Walk A Mile (Camren)

XIX

Camila's response to the altercation in Lauren's room was executed childishly. Once she returned downstairs, she sat in the far end of the couch away from everyone. When Lauren joined them an hour or two later, it was like her presence hadn't altered the atmosphere at all. No one acknowledged her. Not that it discouraged her, though. It was her house and she could be anywhere she pleased, and she was tired of being confined to her room. Their interaction wasn't dire to her in the slightest, and she kind of enjoyed their silence. It was nice, for a moment at least.

"So, what are you getting for your birthday, Dar?" Ally asked when she decided to look up from her phone. She spoke over the steady drone of the television and drew everyone's attention, though Camila and Lauren both tried to tune her out immediately.

"I'm so torn," he complained like he'd been longing for someone to question him about it. "I really want the newest Ferrari F60 America in black, but-"

"Don't you already have one?" Ally cocked her head to the side.

"Well, no. I only have the 488 Spider. It's still a Ferrari, but it's different. And it's red, not black. That one was for Christmas, remember?" Darren tried to jog her memory.

"Oh, right. So then it's not in season anymore," Ally agreed in understanding.

"Exactly!" Darren continued animatedly and beamed at her for her ability to understand him. He could never talk cars with Camila. "I'm trying to figure out if I should get it in black or-"

"And what about the mileage?" Lauren reminded him of a pretty crucial factor in purchasing a car. "Or the cost of maintenance and insurance?"

"I want this one for racing," Darren informed Lauren patiently. "And none of the other things matter. I just need something faster than my old one. Whatever it is, I need it in black."

"Racing... Cool," Lauren tried to feign her enthusiasm. There were so many things wrong with what he just said, but she was willing to let it go. She was trying Camila's tactic of simply ignoring it. "So, if you're racing then I'm sure you'd be concerned with the insurance at least, just in case something goes wrong..."

"I'm talking speed, Lauren," Darren made himself very clear. Why was she pestering him with all of the things his parents could take care of?

"Why black, then?" she pressed, genuinely curious about his mindset.

"It just looks cooler," he shrugged.

"He likes shiny things," Ally added helpfully. "His old Lamborghini was really pretty."

Lauren made note of her use of the word 'old." He had multiple cars? What was the purpose? Meanwhile, Lauren didn't have any old anything, because she only had one. She'd had the same car for years now, and it was a hand me down from her cousin. She wasn't nearly fortunate enough to be granted new cars each time a holiday rolled around - not that she would want one, though. The whole idea of it seemed ridiculous. He seemed like the perfect example of someone that just had way too much money. Against her better judgement, Lauren spoke on that.

"Why would you need more than one car anyway? It's not like you can drive all of them at once..." she vocalized her point, but tried to hide her contempt.

She really was trying be more receptive to them, as the brooding girl at the end of the couch had suggested. In her mind, she was doing a great job of reserving her judgement and keeping her observations to herself. Surprisingly, she wasn't speaking on how he had several vehicles and how idiotic it was to utilize his wealth that way, or how poorly he'd thought it all out. She didn't even say anything about his apparent racing habits, which was dangerous and ignorant beyond belief. Presenting herself as being supportive of the absurd idea was her stroke at being more welcoming. It would all be redundant if Camila took no notice of it. Instead of being immature about it, she was actually trying to implement changes according to Camila's criticisms.