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..."
"Live in a shack?" Camila cuts in, turning around with an amused expression on her face.
"I-I didn't say that," Lauren shakes her head, biting her lip. "That's not what I-,"
"I get it," Camila laughs, shaking her head. "You expected us to be all rich and living in these marble houses, and you get here and we're gutting fish."
"I... yeah," Lauren sighs, offering the girl a nervous smile. Camila simply shrugs, sprinkling some sort of spice onto the food and turning back around to face her.
"The government has money," Camila nods. "We don't. That's the difference. The people have no say in anything. We serve them. They get what they want and do whatever they want... whenever they want."
"That's so messed up," Lauren whispers, shaking her head and looking down at the floor.
"What's it like over there?" Camila asks, turning down the heat on the oven slightly and leaning against the counter. "Isn't your government the same way?"
"If you could even call it a government," Lauren sighs, shaking her head. "It's very... loosely ruled. There's a group of people in charge but they're always outnumbered. And now with the war going on... it's basically every man for himself."
"That sounds amazing," Camila's eyes widen. "What's it like?"
"Amazing?" Lauren almost snorts at the girl's reaction. "It's not as good as you think. No government means no rules."
"Which means no curfew," Camila cuts in, nodding slowly.
"Which also means no punishment. Which leads to crime. Lots of it," Lauren explains. "You guys stay inside at night because you're forced to... we stayed inside at night because we risked getting mugged or kidnapped if we didn't."
"There's no perfect solution," Camila sighs, turning back to the oven and retrieving three plates from the cabinets. She shovels equal amounts of fish onto them, handing one to Lauren and carrying the other two over to the table. "If only people weren't crazy and power hungry."
"Or stupid," Lauren scoffs, making the smaller girl laugh. She can't help but smile to herself, realizing that making someone else laugh is a pretty good feeling.
"Dinner!" Camila calls down the hallway. Moments later, Sofi comes running into the room, jumping into her chair and almost immediately digging into her plate. Camila scolds her for acting like a caveman, but Lauren can't help but laugh.
"I'm heading out, girls," a masculine voice appears in the doorway. Lauren turns, biting her lip when Camila's father enters the room, cane in one hand, hat in the other. "Be safe, yeah?"
He pulls Camila into a hug, kissing the top of her head and doing the same to Sofi. Lauren stays frozen when he approaches her and pulls her into a hug.
"Good to have you here, Ariana," he gives her a polite nod. Camila and Lauren exchange glances, and just as Sofi opens her mouth to correct him, Camila glares at her younger sister and makes a cutting motion across her neck. Luckily, the girl gets the message, and she quickly clamps her mouth shut.
"Be safe!" Camila calls after him before the door is pulled shut. She turns back to Lauren, who is utterly confused.
"He works nights," Camila explains, sitting down and motioning for Lauren to do the same. "He sits up in the lighthouse and makes sure it stays on, basically. Like a maintenance guy."
Lauren sits down, looking down at the food on her plate and raising an eyebrow. Camila notices.
"I try my best," the brown eyed girl laughs nervously, looking down at her own plate. "It's not much, I know, but-,"
"Better than anything I could make," Lauren laughs, shaking her head to dismiss the girl's fears. "I'm actually surprised you managed to make that horrible creature we gutted turn into... this," she motioned to the plate.
"She's the best cook ever," Sofi nods in agreement. "You have to try her brownies. They're amazing."
"Brownies?" Lauren raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be against those."
"You're asking an awful lot for someone who just washed up on the shore," Camila laughs. She grows confused when Lauren's eyes go wide.
"The shore?" Sofi looks at her sister, tilting her head to the side. Camila suddenly realizes her error and quickly shakes her head.
"It's a big kid joke," she nods hopefully, earning a confused glare from her sister. Luckily, Sofi is too tired to question her, because moments later the small girl is putting her plate in the sink, yawning, and saying goodnight to the two girls before disappearing down the hallway.
"My bad," Camila shakes her head. "I, uh, if I get my hands on some chocolate anytime soon I'll be sure to make you a batch of brownies." Noting Lauren's confusion, she proceeds to explain herself. "Foods like chocolate and sugar are pretty scarce."
They make light conversation for the rest of dinner, and Lauren actually finds herself pretty distracted by everything going on. She realizes that things could be a lot worse.
"Here," Camila smiles shyly, taking Lauren's place once she was finished and bringing their dishes to the sink. The green eyed girl stands up slowly, unsure of what to do.
"Do you need to shower?" Camila asks, pausing to look at the girl behind her, who nods immediately. It causes Camila to laugh softly, holding up a finger to make the girl wait while she disappears down the hallway.
Soon, two towels and a change of clothes are placed in Lauren's arms, and Camila shows her the small bathroom at the end of the hallway.
"The hot water is sorta weird," Camila explains. "Sometimes it gets cold and you have to bang on the wall a little to get it working again," she laughs nervously, still somewhat paranoid that the girl was judging them.
