Cinematic Flowers

by Draxonos135

Forget-Me-Not

The city of... Other-Questria was fairly busy on an otherwise normal day.

No giant monsters, no magical mishaps, it was just an ordinary day, where ordinary stuff happened, to ordinary people of extraordinary colors.

A fact a certain pair of girls, Juniper Montage and Wallflower Blush, enjoyed as they entered the same flower store together.

And promptly noticed each other's existence.

"Oh, hi," Juniper greeted, lightly raising her hand. "I didn't you see coming here."

Wallflower looked elsewhere and played with her hair.

"It's okay, most people don't notice me either. I also didn't notice you at first, so I guess you could say we're even."

"Yeah, I guess so, hehe. Are you here to buy some flowers?"

"Actually-"

"Wallflower, there you are!"

The girls turned around and saw the store's owner, Hayseed Turnip Truck, walking up to Wallflower with the store's apron on one hand.

"I was getting worried you weren't going to show up! Okay, the plants have already arrived, they're at the back room, just organize them by color and put the price tag on them, okay?"

Wallflower nodded. "Yes, Mr. Truck."

And as she put on the apron, Juniper quickly put two and two together.

"You work here?!"

"Well, I barely do anything in my club back at school, and I found a help wanted sign here one time, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give myself something to do," Wallflower shrugged. "Now, if you excuse me, I got some flowers to organize."

"W-Wait," Juniper blurted. "I was hoping I could ask for your help!"

"I'm going to be busy for a while, so I'm afraid I can't help you right now," Wallflower shrugged. "But if you really need my help, you can sit down and wait for me to have my break."

Juniper glanced at an empty chair, and sat down.

"Fine, I'll guess I'll wait for your break... um..."

Wallflower played with her hair.

"The name's Wallflower Blush. Not that you'll remember it once we're done talking."

"And my name is Juniper Montage. Don't worry, I'll sit here as long as necessary, until your break comes."

With that said, Wallflower rolled her eyes and got to work, while Juniper began to prepare herself mentally for the long wait ahead.

---

A couple hours had passed, and though Juniper was tapping the floor and looking around everywhere, she was still sitting on the chair, waiting for Wallflower's break to come.

"I can't believe she really did stay there until my break," Wallflower spoke as she and her boss looked at Juniper with surprised looks. "Most people leave and return at a later time rather than spend hours waiting here."

"Seems like whatever she needs, it's something very important," Hayseed remarked, putting a hand on Wallflower's shoulder. "You should go see what she wants, Blush."

Wallflower blushed.

"Please call me Wallflower."

She left the counter and walked up to Juniper, who excitedly got off the chair.

"Wallflower! Are you on break yet?!"

She stopped right on her tracks.

"W-What did you call me?"

"Wallflower. That's your name right?"

"... It is... okay, what's my surname?"

"Blush."

"And what's your name?"

"Juniper Montage."

"Yup, this gives me exactly zero hints that there's something magical happening here."

Juniper raised an eyebrow, and Wallflower quickly corrected herself.

"Anyway, you said you needed my help with something. What is it?"

"Okay, so here's the deal: I'm planning to make a little stop motion short, and I need some flowers to decorate the background."

Juniper clasped her hands.

"I was hoping you could do me a favor and grow a couple of flowers that I could use?"

Wallflower scratched her chin and hummed.

"Is there any particular mood or atmosphere you're going for with this short?"

Juniper blinked twice.

"Most flowers are better for a specific atmosphere: some are better for happy scenes, some others are better for sad scenes, and so on. If you tell me the atmosphere you're trying to achieve, that'll give me a better idea on what flowers to raise."

"O-Oh, that's what you meant!" Juniper clasped her hands. "Well, I want to try film a stop motion short that's a bit more serious: it's a silent one about an amnesiac creature trying to recover their memories."

One uneasy wince at how relatable that sounded later, Wallflower folded her arms.

"That means you'll be going for a somber mood: so maybe some white or blue flowers would work."

Wallflower smiled.

"But since you also told me the theme is memories, I think I know just what kind of flower to grow."

"That's fantastic!" Juniper chirped. "So, when could they be ready?"

"Give me a week to grow them, then come back here," Wallflower responded. "We can discuss payment once you see the flowers for yourself."

"Got it! I'll come back here next week!"

With that said, Juniper strolled to the door, only to be stopped by Wallflower calling:

"Wait!"

Juniper stopped and turned to her.

"What's stop motion?"

"It's a filming technique that is mainly taking several pictures of a particular scene, making sure to edit small bits every few shots, then putting everything together through editing."

"That sounds more like shot-by-shot motion to me," Wallflower frowned. "And it also sounds like a pretty rough method."

"Oh trust me, it is, but that only makes the reward even sweeter!" Juniper clasped her hands. "Anyway, I'll get everything else ready while I wait for the flowers, see ya!"

With no more interruptions, Juniper left the store, leaving Wallflower with an order to do.

