OUT - What happened to us? (Camren)

Chapter 4

The first beats of the song got into Camila's heart in such a way that it possessed her, turning that shy and insecure girl into a powerful performer. The melody invaded her brain like a drug does into someone's bloodstream. That was the case, for her, music was just as effective as a chemical component made to numb those who made use of it.

Camila had always loved music in a high level. Before being on a real stage, she made her basement her place to put on shows, dreaming of performing for real people, living that in real life, not just in her imagination. Sometimes she organized her imaginative stage with a lot of details and on an specific day she even used some colorful lights to make it feel more real. On a beautiful Thursday afternoon, while singing to one of her favorite One Direction's song, she got so excited that she moved with little attention and being very clumsy she bumped into a box which fell and revealed what it had inside. It was full of Christmas lights. She had the idea of decorating her stage with lights.

The colorful blinking lights made Camila feel happier than in any other performance in her basement. She was alone at home and so she felt comfortable to do whatever she wanted, since there was no risk of someone walking into the place in the middle of her private concert. The music played out loud and the louder she screamed, the better she felt, it felt like freedom letting so many feelings out through a song.

Not every song was happy and when a sad one played, the brown eyed girl felt it going straight to her heart in a way it hadn't ever happened before. She felt an urge to cry. In the back of her mind she started to think about her life, how lonely she was, how different from people she had always been. She was an outsider and even though she tried, she couldn't fit in. She had a happy home, but that wasn't enough. She needed some social interaction, unfortunately she had been constantly failing at that. Being socially awkward wasn't exactly pleasant and it could hurt quite a lot at times. She was the girl who made jokes that nobody laughed at, the one no boy was kissing and no cool kid would invite to their awesome parties, where so many things happened. She was the girl that stayed at home, did her homework, listened to pop music and walked around with her mother. At a park, she was the one who went there with her dog and sat down reading, sometimes interrupting it to watch teenagers interact with each other. On days she was in a very good mood, she would even say something to a stranger thinking that maybe that unknown face would turn into a known one, which never really happened, they all kept being strangers. She was the clumsy girl at school who would often drop something or bump into someone and then apologize for it.

The song ended and so did the album she was listening to, she didn't feel like performing anymore, she just laid on the floor, stared at the lights that were blinking and let the tears fall.

- Camila... Camila... - The fourteen-year-old heard a soft voice calling her name. She opened her eyes and saw her mom's face, who had a warm smile on. - Dinner is ready, come eat so you won't get weak nor skinnier.

- Dinner? - She asked confused. - What time is it?

- It's almost 7. - Her mother had sweet eyes while looking at her.

- Oh my God, I fell asleep! - She exclaimed in surprise with the realization. The last thing she remembered was crying on the floor and the thoughts she had in mind.

- Yes, you did. - Sinu said among little laughs caused by her daughter's behavior. - What's the thing about the Christmas lights? It's not December yet... - The lights were still blinking, Sinu didn't undo anything Camila had done, she used to respect her actions and before undoing anything she'd talk about that, she always imagined it could be something important, perhaps even a school experience.

- Oh! That... - Camila said blushing, even though she was really opened with her mother. - I was performing. - She confessed and smiled shyly.