"Got it," Lauren nods, giving her a soft smile. "I think I can handle it from here."
"Oh, yeah," Camila quickly shakes her head. "I, uh, I'm gonna go do the dishes now..." she adds, trailing off before shyly slipping out of the room, cursing herself for being so awkward.
Lauren has never been so excited about a shower. The night before is a blur to her, but she knows that she still smells like sea water and her hair feels absolutely disgusting. So the minute she steps under the warm stream of water, a wave of relaxation washes over her. She never wants to get out of the shower, but she knows she has to, because Camila is probably waiting for her by now.
Camila's left her a pair of plaid pajama pants and an old tank top on the sink. Lauren changes quickly, running her hands through her wet hair in the mirror and crinkling her nose at her appearance. Luckily, by the time she's finished showering and wanders into the kitchen, it's already dark, and the dishes are already done.
There's only one light left on in the house, and that's in Camila's bedroom. So Lauren knocks on the door softly before peering in. The brown eyed girl is sitting on her bed with a notebook in her hand, and a large textbook left open beside her. She looks up when she hears the door open slightly.
"Hey," the small girl whispers, visibly tired. "I, uh, I hadn't really planned for company. So... I just kinda found as many blankets as I could and... yeah," she motions to the makeshift bed she'd laid out on the floor.
Lauren senses her nervousness and can't help but laugh. "Listen, compared to the last few nights I've had, this is far more than what I could ever ask for," she offers the girl a shy smile before sitting down on the blankets, laid at the side of Camila's bed.
Just as Lauren pulls the blanket over herself, Camila rolls over to turn off the light. Assuming she's calling it a night as well, the green eyed girl sighs softly and gazes up at the ceiling.
But then, there's a scratching noise, and a small flame flickers in the darkness. Lauren sits up slightly, realizing Camila has just lit a candle. She stays quiet for a few moments, watching as the girl on the bed references her book before scrawling something else down on the paper.
"You can leave the lights on, you know," Lauren speaks up, startling Camila, who turns around to look at her questioningly. "I mean, if you need to do homework or something."
"Can't," Camila shakes her head. "It's lights out."
"Lights out?"
"Yeah," the brown eyed girl turns back to her work. "If the lights are on after dark, it draws more attention to us. The more we can lay low, the better. Just... just go to bed, Lauren."
"Got it," the green eyed girl swallows her fear, nodding slowly. "Night."
Camila simply hums in reply, turning her attention back to her homework and squinting to see in the dimly lit room. Lauren tries to sleep, however, she's kept awake by the constant squeaking noise of Camila's eraser. And the smaller girl has a tendency to talk to herself.
"Eight..." Camila mutters under her breath, shaking her head. "No, no, that can't be right... it says... ohhhh." Lauren continues staring up at the ceiling. "Eight times twelve. Uh... twelve. Eight times twelve. Eight times twelve is...."
"Ninety six," Lauren gives in and rolls onto her side. "It's ninety six."
There's a long pause of silence before Camila speaks up again. "How'd you know that?"
"My multiplication tables?" Lauren subconsciously raises an eyebrow. "My mom is-was-a teacher," she feels her stomach jump. "She made sure we knew everything. And more."
"Oh," Camila whispers, and Lauren hears her scribble something down on her paper. She assumes the conversation is over, but the girl on the bed speaks up again.
"Has it hit you yet?"
Confused, Lauren sits up slightly and tries to make Camila's figure out in the darkness. "What?"
"Has it hit you yet?" she repeats herself. "That she's... you know... gone."
It's almost as if something has literally punched Lauren's chest. And she holds her breath for a few moments. "You... you don't know that for sure," she finally speaks up, becoming defensive of herself.
"Understandable," Camila nods, tapping her pencil against her chin. "You're pretty lucky, you know."
"Huh?"
"If anyone else would've found you on that beach they would've turned you in. Straight away," the girl explains. There's a long pause of silence between them, and she hears the girl fall back onto her pillow.
"Well, congrats," Lauren mutters. "You're a decent person."
Tired and overall frustrated, Camila shoves her books off of the bed and throws herself back onto the mattress. "We have school tomorrow at 8," she speaks up, her voice piercing through the tense air. "Be ready at 7."
"Seven?" Lauren speaks up. "It takes us an hour to get to school?"
"Depends on how fast of a walker you are," Camila nods curly, leaning over and blowing out the candle to signify the end of the conversation before Lauren could get a word in edgewise. Both girls sigh in unison, laying their heads down on their pillows and falling asleep with a million questions circulating their heads.
--
a/n: i have this theory that anytime BEFORE the sun comes up is time that humans should be sleeping and not getting ready for school. 8am classes are way too early for me lmao. which explains why this chapter is hella early
anyway, shit starts to pick up tomorrow when the girls have to venture out of the house. i'm looking forward to seeing your reactions haha. have a great day babes. ily
be nice to yourselves.
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, txrches on tumblr)