Bunkd Lou Ravi Sunflowers in September

Sunflower

The log building behind the infirmary served as the Camp Kikiwaka library and the official space for all arts and crafts activities. Lou and Ravi sat on opposite sides of a long table that had been set up between the water fountain and the non-fiction book shelf. On the table were piles of white slips of paper, envelopes of small bills, a metal box decorated with sunflower stickers, and a printed-off calendar with a blank schedule. There were also a few notepads and pencils and one long-stemmed sunflower.

Ravi opened an envelope and removed a white slip of paper, several dollars, and a handful of coins. He read the name and then jotted down a note on the notepad.

"This is the fourth sunflower-gram request for Nathan Smith," Ravi said. He put the money inside the metal box. "I think his girlfriend is going to be quite peeved, because none of them are from her."

Lou looked up from the envelope she was opening and made a face. "Yesh, that's gonna be awkward." She shrugged and then smiled. "Anyway, thanks for helping out with this. Back when I was in middle school, we had this fundraiser where people could pay to send someone they liked a rose during morning announcements. I figured this could be a good way to raise money for the end of year bonfire. And it's cute!"

Ravi picked up the sunflower and admired its yellow petals. "But this isn't a rose."

"Yeah. But it's cheaper and a farmer in town is giving us a steep discount if we clean out his barn next weekend," Lou explained as she wrote down another order.

He gave her an annoyed look. "And when exactly were you going to inform me of that cleaning commitment?"

"After you helped me organize all these orders," she said with a sweet smile as she batted her eyelashes. "But before Xander and Emma. As you can see, they aren't as easy to round up. But you can help me with that too."

"Fine," Ravi mumbled as he opened another envelope. A moment went by before he heard Lou gasp. He looked up quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Well wrap me up and call me bacon!" Lou yelped excitedly as she waved a slip of paper in her hand. "Ravi, look!" She rushed over to his side of the table and slapped down the slip of paper in front of him. "Tiffany ordered a sunflower-gram for Jorge!"

Ravi read over the paper with his eyebrows bunched together in confusion. He said, "This must be some sort of mistake..."

Lou looped her arm with Ravi's and squealed, "No mistake!" She squeezed his arm. "My woodchuck's in love!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Lou casually let go of Ravi's arm and ignored his pout as she traced the hearts drawn on the slip of paper. "She even drew little hearts, Ravi! Our little Tiffany is in love. It's so sweet." She grinned at him. "I'm happier than a kid in a puppy store."

"You mean candy store?"

She furrowed her brow and shook her head, "No."

Ravi didn't argue. He read over the slip of paper again. Written in pink ink was a sunflower-gram request from Tiffany Chen to Jorge Ramirez. It was decorated in hand-drawn hearts and there was a ten-dollar bill stuck to the back of it.

"Are we sure that this isn't some sort of..." He frowned. He didn't want to imply that Jorge would only receive a sunflower-gram as part of a prank, but he didn't want to accidentally take part in the mean-spirited joke if it was one.

"I know what you're thinking. And, Ravi, I don't think it's a prank," she said confidently. She picked up the sunflower and twirled it in her hand. "Think about it. They've been friends for the last three years. They spend so much time together. And Jorge even stopped putting frogs in the girls' bathroom now. He's maturing."

Ravi hunched his shoulders. "Can we really count two of those years? Tiffany spent a majority of those summers laughing at Jorge whenever he slipped in mud or something equally as ridiculous. And Jorge introduced her a lot as 'the book nerd.'" Ravi glanced up at the ceiling. "...And is proximity exactly the same as spending time together?"

Lou stopped twirling the flower.

Ravi continued, "And Jorge still puts frogs in the boys' bathroom. So, he still has some room to grow when it comes to maturity." He picked up the slip of paper. "Not to mention that Tiffany hates pink ink. She thinks it's hard to read. And she never draws hearts. Though, Jorge draws hearts all the time. But that's beside the point."

"Oh," Lou said softly. She placed the sunflower down on the table. "That does make sense."

She dropped her shoulders and downcast her eyes. "Guess I just wanted to believe in love."

Ravi felt guilt wash over him as he looked at his friend. He wasn't trying to crush her spirit. He really liked the idea of sunflower-grams. And love. He didn't expect to receive a flower, though he secretly hoped he would. But he was excited to help Lou pass them out. And he knew she would enjoy seeing everyone's surprised and happy faces when they received one from a crush or secret admirer.

"How about this," he started as he reached for a blank form. "We will talk to Tiffany to see if she indeed ordered a flower for Jorge. Who knows? Maybe things between them have changed. And then, whether she ordered one or not, we will send Jorge a sunflower."

Lou lifted her eyes and smiled at Ravi. She nodded. Then her eyes lit up and she said excitedly, "Oh! We should send all of the woodchucks and grizzlies in our cabins a sunflower! That way each of them can feel special."

"Excellent," he agreed. He grabbed a few more blank slips to write down the orders. "So, back in middle school, did you receive a lot of roses?"

Lou shook her head and shrugged. "But that was okay. I just loved watching other people get um."

Ravi looked at her and his gaze softened. "That's so sweet, Lou." He quickly wrote on one of the forms, drew a single heart, and then slid it over to her.

Lou felt a flutter of butterflies in her tummy as she read the paper: Sunflower-gram request from Ravi Ross to Lou Hockhauser.

End note: This oneshot was based off the prompt sunflower from the September OTP Prompt Challenge posted by lavendarotpprompts.tumblr. Thank you for sharing prompts, person from the internet.