Trial and Tribulation

8/8/2018 Trials And Tribulations (Camren) - Trials And Tribulations - Wattpad
Trials And Tribulations

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by LarrysBowTie001
Lauren sighed to herself as she transferred a few

assorted items from her backpack into her newly
assigned locker. It seemed like only yesterday that she
was finishing her sophomore year of high school and
eagerly anticipating the summer break. Now, weeks
later, Lauren found herself back in the same, bustling
and chaotic hallway which she'd first been acquainted
with two years previously, preparing herself for what
would inevitably be a return to another year of
monotonous routine. It wasn't that Lauren didn't like
school, because, in actuality, she did. Lauren loved to
learn and prided herself on being a straight A student.
She enjoyed the crisp and unsoiled feel of a new book
in her hands, whether it was the fictional work of an
undiscovered author or newly assigned history
textbook. She revelled in the challenge of trying to
solve complex math problems, liked learning about the
physiological foundations of the human form, losing
herself in the lives and struggles of those who had lived
before her. Knowledge is power, or so Lauren had
often heard and she couldn't deny the sense of
achievement that she felt when she could apply
https://www.wattpad.com/36611222-trials-and-tribulations-camren-trials-and 1/18
something that she'd learnt to a situation in her own

life, even if it was only to ensure that she consumed
the recommended amount of water a day to ensure
that her kidneys didn't go into failure.
It wasn't the routine of school that Lauren dreaded,
because actually, she thought it would be quite nice to
once again have some structure to her day. Instead, it
was the tedious and mundane practice of everyone
returning to their assumed high school clichés and
roles which Lauren couldn't stand. Lauren wouldn't
have ever described herself as popular but at the same
time she wasn't ever treated like a misfit by the rest of
the student population. Lauren just kind of existed in
high school, suspended somewhere between the social
elite and the socially unacceptable. Lauren felt just as
comfortable having conversations with the few friends
that she had on the cheerleading squad as she did with
those in the school band or show choir. Perhaps that's
why she never liked the customary segregation which
inevitably came with the start of the school year,
because for her part, Lauren didn't fit into the
stereotypical cliques which every coming of age movie
liked to portray on screen. She was happy with the
person that her parents had raised her to be, someone
who wasn't judgemental, who was tolerant and open-
minded. Lauren didn't pick her friends based on what
they could do for her social standing; she chose them
because of how they could enrich her own life,
because of their experiences, their intellect, their talent
and their kindness. If there was one thing which Lauren
hated about the tediousness of high school, it was the
ignorance and cruelty of some of those who attended

it.
Lauren sighed to herself once again, closing her locker
door firmly and almost finding herself flattened against
it by the weight of someone pouncing on her shoulders,
a small shriek of excitement erupting from their mouths
as they did so. Lauren smiled to herself as she felt the
weight evaporate almost as soon as it had appeared
and turned around to face the unannounced intruder.
"Hey!" Normani greeted animatedly, pulling Lauren into
what could only be described as an all-encompassing
bear hug. "I've missed you this summer!"
"Manibear..." Lauren just about managed to vocalise,
her voice almost lost with the inability to draw oxygen
into her lungs due to Normani's python like grip.
Realising she was nigh on crushing her best friend,
Normani released her hold on Lauren and smiled at her
apologetically. "Sorry," she said, reaching for Lauren's
hand and tugging on it gently so that it was linked with
her own. "I guess I got a little bit carried away after not
seeing you for the last seven weeks."
Lauren laughed, bumping Normani slightly with her hip
as they started to make their way down the crowded
hallway together. "It's not like I completely abandoned
you." Lauren protested. "We spoke on Skype at least
once a week and we text every day. You make it sound
like I was away in the Arctic with no available form of
communication for the entirety of my absence."
"Softball camp, the arctic....they might as well be the
same thing." Normani sighed dramatically. "Either way,
my summer vacation was seriously lacking in quality
time with you so sue me for being enthusiastic about

