beyond the monotonous city

twenty one

Lauren got back to school and found the lunch table with just Shawn and Dinah. She knew Camila should be back by now.

"Their competition is near, they're spending time with the team probably." Shawn said as he was missing Ariana as well.

"Well we can always spend this precious time we have with just the three of us, like the good old days." Dinah says, a bit more eager than both Lauren and Shawn. Lauren clearly knew why as Dinah expressed her disdain at being the sore thumb.

They catched up about how their vacation went. Shawn went snowboarding with his family in Canada and spent time with his grandparents. Dinah spent her whole Christmas near one of their houses by the beach with her entire clan. Lauren found pride in her to share that her siblings went home and that they had a decent Christmas, something they didn't have in years.

"The competition is in a month, I expect not to really see Ariana around. We'll have to stick with texting each other." Shawn said, a bit sad about it.

"Camila is probably working her ass off for the team." Lauren said, thinking of how much the girl loved the sport and her team.

"I think Mila is sitting out this time." Dinah commented. Lauren turned to her then realized that of course Dinah knew about Camila's condition as she was the one who made the comment about her rough childhood.

"How often does she compete herself?" Lauren asked, as Camila never really expounded.

"Once a year I think, that was when we were freshmen. Not really sure about now." Dinah said.

"Well, I hope Camila takes care of herself. I saw Ariana in practice with her two teammates and the stunts looked intense." Shawn said, sounding very protective. Suddenly it seemed like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey guys I'm going with Ashlee later to some bars and have a listen to some music. Are you up to come?"

"I baby older sister duties at home since my mom is on an extended vacation with my dad. Sorry guys." Dinah excused herself.

"I guess I don't have anything better to do. Might as well do it in the presence of good music and company." Lauren said, making Shawn smile.

--

Lauren got to Shawn's car after class as they waved Dinah goodbye.

Dinah seemed sad to miss out but Lauren knew how much of a homebody and family oriented person she was so it wasn't all that bad. Lauren rode in the backseat which Shawn found odd at first but he then realized so he didn't mind. They drove to Ashlee's apartment which was near the entertainment district of the city.

Ashlee warmly greeted Lauren and started on a story of how she made the monkeys go wild at the local zoo by accidentally dropping her pizza in the enclosure. Lauren never laughed that hard as Ashlee even told the story with sound effects. Shawn couldn't contain his laughter too so he was forced to slow a bit down.

They arrived at one of the bars which was more grungy than most and Shawn parked in the empty lot beside it. It was already dark as they took a while to get to Ashlee's so it was dark as they came out of the car.

Lauren saw Ashlee light a blunt quickly and saw that she offered Shawn one but he declined. She turned to Lauren and she accepted without hesitation. Inhaling then exhaling the puff of smoke in one go.

Ashlee smiled. "Aye, that's my girl."

The bar was a bit jam packed as there was a band performing. The bar was near empty so they all sat there. Ashlee ordered a plate of nachos as she was starving. Shawn watched the band set up and perform. Lauren closed her eyes as she finished her blunt, getting lost in the feeling.