Camren Kidfic One Shots

Girl on the Train V

Here is the fifth segment of adult Lauren/fetus Camila (Karla) of Girl on the Train. Hope you all enjoy!

"You are not eligible to foster Karla at this time. I'm sorry Ms. Jauregui."

Lauren's heart broke at the news, the news in which she had been so excited to hear about for weeks. The young woman had stayed positive throughout the process of acquiring Karla. She never once thought she would be denied, and now the talk she was highly anticipating with the little girl's social worker was put to ruin.

"W-wait, what do you mean I'm not eligible? One of the case workers I had been working with said—" Lauren was getting ready to go on one of her rants, but the social worker stopped her before she could 'go off.'

"Look, Ms. Jauregui, I know one of my coworkers might have given you other...misinformation, but I am Karla's social worker. I am the main person dealing with her case and I've gone through all of your personal details and I have concluded that you are not eligible to foster this child due to some concerns. If you allow me to go over why you were denied, maybe I can suggest to you a different route to take," Karla's social worker smiled politely at Lauren, yet with a strain.

The young woman's impatience and slight stubbornness had been tiresome for the old social worker, not just in this, but every time she's had to deal with Lauren. She knows the young woman was just determined to be there for the child, but her persistence often times came off as inflexibility and slight entitlement.

"But I-I've followed ever step in this process, how am I not eligible to foster?" Lauren carried on a small bit but stopped herself before continuing. Her voice was whiney and she herself was tired of the treacherous road of fostering, there were so many unspoken of ins and outs.

"Let me just explain to you why you are considered ineligible as of right now," the older woman spoke to Lauren as she patted the seat next to her, which Lauren had jumped up from in outrage a few moments earlier. "There are two reasons why you are disqualified to foster Karla, one which is a quick fix—I mean it will take weeks to fix it, but it is considered minor, and then there is one that will involve a life change for you."

Lauren's stomach dropped at the woman's words, and her heart rate seemed to pick up. 'A life change?' Lauren didn't like the sound of that.

"From the information you have provided, you stated that you have a roommate. Now, it is possible for one to foster even though they live with a roommate, it is certainly not desired, but you can still become Karla's foster parent. That being said, your roommate will have to also be background checked, fingerprinted, and must take trainings—essentially, she will have to take all of the steps that a foster parent must take, even though she will not be considered one. That is the easy fix."

Lauren took in the social workers words, trying to stay calm. That wasn't an easy fix to her, she still hadn't completed all of the trainings, and she had been in this process for over a month now. Lauren was 'flying by' through the fostering process—according to Karla's social worker, but to her it felt like an eternity. Lauren didn't even want to imagine how long it would take for Normani to finish everything; her roommate was nowhere near as determined as she was when it came to the little girl.

Just recently Normani had told Lauren that she was having second thoughts about them taking in Karla and how she knew Lauren would be responsible for the girl. But that she also knew many of her own freedoms would be muted as well, through association.

So, this information from the social worker would not be an easy fix for Lauren. Convincing Normani to take on this fostering process too, on top of the woman having to take twenty-five hours' worth of trainings would take time. Time that Lauren wasn't really willing to wait for.