our reunion. It's only because I missed you."
"I missed you too Manibear," Lauren reciprocated
bumping Normani playfully with her shoulder before
pulling her back into her side via their entwined hands.
"Well, at least you had Ally to keep you company in my
absence." Lauren reminded the other girl as they
continued down the hallway. "Where is she anyway? I
thought she'd be with you."
"She said she'd meet us here," Normani informed
Lauren. "She's coming in with Troy this morning." She
finished raising her eyebrow suggestively.
"Oh really?" Lauren asked, intrigued. "Tell me more."
"Well," Normani started, dropping her voice and
leaning closer to Lauren to prevent unwanted
eavesdroppers overhearing their conversation. "Let's
just say that they got very serious over the summer."
"Interesting...How serious are we talking?" Lauren
asked dropping her voice to the same level as
Normani's in search of clarification.
"Very," Normani said. "I'm surprised that she didn't tell
you."
"She's been visiting family in Texas the last couple of
weeks and I've been busy catching up with family since
I've been back" Lauren shrugged indifferently. "We
haven't had a chance to catch up properly yet. I'm sure
she'll fill me in when I see her."
"Speaking of seeing her," Normani said pointing
towards Ally, her short height almost hiding her view
behind the throng of students passing by. She was
standing, her back towards them whilst she talked to
her boyfriend Troy in front of a row of orange lockers

against the wall to their left. Lauren and Normani
approached the pair of them, dodging their way around
both moving and static obstacles in their path.
"Hey girls," Troy greeted, smiling brightly when
Normani and Lauren reached them.
"Hi," they replied in unison, Lauren offering a small
wave with her free hand.
"I'll see you at lunch?" He asked Ally, leaning down to
plant a chaste kiss on her lips. She nodded shyly in
response. "See you both later," he said turning his
attention back towards Lauren and Normani before
heading off in search of his friends, pausing only
momentarily to glance back at Ally and smile.
"Ugh," Normani groaned jokingly. "You two are so
adorable it actually physically pains me to be around
you sometimes."
"Oh stop it," Ally chastised, hitting Normani playfully on
the arm. "You and Arin aren't much better."
"At least we have the decency to keep our PDA out of
the school hallway," Normani informed her teasingly
before releasing Lauren's hand and reaching forward
to pull the shorter girl into a warm hug.
"I'll be sure to remind you of that the next time I have to
watch you two making out in the lunch room." Ally said
as the two of them separated and she turned her
attention to Lauren.
"Hey Lo," Ally greeted Lauren as the two of them
embraced one another.
"Allycat," Lauren replied squeezing Ally firmly in her
arms before releasing her and leaning her back against
the locker behind her. "How was Texas?"

"Nah uh," Ally said, resting her right shoulder against
the locker to her side as she faced Lauren. "I want to
hear all about Softball camp, more specifically, this girl
that you kept mentioning at every available opportunity.
Texas can wait."
"There's nothing to tell really," Lauren said smirking.
"You could have fooled us," Normani replied huddling
closer to Ally. "I swear, every text message I received
from you mentioned Clare."
"Same," Ally agreed nodding her head. "So what's the
deal? Do you two still keep in touch? Are you still
seeing each other?"
"No," Lauren replied a small smile creeping on to her
lips at the memory of the girl she'd met at camp. "It was
just a summer fling. That's all."
"Shame," Normani stated matter of factly. "It's about
time you finally found someone to stop you from being
the fifth wheel on our dates."
"Ugh, thanks for that Mani," Lauren said feigning hurt.
"I didn't realise I was the awkward fifth wheel."
"You know what I mean Lo," Normani replied waving off
her previous statement. "You never date anyone at
school..."
"Maybe that's because there are surprisingly few out
and proud lesbians here besides myself," Lauren
objected.
"What about that girl you went out with towards the end
of school last year....what was her name?" Normani
questioned.
"Rachel?" Lauren asked.
"Yeah, that's the one." Normani confirmed. "She was

cute."
"She was also completely in the closet," Lauren
informed her friends. "I don't want to hide who I am.
You know that."
"Yeah we know," Normani said reaching for Lauren's
hand and squeezing it reassuringly. "It's just you
deserve to have someone that makes you happy
and...."
Normani's words were interrupted by the sound of
books being scattered across the floor behind her and
she jumped reflexively at the sudden noise.
"Shit!" someone cursed loudly causing Lauren and the
other two girls to look in the direction it had originated
from. From her position further along the hallway
Lauren noted the back of a small brunette girl that she
didn't recognise bending down to pick up the offending
items and failing miserably at the task.
"Wow," Ally said in surprise. "I didn't expect to see her
back at school today."
"Who?" Lauren asked watching the brunette finally
manage to get one of the notebooks she'd dropped
back into her hands whilst trying to avoid being trodden
on by the oblivious students that walked by, completely
ignoring her difficulties.
"Camila," Ally told her.
"Cabello?" Normani asked astonished, studying the girl
closer from her vantage point.
"Yeah," Ally replied turning back to face Lauren who
was examining the girl as she scrambled to pick up
another of her notebooks trying to put a face to the

