"The rain," Camila says.
Lauren nods, slowly.
"It's like..." Camila pauses, searching for the word.
"Crisper," Lauren says.
"Exactly," Camila says, nodding.
"Almost like..." Lauren frowns, "red? Maybe?"
"Mostly," Camila says. "With a hint of orange."
"Orange, right." Lauren points at Camila. "That's right. I keep forgetting that one."
"A lot of things are orange, though," Camila says, frowning.
"Not where I'm from," Lauren says darkly. "Everything's just blue-black there."
Camila winces. "I can't even imagine that."
"Don't," Lauren says firmly. She shakes her head. "Don't even try."
Camila shudders a little. "Believe me, I don't want to."
Lauren nods. "Good." She sits up straighter suddenly, cocking her head.
"My mom coming?" Camila asks. Lauren nods, standing up.
"Keep it short, yeah?" Lauren asks as she closes the closet door.
"Okay," Camila replies to the now-empty room.
There's a soft tap on the door before her mom pokes her head in.
"What are you doing, Camila?" Camila's mom asks, looking in.
"Talking to Lauren," Camila tells her. She immediately regrets saying anything.
"Camila," her mom says, sighing. "Lauren isn't real, remember? We've been over this before."
"Right, Mom," Camila says, nodding. "I'm sorry."
"Camila, I..." Her mom pauses, looking unsure. "Don't apologize, okay? It's just that Lauren doesn't exist."
"Okay," Camila tells her, waiting for her to leave so Lauren can come back.
Her mom looks at her, something yellow-blue-red in her eyes. She forgets what other people call it. Lauren would know.
"Camila, you have an appointment tomorrow, remember?" Camila's mom says. "With Dr. Paulson."
Dr. Paulson has lots of markers, a checkerboard, and a liberal use of a drawer full of candy so Camila won't tell anyone about the one time everything tasted like metal and soap and magenta dipped in candle wax.
"Okay," Camila says, nodding.
Her mom bites her lip. "All right, Camila," she says. "Remember to eat, okay?"
"Okay," Camila echoes, and she closes the door.
Lauren immediately opens the closet door.
"Dr. Paulson," she says with a tone of distaste.
"Why don't you like him?" Camila asks as she watches Lauren settle herself on Camila's bookshelf.
"He sounds so..." Lauren bites his lip, searching for the words. "I would say purple-green, but I'm missing something, aren't I?"
"Pink," Camila says immediately.
"Right, right," Lauren says. She makes a face. "I don't like it when you go there."
"Would you rather I go back to Dr. Craig?" Camila offers.
Lauren recoils the best she can while perched precariously on a bookshelf.
