Meanwhile, Lauren sat in class, cursing herself for forgetting her required project for the second time in two weeks. She knew she wouldn’t hear the end of this. She laid her head down on her desk as her professor droned on and on about the difference between oil and acrylic paints. She had nearly fallen asleep when she heard the class fall silent. Lifting her head, she looked around to see what had caused her teacher to stop speaking.“Uh, hi, I just needed to drop this off for Lauren.”Lauren looked over at the door when she heard Ally’s voice. She sighed in relief when she saw the smaller girl holding her painting, silently thanking her.“You can set it in the back of the classroom over there,” her professor pointed behind him. Ally nodded and hurried over to place the painting in the back of the classroom. Lauren met her eyes and mouthed ‘thank you,’ Ally smiled and gave her a thumbs up.“Lolo?”Everyone’s heads turned back to the door, including Lauren. Camila recognized her and waved violently. The small girl glanced at Ally before slipping inside the classroom and running over to Lauren. The older girl’s heart sped up and she felt everyone’s eyes on her.“Hi,” Camila beamed, running over to the table where Lauren sat and smiling widely. Lauren bit her lip to hide her smile at how enthusiastic Camila appeared.“Hey,” Lauren said softly. Ally turned around and saw Camila, cursing herself for not making the girl wait in the car.“Camila, c'mon,” Ally hissed, motioning quickly for Camila to stop disrupting the class.“Go,” Lauren giggled and nodded towards Ally. Camila pouted but nodded slowly.“Bye Lolo,” she mumbled, turning to leave but pausing for a moment. Camila turned back around, cupped Lauren’s cheeks, and planted a quick kiss on her lips. Lauren’s face grew bright red and she heard Camila giggling as she ran back over to Ally, who had just apologized to the teacher. Both girls were soon out of their sight and Lauren heard the whispers of her classmates.Lauren bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to hide a smile on her face. She looked down at her sketchbook as her teacher started his lecture once more, but the only thing she could focus on was the taste of Camila on her lips.Eventually, after what felt like forever, the class was dismissed. Lauren tried to escape out of the door first, but her teacher motioned for her to come over to his desk. Biting her lip, Lauren prepared herself for the worst. Eventually, all of her other classmates filed out of the room and she was the only one left.“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you Lauren?” her teacher chuckled and placed her painting on the desk in front of him, studying it closely. “You’ve gone with a different medium for the first time, and I have to say, I’m impressed.”“Wow… I, uh, thank you,” Lauren laughed softly to herself, flattered by his compliment.“I can’t say I’m surprised anymore, though,” Mr. Robertson pulled her sketches out from last week and laid them next to her painting. “After seeing your interaction with your visitor today, that is.”Lauren bit her lip, wondering if she was in trouble.“Looks like you’ve found yourself a muse, Miss Jauregui,” he chuckled and nodded to the artwork on the table.“A what?” Lauren asked, tilting her head to the side.“A muse,” he pointed to the silhouette of the girl in the painting. “Someone who you use as inspiration for your art. She looks familiar, does she not?” he asked, nodding for Lauren to look at where he was pointing. Lauren’s cheeks grew red.“I… I-I…”“Pablo Picasso had many muses, out of his many romantic interests,” he continued, ignoring how flustered his student had grown. “Manet found his muse in a stranger on the street, and has over eight paintings of her.”“I didn’t mean for her to interrupt y—,”“Does she make you happy?”Lauren swallowed hard. “Yeah,” she said softly.“Then all is forgiven,” her teacher smiled and stacked her sketches back into her folder. “I don’t say this often, Lauren, but you have potential. You just needed someone to bring it out of you.”Lauren looked down to the ground to try and hide her smile. Camila seemed to be helping her in every aspect of life. “Thank you,” she said softly, looking back up and running a hand through her hair.“You’re dismissed,” he nodded towards the door. “Keep up the good work.”“Thank you, again, thank you,” Lauren adjusted her bag on her shoulder and glanced at the clock, realizing she had to be at her next class soon. She exited the classroom without another word and quickly hurried to her Art History class.Time dragged on and eventually Lauren found herself tossing her bag into the backseat of her car and heading back to the apartment. When she was about halfway there, she made a rush decision and quickly pulled off onto a different road. Ten minutes later, she ended up at the shopping mall and made it inside just as it started to rain.About twenty minutes later, she sprinted bac
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