name.
"Isn't she the girl that lives down your street?" Lauren
asked trying to recollect an image of the girl. "Your
families go to church together right?"
"Yeah," Ally confirmed.
"I don't get it," Lauren said confused. "Why is it such a
surprise that she's back at school?"
"Are you serious?" Normani asked amazed. "Didn't you
hear what happened to her?"
"No," Lauren replied. "What?"
"She almost died this summer," Ally told Lauren. "I
thought I'd told you about it when we spoke on Skype?
I guess not."
"What?" Lauren said glancing back at the girl who was
still struggling with her books. "Are you sure it was her?
She looks fine."
"Positive." Ally informed her. "It was in all the local
papers and our church would light candles and pray for
her."
"Why what happened to her?" Lauren asked still not
believing Ally's story.
"I can't believe you haven't heard," Normani stated.
"Everyone was talking about it. I'm surprised your
parents didn't fill you in when you got back from camp."
"Yeah," Ally agreed. "It was all my parents could talk
about for weeks." Ally paused a moment to cast a quick
look over her shoulder at Camila who had finally
managed to pick up her books, only to drop them once
again as someone tried to rush past her and knocked
them from her hands. The girl groaned in frustration,
throwing her back onto the floor at the foot of her locker
and bending down once again to retrieve them.
"She was hit by a car whilst crossing the road at the
beginning of the summer," Ally continued, turning her
attention back to Lauren who was still watching Camila
with interest. "Apparently, the car didn't even stop. It
just went straight through a red light and ran her down
as she made her way over the crossing."
"I go to dance class with her friend Dinah," Normani
went on. "She was literally devastated after it
happened. Apparently, Camila was in a coma for three
weeks after the accident and the doctors had told her
parents to prepare for the worst. Dinah was distraught.
She said the doctors had said it was a miracle that
Camila had even woken up at all."
"My parents told me that they'd spoken to her parents
at church and that the doctors had said that if it hadn't
have been for the bystanders who called the
ambulance straight away she would have died," Ally
confirmed. "She was in hospital for weeks. I think she
was only released home last Monday."
"She looks alright now though," Lauren said numbly
glancing back at the girl who had now retrieved her
notebooks and was trying to open her locker.
"Dinah told me that she suffered a massive head injury
though," Normani confided with Lauren. "She had to
have brain surgery and everything."
"It's true," Ally supported. "She had a massive bleed in
her brain or something and they had to remove it."
"I don't remember seeing her around last year." Lauren
admitted. "Has she always attended here?"
"Yeah," Normani said, "she's kind of shy though. I think

Dinah is one of her only friends. They've known each
other since they were born. I think their parents were
friends in high school or something."
"She's actually really nice," Ally supplied. "I had a
couple of classes with her last year. She used to help
me out with some of my AP math work."
They all turned in the girls direction once again as they
heard the sound of books colliding with the floor and
discovered that Camila had managed to open her
locker, only to lose her grip on the troublesome
stationery.
Camila cursed aloud and bent down to reclaim the
books once again from the floor before her. Lauren
noted that one of them had found its way into the
middle of the hallway just as it collided with an
oncoming student's foot and was kicked unintentionally
in their direction. The notebook slid unimpeded until it
collided with Normani's foot and Lauren bent down to
pick it up, the other girls watching intently.
The notebook was thick and the pages crumpled
around the edges from being used repetitively. Lauren
couldn't help but flick the pages open out of habit and
her eyes fell on the work within where she paused.
"What is that?" Normani asked glancing over the page
as Lauren held the book in front of her.
"Writing," Lauren said sighing guiltily, realising that
she'd unintentionally invaded Camila's privacy.
"I can't even read it," Normani said squinting.
"That's not Camila's writing," Ally said after catching a
quick glance of the work as Lauren hastily closed the
book. "Her handwriting was really neat. I remember it

