Part 3 - shut up, you did not
Rex Orange County - best friend
I still wanna be your best friend baby, I still wanna be your best friend
"Shut up. what?"
"No way"
Pope shook his head and pointed to the water. "No, no, seriously guys, there's a boat down there"
"For real?" Kie questioned, she tore her shorts off. "Holy shit he's right let's go" she dived in the water along with John B and pope. JJ and Sophia dived down to explore the wreck along with everyone else.
They all popped up to the surface, lacking oxygen. "Did you guys see that?" JJ questioned in excitement. Excited that they actually found something cool to explore. A chorus of 'yeahs' was shared between the girls.
"Yeah!" Pope replies, coughing a little.
"Yeah I did!" John B replies.
They all laugh and look at each other, crazed by the situation. "That's a Grady white" JJ exclaimed as he jumped on the boat, once he was on he turned to help Sophia. "A new one of those is 500 Gs easy, that's a promo rig"
John B looked towards Sophia, realisation laying in his features, "that's the boat we saw when we surfed the surge." Sophia looked towards Pope, biting her finger. "Oh shit it is."
Kie faced John B with a face laced with concern. "You surfed the surge?" She asked. John B nodded cautiously, knowing Kie would scold him for being reckless. "And you Sophia? I thought you were the sensible." Kie spoke in a dismissive manner. Sophia shrugged. Why was Kie being rude to her but not Pope or John B? Sophia and Kiara have been friends ever since JJ introduced them. To be honest, they didn't always get along. The year Sophia arrived her, Kiara and Sarah Cameron became very good friends. Baking together, surfing together, making friend ship bracelets, even taking Kalipso out on walks.
In Sophia's first year on the island Kiara left Kildare high school and moved to the kook academy to be with Sarah, leaving Sophia with no friends of the girl variety. She discussed with her mother moving to kook academy but they didn't have that sort of money to throw on ponsy private school when Sophia was aready a smart arse.
Kie completely ditched the pogues. She left the dirt behind and lived the high life to which she was born into. Kie quickly came back to the pogues after she realised that the kook life wasn't for her. But Sarah, she never spoke to Sophia again, completely ghosting her. Sophia cried for days over Sarah leaving. She didn't know what she had done to upset her so much.
"That's my boy" JJ said, letting go of Sophia to do a secret handshake with John B. "Pogue style"
"What the heck?" Kie replied, obviously not pleased by the situation. "Wait, wait, wait" pope spoke, trying to defuse any tension that was building. "Do we even know who's boat that is?"
John B knelt down to grab the anchor out of the hold. "No but were about to find out."
JJ looked to Sophia silently asking if she was okay. She rolled her eyes and nodded wondering when they could go home. "Dude it's too deep" he mumbled. John B kept trying to haul the anchor out, "oh for the weak and feeble JJ."
"Well, i'm not resuscitating you. Just making that clear up front."
Sophia watched as Kie gave John B a suspicious 'I want you to kiss me look'. She'd have to ask about that later.
"John B," Kie trailed off...
"What?" He questions looking up her, smiling from the excitement of it all. Sophia sat on the drivers seat, back away from everyone. 'I'll do it, I'm a good swimmer and I have a bigger lung capacity" it was true, Sophia was the only one who didn't smoke at all.
John B looked towards her with hesitation. "You are NOT a better swimmer than me."
Sophia walked towards him and furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, yes i am"
"No your not"
"Yes i am!"
"You're not doing it" Jj exclaimed with a shake of his head looking at Sophia. "As much as i would love resuscitating you, its a no from me."
Sophia laughed and sat back down with her arms crossed, giving an attitude look. "When did you start telling me what to do?"
Kie laughed earning Sophia's best 'shut up' glare, "I'm not telling you what to do I'm just saying I'd rather John B do it than you" JJ said. He sighed.
"Diver down fool" Pope broke the tension build up. "Diver down" John B replied.
JJ leaned towards him holding a childish grin, "Yeah he is" JJ pushed John B straight off the boat, a big splash being created.
The anchor carried John B down until he let the anchor go and swam to the sunken boat. He only had to look for a second before finding a motel key.
"Where is he?"
"Should we go get him?"
He came back up to the surface, shaking his head to get the water off his face. "Bloody hell B, are you okay?" Sophia asked, giving him a hand quickly. "Oh my god," Kie spoke, looking down at him. "That took forever"
"Any dead bodies?"
"Looting potential?"
"Any food?"
They all looked at Sophia, "what? I'm hungry" she shrugged it off. "No no and what the fuck no?" He dangled a key with a yellow tag on it. "I did find this motel key tho"
"A key?"
