nobody like you (Lauren Jauregui)

pay attention

The raven-haired girl closes her laptop as the bell rings and she gets up, breathing in and out until a blonde girl pulls up to the door.

"Hi. Come in." She says with a smile and the girl does as she's told.

Lauren sits on her desk, looking around the room for the hundredth time this morning and playing with her ring, until more students arrive.

"Hi. Hi, come in."

When the class seems full, she closes the door and goes to the front of the class, taking in all of the eyes staring at her and chasing the nervousness away with a smile.

"So!" She takes a marker. "I'm Miss Jauregui, I will be your English teacher for this year and I will also be your homeroom teacher! Before we get started on a few things, I'm going to take attendance so if you can just... Raise your hand as I call your name, just so I can try and remember what you look like." She smiles again, walking to the computer and looking at the names.

"Okayyy... Mae? Alright, Alex?"

This goes on for only a few seconds until she sits on her desk again, looking at her students.

"What I'm waiting for this year is for you guys to be determined. This is senior year, it's not a joke and if you want that diploma you need to work hard for it. Nothing good comes easy, so... Yeah, you gotta work. I know teenage years aren't easy, I've been there too and if you guys ever need anything, whether it's someone to talk to, advices, or anything else, you will find me in that room at any hour of the day. For some reason, you guys are my only class so... I'm free whenever we're not in class together."

There's a silence in the class until she stands up with a handful of paper that she passes around the class.

"This is just a little paper to help me know you better. You don't have to answer the questions that you aren't comfortable with, or if you don't want to answer then don't. I'll leave you guys a few minutes and I'll collect them."

As all of her students start writing, Lauren looks at them, then she walks around the class and decides after five minutes that they were given enough time for simple questions.

"Alright I'm going to take your papers now. Thank you."

Her day isn't very long, since she only has one class, but she has to work on the first chapter they're going to be doing this year.

That's what she does as soon as she goes home. Maybe for a little too long.

"Are you going to come and eat your dinner or what?" The younger brunette says at the door and Lauren hums.

"Yeah I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Just like you were supposed to, a few minutes ago."

"I'm coming, Jeez!" She snaps, turning around and the brunette rolls her eyes as she leaves the room.

Walking downstairs, Lauren is still playing with her ring.

Camila and her have been engaged for a few months now, and they've been together for three years. They met at a bar and hit it off right away, but something has been off these past few weeks and neither Camila or Lauren knows why.

All they do is fight, make up, and fight again, and it's driving Lauren insane. The energy this house gives out makes her uncomfortable. She almost doesn't even wanna go home, and it's only been one day of school.

"K, I'm leaving see you tonight." Lauren says as she closes the front door and goes to her car.

It's 8 AM, Camila isn't going anywhere but Lauren is, and she's thankful for that because last night and this morning have been full of arguments.

Waiting at a red light, Lauren watches her ring, feeling this little lump in her throat and stomach almost as if she wants to cry, but there's nothing to cry about. It's just a horrible feeling that she has been feeling for way too long for her relationship to still be healthy.

"Hi Lea." Lauren says as her first students arrive in class.

She's a little off this morning, her ring is disturbing her and her students are kind of waiting for her.

"So... The papers that I gave you are what we will be working on for this first chapter. It's a book... If you can read, can someone tell me what it's called?" She asks from her desk and almost every hand is raised. "Alex?"

"It's called Never Let Me Go and it's by... Kaz- Ka-"

"Kazuo Ishiguro. That's right." She turns around to write the author's name and takes out a box full of books. "Free books for everyone."

She gives each of her student a book, and goes to her desk to sit on it as usual.

"Alright so... We will be starting by reading the first chapter together. Does someone want to start? Jenn? Awesome go on."

Lauren knows this book by heart, she doesn't even need to follow with her own. She looks at Jenn who's reading out loud and every face is looking down, except one.

That face.

That pretty, pale, curly-haired face.

The only one looking up, out the window and she looks like she isn't really paying attention to what's going on around her. Her book is open but not at the right page and Lauren doesn't really knows if she should call her out and interrupt her reading student or not.

So she stands up and softly walks to the back of the class and knocks on her table once, not too loud. The girl jumps and their eyes meet for a second before the girl looks away.

"Can you pay attention? Turn the page."

"Sorry."

Lauren nods and walks back to her desk, sitting back on it and looking up to meet those ocean-blue eyes again.