from some of the math work she showed me. That
writing is barely legible."
"Well," Lauren said sadly. "This is her writing now."
"Oh," Ally said, realisation dawning on her. "You
mean..."
"I think this is an exercise book," Lauren admitted as
she stepped around Normani and started to make her
way towards Camila who knelt on the floor surveying it
in search of her last missing book, the others now
safely stashed in her locker.
Normani and Ally watched as Lauren approached the
brunette and tapped her gently on the left shoulder.
"Hey," Lauren greeted as Camila turned to face her, "I
think you..." Lauren's words caught in her throat as
Camila lifted her face to look at who was addressing
her.
The first thing Lauren noticed was the other girl's eyes.
Deep, dark pools of chocolate brown which she was in
the very real danger of drowning in as Camila stood up
to her full height.
"Uhh...." Lauren tried to finish her thought, the
notebook held out between the two of them.
"Thanks," Camila said gratefully as she glanced down
at the item in Lauren's hands and took it back in her
own. The loss of eye contact, allowed Lauren the
opportunity to recover her wits. Camila scrutinised the
book in her hands, flicking through the pages as
though she didn't recognise it and Lauren used this
time to examine the other girls' features properly.
It was only from this distance that Lauren could see the
marks of Camila's accident and accept the truth of Ally
and Normani's words. The left side of Camila's head
was shaved close to her skull, a thick, pink, circular
scar protruding from her scalp where'd she obviously
had surgery. From a distance, a long layer of hair had
hidden it from view but up close, what was effectively
an undercut did little to disguise the obvious trauma
Camila had undergone.
Camila lifted her gaze to look at Lauren once again,
closing the notebook in her hands as she did so.
Lauren finally saw the other girls face properly for the
first time and despite the obvious scar which extended
from her forehead and across her left eyebrow, she
couldn't help but find Camila stunning.
Lauren wondered how she'd never paid any attention
to the other girl over the past two years together at
school, not when she was standing here now, lost for
words and for the first time in her life, completely
paralysed but the butterflies she felt erupting in her
stomach. Lauren caught herself staring at Camila and
quickly glanced back towards the notebook between
them, her eyes sweeping over Camila's delicate fingers
and taking in the stiff wrist splint which covered her left
hand.
Camila, obviously following Lauren's gaze, pulled at
the sleeve of her sweater subconsciously in an attempt
to cover her hand.
"I'm sorry," Lauren apologised, sensing the other girls
discomfort.
"That's ok," Camila replied, turning to place the

notebook in her locker. "I'm getting used to it."
"No, it was rude of me to stare," Lauren reiterated,
watching as Camila closed her locker.
"Well..." Was all Camila responded, her voice trailing
off as though her thoughts were lost mid-sentence.
Camila picked her bag up from the floor and put it over
her shoulder before making a move to leave. Lauren
stopped her, reaching for the other girls hand and
pulling on it gently. "I'm Lauren," she said as Camila
turned back around to face her.
"Ok," Camila answered simply.
Lauren shifted uncomfortably on her feet, unsure
whether Camila was going to introduce herself.
After a moment of awkward silence, Lauren decided
that she wasn't and so asked, "You're Camila right?"
"Yeah," Camila replied frowning suspiciously.
"Listen, I wondered if...." Lauren began, but she was
interrupted by someone shouting Camila's name off to
her right. Lauren turned just as another girl reached
them, slightly out of breath and anxious.
"Mila," the other girl said once she'd caught her breath.
"I went to the guidance counsellor's room looking for
you only to find you weren't there. I've been searching
all over for you."
"I'm here," Camila answered matter of factly.
"Well I can see that," the other girl responded. "You
were supposed to wait there for me so I could make
sure you get to class ok."
"I needed to put some things in my locker," Camila
answered as though it were the most obvious thing in
the world.
"Mila," the other girl said, casting a confused look at
Lauren when she finally noticed her standing there.
"You....you're not supposed...you were. Didn't you
listen to what the guidance counsellor said?"
"No," Camila admitted. "My mom did."
"What did your mom say after the meeting?" The other
girl asked seemingly frustrated.
"I don't know," Camila said honestly.
"Didn't she say anything?" The other girl asked.
"She did," Camila informed her.
"What was it? Did she write it down for you?" The other
girl questioned again, her eyes searching Camila's
arms for the notebooks she'd had earlier. "Where's
your notebook?"
"In my locker," Camila replied.
"Mila," the other girl groaned slightly.
"Umm....I should go," Lauren interrupted feeling out of
place. "Leave you guys to it..."
Camila and her friend both looked at Lauren, the other
girl finally acknowledging her presence.
"Sorry," she apologised. "I hope she wasn't bothering
you."
"Actually, I was bothering her," Lauren replied slightly
confused. "She dropped her notebook. I was
just...giving it back to her."
"Oh, thanks..." The other girl said searchingly.
"Lauren," she informed her.
"Thanks Lauren." The other girl said now that she had
a name. "I'm Dinah."
"Hi," Lauren greeted before turning back to Camila who