"Yes a key, pope" John B hopped up the edge of the boat, hoping someone would take the anchor.
"Great we salvaged a motel key, like that needed saving" JJ left Sophia's side and grabbed the anchor from John B.
"Guys we should report the wreck to the coat guard" Kies voice ran through the boat. "We might get a finders fee"
There was a total of nothing at the costal guards. There was too many people babbling on about diabetic dogs for JJ or John B to get a word in edge Ways. The pogues decided to go ahead and find the motel anyway. What harm could it do anyway?
"I THOUGHT THE CHATEU LOOKED BAD" Jj whistled. As the HMS pogue reached shore by the motel.
"This place is a shit show" John B thought out loud, his gaze locking on the soaked through mattres outside the motel.
Sophia nodded, "sketchy as shit"
"Motel or meth lab?" Kie added, scrunching up her nose at the scenery. Pope nudged her, "you be the judge"
"Dosent look like the type of place someone with a Grady-white stays." John B added, he drove the boat into a landing.
"Looks like a place where someone with a Grady-white gets killed" Kie moaned.
JJ spoke like earlier that day when the boys were pretending to speak into walkie talkies "this is the captain speaking, HMS pogue coming in for landing." JJ grabbed the anchor and jumped off with a whoo! sound. He tied the boat around the post securing it. "All right that should do it"
"Hey," Pope tugged on John Bs shoulder as he tried to follow JJ, helping Sophia off the boat. Pope looked between JJ and Sophia then back at John B "Don't let them do anything stupid"
"I won't, don't worry" John B smiled. JJ extended a hand out to help her off the boat. She took it with a thankful smile, not letting go before she steadied herself.
Sophia was very level headed. She had a good amount of common sense, rarely doing anything too stupid. She had her reckless moments but nothing too ridiculous. Unlike JJ who was always finding some sort of way to break the rules. Sophia loved that feeling of adrenaline, she loved that cheeky smile she had when they stole a bar of chocolate or when her and kie snuck into the island club bar. Or as of the current situation where the gang were trying to get into a motel room from a key on a boat they weren't really supposed to see, with a key they're not really supposed to have.
JJ gave a big grin, throwing his arm over Sophia. "Oh we will" John B knew exactly what JJ was like and didn't want to be held responsible for them.
They turned to leave but this time kie stopped them.
"Uh, be careful" Kiara stated. She looked at John B with hearts in her eyes. There was an unusual tone of seriousness in her voice causing JJ and Sophia to look at each other and snigger. "yeah." John b replied. Raising his eyebrow in return. He patted JJs back and turned to walk off "let's go."
The trio walked towards the motel, observing the sodden mattresses out here. "Why are all these mattresses out?" John B asked as Sophia nearly tripped over one of the mouldy things. If it wasn't for JJ's hand holding hers she would have fallen over. JJ replied, "After a hurricane they ditch em caus' their all mouldy"
Sophia gave JJ a thanking smile and led them up the stairs to the supposable motel room. JJ looked down to Kie who was being talked at by Pope. He turned to john B and shook him, "just be so careful John" he moaned. "God you're so weird" John B shook him off and rushed towards Sophia, she glanced back at the boys. "Yeah what was all that about."
"I don't know, maybe she just wants us to be careful!" John B said, his cheeks grew a strawberry blush colour. He was defiantly hiding something. "She didn't ask me to be careful" Sophia pointed out, remembering how Kie didn't even acknowledge her existence. "J, did she tell you to 'be careful'?" She asked.
He looked to her, putting his best thinking pose on, "No actually she didn't Soph, funnily enough she never even glanced at me!" He reminded her. Sophia scoffed and shot finger guns a john B"
"Since she heard you're being threatened with exile she's been like, uh" JJ slung his arms around John B agin "oh be so careful John B!"
John B swatted his hands away, "get off"
JJ didn't listen and grabbed John B again. "Just give me that John d already! Like when are you gunna swoop in on that man?"
"Bro, you know the rules. No pogue-on-pogue Macking" John B rolled his eyes, gesturing to the boat. Sophia sighed, she hated that rule.
JJ waited for Sophia to be a little further away before continuing their conversation. Once she was a few meters away he continued. "Hold up, weren't you the one telling me not to follow the rule?"
Sophia was very much in hearing range.
Why would John B tell JJ not to follow the rule?
Sophia had seen JJ with many different girls, flirting up a storm with anyone who had a heartbeat. She knew he wasn't serious about any of the girls, even if they stayed the night, there was never any strings attached to the tourons he met.
"Besides you're the one always hitting on her!" John B exclaimed trying to turn the argument on JJ. Sophia's heart slowed at the words. JJ had been hitting Kie? Worst of all Sophia didn't even notice. Had she not been paying enough attention not him?
