As I exited the house of the old woman, who I found out was named Senora Ramirez, I saw Camilo walking towards us.
'Oh, what now?' I thought.
He shot me an annoyed look, even though I didn't do anything. I shot one back. His attitude instantly changed when he turned to talk to Senora Ramirez.
"Hola, Senor Ramirez!" he said cheerfully "I have some time now if you still want to do that...personal thing."
I wondered what he was talking about. Senora Ramirez still hand her hand on my arm as we all stood close to her doorway.
"Ah, thank you Camilo" she began, Camilo smiling softly at her "But y/n already helped me with that."
His eyebrows furrowed at that. He gave me a nasty sideways glance. He turned back to Senora Ramirez and smiled at her.
"Ah...I understand, Senora" he said, his voice slightly shaking.
He walked off towards Casita, his hands in his pants pocket, hidden under his yellow ruana. He kicked at a rock in frustration as he did, muttering to himself. What was his problem, honestly?
I turned to Senora Ramirez and she thanked me again, then I went towards Casita myself. Trying not to walk too fast, I didn't want to catch up to Camilo. What was his problem? I get that he doesn't like me for some reason but he doesn't need to shoot me dirty looks in public. Poor Mrs. Ramirez, she had to witness that.
I made my way to Casita and spotted Camilo in the kitchen, sneaking an arepa before dinner again. I smiled when a fun idea came to my mind.
"Dolores, Camilo is sneaking an arepa right now" I said quietly, only for Dolores to hear.
"Mami! Camilo is sneaking an arepa again!" I heard Dolores say.
"CAMILO!" Pepa yelled, a cloud forming over her head as she did. Felix was fanning the cloud away. So that's what he was doing when we burst into their house yesterday.
Camilo fumbled the arepa in his hand and dropped it on the counter.
"Ah, sorry, mami!" he yelled back.
I chuckled a bit, then spotted Mirabel at a window upstairs, where our miracle flower now was. I made my way upstairs, Casita helped me by lifting me up a bit as I did. Our house never did that. Sure, it would pour our coffee sometimes but the magic was so much more powerful here.
I knocked on the glowing door that had Mirabel's name on it. It had a carving of her with a butterfly on her chest on it. A few moments later, Mirabel opened the door.
"Oh! Hola, y/n" Mirabel said, smiling at me.
I liked Mirabel, she had no gift like most of the rest of her family but she really took charge of most situations and was good at pep-talking her familia into helping other people. She had a kind heart.
"Hola, Mirabel" I said "I have a few questions"
"Oh, I can answer almost anything you throw at me!" she said, fixing her glasses with a grin "Come on in!"
I walked into her room. Everything inside was like a flower meadow but everything except the ceiling at walls were made of yarn and fabric. The wall was decorated with stitching patterns similar to what was on Mirabel's dress.
"So, what did you want to ask about?" she asked me, putting me out of my trance.
"Oh um...It's about your cousin" I said.
She laughed a bit.
"Which one?" she asked, sitting on her bed.
"Oh, right" I said "Camilo"
"Camilo? What about him?" she asked.
"Well, he's been giving me sideways glances and dirty looks ever since I got here!" I said "It's not even my familia, just me!"
She looked at me confused then fixed her glasses again.
"Camilo? Are you sure?" she asked. I nodded at her and rolled my eyes.
"Okay, just checking" she said "It's just...very out of character for him"
"Really? I couldn't tell" I said, venom in my voice clear "I don't understand it. He dislikes me for no reason"
"Hm...Maybe you should try to befriend him? Then he'll probably stop being rude and tell you why he did it in the first place" she said.
"...I guess I could...try that" I said.
"Great! I want everyone to get along!" she said cheerfully "Was that all you wanted to ask about?"
I nodded at her and smiled as I thanked her. I exited her room and Luisa was right in front of me.
"Oh, y/n" she said "Dinner's almost ready, you gonna eat?"
"Mhm, I couldn't miss Senora Julietta's cooking" I said smiling.
Luisa nodded and headed over to her room. As I walked downstairs, I thought about what I just told Mirabel I would do. Try befriending Camilo? He totally hated me. Then I caught a glimpse of him entering the dining area.
Okay, y/n, you can do it. Befriend him.