Habit

Chapter 18

Clara led both girls inside, and gave them a list of all the flowers in the shop and their meanings.

Normani and Lauren looked at each other with confused expressions and then looked back at a smiling Clara. Clara nodded at the list and said, ''Roses are beautiful, hun, but I think if you really want to say something, you should put more thought into your choice of flower. Each and every flower in here represents something, and they individually say some things that we can't bring ourselves to, so I gave you that list so you can find some of the flowers that say what you want to tell Camila, and I thought it'd be cute if you made a flower crown with the flowers you choose.''

Lauren and Normani both exchanged excited grins and nodded urgently at who was practically a mother to both of them. Lauren hugged her mom and brought her attention back to the list. A few of them made her smile so much that even her eyes mimicked her mouth and after showing Lauren and Normani how to actually construct a flower crown, she left Lauren with the key and said to make sure to lock the shop before returning back to the house. The two girls nodded, hardly even paying attention to her anymore which caused Clara to smile before leaving.

''I can't wait to see her face, Mani!''

''Me neither! You HAVE to get a picture of her in it, she'll look so cute!''

''Do you think she'll wear it? What if she just leaves it in her locker...''
Lauren's face dropped slightly but Normani wouldn't have it.

''Laur, It's Camila we're talking about here, she'll wear it, you know she will. Why don't you make one for yourself as well? You two can match.''

Lauren beamed at the idea, and agreed, so after Normani and Lauren scrambled around the shop looking for the flowers that Lauren had picked, they split the jobs with Normani making Lauren's crown and Lauren making Camila's.

Because the two girls had no experience in the art of making crowns out of flowers and vines, they took longer than they thought they would, but finally were able to finish them after the fourth or fifth try. Lauren hoped and prayed that she made it to the accurate size of Camila's head, and not too little or too big, but either way, she was hanging onto the phrase, it's the thought that counts.

When they finished, Normani and Lauren cleaned up after themselves and noticed that it was almost four in the morning. They groaned at the idea of being up in three hours but they let the idea of seeing Camila's smile at the gift subside the reality of the unfortunate position they were in now.
Normani told Lauren she'd just sleep over at her house so that they'd just head to school together in the morning.
After locking up, they groggily made their way to the Jauregui household and knocked out on the couch, not having the energy to go up the stairs.

The next morning, Clara awoke before anyone else and smiled at her daughters on the couch, and her heart melted at seeing Lauren clutch onto the crowns to her chest with a small smile planted on her face.

After giving the girls 15 minutes extra to sleep, Clara told the girls it was time to get ready for school and Lauren shot up from the couch rushing upstairs with Normani following groggily behind her causing the older woman to laugh.

The girls took a good 45 minutes to get ready before kissing Clara on the cheek and rushing off to the campus to beat Camila, just as they had the previous days. They were relieved to have gotten there before her, which gave Lauren the opportunity to write a small note and drop it into Camila's locker.
Normani and Lauren took the few steps to get to their lockers and watched the front doors expectantly.

After about ten minutes, Camila walked in wearing a light white sweater with jean shorts and a bow in her hair, it was an effortless look, but still made her look beautiful none the less.