Leave My Heart Out of This (camarry)

Chapter 1

The first thing I see when I wake up is my mother's face inches from mine.

"WAKE UP CAMILAAAA," she yells in my ear cheerily.

I roll onto my other side and pull the covers over my head to drown her out. It's way too early for that amount of happiness from one person.

"Camila, you remember what today is, right?"

As it dawns on me, my eyes shoot open and in a fraction of a second I am up and out of bed.

"Of course I do Mom! Did you really think I would have forgotten?"

I peck her on the cheek and race out of my room. "I'm gonna grab some breakfast!" I yell as I jump down the stairs three at a time. Wow, fifteen years old but with the maturity of a first grader. I put a couple of Pop-Tarts in the toaster and when they were done I headed back up to my room with them on a plate. I figured I could eat while I finished packing.

After getting changed and ready, I lugged my already full to the brim suitcase out of the closet and unzipped it. The excitement was really starting to kick in. Today was the day I was starting at Woodhill Valley Academy, a boarding school in California. I had wanted to go to boarding school since I was little, in particular Woodhill, because it was well known for being AMAZING. Or at least that's how I saw it. People from all around the country and also from Canada and Great Britain went there as it had some of the best sports, arts and academic programs in the world. And in just a few hours, I would officially be a student.

This semester would be my first as a sophomore. I used to go to a normal high school, and I really hated it there. Sure, I had a couple of friends, but I would get anxiety attacks at just the thought of going to school. I found it so hard just sitting still in a classroom all day, when half my classes were too easy and the other half I was made to feel dumb and useless by the teachers and other kids. I didn't like the school's environment or the people in it, so I decided I wanted a new start. The classes at Woodhill were based on ability, not age. The school was much smaller, therefore more friendly and less intimidating. I hoped I could also make some better friends, as I felt like I didn't have any real ones. I had saved up for almost a whole year as the school was expensive, and then my parents helped out a lot with the money side of things because they knew I wasn't happy at my old school. We didn't have a lot of money as a family, so I was really grateful for their help.

Mom called up the stairs to say we were leaving in a few minutes. I went through my stuff and ticked off my checklist, triple-checking that I had everything I needed as I wouldn't be coming home for at least a couple of months. Clothes, underwear, towels, photos, new school uniform (eugh), toiletries, pyjamas, teddy (well I couldn't really leave him behind) and books all ready to go in my two suitcases. I checked my backpack to see that I had my laptop, phone, a couple of magazines, a book, a sweater... ah, I knew I was forgetting something.

"Karla Camila Cabello, I have already started the car's engine, will you please hurry up and get your suitcases down here!" Mom yelled.

"Just a minute Mom!" I shouted as I rummaged through my drawers desperately. Where were they?

I dragged my luggage down the stairs and went up to my mom. "Have you seen our boarding passes?" I panted, out of breath from frantically running around.

"Yes, I have them right here," she replied, whipping out the two pieces of paper that were the difference between getting on our flight and being stuck here in Miami. I breathed a sigh of relief and smoothed down my dark brown hair. After saying some long goodbyes to my dad and little sister Sofia, I hopped in the car and closed the door after me.

"Okay, I'm ready then. Let's go."

* * *

Twenty minutes into our flight, I look over at my mother next to me to see that she's already asleep. Four hours and thirty minutes into our flight... she's still sleeping. Whether asleep or awake though, I'm thankful that she's with me until I get to my new school. Once we land, we get our luggage and pick up our rental car, by which point I am almost giddy with excitement.