Sunflower | C.M

XII

"Francesca! There you are!"

Before she could say anything, the energetic Mirabel pulled the shocked Francesca from the busy crowds of the town. Mirabel dragged themselves to the corner where there are only a few people walking by. She released the stunned girl's hand and grinned.

"Before anything else, I just want to say.... hi!", she awkwardly smiled and greeted. Francesca, still in shock, founded herself stepping back a little while clutching her hat. "Oh, uh, sorry about earlier!", Mirabel quickly apologized. "It was just, I'm so excited to work with you!", she squealed. On the other hand, the flower girl's eyebrows rose in confusion.

Working with Mirabel? A Madrigal? She couldn't imagine herself working with Mirabel, let alone a Madrigal, mainly because she's still shy with them.

Or not with Mirabel's oldest sister, the cute animal kid, and her new friend.

"Wait, what? What are you talking about?", she cringed at the harshness of her voice and she clearly didn't mean it, but Mirabel seemed didn't mind her tone and was still grinning. "I— you know what, you should see it for yourself! I promise, you're gonna love on what we'll be doing today!" Mirabel emphasized the word love. She started walking, but Francesca just stood there.

Mirabel glanced back and sighed. "Francesca?", "O-oh yeah. I'm coming."

The walk was silent. Francesca kept looking at the surroundings while Mirabel kept glancing at her, unsure if she could talkrd about the day the flower girl and her mischievous cousin hang out. She knew it the moment she asked about his whereabouts and Camilo only responded "A friend of mine", while his ears turning red. After a long thought, she decided not to, since it's not any of her business.

Not far from the town, they've arrived in a plainside area where a few people standing there. Some with gloves, hats, boots, and even aprons. One of those people was Isabela. The said girl immediately noticed the two and gestured them to come closer.

Mirabel enthusiastically waved at her sister and ran to her,leaving a shocked Francesca alone. We're gonna plant something today? Mirabel should've told me! I didnt bring my—

"Hola! Here are the materials! You can pick them!", a girl few inches taller than her stood beside her. She has dark brown skin and had a short curly hair and  big light brown eyes. She was bringing a basket, with gloves, aprons, and the gardening tools inside. Francesca thanked her thrice, as if she's a guardian angel. "I... I didn't know there's planting event today. What are we gonna plant by the way?"

Before the girl could reply, Isabela's voice was heard. "Thank you all so much for coming here." Both Francesca and the girl walked and came closer to other people. "I've started thinking about our beloved town having a vegetable garden few months back. There are times we're short when it comes to vegetables, although some of you here have vegetable garden on their home. So, I proposed to this plan to Abuela and she approved!",  they clapped.  "This garden will not only beneficial to us, but also to the future generation of Encanto!", the people cheered. Soon after, people scattered and started planting.

Before Francesca could moved, Isabela tapped her shoulder. "Take these!". The Madrigal gave her flower seeds. "Planting flowers in the vegetable garden can keep our crops healthy and can increase garden yields!" She gave her the instructions on where to plant the flowers and left.

"Here!", the girl earlier tapped the area beside her, gesturing Francesca to plant closer to her. Francesca bent down and wore the equipments before starting planting. "I'm sorry for being rude! I didn't introduced myself. I'm Gracie Lopez! How about you?" "No need to apologize. I'm Francesca." Gracie then revealed herself to be the same age as Francesca, which left the girl shocked. What even more shocking for Francesca was that Gracie loved gardening and that her family owns a big vegetable garden at the back of her house. Gracie then explained that Mirabel was supposed to be in her place but Isabela changed the plan minutes before she and Mirabel arrived.