Camille Bennett

Chapter Four

"For today, I will assign each group a task and that is what you'll do for the remainder of the week." Doctor Stuart said. She began assigning tasks immediately. Mia was assigned to administrative duties. This meant she had to sit at a desk and schedule patient appointments as well as check the patient in and out of the doctors office. Once again, my group was called last. Joshua and I will be filing patient information into the database. I internally rolled my eyes. I was hoping to be in the examination room, but I guess I'll eventually get my turn.
     After the doctor calls out my group, she motions for everyone to follow her and shows us into a locker room where we can keep our belongings. After that, she leaves us be. Mia comes over to me immediately.
      "This is so cool, right Cami?!" She says with amazement.
    I smile back at her. "I'm really excited for this year." I look around quickly and then begin whispering. "I don't know what is up with my partner but he's already trying to hit on me."
      Mia's eyes widen. "What?"  She says.
   I sigh deeply. "I know, I can't believe he's acting like this on the first day. You think he'd be more professional."
    Mia shakes her head. "No, no. That's not what I meant. He's just so cute. I say go for it! Leave Liam in the dirt!" She shoots me the evil eyes and I begin to laugh.
    "I really would just rather focusing on the intern program. I don't need someone distracting me. Plus we already decided that Liam was telling the truth, Mia."
    "I know, I know. I just don't really trust Liam anymore. He has to earn that back. Even if we used to all be crib mates." She says.
    I shrug. "We'll talk more later.  I have to change into my scrubs and get started." I turn away from her and head towards an open stall. Once I'm changed into my scrubs, I toss my clothes into my assigned locker and head back over to Joshua.
      "You ready?" He says.
   I nod. We head over to the computers and wait for more direction. After a few minutes, a nurse comes up to us with a stack full of paperwork. The nurse must have seen me stare at the big pile. "Don't worry," She reassures us. "This doesn't have to be done all in one day." She places the stack on our shared desk and then leaves the room. I pull out the notes I took so I can file the information properly.
     "So," Joshua says, breaking the silence. "Are you going to tell me a bit about yourself?"
    Not looking up from my notes, I say, "I would rather focus on this. This is what I'm here for."
    "You're here to file patient information into computers?" He says, smirking.
    I rolled my eyes but continued looking down at my notes. "No, genius. I'm here for the program. You know, so I can become a doctor." I finally look up to find him staring right at me.
     "It was a joke, hun." He replied.
   "Right. Sorry." I manage to say back. I grab the first patients information and begin typing on the computer. Joshua follows my lead.
    "So what's your story?" He tries again. I take a deep breath and he raises his hands. "Hey, I'm harmless. I would like to get to know everyone here, you just happen to be my first partner."
    Suddenly, I feel a little bit guilty for being so snippy with him. Maybe he really is trying to be friendly. Typing away on the computer, I say, "I'm sorry, Joshua. It's been a rough first two days of school for me."
     "And why is that?" He asks.
    "Oh, you don't want to know all the boring details." I reply back.
     He makes a face, acting like he's offended. "Are you kidding me? Boring details are my life." I chuckle a little bit.
    "Where do I start?" I ask him.
     "Right at the beginning." He says. "Tell me about your parents. Do you have any siblings? What's your favorite color? And who's that girl that keeps staring at me over there?" He motions his head towards Mia. "I saw you two talking earlier."
    I look over at Mia and smile. "That is my very best friend. Her name is Mia. We've known each other all of our lives." I pause for a minute, only to see Joshua waiting for more. "Uh, my mom is a doctor and my dad is a marine biologist. I have one sister, her name is Claire. Do you have any siblings?" I ask him.
    He holds up his hand. "No questions for me as you did not finishing answering mine."
    I tilt my head in confusion. "What am I missing?" I think back, "Oh, right. My favorite color is green. Now it's your turn." I say to him.
    He doesn't talk for a whole minute. "I think it's time to get back to work. We don't want to fall behind." He says. This makes me start to wonder what his life is like. Why won't he answer my questions? 
    Before I know it, it's already 5:30. I pack up my things and head into the locker room. Quickly, I jump into a stall and change into my cheer uniform. Once I get out, I see Joshua leaning against my locker. "See you tomorrow?" He asks, as if I'm not going to show up.
   I nod. "Of course. It was nice meeting you." He smiles and then exits the room. Just after, Mia walks up to me.
   "Soooo, how was your first day as an intern?" She excitedly asks.
    "It was awesome. I still can't believe I get to do this almost every day this school year." I reply back.
     Mia squeals. "I know! I love it so much! Now let's go, before we're late to practice and you have to penalize yourself." She laughs.
