Anna stood in between Diego and Giselle, in her hands; she had a red sweatshirt with a hoodie."What do you think about this?" Anna asked, her eyes reaching out to the two idle souls, pausing to get their feedback.
…
Anna tried so hard being the mediator between the two. She knew Diego avoiding Giselle. Regardless, they have explored the store trying to find a gift for Lillian Grey, who missed this occasion.
It was Giselle"s idea originally. She suggested Anna if they could scoop in money together to buy Lillian a souvenir.
Anna, who knew that Lillian Grey could care less about gifts, somehow got persuaded by Giselle"s proposal. It was hard to refuse Giselle"s pa.s.sion when she talks about Lillian Grey, especially when Anna knew the reason behind it.
Agreeing to her idea, Anna, Diego, and Giselle explored to find a suitable gift for Lillian Grey.
But, the reality wasn"t something they felt uncomfortable.
Diego had occasional remarks on whatever Anna picks, Giselle"s expression changed for every item, but those eyes never approved anything. Finally, there stood Anna in the middle, hoping to settle down on a gift together.
Exhausted from their rare acknowledgment, Anna threw the Red sweatshirt back on to its rack.
"I give up I can"t do this anymore."
"Let"s go on our separate ways and get something for ourselves."
Anna exploded and walked away from the two. She swiftly moved away in frustration. It is not that she hated to buy her best friend a gift, but the lack of input she received from the other two. Diego never showed interest but often commented, which by the way did not help Anna decide a gift for Lillian.
Giselle, on the other hand, showed that nothing impressed her so far. Anna"s selection never made her satisfied to the point of excitedly agreeing to purchase it.
Their joint-collaboration failed.
Anna gave up and chose her way of doing things.
That is, to select her token of appreciation to Lillian Grey, her best friend. Anna worked single from that point. She never turned back to check on Diego or Giselle. She wasn"t angry either, but only tired from being the only one who showed some enthusiasm.
…
Giselle and Diego stood suspended to their feet, unable to react. Snapping out of his guarded zone, Diego jerked his body, his eyes blinking before it fell upon the disconcerted Giselle. He saw her stand upright, without moving a muscle, her gaze appeared sad and incompetent.
Diego stared at her for a while, thinking how much things changed ever since she entered their lives.
He never hated Giselle spending time with Anna or Lillian Grey. He hoped that they could be best friends forever. However, the effect Giselle has on Lillian Grey was far too much. Diego had never seen Lillian react this way before. Bewildered from observing his friend"s changes, he suspected if Giselle"s presence is good or bad on Lillian Grey.
He pondered upon the question ever since his outburst at Lillian that day.
"Is Giselle good for Lillian Grey or not?"
Diego"s gaze went too deep that even Giselle felt the attention she received. Her eyes flickered as they connected with Diego"s.
Instantly, they widened from noticing his penetrating stare. Giselle looked nervous.
Catching her reaction, Diego quickly averted his perception and walked away without responding.
Giselle came to realize the surrounding after his exit. She gasped lightly, calming down her breathe. She looked around to find her cla.s.smates actively shopping. Giselle cleared her mind; thinking about getting Lillian a gift herself.
It is a perfect opportunity to show her grat.i.tude for Lillian"s care and attention. Giselle felt that for a long time. She wanted to show her appreciation in the form of a gift, for helping Giselle when she got hurt, abused, and bullied. For all that, Giselle wanted to thank Lillian Grey. She stalked around the place to find anything that will reflect her emotions. As those eyes traveled, they landed on a stationary corner.
Giselle"s legs moved automatically towards the spot. After reaching, she checked out the items displayed, scanning through the coloring pens, paint boxes, art supplies, and so on.
"May I a.s.sist you in choosing?" a grown voice beckoned.
Giselle looked up to find an aged man addressing her. He stood the other side of the corner. Giselle understood that he works for the store.
She nodded gently with a slight smile to greet him.
"Are you going to buy it for yourself or a friend?" the old man asked.
Giselle admitted that she was looking for a gift to show her grat.i.tude.
"Is that person special to you?" the old man asked again, his eyes focused on the displayed items, scrolling through them as he inquired her.
