The Literature Goddess - Camren

The Queen

Camila Cabello loved her job.

Seeing her students tense shoulders relax when they entered her classroom, knowing they could let their creativity flow without getting yelled at by some ancient, overworked professor like in their other classes, made her smile. She loved being able to offer her pupils a safe space because she remembered how badly she had needed one when she had been in their situation. Her college experience had been less than pleasant. But Camila felt it was all worth it when she accepted her diploma and saw her parents proudly grinning up at her.

She had found work at a local college quite easily. Thinking back, she'd probably been more nervous on the first day of class than the students had been. She'd dropped her folder multiple times, almost spilled her water over the homework she'd just collected and to top it all off, she'd forgotten her name when she'd tried to introduce herself to the class. It was a terrifying first week but after that, she'd started to feel at ease with her job.

And then, one day, when Camila was leaving her classroom, she'd collided with someone who'd show her just how wonderful her job really was.

The door closed behind her and Camila fiddled with her keys for a few seconds before she managed to find the right one and push the key into the lock.

She was too busy trying not to bend her keys out of shape while trying to turn it in the old keyhole to hear the steps coming towards her. Before she could get pick up her purse from the floor, someone collided with her and the door handle was painfully pushed against her spine.

"O-oh my god!" The person who'd crashed into her exclaimed with a worried urgency in her voice. "Are you okay? I'm SO sorry! I thought the class might still be open, I forget my jacket in there and I was trying to- Oh god, I'm just really, really sorry..." Her voice got weaker with every word she spoke and Camila stopped rubbing her aching back and looked up.

Looking back at her was possibly the most beautiful human being she'd ever seen. Black hair an unruly mess but the girl somehow managed to pull it off. Her eyes were green, now filled with barely hidden anxiety, but still breathtaking.

The girl in front of her blushed and Camila realized she'd been staring at her for probably half a minute without saying anything. Against her will, her body mirrored Lauren's and she felt her face heat up. She cleared her throat and tried to appear unaffected by the (ridiculously attractive) girl in front of her.

"No, don't worry. I think I only broke two ribs." Camila said, trying to ease the tension by lightning the mood, but she instantly regretted it when she saw the panic flash through the girls eyes. She quickly corrected herself. "I'm just joking. I'm fine." The other woman relaxed a little and Camila smiled internally at being able to make the other woman feel better.

After another ten seconds of silence, the green eyed girl spoke up.

"I'm sorry to ask you for a favor minutes after almost killing you, but I really need my jacket." She said with a coy smile (that made Camila want to pull her close and protect her like a she was the most valuable thing to ever exist... Wait what?). Camila blinked.

"Oh, yeah sure. Let me just-"

She turned around in search of her key when a warm hand brushed hers and she felt the cool metal being pressed into her palm. "It was lying on the floor next to me. Figured it was probably yours."

"Oh, um, thanks..." Camila raised a questioning eyebrow at the girl. (She really wanted to know her name for some reason)

"Lauren. My name's Lauren." She smiled and Camila couldn't help smiling back.