but I guess I haven't. I've already been to college. I studied astrobiology," Camila replied.

"But, you didn't tell me where you studied. I figured you were just lying," admitted Normani.

Normani had been so nice to Camila, she felt she deserved the truth. If she wanted to stay in her house, she knew she would face more probing questions. Camila decided it was about time for her to reveal her true origins.

"Normani, I have something to tell you that is going to be very hard for you to believe. And, if you do believe it, there is a chance you will freak out. I'm not a danger, however. Do you promise me you won't freak out?"

"I promise that I won't freak out," stated Normani.

"Good. Normani, I am not from this planet. I'm from a planet called Orgcan. Scientists on Earth call it Kepler-452b," Camila explained.

Normani sighed, "Camila, if you don't want to give me the details about what happened in your cult, then you don't have to. But, please don't treat me like I'm stupid by telling me ridiculous stories like this."

"It's the truth, Normani," Camila insisted. "That trick I did earlier was not a trick. I was able to create the flower because of technology I have implanted in my hand. It's technology that doesn't exist on Earth. I was going to share it with Dr. Cowell."

"I really hope you don't believe these things because, if you do, I'm going to have to take you somewhere to get help," Normani informed her.

Not wanting to risk being taken to a mental institution, Camila gave up her quest to get Normani to believe her. "Forget it. Let's just finish the game."

As the day went on, Normani feared the time she would have to ask Camila to leave. She couldn't bear the thought of Camila sleeping outside again. More selfishly, she couldn't bear the thought of being alone again. When she wasn't working on weekends or taking dance and acting classes on weekdays, she was always home alone watching television shows and movies. Because she worked on Lauren's days off, the two of them didn't get to spend much time together. Lauren was often too tired to do anything on weekdays. It was nice for Normani to finally have some company. Camila didn't understand a lot of things, but she was still great to talk to. Admittedly, she was a lot more understanding and caring than Lauren had been the past year or so. Probably even longer. Things started to go downhill soon after Lauren graduated from college.

"I noticed you and Lauren have rings. Aren't those for married people?" Camila asked.

"We had a commitment ceremony two years ago," responded Normani sadly. This brought up memories she didn't want to reflect on at the moment.

"Is that something you did in place of getting married?" inquired Camila.

"Kind of. We weren't exactly ready to get married at the time, but we also couldn't get married as a same-sex couple because of the law. We can now, but Lauren doesn't want to."