Two days pa.s.sed since everyone returned from the trip. Cla.s.ses began as usual.At first, the kids felt disheartened with the change in the environment.
Suddenly the entire day at school seemed troublesome than going for a long hike.
All they could do is to talk about those days spent with picturesque landscapes. Freedom from studies, a.s.signments, tests, and so on, it all made the kids wish for the trip to have never ended.
The first half of the day went regular with the students still missing the tour days. They all would often find the in-between breaks and lunch hour to chat about it.
Like that, it continued even today during the lunch hour.
Everyone sat in groups, with their friends and chattered memories.
Amongst the group, in the middle, sat three girls - Carmel, Ivy, and Bridgette.
The trip served as rehab for the gossip girls. Before, their relationship was on the verge of getting severed.
During the trip, the four girls went through an ordeal of an emotional drive that let Bridgette and Carmel, the ones with the main dispute, opened up their issues out loud and dealt with it.
Bridgette chose to be in solitude after realizing her mistakes and witnessing the truth. However, towards the end of the tour, Carmel and Bridgette reconciled after the other two"s constant begging.
Ever since then, they all rebonded their friendship, but Bridgette continued to stay silent for most of the occasion. She only voices out her opinion when it"s needed the most.
Carmel, Ivy, and Bridgette sat down for lunch together except Sara.
"Isn"t Sara joining us for lunch?" Ivy asked after noticing the missing one.
Carmel explained that Sara previously informed that she would be running a little late for lunch. Ivy agreed quickly.
They all started to eat lunch.
...
In the middle of their meal, a paper bag appeared in front of each one.
Each bag was of a different color, mild and light, instead of vibrant - neatly organized with a sparkling ribbon tied into a bowtie.
Just from seeing those bags, anyone can get excited because they looked like little, fancy gift parcels.
All at a time, the girls looked up to find Sara standing in front of them.
Their eyes widened in bewilderment, unable to discern the situation.
"Sara?" Carmel blinked.
"Hey?" Ivy greeted.
While Bridgette only looked at her keenly without uttering.
"What are these, Sara?" Ivy asked first and pointed out the beautiful parcels.
"Gift."
Sara"s one-word reply was ambiguous yet on point. No one dared to go on with the next question but only kept staring at Sara.
"Since you all look speechless, I will do the explaining," Sara declared.
The three nodded at once in agreement.
"I got some souvenirs for all of us from the trip."
"Ah-ahh" the girls thought, now apprehending the scene.
"Exactly, so these are all your gifts from me," Sara said, reading their reactions.
As soon as she ceased speaking, the girls immediately grabbed onto their bags.
Carmel"s bag was in baby pink color with a white bowtie. Without crushing it, she carefully removed the tie and peeked inside.
//
A photo frame and a small, pet.i.te cylinder case.
//
The other two also had the same pattern; photo frame and a small cylindrical box.
Carmel took out the photo-frame and glanced at it.
A picture of four girls together standing in front of the lake house. Behind them stood the silver-blue colored lake, standing still with the images at the side standing greenery reflected spotless upon its freshwater. The sunlight formed a silver borderline around the rims of the lake; like adding a highlight to the existing pictorial.
A picture is worth a thousand words- it exactly resembles that.
One picture that Sara took back on their trip; she had to appeal to Bridgette, who kept disappearing from taking a photo.
It is the exact picture Sara chose to frame it and gift it to her friends as a memory to be cherished forever.
Everyone did the same as Carmel, first noticing the photo frame and immediately getting emotional from revisiting the moment. It hit Bridgette the most as he found herself gawking at the frame intensely.
Ivy thanked Sara for the great gift and putting so much thought into it.
Carmel stood up to give a hug to Sara.
Eventually, Sara"s eyes landed on Bridgette, the only one left to react.
Bridgette noticed and gently nodded as if showing her grat.i.tude towards Sara.
Her bow followed with a slight smile that lasted less than a second.
"Alright, this is not the only one you are getting. There is more inside the bag, check it out."
Sara bragged and then whispered to herself, "I mean there"s another one gift left, not many."
Obeying her words like a command, they all dug into their gift bags and unveiled a pet.i.te case that painted the picture of fragrance.
"Tda!" Sara cheered when she saw them holding their fragrances like in an advertis.e.m.e.nt.
"Wow, I got Rose fragrance." - Bridgette exclaimed.
"Mine is Lily, my favorite scent." - Ivy boasted.
"I got Jasmine and Rosewood." - Carmel said and took a sniff of the smell instantly.
"Ah, that"s right. Carmel likes to check out the new ones, and so, I got you this. You kept saying you wanted to try out something fresh, I hope it suits your liking."
Sara hesitated while speaking and steadily kept checking upon Carmel"s reaction.
Her stuttering lashes eased when she found Carmel smiling brightly from testing the perfume.
Carmel kept bobbing her head and then gave a thumbs-up sign to Sara.
"Thank you, Sara. It is a very thoughtful gift. I love it."
Bridgette admitted out loud.
Following her response, Ivy and Carmel, their eyes grew wider in awe.
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Ivy mouthed, "Good job, Sara," because this gift has brought the girls closer than before.
"By the way, Bri, are you taking care of the plant I gifted you?" Ivy roared suddenly.
Ivy had also gifted a souvenir to Bridgette, a Red Azalea shrub to take care.
Red Azalea flower denotes an admiration and love. Since Bridgette"s first love ended badly, Ivy thought of gifting her a plant that signifies the love and pa.s.sion.
"I"m taking care of that plant more than myself, chill out."
Ivy grinned from hearing that Bridgette is taking good care of the plant. It made her happy, including, Carmel and Sara who were present, when Ivy presented her gift. They all admitted it to be an excellent gift for Bridgette.
Not only as a token of love had she gifted, but also to distract Bridgette from getting depressed at home, all alone. At school, Ivy can be there for her. However, at home, both of Bridgette"s parents are working people. So, to give her a company and make something useful, Ivy chose the flower as a souvenir.
"Enough talking, let"s eat. Sara, come and sit down," Carmel ordered all to eat first and then continue chatting.
Sara sat opposite to Carmel and next to Bridgette. She dug into her food.
***
Meanwhile, on the other end, a table that is faraway occupied Giselle, Lillian Grey, Anna, and Diego.
"I"m done." Giselle murmured under her breath.