the broken mirror ➸ camren

Chapter One

"Lauren Jauregui!"

When Lauren heard the voice of a woman calling her out of her dressing room she immediately stood up from her chair. Taking care not to rip her shiny and expensive dress, she stood in front of the mirror of the room and lifted her head to face ... a princess.

Lauren always knew how beautiful she was. The whole world, including her mother, missed no opportunity to constantly remind her of how wonderful her green eyes were, her seductive smile and the features of her face. Her white skin shone like the sun, and her red lips had the color of blood, which Lauren's mother, Clara, found very charming.

Lauren was a model. Well, not altogether, but it would soon happen. She would eventually become a celebrity, as she liked to imagine. The tonight's catwalk in front of the judges would be epic. Lauren was sure of her success. Her mother and her had gone through so many years of preparation for this day, and there was no chance that Lauren would not win the contest.

Of course, many of her rivals were also friends, especially Ally and Dinah, two girls full of vitality. Ally was one of those people who had shiny teeth and you could not stop looking at them. Dinah, on the other hand, had great lips. And Lauren had enchanting eyes that "reminded of the color of the ocean," as Clara always said.

Ally and Dinah may have been Lauren's best friends, but they did not cease to compete with her. Clara would never allow Lauren to let another girl win, even if she was one of her best friends. Lauren knew that, and of course she was in agreement. She agreed with what her mother said. Besides, she knew better.

But now it was Lauren's moment to shine, to show herself once again. He was looking forward to the end of the catwalk to hear all those mugs for her well shaped body and seductive face. The praises she received gave her energy and joy.

All her mother's family friends knew her. She won in most of the catwalks and had gathered a bunch of awards. She was not going to miss the tonight's contest.

Suddenly, Lauren realized she was sitting in front of the mirror for a quarter, staring at her reflection. It was not her fault - no one could easily take their eyes off her. Even she, was sometimes enchanted by how beautiful she was. Lauren had never seen such a beautiful girl at her age. She was only 17 years old, but her appearance made her look older. Sometimes this annoyed her mother, because looking older is not the best thing when dealing with modelling.

Lauren decided that she should finally get out of the dressing room. She softly stroked her black hair, smiled at her reflection in the mirror, (which she always did before a contest) and got out.

A few women waited outside the dressing room, all concerned. They were all anxious. She smiled. Why should she be anxious? She was foing to get that crown.

Lauren's eyes turned to the stairs where the contestants climbed the stage, in which Dinah was now walking down, with a big smile on her face. She had just finished her catwalk. A voice from a loudspeaker came to Lauren's ears:

"The next contestant is the sixteen times honored with our awards, Lauren Jauregui!"

Lauren took a deep breath and, lifting her dress a little, she began to climb the stairs leading to the big stage.

The first thing that Lauren saw when she was on stage, was her mother, standing up among the audience crowd, clapping her hands and whistling. That's what Clara always did when she saw her daughter on stage.

Lauren smiled broadly, showing her white denture to the crowd of people who were under her. The music that was playing, was very rhythmic and gave Lauren energy.

She started walking on the catwalk. The flashes of the cameras blinded her as always, but after so many years she had become accustomed to it.

Lauren put her hand in her waist, turning around herself for the crowd to see and admire the beautiful dress she wore.

She blowed kisses, smiled and walked confidently up and down across the stage. The judges looked at her with admiration.

She felt it. She had done her best. When the song was over, she knew her turn was over. With a last smile she left the stage and soon was back in the backstage. She had done it! She was sure of her victory. Her mother would be proud of her.

Lauren stepped back into her dressing room, only to see herself in the mirror. She was as perfect as before. Her hair was as glorious as it was before her performance, her makeup was also fine and her dress did not have a single tearing. Lauren smiled proudly at herself, wondering once again how could she be that beautiful.

Suddenly, the door of the dressing room opened and Ally and Dinah came in. Lauren stood up and embraced them, joggling happily.

"You did it again, you nailed it!" Dinah said with enthusiasm.

"I know, but I didn't see you guys," Lauren replied.

"It doesn't matter, you were here and getting ready as always. What do you think, will you win again?" Ally emboldened her with her smile. Lauren smiled back. The thing that she loved the most about her best friends, was that they always supported her, even if they were against her in the same contest.

At that moment Lauren's mother entered the room. She was always thrilled and excited. Well...not always...

"Well, see you later Laur." Ally whispered to Lauren and pulled Dinah out of the room.

"Mom!" Lauren yelled happily when she was left alone with her mother and ran to embrace her. She wrapped her arms around Clara's shoulders. When they separated, Clara looked at her daughter with a serious expression on her face, the one that Lauren didn't really like. Something was wrong.

"What happened?" she asked her mother.

"Your walk was crap, that's what happened. What were you thinking, Lauren?" Clara answered, clearly bothered. Lauren felt horrible at the moment. She felt useless. She was sure she had given her best on stage and that her mother would not find anything bad about her appearance this time. She was wrong.

"You just screwed your first position, you better not know how awful that was! And one of your turns was an epic fail. Thank god that it did not torn your dress," Carla shouted with indignation.

"I thought I was pretty good," Lauren admitted. What she wanted after the catwalk, was a supportive mother who would tell her how well she did, not one that would make her feel useless.

"You were not," Clara said in a harsh voice.

"Mom..."

"If you keep doing like this, young lady, you will lose your first place. I thought you wanted to be the best of the best!,"her mother continued angrily.

"I want to, but ..."

"But you are lazy, you do not try, Lauren, I want you to practice more, to be perfect. I will not accept such a catwalk again." that was Clara's last word before leaving her daughter alone.

All of Lauren's joy had vanished. It was as if her mother wanted to make her feel worse after each contest. She called her lazy, useless, and other things that crushed Lauren's confidence.

Yes, Lauren was beautiful. But sometimes she wondered how would it be if her life didn't include the cameras and the pressure. How would it actually be if she had a normal life?

Lauren glanced at the mirror in front of her - she saw what she saw every time, a beautiful girl. But this time she felt somewhat strange. It was the disappointment her mother had just given her, that had taken a piece of her reflection's perfection away.

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Ughhh first chapter! We're really sorry for any grammar or vocabulary mistakes, we're trying really hard. It's actually kind of impossible to write a book while not using your native language. ♡♡♡