First Impressions of Camille
By: Craig Orsland
Typical of most mornings in the apartment Craig shared with Kristen and Cristian, he tumbled out of his bed on a Saturday morning, and tried to figure out what he could get done before his shift at Apple started at 4. Kristen and Cristian were both planning on moving out at the end of June so he considered jotting down some notes about what he wanted to put in his craigslist ad. It was already almost June, so he needed to get it in gear if he wanted to avoid being on the hook for the full rent when July rolled around.
Tyler was just back from Chicago and had been crashing for the last few days, next to Cristian’s futon. The pair of them had been out apartment hunting every free moment since he had arrived. Usually each outing ended a mild argument about what they were looking for, cheapness vs. character, price vs. location, cost vs. amenities etc… Cristian was budget conscious to a fault and it was leaving Tyler hamstrung with every single listing they viewed. It wouldn’t have bothered Craig if they ended up staying a bit longer, it was fun having a full house, and it would be nice to have someone share the rent if someone didn’t turn up to cover the other half.
That Saturday morning though, no one was home. Kristen was on her way back from New York hanging with peeps on the Amazing Spiderman, the other two must’ve been out hunting apartments leaving a usually active apartment uncharacteristically serene.
He walked into the living room, still in his pajamas and sat down on the sofa. Ty’s stuff was piled onto one end, and the two cheap Ikea end tables they were currently using as a makeshift coffee table were askew at random ends of the room. All evidence of an apartment being perfectly occupied. He turned on the TV and started to really think about what he might expect from a new roommate. Normally these types of things worked themselves out, which is how he ended up in the situation he was in in the first place.
From the other room he heard Street Fighting man suddenly start and realized his phone was ringing. He walked lazily back to retrieve it from his nightstand.
“I don’t know this number,” he thought to himself as he sent the call to voicemail, letting technology screen all verbal communication. And only a minute or two later, the voicemail notification dinged for his attention.
“Hi this is Camille, Dobbs’ friend, he mentioned you were looking for a roommate and I am going to be moving next month so I wanted to see if the room was still available.” She continued on with contact info and the usual pleasantries and he suddenly remembered that Dobbs had mentioned Camille and that was looking for a roommate. They had met a handful of times before and she seemed nice enough. She had been dating this horrible dude Jack, who Craig had known from Chapman. Jack was notable in Craig’s memory for his near constant extreme inebriation and complete lack of respect for most others and their property. It was safe to say that Craig was not a fan. If not for Dobbs who seemed to be almost hypnotized by Jack’s bad behavior, any contact would have been avoided contact at all costs. But Camille on the other hand seemed relatively mild and her and Jack had been broken up for like a year. Jack might still be around, but it wouldn’t be Camille’s problem and so it wouldn’t have been Craig’s problem.
The first time he remembered meeting her it had been some party Dobbs roped him into. Him and Jack had gotten a place at a brand new apartment complex called “The Renaissance,” which all seemed super swanky to Craig. But it was far and in the days before Uber, he knew that he would be drinking and therefore driving home drunk or staying the night. This was not to his preference at all, but Dobbs was a good friend and Craig was running out of excuses to avoid any place where Jack might be, so he relented. He showed up and began to do his part to reduce the amount of Caguama in the world.
The party was full of all the usuals. Mainly cinematography students, people from old productions and random party animals who couldn’t resist the shared debauchery of excessive alcohol consumption in a group setting. On the sofa though there was a small girl in pajamas, graciously declining offers to bring her beers or cocktails. She was mostly quiet and attentive to what was happening in the room, while sleepy eyed she conversed with those around her. It was obvious that she was here as Jack Hookers significant other. A bizarre realization for Craig as he assumed anyone who dared to date Jack Hooker would be living their life going back and forth across the line where casual alcoholism becomes problem drinking. Seeing someone with any restraint, clashed with everything he had ever known about Jack… it was interesting to say the least. They were never formally introduced and though they talked a bit about things, it never truly went beyond light small talk, only occasionally veering into personal stuff like family and after graduation ambitions. There were parties after that that were almost certainly mutually attended, and Teeny assured him that they had met previously when they were all new to Chapman and her visits to Jack were just beginning. But that was the first time he remembered her and she seemed very pleasant in his recollection.
The last time they had hung out an argument had broken out between Camille and the pair of Craig and Dobbs. It seemed the two of them were trying convince her that At&t and Verizon were equal in terms of reliability in LA and she was having none of it. Alcohol escalated the conflict to the point of being comical, while she held on tenaciously to her conviction to the extent that Craig started to admire her resolve. It was an argument with no term set and no clear goal as to what needed to be proven to win so drunkenly they chased each other in logical circles until they eventually lost interest. She was small he was suddenly remembering, a full half foot shorter than he was but she was fierce.
He held the phone in his hand thinking about what a year might be like with a roommate like that, and decided he would sleep on it. It was silly, especially since he had 0 alternatives and here was someone ready to sign the lease. But the previous year had been such a rare mixture of excitement, nerve wracking fear of a whole new life in the city of angels. A joyful discovery of deeper friendships and new opportunities. It was coming to an end whether he wanted it to or not, but seriously considering the next roommate made it all too real. So he did sleep on it. For two days. During that two days of Tyler and Cristian apartment hunting and Teeny and Kristen doing the same, the reality of his situation sunk in. “They are leaving,” he thought to himself, “this time is ending no matter what and I am going to need Camille to move in.” Still that day he hesitated to return the call. Lucky for him, he didn’t have to.
It was a Phoenix number his iPhone told him. And he knew it was her. “Of course” he said. “That sounds great… Yeah I would love to meet them…. ok yes we will be in touch.” Two weeks later after a nightmare shift at Apple he rushed home to meet Camille, her mother, and her stepdad. He was late, and flustered so when they came in to the house looking like a youth hostel between cleanings he was mortified. They all seemed so sweet and suddenly Craig felt a little more relaxed about the whole situation.
A month later, giant Teddy Bear in tow, Camile pulled her VW Bug into parking spot number 4 and spent almost the next 4 years at 1041 N Ogden.
Life is funny in that small moments, ofter overlooked as they pass, loom large in memory when they are given the full context of someones story. The surprise that became the monumental friendship between Craig and Camille was the result of so many small events that the true impact of each only became apparent later. Each one of those events, good or bad, happy or sad, filled with joy or heartbreak, were the collection of who either one would become to the other. Eventually she became family to him, as close and as fiercely loved as a sister, and as such she became a part of his heart. Impossible to remove from him without destroying it. She went on to grow her life into something beautiful, expecting the love she deserved and finding someone to give it to her. Craig looked abroad, seeking ways to realize long held dreams of exploring the world, but no matter the distance, as is true with most families, he carried her in his heart and she would go with him where ever his path would take him.