     We get in the car and I start driving to the field where we practice. All of the girls are early and already doing their stretches. Good. I think to myself, last year the girls were always late. I park my car and run over there.
    "Hey ladies!!" I shout at them. Everyone greets Mia and I once we completely reach the group. As I'm giving everyone hugs, I realize that Kim is here. She happens to have a giant black eye. Once Mia notices, she can't contain her laughs.
   "Do you want me to kick her out for you?" She asks me.
   I shake my head. "No, I'll handle this." I say with a blank look on my face. I head over to Kim, grab her arm and yank her away from the groups hearing range.
    "What on earth do you think you're doing here, Kim!?" I say angrily.
    "I'm on the squad, obviously." She spits back.
   I cross my arms. "Not anymore." I say to her. "You told me you were moving and I'm not going to waste my time with you at practice if you're leaving anyway. Plus, I kind of hate you." I walk away and join the squad for practice, ignoring what Kim is shouting at me from the distance. "Alright ladies, lets sit on the ground and start doing our stretches. Who wants to volunteer to take the lead for me while I run to my car real quick?" Hayleeanna raises her hand. "Go ahead Hayleeanna, I'll be right back."
    She starts counting as I walk back over to my car. I sit inside for a minute, taking a breather. I look up and see Mia approaching.
    "Everything alright?" She asks worryingly.
  "Yes. Just irritated that she will not give it a rest." I say to her. She pats me on the back a few times and looks down.
   "I know, Cami, it sucks." She says quietly.
                             ***************
  I'm staring at the computer screen, but not typing anything. It is day two of my internship and I can't seem to concentrate.
     "Camille." I hear in the background. I still can't believe Kim had the nerve to show up to practice. "Camille." I wish she would just move to Arizona already.
    A hand waves in front of me. "Camille?" Joshua says, once again. I look up at him.
    "Sorry."
   "What's the matter with you today?" He asks. Before I can even decide not to spill all of my baggage, it all comes rambling out. I explain to him everything that has happened with Liam, Kim showing up in random places, right down to me punching her in the face. He laughs at that part.
    "No offense, Camille, but I can't see you hitting anyone." He laughs.
   I laugh with him. "It's not something I normally do, but the fact that she admitted trying to win him over for a year rubbed me the wrong way."
    "So, you and Liam. What's going on with that?" He asks.
   I shrug. "I'm not really sure. He didn't come to school today, so I didn't have a chance to talk to him."
   Joshua looks at me. "Well, there is this thing called a cell phone. It's used to communicate with people." He says. I shrug again. 
    Quietly, I say, "I can't be the one chasing him. He needs to earn my trust back. So until I see him at school, he won't be hearing from me."
    "Speaking of school, ours are going against each other next week at the homecoming game." He says.
    I perk up immediately. "I can't wait for our first game! No offense, but we are going to crush your team. We do every year!"
   He jokingly places his hands on his hips. "We'll see about that, Camille." He says.
   I look at the clock and notice that it's 5:28, time to start packing up my things. He puts away the patient information paperwork and logs off our computers.
   "See you Monday?" I ask him. He looks up immediately, almost shocked that I asked that.
   "See you Monday." He finally says with a grin.
   Before I leave, I wave to Mia, who is getting picked up by her boyfriend, Aidan. I get in my car and start driving home. A lot of things are on my mind. School, the football game, homework, and then I remember the homecoming dance. Oh, great. I have no one to go with. Maybe I'll get lucky and my half a boyfriend will ask me. Once I get home I throw my school bag down by the kitchen table.
    "Hey, honey." My mom says, entering the kitchen. "Do you have your list ready yet?"
   "What list?" I ask.
   "Oh, Camille, you forgot didn't you? Your annual back to school sleepover is tomorrow, is it not?" She asks 
   I facepalm myself so hard that you can hear the smack echo throughout the room. "Right, totally. Let me make the supply list for you real quick." I say, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen.
   My mother stands there waiting for me to finish. I quickly scribble down on the paper:
Sleepover Supplies
1. Popcorn - extra butter
2. Chips and dip
3. Fruit platter - for the health conscious girls
4. Soda - Dr. Pepper, Sprite & Coke
5. A LOT of ice cream - any flavor is fine
6. Sundae supply - whipped cream, cherries, hot fudge, sprinkles
7. Cookies
8. Water bottles.

  I hand the list over to my mom and she reads it over. "How many girls are coming? That way I know how much to get of everything." I quickly count in my head of how many are coming.
   "Seven." I answer.
   "Don't you usually have eight come over?" She questions.
    "Kim is not allowed near this house ever again, remember?" I say.
   Her eyes widen and she smacks her myself on the forehead. "Right, I forgot about that she-devil."
