She caught sight of Camila out of the corner of her eye. The smaller girl looked worried, and was talking animatedly with Maia. Just as Lauren was about to go see what was wrong, Camila turned on her heel and hurried over to the green eyed girl.“Can I go to Maia’s house?” Camila asked pleadingly, glancing back at the girl’s table. “I can come home later, right?”Lauren clenched her jaw slightly and looked over at Maia. She couldn’t help but feel like that girl posed a threat. But glancing back at Camila, she saw the hopeful look on the girl’s face and felt all her resistance deteriorate.“Fine,” Lauren sighed, turning back to her table and beginning to clean up her brushes. She felt Camila’s presence still behind her and took a deep breath. Grabbing a scrap piece of paper, she jotted down her number.“Here,” she folded the paper in half and handed it to Camila. “Give this to Maia. Call me if you need anything, or whatever.” Without another word, the green eyed girl swung her backpack over her shoulder and trudged out of the classroom.Just as Camila was about to run after her to say a proper goodbye, she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Ready to go?” Maia asked, raising an eyebrow at the other girl. Camila looked down at the paper in her hands before nodding softly.“Do you really think she will like it?” Camila asked, holding the drying canvas carefully out in front of her as she followed Maia and Toby to his car.“Of course she will,” Maia laughed, helping Camila place her things in the trunk of the car so they wouldn’t be ruined on the drive. “She loves you, doesn’t she?”Camila blushed and nodded softly. “Yes,” she followed their lead and slid into the backseat of the car. “I love her, too.”“Well then she’ll love anything you give her,” Maia laughed softly and turned on the radio as Toby pulled out of the parking lot. Camila couldn’t help but smile.“Why is there not a Va….” Camila furrowed her eyebrows. “Valen…. Valentimes?” She shook her head, thinking for a moment before speaking again. “Valentines. Why is it not every day?” she asked, biting her lip.“Cause that would be way too expensive,” Toby spoke up from the driver’s seat, earning himself a shove from Maia. Camila giggled at their playfulness. She could tell they loved each other.“It’s just a gimmick to make people waste tons of money on candy,” Maia shrugged and turned slightly in her seat so she could see Camila. “But I think it’s nice, especially when you make homemade gifts. It’s always good to surprise one another every once in a while.”“Surprises are fun,” Camila nodded in agreement from the backseat. Comfortable silence fell over the trio as they drove back to Maia’s house. Camila was in awe when they pulled up in front of a rather large, two story building.“You live here?” Camila asked in shock. Maia just laughed and nodded, hopping out of the car and motioning for Camila to do the same. The small girl immediately retrieved her canvas from the trunk of the car.“My dad is the CEO of a big computer company,” Maia explained as they walked up the long gravel driveway. “It sucks.”“Why is it bad?” Camila asked in confusion.“Because his daughter is a free spirit,” Toby spoke up, appearing behind them after locking his car. “And he’s only concerned with numbers and calculations.”“Precisely,” Maia shook her head. “Going to school for art wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for me.”“Does it make you happy?” Camila asked, waiting as Maia moved her backpack to her other shoulder and retrieved her key from her pocket.“Of course,” Maia laughed, pushing open the front door and allowing both Camila and Toby to step inside. Camila was in awe by the size of the house. It scared her somewhat, though. So much empty space. She would much rather have the small apartment she shared with her roommates.“If you are happy, then everything is okay,” Camila shrugged. She followed the other two students upstairs and into Maia’s bedroom. It was quite different in contrast to the rest of the house. The walls were painted dark purple, and there were all types of artwork handing around the room. Camila looked around, taking in all the colors.Within a few minutes, Camila was sitting on the floor with a small easel in front of her, continuing to work on her painting. Maia sat on the bed, flipping through songs on her iTunes. Toby was working on some sort of paper for his art history class, and would groan in frustration every few minutes. Camila giggled every time.A few hours later, Lauren lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. It was nowhere close to bedtime, but she didn’t know what else to do, so she resolved for blasting music through her headphones and shutting out the world.Meanwhile, Camila slowly opened the door to the apartment and glanced back at Maia, biting her lip. She made sure no one was downstairs before motioning for the girl to follow.“We need a good hiding spot,” Maia said quietly, holding Camila’s finished painting i
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