Monroe's parents had always told him not to play with animals he didn't know. Monroe loved animals. When his parents weren't around, Monroe would play with every animal he came into contact with. He understood why they said it when he was younger, but Monroe was 15 now. He knew how to treat animals. Over a decade of reading National Geographic and watching Animal Planet.
Inside the house Monroe could hear his parents yelling again. His father wanted to move the family to Dubai. Traditional upbringing, that's all he had heard for the last six months. America was tradition for Monroe. Sure, he had been born in Dubai but he came to America at age two, long before he could make any memories of Dubai, he was American. His mother wanted to stay, but her opinion didn't hold much weight. Once his father had his mind made up, that was it.
Monroe went back to the puppies on the porch. They were strays and their mother watched on from a distance. He had fed the mother before when she was struggling to find food. He pulled a bag of beef jerky from his backpack and shared pieces with each of the three puppies. Things would be different in Dubai, but would they all be bad? He wouldn't get moments like this, but his parents wouldn't argue as much. Maybe they would, Monroe didn't know. All Monroe knew is he didn't want to go to Dubai.
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