Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 60

"So how long did Camila say she'd be?" Normani asked Lauren as they found a table in the food court together and sat down, the pair of them waiting for Ally who was buying them all smoothies

from the juice bar nearby. "She said she'd be about half an hour," Lauren told her, placing her purse on the floor under her chair and grimacing slightly at the pull she felt in her ribs. She reached up a hand to her side as she sat back up and exhaled noisily, releasing a lungful of air through gritted teeth. "It's still painful huh?" Normani asked making a sympathetic face and gesturing towards Lauren's side with her hand. "Yeah," Lauren breathed out again, still clutching her ribs protectively. "I have no fucking idea how Camz dealt with breaking nine of her ribs because let me tell you Mani," she said seriously, "two is painful enough." "Hopefully they'll stop hurting soon," Normani encouraged supportively, reaching a hand across the table and squeezing Lauren's other one in her grasp. "On the bright side," she continued playfully, "at least your face doesn't look like crap anymore." "Geez, thanks Mani," Lauren laughed. "I didn't think that it looked too bad if I'm honest..." "I don't know," Normani mused thoughtfully interrupting her, "a couple of those bruises looked pretty horrific and that cut above your eye..." she said gesturing at the laceration on Lauren's forehead with her index finger, her voice trailing off slightly as she studied her friends face. "Huh," she said suddenly realising something. "What?" Lauren asked her when she didn't elaborate. The brunette took back her hand and placed her fingertips against the stitches in her forehead selfconsciously as Normani continued staring at her. "Well," Normani said thoughtfully, "you managed to split your head open in almost the

exact same place that Camila's scar is." she informed her smiling. "Except that your cut is like, tiny in comparison." She noted. "I guess Camila is much more of a badass than you'll ever be." She joked. "You're preaching to the converted," Lauren told her, lifting an eyebrow in greeting as Ally approached their table with a tray in her hands, their drinks balanced precariously on the top of it. "Here you go guys," Ally said as she placed the tray on to the table and handed them their drinks, one at a time. She picked up the tray once it was empty and moved to put it on top of a nearby bin behind her before taking a seat with the others. "What did I miss?" she asked them once she was settled, taking a sip of the cool liquid and glancing between her two friends questioningly. "We were just talking about Camila," Normani answered grinning broadly and Ally smiled at the amusement on her friends' face. http://5hfanfiction.tumblr.com/post/70642399960/trialsand- tribulationschapter60 2/13 "Why am I not surprised?" Ally responded chuckling lightly and rolling her eyes. "Normani bought her up," Lauren protested noticing Ally's gesture and taking a sip of her own smoothie as she met the smaller girl's warm, kind eyes. "It wasn't me." "Really?" Ally asked Normani unconvinced. Normani nodded her head in the affirmative. "I just asked Lauren how long Camila thought she'd be." Normani admitted as she played with her straw, circling it around her cup and stirring the pink liquid within it. "Well, what was the answer?" Ally asked interestedly. "How long will she be?" "She told me about half an

hour," Lauren repeated for Ally's benefit, "but," she said glancing at her watch, "that was almost twenty minutes ago so hopefully she'll be here soon." "I'm glad that your mom finally lifted the ban on you two," Normani shared with her friend. "It was totally unfair of her to stop Camila from seeing you. I mean it's not like any of this was her fault, not really." "I actually spoke to my mom about everything earlier today," Lauren filled them in, chewing on the top of her straw reflexively. "I can see why she did it and to be honest I can't really blame her too much. She's just trying to look out for me that's all." She paused for a minute to have a proper sip of her drink before continuing. "Besides, Camz is fine and I'm getting better." She stated simply. "It's not like it was the end of the world or anything. It was only eight days..." "Wow," Ally laughed, reaching up a hand and attempting to touch Lauren's face as though she were a mirage. "Did you actually just say that? What the hell happened to you?" "What do you mean?" Lauren asked, dodging Ally's petite fingers and moving her head back out of her reach. "You used to complain if Dinah so much as joked about sitting next to Camila in home room and now you're like, I don't know, acting all reasonable about having not physically seen her for eight days." Ally explained. "I think that's what we call progress." Normani chuckled, leaning back in her chair and having another swig of her drink as she watched the pair of them entertained. "Aww," Ally clucked annoyingly. "Look at you acting all mature," she teased Lauren lightheartedly as she attempted to