Behind the Lens (the owl house au)

Ch 1. The Audition

Camila Noceda listened to the obnoxious alarm blare for what seemed like hours. The mother had expected her daughter to have awoken from her slumber when the horrifying alarm sounds were emitted from her iPhone.

Camila Noceda never understood why her daughter would stay up into the late hours of the night, but it was starting to get on her nerves. She understood it was summer, but she wasn't expecting Luz to disobey her orders when she explicitly told her to go to sleep early so she wouldn't be tired for the plans they made the next day.

She stormed up to her daughter's room and swung open the door, saying, "Luz Noceda, you need to wake up right now!" She yanked the covers from Luz's face. "Ay mama es demasiado temprano," she whined. (Oh, Mom, it's too early.)

"Luz, it's 8:30," Camila monotoned while placing a hand on her hip. Luz shot up instantly, getting dizzy. "Oh no, we're going to be late," she stressed. Her face paled. She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, sliding in her socks.

"Why didn't my alarm go off?" her muffled voice, her mother leaned on the door frame, watching her daughter's panicked behavior. "It's been going off for the last hour," she answered, crossing her arms.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She asked. She groaned while spitting the toothpaste out. She was told by her mother, "Because you didn't listen to me last night about going to bed early and don't even think of lying because the eyebags under your eyes say differently."

Luz stared at her mother guiltily. She gargled her mouthwash and spat it out. She sped back to her room, tossing open her drawers and throwing clothes around for an appropriate outfit.

"Are you going to clean up this mess, Mija?" Camila asked. "I'm too busy right now; I'll do it later, Mama," Luz replied, holding up two shirts in front of the mirror. "You're better," she said. "Breakfast is on the counter, by the way," Camila told her before walking back downstairs.It was 8:45. Luz looked at herself in the mirror and decided to wear a t-shirt paired with overalls and purple Converse. "Looks pretty good," she said to herself. She hurried downstairs and sat down at the table.

Camila brought over her plate and looked Luz up and down. Luz shoved the eggs into her mouth. "What?" Luz asked with a full mouth. "Don't talk with your mouth full," Camila scolded her.

Luz swallowed her food and asked, "Why did you look at me like that?" Camila poured herself a cup of coffee and said, "You look like a tired mess." "How much sleep did you get last night?" She quizzed her daughter. Luz looked at herself up and down. She felt judged. "Four hours," she mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"Ay carino, I didn't mean to make you embarrassed; you have very big eye bags, and your hair is a mess. Did you forget to brush it?" "Uh yeah," Luz said, standing up, walking to the sink, and washing her dish. "Here, come sit down, Mija, and I'll do your makeup."

Luz dried her hands and sat down in the chair her mother had pulled up at the table. Luz sat down and laid her hands on her lap. Camila pulled out her makeup kit and taught her daughter all the wonders of makeup and how to use it as much as she could in ten minutes.

Camila put on just a bit of makeup to make Luz look less like a train wreck. They grabbed their stuff and headed to the car. "Luz, at least put your hair back in a ponytail." Luz stared blankly at her mother. "Fine," she huffed. She put up her hair and buckled in her seat. "Do you think we'll make it on time?" Luz asked Camila, "Psh, never underestimate your mother."

The hour-long drive felt like an eternity. Luz was starting to get anxious. All kinds of thoughts ran through her head: what if we don't make it on time? What if I mess up? What if I don't get the part? What if they automatically write her off because of her messy looks?