| 00 • scout finch |
Camila walked home eagerly with one person on her mind: Scout Finch.
Of all the books she'd read and all the pages she'd turned, she didn't find a story that intrigued her more than the adventures of Scout Finch. And that's all Camila wanted to do—go home and read until her head was pounding from a word overload.
Her eyes were fixed on the pages of the paperback as she crossed the street. She was so focused on the book that not even the honks of the cars on the road could make her bat an eye. Of course everyone knew to look both ways before crossing, but today Camila didn't care.
After a short walk, she arrived home. She could hear the faint sound of men shouting and something large being dropped on the ground across the street, but still refused to look up as she made her way inside.
"Hi, Mami," she greeted, her gaze never leaving her book while she took a seat at the kitchen table. When she didn't receive a response, she finally put her book down and looked around.
On the table sat a sticky note. Camila assumed her mother wrote it right before she had arrived since the smell of the marker had yet to fade from the air.
I went out to buy some groceries for dinner tonight, we're having guests. I want you to look halfway decent.
Love, Mom
She sighed. It's not that Camila didn't enjoy having company over, she just knew she wasn't going to enjoy it today. She wanted to read. Having guests over also meant having to look nice, or "halfway decent" as her mom put it.
The young Cuban trudged her way up the stairs and into her room with her bag. She fell face first onto her mattress and let out a muffled scream. Today was not the day.
Camila flipped over on her back, throwing her bag across the room carelessly. The sounds of the men across the road hadn't seized and she was already getting a headache from their constant yelling. Her curiosity peaked and her feet carried her to the window where she carefully pulled down the blinds to see what was happening.
Someone was moving in.
Camila was about to go back to reading until she heard the front door open, then close shut with a slam. She walked out of her room and greeted her mother as she walked into the kitchen.
"Can you help me put this away?" Sinhue said, gesturing to the many foods she bought at the supermarket.
Camila grabbed some canned food and placed it in the pantry. "So who exactly is coming over tonight?" she asked, picking up a tomato and tossing it in her hands.
Her mother grabbed it from her and placed on the table with a scolding look before turning around to put more food away. "The new neighbors. You didn't see?"
Camila shrugged.
Sinhue motioned her daughter out of the house, lecturing her on how she should have greeted the neighbors when she came home, to which Camila just rolled her eyes. "Go introduce yourself properly and remind them of dinner tonight."
As Camila shuffled out the door and towards the newly occupied house, there were so many thoughts wandering through her mind. What were they like? Were they nice? Did they have any children? Basic questions, sure, but she was curious.
Perhaps it was because she was lost in thought, or because the expensive cars in the driveway were distracting her, but Camila soon found herself colliding with someone else. The thump that followed ensured her whoever she ran into dropped something of a decent size, possibly of some importance.
"I am so sorry," Camila said quickly. She looked up to see a lean girl picking something up off the ground. When the girl stood up, Camila noticed what seemed to be a battered journal in her hand. "I, um, I didn't see you."
The girl shook her head with a small smile. "No, no, it's okay. It was my fault."
"I didn't. . . I didn't ruin your notebook did?"
She laughed for a reason Camila didn't understand and waved the short Latina off. "Not at all. It's old," she smiled. "I'm Y/N, by the way."
Y/N held out her hand for Camila to shake, which she gladly did. "I'm Camila," she grinned. "My mom wanted me to remind you about dinner tonight."
"Right," Y/N nodded, moving the journal she had between her hands. "My dad is working late tonight, but my mother and I would love to attend."
"Of course. Whatever is convenient for you."
Y/N gave Camila a warm, lopsided smile before backpedaling towards the garage door. "Okay, so I'll see you later tonight?"
"I look forward to it."
She'd seen Y/N once before, but she couldn't put her finger on it. However, in that moment, something sparked Camila's interest, and the girl across the street was the only one on her mind.
•••
a/n: so i'm not exactly when i'll update, but i'll definitely be reading more and the harmo awards are a thing now so i'll have to check out some authors there
thanks for reading :) slow updates [probably]
–yours truly
