"AMARILLO" (A Camilo Madrigal Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: Dig Deep

"Those scars..."

Camilo whispered to himself as he stared intently at her arm whilst serving bowls of Mondongo at the dining table.

Same as usual, she's a lot more quiet around crowds. Her blank expression and dead eyes are somewhat invisible to the cheerful family members around the table. He wanted to assume that she was sad about something, but this expression looks more dull than blue.

Once again, they have that awkward stare across the table. The family dug into their meals to quickly get back to their duties, while she seemed to be stuck in a bubble, slowing her pace. She's not in a hurry... Or maybe she's just trying to be careful. She stole glances from side to side, maybe checking if anyone would react to the dish she made.

"Ahem..." Camilo cleared his throat. "This is really good, Luna."

Andres and Luna's brothers looked at each other and looked back at Camilo. Andres asked, "Which Luna are you talking about?"

"Huh?" He responded.

He could see his prima Mirabel making a wide-eyed look whilst shaking her head. She directed her eyes to Luna sitting next to her and coughed, "A-Alora."

"Ohhh right!" He chuckled. "I meant Alora...This dish is really good!"

Her family sighed and continued to chatter as she just sat with the very same expression as before as if nothing in the world could bother her in her meal. This girl is stranger than he thought. He thought he had his childhood friend back, yet she seemed to be a completely different person.

Well, maybe not completely, but... She had been acting strange.

Right after the meal, everyone cleaned up after themselves and helped clear the table. Camilo saw Dolores walking past him and pulled her arm.

He whispered, "What's the big deal with her real name?"

"When we were kids, I had to give her a fake name just to have something to call her with... And now she's making me call her by her last name."

Dolores sighed and pulled him further near a corner. She looked at Luna from a distance and leaned to Camilo's ear. She whispered, "The name reminds her of señor Mateo Luna... Her late tío."

"Oh..." He replied and bowed his head down.

"Dolores! Mariano is here!" Alma called.

Dolores' face lit up in bright red and pink. She smiled from ear to ear before she exclaimed, "Coming!!!"

She left Camilo standing by the corner. He rolled his eyes as soon as he saw her fixing up her hair and rushing outside the kitchen.

He crossed his arms and looked at Luna washing the dishes alongside Mirabel. He walked to the sink and saw his cousin yapping around as she complained about something he can't quite make out. Meanwhile, Luna just looks at her for a few moments, smiles for a bit, and returns to washing the dishes. She quietly listened to Mirabel's blabber as she was halfway in finishing the chore. Mirabel barely finished washing a single plate as she had taken it over with this long story. He looked at the time, and yelled, "Ey! Enough chit-chatter, Mirabutt! Can't you see you haven't washed a single plate?"

She scoffed and annoyingly looked at him, "We'll I don't see you doing any better CAMILITO!"

She cackled and handed the plate to Luna. She nudged at her elbow and added, "Ey, cute nickname for him, huh?" "HAHAHAHAHA"

She tried to catch a few breaths and added, "Well, time to get back to work!"

Camilo watched as Mirabel made her way out. He looked around to see if the cost was clear, and swiftly stood beside Luna. He nervously rubbed his arm, trying to find the right words as she began to take the dishes back and organize them. He leaned by the sink and started rubbing his hand by his neck as he clears his throat and starts to spark up a conversation.