Surprisingly, she doesn't feel as nervous as she thought she would in the car going home. There are times when she freaks out a little, at the sound of a horn or when crossing busy junctions, during which times she grabs the sides of her seat for dear life, holding her breath as if scared to let it go. Apart from that, she's okay. She's just grateful to be heading home.
It turns out, though, that living at home is a little harder than the hospital. She's got stairs to worry about which, while she can manage them, can be difficult when she needs them the most: in the mornings and evenings as she moves to and from her bedroom. Then there are the mornings themselves when she has to put the leg on herself while she's tired and her fingers fumble with the fittings a lot more than usual.
Still, though, it means she gets to sleep a little longer and eat better food than before, and she's a lot more comfortable in her home.
Some of the team come to visit her again, bringing stories about the game that they tied nil-nil on.
Before she knows it, it's Sunday evening and she's getting ready for school again. It feels alien, the routine she was so used to changes in ways that aren't major but are at the same time, to accommodate, well, the obvious.
And the next day, she is sat in the passenger seat of the car, her mom having driven her since she didn't want to drive by herself just yet.
"This is it," She whispers, "The moment I've been waiting for."
"You'll be great, mija." Her mother grins and pats Camila's thigh as she unbuckles herself.
"Thank you, Mama." She smiles back, holding Sinu's hand for a moment before glancing down at the prosthetic leg, exposed because of her athletic shorts. If she's going to do this, she's going to do it with confidence and pride, and she's not going to deal with having to roll up her sweatpants every two seconds whenever someone wants to see, and it also eliminates the fact that her clothes sometimes get caught in the joints. It's not really an issue but she'd rather not deal with it.
There'll be curious eyes, she knows, but she would rather let them see from afar than have to roll up her pants all day if she can manage it.
Once she's gathered herself, she reaches over for her backpack and swings it onto her shoulders. A swift kiss is planted on her mother's cheek before she gets out of the car, closing the door after her.
The walk to the side door of the school is long, and she makes a mental note to start arriving earlier so she won't need to use her excused tardies so much... and maybe to ask for that pretty-looking empty parking spot right by the doors.
The halls are empty and silent which, whilst a little unusual, she is thankful for. Maybe she won't have to deal with questions for a little while longer.
When she turns the corner into the main hallway, however, she is met with a loud, echoing gasp. She freezes in her spot and her head shoots up. In front of her, lining the sides of the hall, are at least two hundred people. What the-?
"Mila! Mila! Mila!" The chant begins at the front with her teammates but is quickly continued by the rest of the students.
Banners and posters are held high in the air, saying things like 'Welcome back, Camila!' or decorated to look like the back of her soccer jersey. A smile crosses her face but she remains rooted to the spot.
Eventually, her teammates, wearing their own jerseys, hand their banner to the people next to them and move to each give Camila a hug, which she returns gratefully.
"What is all of this?" She questions when Dinah hugs her.
"Your 'Welcome Back' celebration." The taller girl says like it's obvious, and Camila supposes it is.
"Come on, Walz!" Dinah then grins, grabbing her hand and beginning to lead her through the pathway between the people who start cheering as though she just scored an 8-8 tie-breaking penalty and won the state championship for the team. And yes, she knows what that sounds like because she's done it, a bittersweet memory now.
As they continue down the hall, her teammates acting like cheerleaders until the actual cheerleaders join the procession behind them, she catches a few people making confused faces at her leg but most are just smiling and welcoming her back to the school. Then, near the apparent end of the crowd, she spots none other than Lauren Jauregui standing at the side, far to the back of the crowd and leaning against the wall, but there none the less.
Camila's lips part and her eyes stay glued to Lauren for a while because damn, she almost forgot how gorgeous she is in person, until she's forced to tear them away or run the risk of falling over and falling over in front of your crush is rarely a good thing.
When she looks back ahead of her, Dinah spots the light blush on her friend's cheeks and sends her a knowing look. She knows about Camila's crush on Lauren, the girl isn't exactly discreet about it. Being Lauren's friend too, she can see that the green-eyed girl likes Camila back. It's just trying to get them to talk to one another that's the problem.
"She likes you, you know." Dinah whispers into Camila's ear, only making her blush grow deeper.
"No she doesn't." The girl denies, trying to suppress the smile that threatens to consume her face, "Don't be ridiculous."
YOU ARE READING
Change (Camren) |On Hold|
Fanfiction"Did you hear about what happened to Camila?" It seems to be all that anyone could talk about after the accident, and after she returns. Before the accident, she was Camila Cabello: varsity soccer team's top scorer and only left-footed player. Now...