was watching the interaction silently. "Maybe I'll see
you around Camila?"
"Maybe," Camila agreed causing Lauren to smile.
"You don't really say too much do you?" Lauren
questioned noticing Camila's lack of small talk.
"Can't," she answered simply pointing at the scar on
her head.
"Oh," Lauren said feeling bad for the second time in ten
minutes. "Sorry."
Camila looked at Dinah expectantly.
"She sometimes has trouble with her words." Dinah
informed Lauren for Camila. "You know, since the
accident. She's getting better though, right Mila?"
Camila gave Lauren a thumbs up with her right hand.
"Right," she said in response to Dinah's words.
"She can manage a few short sentences but, when she
tries to talk a lot the words get jumbled up or she gets
stuck and she doesn't want to look like an idiot." Dinah
continued to explain.
Camila pouted as Dinah spoke and Lauren couldn't
help the feeling that swept through her at the adorable
expression on the other girls face. Camila nodded after
Dinah had finished speaking and smiled at Lauren.
"Well," Dinah continued chuckling to herself. "Any more
of an idiot then she already was, that is."
Camila pulled a stupid face and spun her finger around
by her head to emphasise Dinah's words causing a
wide grin to spread across Lauren's features.
The warning bell rang to signal that they should all start
moving towards their first class and Lauren glanced
back in the direction of Normani and Ally who'd been

watching the interaction with great interest from where
they'd been standing by the lockers further along the
hallway.
"I should go," Lauren said turning back to face Camila
and Dinah.
"Thanks for your help," Dinah said sincerely.
"I didn't really do anything." Lauren replied.
"Yeah, but, still...thanks" Dinah reiterated.
"No problem," Lauren answered smiling at Camila who
was watching her closely grinning. "Bye Camila." She
said.
Camila waved her right hand slightly.
"Goodbye Lauren." Camila reciprocated enunciating
each word slowly. "Maybe I'll see you around."
Lauren smiled as she repeated Camila's own words
from earlier back to her, "maybe."
Camila laughed a loud, reflexive laugh, which reached
deep down into Lauren's soul and made the butterflies
in her stomach flutter even more than they already had
been. It was one of the most infectious laughs that
Lauren had ever heard and the reaction that it gained
from Dinah, told Lauren that it was probably something
she hadn't heard from her friend in a while the other girl
was grinning so much.
Lauren smiled at the pair of them before turning around
and making her way back towards Ally and Normani,
casting quick glances back at Camila and Dinah as she
did so. Dinah was rummaging through Camila's locker
in search of her notebook whilst Camila watched
Lauren as she left, curiosity etched on her face.
"Ok," Normani said when Lauren reached her and Ally.

"What was that?" she asked as they started to head
down the hallway towards first period.
"What was what?" Lauren asked, trying to stifle the grin
that was plastered across her face.
"Oh my God," Ally said reading her friends face. "You
like her don't you?"
"What?" Lauren asked surprised. "Don't be ridiculous
Ally. I just met her."
"Then why do you look like you've just won a million
dollars?" Normani asked.
"I don't," Lauren protested, casting a look over her
shoulder back in Camila's direction and feeling her
stomach drop slightly when she noticed the other girl
struggling to explain something to Dinah who was
reading something out of her notebook.
"You can't keep your eyes off her," Ally observed. "You
like her."
"I'm just worried about her." Lauren responded.
"You didn't even know her two minutes ago," Normani
reminded her of her own words.
"She's interesting," Lauren acknowledged. "I mean, if
what you said is true then she's been through a lot this
summer. I find it kind of inspiring that she's already
back at school and pushing through it."
Normani and Ally shared a meaningful look which
didn't go unnoticed by Lauren.
"I don't like her," Lauren repeated stubbornly.
"Yeah ok," Normani said sarcastically as Lauren cast
another glance back at Camila just before they turned
a corner and she was out of sight.
"I would just kind of like to know her story that's all."
Lauren continued as they came to a stop outside of her
classroom.
Normani raised her eyebrow slightly and Ally just
looked at Lauren knowingly.
"Crap," Lauren said finally admitting it. "I like her."
"No shit," Normani stated simply, leaving Lauren to
watch as her and Ally made their way to their own
classes.
'Fuck' Lauren thought as she turned and made her way
into first period alone."I really like her."

Trial and Tribulation

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8/8/2018 Trials And Tribulations (Camren) - Trials And Tribulations - Wattpad

Trials And Tribulations

Lauren sighed to herself as she transferred a few

something that she'd learnt to a situation in her own

ignorance and cruelty of some of those who attended

time with you so sue me for being enthusiastic about

her boyfriend Troy in front of a row of orange lockers

the locker behind her. "How was Texas?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Normani confirmed. "She was

another of her notebooks trying to put a face to the

"Yeah," Normani said, "she's kind of shy though. I think

book. "Her handwriting was really neat. I remember it

"That's ok," Camila replied, turning to place the

"Hi," Lauren greeted before turning back to Camila who

back in the direction of Normani and Ally who'd been

"Ok," Normani said when Lauren reached her and Ally.

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