f.m. ~camren

chapter 11

It's Wednesday afternoon and Camila hides in a storage closet for a few minutes so she can make a phone call out to Lauren. They have been texting on and off since their date Monday night and made tentative plans for this evening. Unfortunately, Stella is on a rampage and has estimated they'll be working until 8 or 9, leaving her no choice but to cancel. Lauren is just getting off work when she hears her ringtone and sees Camila's calling.

"Hi Camz," Lauren answers as she is unlocking and entering her car.

"Hi Lauren, I can't talk for long," Camila begins to explain.

"That's fine. What's up?"

"Tonight isn't going to work out. Stella had us trapped in a meeting almost all day with the new band and their wannabe manager making negotiations. They just started recording a half hour ago and she won't let me off the hook until I create a full proposal for the label to review. Basically I have to summarize their sound based on this track they're laying down and defend its marketability. I'll be lucky to make it home by 10."

Lauren does her best to hide the disappointment she feels. Camila invited her to attend amateur night at one of the local comedy clubs for their next "date," and after dealing with the abuse of several angry customers who came in to buy one of the popular new releases that sold out she was looking forward to an evening of laughs while in more preferable company.

"Don't worry about it. Maybe we can go next week?" Lauren suggests, attempting to demonstrate that she was genuinely interested in the night out Camila had planned for them.

"Definitely. Thanks for understanding. Would you like to plan something for this weekend or should we take a break?" Camila offers an out, not wanting Lauren to feel obligated to spend more time with her than is necessary to keep up appearances for their friends.

"Normani's birthday is next week but she wants to celebrate with an outing this Saturday. I'm sure she expects us both to be there, so we can't escape each other even if we tried. Unless we want to stir up trouble in paradise?"

"It's too soon. If we fight now, they won't buy into how torn we are after the break up," Camila reasons.

"Agreed. I better let you go though. I still need to drive home and I'm sure you're super thrilled about getting back to work."

"Don't remind me," Camila replies before they exchange their goodbyes and hang up the call.

When Saturday night rolls around Normani, Tyler, Lauren, Camila, Dinah, and Dinah's boyfriend Carter all meet up at Normani and Lauren's apartment before going out. A few more of Normani's friends meet them at their destination restaurant, Cesar Goodies. They have a reservation at a large table with a great view of the stage where karaoke is performed. One of the scantily clad waitresses sets them up with menus, pausing longer than necessary when leaning over in front of the men at the table. Carter is sitting at one of the ends and Dinah sends their waitress a glare of death when she pretends to accidentally run her hand up his arm while pulling away from setting down his menu. She scurries away a moment later to greet another table of guests without acknowledging the unspoken threat.

"I hope they bring our drinks before karaoke starts. I'm going to need the liquid courage to give Queen Bey a proper tribute," Normani confesses.

"I don't think I've ever been drunk enough to sing in public," Camila replies, praying Dinah won't conspire against her and try adding her name to the list without permission like the last time they went out. She had to spend an embarrassing amount of time in the bathroom to guarantee they'd skip her turn when it came around at the bar, and she hasn't shown her face there since.

"The trick is to join in on group songs. There are only two mics, so your voice will barely carry but you'll still have some of the fun," Tyler advises.