The Voice (Camren)

8. The Announcement

"What's this?" Lauren asked playfully.

"A drawing"

"A drawing of me indeed. And why is it in your possession, may I ask?"

"Because... because Harry gave it to me so that I could give it to you" Camila lied nervously. "As a present" she added.

"I see" Lauren replied not convinced at all. "And why didn't he give it to me himself?"

"Because he didn't know if he would get the chance to meet you" Camila continued lying. "And when I got here I guess I just forgot about it"

"Well, I want you to keep it anyways" Lauren said as she placed the drawing into its original location, the space between Camila's dress and her belt. She returned it in a deliberately slow pace, looking directly into Camila's eyes to closely observe her reaction. Having Lauren's body so close to hers made Camila's heart skip a bit, or two. Even three. However, she managed to collect herself, quickly pulling away from Lauren.

"Ok, if that's what you want. Can I continue eating now?"

"Sure, go on. So there's a reason why I asked you to have lunch with me, Camila" Lauren said as she grabbed a slice of pizza.

"And that reason is...?"

"The VMAs. Would you like to go?"

"The what?!?" Camila asked, choking on her food. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"The VMAs" Lauren repeated calmly, as if it wasn't a big deal for her.

"Are you really asking me this? Of course, I wanna go. I'd be crazy if I didn't" Camila shouted excitedly.

"Great. However..." Lauren teased.

"However what?" Camila asked defensively.

"You'll have to prove you're worthy of it. Here's your schedule for the week. See you tomorrow" Lauren said as she handed Camila a small piece of paper, leaving the room immediately after

***

The following seven days went by real quick. The Blind Auditions were shot once a week but Camila had to show up at the TV studio everyday for music lessons. In the morning she'd practice alongside Louis with a voice coach. Her name was Normani, and rumour had it, she was one of Lauren's closest friends. She was really talented and a great teacher. Camila and Louis were fast learners making the classes quite productive and fun at the same time.

In the afternoon, Camila and the rest of the contestants had separate, private lessons with Lauren herself. In those, they wouldn't really focus on technical matters but on more artistic ones. Lauren tried to help each one of her pupils to find their own, personal way to express themselves, to create an independent voice, to be original and true to their art, in other words, she taught them to be able to differentiate themselves from others.

However, to Lauren's satisfaction, with Camila that wasn't necessary. Every time she was about to perform, a sort of aura surrounded the younger girl, turning her into a delicate, gentle and rather sensitive singer that resembled nothing that Lauren had seen before. Camila was one of a kind and Lauren had noticed that the moment she heard her sing. Nevertheless that singular aura that enveloped Camila while singing, faded away as soon as she fell silent. It didn't disappear completely, Lauren could still feel it when the other girl was quiet, but it was distinctively fainter. Lauren's objective was to get Camila to be as alluring outside of stage as she was on it. However, that wasn't as easy as Lauren thought it would be.

"Great Camila! That performance was perfect" Lauren complimented the younger girl.

"Was it? I think I was out of tune in the sec-"

"Stop, stop, stop. That's what I don't want you to do" Lauren interrupted.

"What exactly?" Camila asked.

"That lack of confidence. I told you it was perfect, why wouldn't you believe me?"

"Because... I don't know" Camila trailed off.

"Camila listen, we've been working on this all week. You are talented and we both know you know it. But you only act as if you were when you perform. The rest of the time, you behave as someone who can't differentiate a G from an A. And that's what I want you to change, do you understand?" Lauren said assertively.

"Yes, I do"

"Then , why don't you do it?" Lauren groaned, a bit frustrated.

"Maybe I'm not that much of a diva" Camila suggested.

"This has nothing to do with being or not a diva, Camz. This has to do with the industry. If you don't have confidence in yourself, nobody will" Lauren explained.

"But you do" Camila affirmed.

"But not everyone's like me, Camz" Lauren sadly spoke, realizing how much the younger girl would get hurt, if she actually made it to the business. Lauren had to make Camila get stronger or else she wouldn't last too much in the voracious, cruel music industry.

***

"Guys, listen up. I got an important announcement to make" Lauren shouted as her team members gathered around her. "As you know, the VMAs are round the corner and this year we, The Voice coaches, have been invited to attend and perform. Now, I have eight extra invitations that I will gladly deliver to some of you. 'And who will be the lucky ones?' you may ask. Well, the answer is simple. Those who have worked their asses off this week in both Normani's and my own lessons"

The contestants whispered amongst them in excitement, wishing they'd be picked.

"The eight contestants that will be attending the VMAs with me are: Louis, Sawyer, Kehlani, Hailee, Chet, Ariana, Taylor and..." Lauren dramatically paused, staring intently at Camila, who was sure she'd pass out whether she heard her name or not.

"...Camila" Lauren finally said, making the youger girl let out a sigh she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"And that's not all. As I said, I will also perform at the VMAs. And I'm afraid I'll need a bit of help." Lauren stated, looking at the contestants around her.

"I'll do it" Louis said, raising his hand.

"I don't remember having asked for volunteers, Mr. Tomlinson" Lauren said matter-of-factly. "I will personally choose 3 of you to perform with me onstage. But, you'll have to wait till next week to know" Lauren said, laughing at the contestants I-can't-believe-it faces.

"And let me add, this year the VMAs will be a tribute to Britney Spears' career. And so we will be doing a rendition of one of my favorite songs by her: Toxic" Lauren announced. "You can go now" she dismissed her team members.

Camila left the set confused, quite sure she had caught Lauren winking at her when revealing the song she'd perform.