The Tutor

Part 9

Camila and Lauren were upstairs in Lauren's room. Lauren was helping her study for her precalculus midterm. However, Camila was going to have to leave soon because Lauren's parents were going to be home soon.

"Do you use the x or the y coordinate to find the domain?" Lauren was holding a thin mint in her hand. For every question Camila got correct, she was rewarded a cookie.

"X value!" Lauren smiled and plopped the cookie in Camila's mouth.

"How do you move an equation four units to the right?"

"Subtract four from inside the equation!" And Camila was awarded a second cookie.

Lauren's phone buzzed and she went to check it. She didn't look happy, "My parents are gonna be home in a few minutes. We should probably go."

Camila packed up her stuff and the two were heading down the steps when Lauren abruptly stopped. Camila practically ran into her. When Lauren turned around, she looked terrified.

"What is it?" Camila tried to make eye contact, but Lauren was looking at the ground.

"I didn't think they'd be here yet," Lauren mumbled. When Camila looked down the steps, she noticed that the house was full. There people were all over the place, seeming to be decorating the house for something. The first thing Camila noticed were the cardboard cutouts of Donald Trump that were all over the place, as well as banners that said 'Make America Great Again.'

"What is this?" Camila asked, stumped.

"It's been two years since Trump was elected. My parents are hosting a party. I didn't really want to tell you."

"I see . . . " Camila was truly floored, "Your family is going all out."

Lauren finally looked up, but Camila wasn't looking at her, "You know I don't support him, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Camila sighed, "Sometimes I just forget that not everyone around you thinks the same way."

Lauren grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry, but we should probably get going before my parents come home." Camila nodded softly. Lauren let go of her hand. The two silently made their way out of the door. Just as they were getting into Lauren's car, her parents pulled into the driveway. They were too late.

Her parents came out of the car, looking at Camila skeptically, "Hello sweetheart," Lauren's dad greeted her with a hug. Her mom was still staring at Camila.

"Who's this?"

Lauren waved Camila over, "This is Camila, a friend of mine."

"Oh," Her dad smiled at her, "Nice to meet you, Camila."

"You didn't say anything about having friends over," Her mom was still looking at Camila weirdly.

"Sorry," Lauren looked at the ground, "We were just studying."

"It's fine, sweetheart," Her dad reassured, "You two seem to be on your way out. Will you be back home on time for the party?"

Lauren nodded softly, "Yeah, I'm just taking Camila home."

"Lauren, can we speak to you in private for a second?" Her mom interjected. Lauren handed Camila the keys to her car. She jumped into the passenger's seat and turned on the radio.

From what Camila could see, the conversation seemed tense. Lauren had her head down and her mom seemed to be upset. Her dad on the other hand seemed to be trying to calm down Lauren's mom. When the conversation ended, Lauren looked relieved.

When Lauren finally joined her in the car, she was quiet. The only time she looked at Camila was when she kissed her on the cheek when Camila got out of the car.

When Camila got home, she had to get ready for work. But she couldn't go to work, not when she was feeling like this. Something happened while she was waiting in the car, but it doesn't seem like Lauren's gonna tell her what. Camila doesn't know if it's her place to ask. Yes, they're in a relationship and share a lot about their lives with each other but does that mean Camila should also pry Lauren for information?

When she got to work, she shared her concerns with Leo. He seemed to agree with her and said she shouldn't pry. He said if Lauren wanted to tell her, she'd tell her. However, his advice didn't make her feel any better.

Camila was working the register for her shift but she wasn't doing a good job. She could barely focus and kept messing up orders and giving back the wrong change. It got so bad her boss eventually had to step in and take over for her. Camila spent the rest of her shift in the kitchen. There goes employee of the month.

~

"Lauren, can we speak to you in private for a second?" Her mom interjected. Lauren handed Camila the keys to her car. Once Camila was in the car, her mother spoke up, "You've never mentioned having a friend named Camila before," Her mother sounded annoyed, "What happened to you and Alexa?"

"We're still friends," Lauren tucked her hair behind her ear, "Camila and I were just studying for a test."

"And you had to bring her to our house?" Her mother's voice was getting louder. Lauren hoped Camila couldn't hear, "What if she took something!"

"She's not like that, mother."

"And then you just gave her the keys to your car! What were you thinking? When did you become so irresponsible?" Her mother was yelling now. There were workers outside and some of them were looking at her. Lauren's mother didn't seem to notice, but her father did.

"Honey, why don't you try and keep your voice down?" He put a reassuring hand on her back, "It was probably just an honest mistake and it won't happen again, right Lauren?"

Lauren nodded quickly, "Never again."

"See? You can calm down," Her father rubbed her mother's back as she took deep breaths.

"Okay, I'm sorry," She sighed, "Lauren, I just want what's best for you. You don't need to hang around people like that. You have Alexa and your other friends. It's your senior year, you don't need to expand your social circle that much."

Lauren didn't say anything, she just nodded.

"Be careful dropping her off," Her father warned before kissing her forehead, "And be back on time for the party, okay?"

Lauren just nodded. When she got back in the car, she couldn't face Camila. How could she after her parents just disrespected her behind her back? Plus, she didn't want to bother Camila with her negative energy. So, their car ride home was spent in silence.