Never Have I Ever (Camren)

part one

Lauren Jauregui arrived at the University of Miami the morning of January 4th, the first Monday back from winter break.  She moved into the single dorm room across the hall from Camila Cabello and Dinah Jane Hansen.  Being the friendly girls they were, Camila and Dinah offered to help Lauren carry her belongings into her room, and Lauren graciously accepted their offer.  Once all of Lauren's belongings had made it to her room, Lauren invited Camila and Dinah in so they could all get to know each other.

After an hour of chatting, the three girls decided to hit the dining room for dinner.  Over platefuls of chicken and various vegetables, the three girls continued to learn more about each other.

"So what made you decide to switch to U Miami halfway through the year?" Camila asked Lauren.

Once Lauren had swallowed her food, she answered Camila's question, "I kind of got harassed at UC Berkeley."

Camila's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.  "What do you mean harassed?"

"The students at Berkley weren't very accepting of those unlike them - rich, white, entitled, straight," Lauren said.

Camila was shocked at Lauren's words, especially the last one.  She wondered how anybody could give such a pretty girl such a hard time.

"Well, it's a good thing Chancho and I don't judge," said Dinah.  "It would be very hypocritical of me since I'm Polynesian, not necessarily rich, and bisexual."

"Chancho?" Lauren questioned.

"That's Dinah's nickname for me.  She calls me Cheechee and I call her Chancho," Camila answered.

–

As Camila was laying in her bed trying to fall asleep, she couldn't get Lauren off of her mind.  She had never been one to make assumptions yet she couldn't help but think maybe Lauren was into girls.  Camila replayed Lauren's comment from earlier over and over in her head: "The students at Berkley weren't very accepting of those unlike them - rich, white, entitled, straight."  The way Lauren had said "straight," she almost seemed pained by the word, which made Camila think that Lauren possibly wasn't.  Either way, Camila didn't care.  A person's sexuality mattered no more to Camila than a person's hair color did.

"Hey Cheech?" Camila called from her bed.

Dinah didn't answer, as she had fallen into a deep sleep.  Since Camila was having trouble sleeping on her own, she trudged across the room to Dinah's bed and climbed in next to her.  Dinah shifted and wrapped her arms around Camila the way one would embrace a stuffed animal.  In the arms of her best friend, Camila succumbed to sleep for the night.

–

The next morning when Dinah woke up with Camila in her bed, she was a little surprised.  Not by the fact that Camila had climbed into bed with her - Camila had done that quite a few times before - but because nothing particularly striking had happened the night before.  Usually when Camila slept in Dinah's bed, it was after a night she spent crying because she either felt alone or worthless, or in the rare case, when someone had died.

"Chancho, wake up," Dinah said shaking Camila.  "We've got class in fifteen."

Usually Camila was the one to wake up first and proceeded to wake Dinah up.  Both girls got dressed quickly, then headed for the door.  On the way out, Camila grabbed a granola bar because she knew Dinah would complain about her growing hunger on the way to class.  So when exactly that happened, Camila pulled the granola bar out of her bag and handed it to Dinah.

"See?  This is why I keep you around.  You really are the best," Dinah said.

When the two girls walked through the door, they were pleased to see Lauren already sitting in the classroom.  Camila slid into the seat next to Lauren before Dinah even had a chance.  Dinah groaned, taking a seat in the row behind.