   I roll my eyes at the thought of her. "Tell me about it. She keeps following me everywhere."  I tell her.
   My mom rubs my shoulder. "Don't worry sweetie, I heard that her family has gone bankrupt and they have to move out to Arizona to stay with relatives." I smile at that and then head upstairs.
   "Good night mom, love you." I say just before entering my room.
   "Good night honey, I love you." She calls out from the bottom of the stairs.
                                ************
   It's ten minutes before people are supposed to show up. Mia and I are just finishing setting everything up. For my big sleepovers, I usually take over the family den. It's like a second living room, but bigger. It also happens to have the largest T.V. in our house, perfect for movies.
    "I'm going to order the pizza now." Mia says.
    "Okay, thanks girl." I reply back. The doorbell rings and I jog over to get the door. My first guest has arrived. I open the door to see Hayleeanna. 
    "Hey." She says, giving me a hug.
    "Hey back." I say smiling. Hayleeanna is one of my closest friends. She's also second in command on the cheer squad. She follows me into the den and says hi to Mia, who just got off the phone with the pizza place.
    "So, before everyone gets here. I need to know what's going on with Liam and Kim. How'd she get that black eye?" Hayleeanna asks me. Just as I'm about to answer, the doorbell rings again.
    Mia pipes in, "Don't worry. I'll fill her in, you go answer the door." I nod and head back out to the door.
                                ***********
     "Truth or dare, Lisa?" Faye Asks.
          "Truth."
        "Have you ever kissed Marcus?" She asks. Lisa goes red and everyone laughs a little.
        "Maybe once or twice." She says quietly. "Okay, my turn." She turns to Hayleeanna. "Hay, truth or dare?"
           "Dare." She answers proudly.
Lisa thinks for a second and then replies back,
"I dare you to call Alex right now and ask him to homecoming!" She practically yells.
    Hayleeanna's mouth drops. "What!? But it's late. Can I at least text him?"
     Lisa crosses her arms. "Rules are rules, Hay. You have to call. Plus texting is kind of lame."
     "Fine, I'll do it." Hayleeanna says. She dials his phone number and puts it on speaker. Someone picks up the phone.
       "Hello?" Says A voice that must belong to Alex asks.
        "Hey Alex, I have a question for you real quick." She says nervously. Everyone starts giggling and I have to shush them.
        "What is it?" He asks. Just as she was about to ask, he interrupts her. "Wait, before you say anything, I'm going to get this out now." He says to her. "I like you, Hay."
      "Awwwwww." All of the girls in the room say.
      "What was that?" Alex asks.
      Hayleeanna shushes everyone again. "Oh, nothing. I um, like you too. I was going to ask you to go to the homecoming dance with me." She says blushing.
      "Of course I will!" Alex says over the phone. "We can talk about it more tomorrow." He adds.
      "Great." Hayleeanna says with a beaming smile. "Good night, Alex."
       "Good night, Hay." You can hear the click on the other end and then Hayleeanna puts her phone away.
     "Well that was successful." She says, still beaming. "Alright, Cami, truth or dare?" I look up at her, trying to decide what to pick.
     "Dare, I guess." I say finally.
     Hayleeanna puts on the most evil grin which causes me to immediately regret my answer. "Well," she says. "Mia filled me in on that cute boy in your intern program earlier." Oh god. I already know where this is going. "I dare you, to ask him to hang out on Monday."
       "But we have cheer practice Monday!?" I protest.
    "So?" She shoots back. "Invite him to practice and then hang out afterwards. Simple."
    I cross my arms. "I don't even have his number."
    "Well,  ask him on Monday when you see him!" She says with a big grin.
     "Okay, okay, fine. I'll do it. Mia will be my witness." I say yawning. Everyone starts cheering. After we all calm down, we decide on going to bed, as it's roughly three in the morning. Just as I'm about to drift into a deep sleep, I'm woken up by the sound of someone knocking on the window. I sit up right away to investigate. Once my eyes focus, I see that it's Liam. What could he possibly want at almost four in the morning? I get up and crack open the window a little bit.
      "Yes?" I say to him, very confused.
      "Baby come outside, we need to talk." He says.
       I nod. "I'll be right there." I shut the window and shake Mia and Hayleeanna awake. I tell them that Liam is here and that I'm going outside to talk to him. Both of them are unamused by this. I throw on my coat and head outside. Liam is waiting for me at the front entrance. He grabs my hand and tugs me along to the backyard.
     "Shed roof?" I ask him. He nods in reply. Whenever we used to sneak out and see each other, we'd hang out on my sheds roof, talking and gazing at the stars. He boosts me up and then I'm on the roof. After I move over, he jumps and climbs up next to me.
     "Why are you here, Liam?" I ask him.