Repainted {Camila/You}

4

"Lauren, you home?"

When I arrived back at my room a few hours later, the lights were off. Usually, it meant that my roommate was taking a nap, but I noticed that the blankets were thrown towards the bottom of the bed. She wasn't home. I dropped my backpack onto the floor closest to the door and sighed. I was incredibly tempted to crawl back into my bed and sleep, but homework was important. I padded across the linoleum to my desk and pulled out my laptop. I had one paper due in a month, but I could easily get it done in less.

I was busy typing my life away, Spotify playing softly in the background when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen before pressing the green answer button, "Hello?"

"She misses you."

"What?" I scrunched my face in confusion, "Alycia?"

"How'd you guess?"

"It's your accent," I explained, "and you're the only person I've given my number. Who are you talking about?" I had slightly hoped at first that it was someone giving me a hint about Camila, but it was wishful thinking. We'd texted here and there since the initial conversation, but I didn't want to be an overkill.

"The baby of course. She needs a name, too."

"How do you know it's a girl?"

"I checked," she said, as if it was the simplest thing ever, "You ask a lot of questions."

"It's something that I hate about myself." I admitted, "I'll try not to."

"No! Curiosity is insubordination in its purest form, and I believe there is nothing better than rebelling against norms. Ask as much as you'd like." I could tell she was, again, grinning. I could hear it in her voice.

"Alright... um. So she needs a name. What are your top choices?" I tapped my pen against my paper nervously as she paused for a moment, no doubt thinking about it.

"I like Amethyst. Amelia. Jade."

"These names all have very similar connotations," I noted, "I like the name Chrysanthemum. Chryssa for short."

"Wow. That's... I love it. Chrysanthemum?"

"It's a book that I was read all the time as a kid. About loving yourself, essentially, even though you may be a little different."

"You're deeper than you appear to be, I see.. Did you want to get dinner?"

"What?"

"Like, at the dining hall. We could talk over the schedule and how we're going to incorporate different aspects of our 'circumstance' into the assignment. Or, if you hate their food like I do, you can come over and we can order takeout. No big deal."

"I think it'll be fun. Did you want me to come, like...now?" I glanced over at the clock on the nightstand, its bright white numbers reading 4:45 PM.

"I don't mind, unless you were doing something?"

"No, I wasn't. Let me just get ready real quick. Which building do you live in?" She told me what building she was in, and I scribbled it down on a Post-It so that I wouldn't forget. We agreed on a meeting location and hung up; almost instantly a wave of anxiety washed over me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and that was something that bothered me. I was always shy and anxious when it came to making new friends, not wanting to burn any bridges. I glanced down at my outfit, a simple pair of leggings and a white shirt, deciding it was good enough for doing homework with Alycia. I got up from my desk and slipped on a pair of Nike slippers when the door opened.

"Hey, dude, where are you going?" Lauren's eyes were nearly candy apple red, and I laughed to myself.

"I have a project with this girl, we're going to work out the details. Where are you coming from...?"