"Alright, Hayseed, I'm going to need your help."

She turned to her boss.

"Do you have some seeds for forget-me-not flowers?"

---

A week had passed since the order of forget-me-nots for the stop motion short, and Wallflower stood at the counter, waiting for Juniper to arrive to get the flowers.

Her boss Hayseed Turnip Truck stood next to her, waiting with her for a while until he found himself asking an important question.

"Did you tell her to come here at this exact hour?"

It was then Wallflower realized her slip-up.

"I... kinda assumed she was going to come at this hour."

"Well, it doesn't hurt to wait, but we have some business to tend to," Hayseed remarked. "Now, could you get the other flowers in the back and set them here?"

"Sure."

Just as Wallflower got to work, the bell rang as the door was opened, with Juniper Montage barging in afterwards, catching her breath heavily.

"Sorry... I kinda... lost... track of... time... and I... just-"

"Whoa, okay, first things first: you need to take a breather," Wallflower said as Juniper sat down. "You brought something to drink with you?"

Juniper took several deep breaths, and waited until her breathing had returned to a slightly more normal rate before she answered.

"No, I didn't. But I think I'm back to normal now."

"Try to take a couple more breaths before you say that, little missy," Hayseed said.

Juniper did as her suggested and took a couple more breaths, before she remained silent for a moment.

"Okay, now I'm back to normal."

Juniper looked at Wallflower.

"So, are the flowers ready?"

"Ah yes, the flowers," Wallflower snapped her fingers. "Stay here, I'll go get them."

She walked to the counter and into the back of the store, leaving Juniper alone with Hayseed for a moment.

An awkward silence passed...

...

...

...

"I'm back, here are the flowers you asked for."

Juniper turned and was mesmerized by what she saw: a tray with several forget-me-not flowers in display, all in perfect condition.

"I was wondering whether to keep them in their pots or give them to you cut like this, so while I have this tray, I also have some potted forget-me-nots on the back, just in case you want them-"

"No, these'll definitely work!" Juniper chirped as she grabbed the tray and looked at it closer. "These are so beautiful! They'll definitely work for the background of my movie!"

Juniper's smile caused Wallflower to smile as well, feeling at peace.

"Thank you so much, Wallflower!"

Wallflower blushed once more.

"Hehe, Hayseed helped me quite a bit, actu-"

The man gently nudged her shoulder, gesturing her to take the credit for it.

But it also helped her memory a bit, reminding her of something important.

"Oh right, before I forget, how much are you going to pay us?"

Juniper paused.

"Huh?"

Wallflower's smiled remained on her face as she folded her arms.

"You don't think you're getting these flowers for free, right? You have to pay them."

"Right, right," Juniper reached for her pocket. "I was so excited I forgot about it for a second."

She took out her wallet, opened it... and a butterfly came out.

Followed by Juniper reaching inside it to find it was completely empty.

Uh oh.

"I... don't seem to have money on me."

Wallflower and Hayseed exchanged looks, then turned back to Juniper, their smiles unfaltering.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sure we can do something about that."

---

The bell rang as the door opened to allow passage to a certain country girl with a love for apples.

That's right: Apple Bloom!

And she was greeted by not only Wallflower, but Juniper as well, wearing an apron similar to her co-worker.

"Hello, little girl!" Juniper greeted with a smile. "What do you need?"

Apple Bloom put a five dollar buck on the counter.

"I came here for a dozen apple tree seeds! You have some, right?"

"Sure, they're in the back," Wallflower answered. "Just wait here, and-"

"Oh wait, I just remembered!" Apple Bloom chirped. "I need a couple other things too!"

"I'll help you with that."

The girls turned around, and Hayseed Turnip Truck had suddenly appeared.

"I'll help the lass with the rest of her order, you two head to the back and find the apple tree seeds."

The girls nodded, went to the back, and Hayseed was left alone with Apple Bloom, who went to say the rest of her order.

"So, this might sound weird, but hear me out..."

---

Wallflower and Juniper grabbed two bags of apple tree seeds, one for each girl, just in time for Wallflower to ask her something.

"So, how do you feel, Juniper?"

Juniper glanced at Wallflower.

"Working here, I mean."

Juniper hummed.

"Well, I guess production on my short will be halted for now. But hey, at least I get a change of pace from working at the theatre."

She wrapped her arm around Wallflower's shoulder.

"And besides, after I've managed to pay off my debt, I'll make sure to always check if I have money before making a purchase in advance.

"How can you be so sure?"

"'Cause I never forget anything!"

Wallflower smirked.

"Hmph, says the girl who forgot to bring money with her when she came to get her flowers."

Juniper returned the smirk.

"Says the girl who didn't make sure to get paid before raising the flowers."

The duo exchanged looks, burst out laughing, and left, bringing with them the apple tree seeds.

And, maybe even a friendship between each other.

Comments

[Lieral]

It was a very cute story.

[Bookish Delight]

I support this as well.