3. staying up

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Listen while you read - 'Staying Up' by the Neighborhood 

Dinah teaches Lauren how to scale a fish, which Camila finds quite amusing. The green eyed girl is thoroughly grossed out, but Camila commends her for getting through an entire bucket of fish without complaining once.

Once they finish the fish, Dinah leads Lauren over to teach her how to stock the shelves. Meanwhile, Camila digs around under the counter and lugs out a large bag. Lauren pauses, watching as Camila drags the bag across the floor and out the back door.

"What's she doing?" Lauren asks, turning to Dinah, who is paying way too much attention to a tower she'd made out of canned beans.

"Feeding the dogs," Dinah shrugs, rubbing her hands on her jeans and moving back behind the counter. Lauren raises an eyebrow.

"Dogs?"

"Yeah, dogs," Dinah shrugs. "There's a bunch of strays that run around the area. We feed em' so they stick around."

"Why would you want them to stick around?" Lauren asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Protection," Dinah says casually. Lauren stands frozen, watching as the girl moves to wipe down the counters. She can't help but wonder what exactly she's gotten herself into.

A few hours pass of stocking shelves, sweeping floors, and gutting fish. Lauren does her best to keep up, but everything was overwhelming her. By the time it is just starting to get dark, her hands reek like fish, her leg is still burning, and she is starving. Again.

"The light's on! The light's on!"

Lauren grows confused when the youngest two girls come bounding back into the shop, each holding a bucket full of seashells. Immediately, the entire mood in the room changes.

Camila and Dinah both drop what they're doing, hurrying to clean up and close all the doors. Lauren stands in the middle of the room, watching as what seems to be a human tornado practically blows through the room.

"C'mon," Camila laughs, noticing Lauren's confusion. "The light's on."

"The light?" Lauren asks, allowing Camila to grab her arm and pull her out of the store. It's just beginning to get dark, and Lauren slowly realizes what they'd been alluding to, when she steps outside and sees the large, golden glow of a lighthouse protruding atop the cliffs down the beach. "Oh."

"Yeah," Camila laughs, waving goodbye to Dinah as she scoops her sister up into her arms and hurries home. Sofi sticks right by Camila's side, holding onto her sleeve as the brown eyed girl hurries to lock up behind them.

"That's our cue to go back inside," the girl explains, nudging Sofi forwards and hurrying back through the sand dunes and down the wooden boardwalk to their house. "No one's allowed out after dark. It's not safe."

Upon hearing this, Lauren sticks closer by Camila's side until they make it back to the house. Sofi holds the door open for them, even allowing Brutus to trot inside.

"You're gonna have to get used to fish," Camila laughs nervously, holding up the bucket she's brought home from the store. "It's cheap and easy." Lauren simply shrugs, standing awkwardly by the door while Camila and Sofi make themselves at home.

The brown eyed girl gets straight to work, tossing a pan on the oven and digging around in the pantry for spices. Sofi disappears down the hallway, to where Lauren assumes is her bedroom. Now it's just her and Camila, who is practically in auto pilot mode, throwing the fish into the pan.

"So, uh," Lauren clears her throat, trying to start some sort of conversation to fill the awkward silence. "So... I mean, I grew up thinking that your province was super rich and dignified... but I mean... you..."

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