"Yes,"
"That person is special," Giselle replied.
By this time, she felt her heart might explode from what she had just said.
The locked-up emotions inflamed without her consent, and Giselle trembled.
"She is a friend," Giselle said out loud to the old man.
Chuckling after hearing her reply, the old guy asked a few more questions about "this special friend," and Giselle answered them diligently.
…
"I would suggest this one," the old man showed her a Pen set.
In it was an Antique feather Quill dip pen with writing Ink. The feather was in Ruby Red color. The set came with a cute little violin stand to place the pen.
Giselle"s eye lit up, seeing it. She knew Lillian"s wild pa.s.sion for novels. She could see Lillian get pa.s.sionate when talking about the books she reads.
"Maybe she will become a writer in the future." – Giselle thought.
"I"m sure your reader friend will love this gift, young girl," the old man stated.
Enthralled by the suggestion, Giselle appeared content. She was convinced greatly.
"I"m sure one day I can read her novels too!" Giselle secretly wished.
Giselle selected her gift and thanked the man for helping her. She then walked out to pay the bill.
…
Just as Giselle finished buying, she spotted Anna.
"Oh, Giselle, you finally got something!" Anna noted as she went to pay the bill. Soon after several minutes, Diego joined.
***
Back at the accommodation:
Time: 12:30 PM
Lillian finally woke up from her slumber state.
She looked worn out, her eyes dry and weighed a ton from all those unexpected tears. Her body ached from sleeping at one position throughout the whole night.
As soon as she woke up, Lillian stretched her body, relaxing her aching muscle. Only after that, she felt like a living person.
"Mindy, do you have water by chance. I finished mine."
Lillian"s desperate call went unanswered. She looked around to find no one. It was calm and quiet for a building accommodating teenagers. Something felt off as Lillian sought her mobile phone.
The minute she unlocked it, a few notifications popped up to her surprise. There were missed calls, from Anna.
First, she looked in her inbox and saw Anna"s message about Seth"s impromptu plan.
"oh, a souvenir!"
"Sounds nice, but not my thing," – Lillian thought as she pushed the blanket aside to sit on her bed.
Mindy had also sent a text to Lillian informing about the short trip to the store. It was sweet of her to do so.
Placing her mobile on the nightstand, she noticed a small memo with a handwritten message on it.
Lillian picked up to read it.
"Hey, sleeping log, Good afternoon, I suppose. I didn"t want to bother your sleeping time. I know you must be exhausted, so this is a message to you when you wake up. We are all visiting a shop to get souvenirs. I already know it"s not your thing.
Oh, we also got to enjoy the "not so fluffy like Edwin"s short pancakes" for breakfast today. You missed it, Haha! Haha!
Alright, take care and get something to eat. I think we will return around lunchtime. Don"t wait for us and eat first. You already skipped breakfast.
Also, Giselle keeps asking about you.
She looks like a d.a.m.n puppy, and I can"t ignore it forever. You better meet her later. She was expecting you eagerly for this trip, but-
Anyways take care and love you!
-Anna"
The big message was written so narrow and tiny within the small sheet of paper.
Lillian"s face hinted a delicate smile from reading Anna"s message. However, the Giselle part surprised her.
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"Giselle keeps asking about you."
"You better meet her later."
These words kept recurring like a mantra in Lillian"s head.
…
After showering, Lillian felt fresh and clean. Immediately, she went to the eating area and saw that the lunch service began already. She saw a few of her cla.s.smates eating. As the strength was less with almost many went for the trip, Lillian got noticed by her cla.s.smates. They welcome her to join in, and Lillian accepted.
The kids who stayed back ate their lunch soon and went back to their respective rooms while the others who went for shopping returned an hour later.
Instead of heading to their rooms, Seth and the staff requested them to sit down for lunch.
As they ate happily together, chattering about the purchases they made, Seth came in like a storm appearing in the middle of the room.
"Guys, this will be the last night that we are spending here. So to celebrate it, we will be starting our night campfire at 7:00 PM sharp."
Seth"s announcement sent gooseb.u.mps to the students as they all roared and cheered in excitement.
Seth cheered along with them and summoned everyone to be present on time.