beyond the monotonous city

twenty two

Camila had no show again during lunch but Lauren couldn't blame her.

She waited until Camila got out of her calculus class just so that she could talk to her. Camila looked surprised to see her wait for her. "Lauren what's up?"

"When are you free?" Lauren asked her, walking along with the students who got out of class.

Camila thought for a second, then grabbed her hand taking her by surprise. "Now actually, I can cut practice for today."

Camila skipped ahead of her as she let go, Lauren kept up. She hadn't seen the girl in awhile, only when Camila arrived home and she watched from her view in the couch at her own home.

"Let's go home first. I've got souvenirs for you from my trips and hella lot stories to tell." It was barely mid afternoon so they had a lot of time to spare.

Camila didn't let Lauren catch up as they arrived to her house earlier than expected. Sinu greeted both of them as they went in.

"Mila don't forget to give Lauren the souvenirs!" she called out as they made their way upstairs.

"Yes, mami!" Camila shouted back before she shut the door.

Lauren sat at the foot of her bed as Camila rummaged through her suitcase. Camila sat beside her with a necklace with seashells. Lauren gave her a look because she would never wear such a thing.

"For your mom," Camila said, smiling. "It's from Hawaii. My mom will probably give her some food as wel. And this," she bent over and Lauren realized she hid something from under her shirt. "Is for you."

Lauren saw that it as a wooden designed tumbler with the words "Anchorage" etched on it. It looked really expensive. "Oh wow Camila this looks good."

"Wait til you open it," she said with a sly smile, very airy.

Lauren opened it and packed to the brim was crumpled newspaper. Lauren removed the newspaper in confusion until she got a ziploc full of cannabis. She turned to Camila, mouth agape, smiling. "Oh no you didn't."

Camila nodded eagerly, "I'm serious! Don't ask how I got that, but I know how to travel with those things. I met with a dude in Alaska who went for a smoke and bought some, remembering you. The tumbler was an afterthought."

Lauren laughed and capped the tumbler again. "Thanks Camila, you didn't have to but thanks. How's your break?"

"Alaska was good, even better the second time around. I like staying in those lodge cabins, I feel all like in those horror movies. We didn't really see sights, just the occasional tour guide. Hawaii on the other hand was so fucking fantastic. We stayed in a beachfront hotel and I did get to swim with the dolphins and it was added to my bucket list." Camila took out her leather bound notebook and showed Lauren the most recent page. Under 'Swim With Dolphins', was a photo of Camila beside a dolphin who seemed to be smiling the same way she did. It looked so endearing to Lauren.

Lauren laughed at the photo. Camila flipped the page back to show Lauren, 'Smuggle Drugs Across Two Countries', and a photo of Camila holding the tumbler close to her face, eyes closed and a sleepy smile on her face. "I am amazing aren't I?" Camila asked.

"You're impossible." Lauren said as she handed the book back, chuckling. "My Christmas break was swell, though less eventful than yours. My siblings came home and so did my old best friend, Keana. I visited some kids at the children's ward and gave them chocolates and drew pictures with them. Oh and I passed my essays."

"That was nice, I like the part where you help out sick kids. I should tag along sometime." Camila said wistfully.

"I'll let you know when I do. By the way how is practice going, you know competition." Lauren asked, eager to know how busy the other girl was.