John B shook his head. "You need help. Not like a little bit of help, like a lot of help. It's like every girl who has a heartbeat your like 'uhh!" He pointed to the girl in front of them, careful for her not to notice. "You're the one who needs to be swooping man."
Sophia got bored of the conversation and swiftly walked to the door 229, "is this us?"
JJ stood next to her and spoke in a very high princess like voice, "housekeeping" and knocked on the door 3 times while Sophia looked in the window. "Let's do it"
JJ opened the door and strutted in, "no power no security cameras, no ones gunna know."
"Loose grasp of the law but okay" Sophia muttered as She followed JJ in the shabby motel room. The room was nothing special, just a single bed with a safe and a few cabinets.
"You know technically, kie is a kook, so the rule doesn't apply" Sophia reminded the boys.
"Technically, you're a kook too Sophia." John B stuck his tongue out at her.
She smacked his arm telling him to shut up before carrying on with the search for any intel on whose room this is.
"Huh" John B scoffed. He looked around the room looking in the crinks and cranks of the room. "J, check the bag. See if there's a name on there somewhere."
JJ did as he was told and went to look in the bag. "A jacket, no name on the jacket. A nice jacket tho, defiantly over 50."
"He's got new balances" John B spoke up, "why's the light off?" She wondered, looking at the blinded windows. "Powers out dumbass" JJ replied, he chuckled and went back to searching for something. He came across a map and called Sophia and john B over, "let me see"
"Right here"
Sophia walked over and squeezed between Jj and John B, "maybe he was fishing" . Upon looking at the map and seeing a X, no, that's off the continental shelf. The big swell. No body fishes there."
The three teens diversed from the table back out into the room.
"Coffee," JJ said in a very weird accent. He turned around and looked at the small table. "Tissues for when you get lonely..."
Sophia ignored him. She squeezed past him and looked into the bathroom. With a large amount of causation she entered. Sophia had read enough murder mystery books to know there was almost always a body in the bath.as she swung open the bath curtain JJ jumped her and squeezed her ribs, scaring her. "JJ! Don't do that! You scared me. Jesus." She yelped.
"Haha your face!" JJ laughed, he scratched his neck and moved closer to her. "So how much of that conversation did you actually hear?"
"The conversation about you being told to break the no pogue-on-pogue macking rule or the one you and John B had about chicken wings on the stairs?" She smiled at him.
JJ just looked at her, she'd heard their conversation? What if she knew that he liked her. What if she figured it out and hated him? Or would she like him back?
"Did you find anything?" John B called from the other room. Cutting the air between the pair. "Yeah," JJ tore his eyes away from Sophias harsh gaze feeling slightly awkward. He looked around the bathroom quickly, peaking in a bathroom bag, "a really awesome dope bag you won't let me steal."
"Yeah coz were not stealin' shit JJ" John B called. He pulled open a cabinet and found a safe. First thing he did? Put in 1111. He continued punching random numbers in until Sophia walked over with a notepad. "Hey B, try this" she passed the note to him, half watching John B half listen to JJ mumble on about fish.
"what about a surf spot, J?" Sophia questioned. JJ went to answer but was interrupted by the safe clicking open.
John B chuckled as he lifted a wad of cash in his hands. "Uhh...JJ," Sophia finished the sentence for him. "you gunna wanna see this"
JJ turned around, staring right into the safe, his eyes first landed on the firearm. A small smirk landed on his lips as his eyes shifted from the money to the gun. He picked up the gun, sliding the cool metal through his hands.
"JJ," Sophia warned in her best teacher voice. "Put that down!"
John be shook his head. "You grabbed the gun." He sighed. "Of course ou grabbed the gun"
JJ looked like a kid at Christmas, he waved the gun around pretending to shoot it. "This is a SIG sauer man!" He looked at his friends like they understood what he was talking about. "This is fucking spendy gat man.. like bam! Bam! Bam!"
"JJ put the gun down before you shoot one of us" Sophia exclaimed, she sighed. "Im not gunna shoot you, hey take a pic of me"
"What and make your own incriminating evidence" John B stated. "Is that what you're talking about?"
There was a light tap on the window. Sophia ignored it thinking it was just her imagination but she heard it again and knew it couldn't be a coincidence. She walked over to the window to see Pope and Kiara waving their arms and mouthing 'cops.'
"Shit," she swore turning to the boys, "it's the police we gotta go"
The boys ran over to the other window to see how much time they had before the cops got there. While no one was looking Sophia grabbed a big lump of cash and stuck it in her back pocket. They all rushed over to the window. John B was the first to climb out of the window, followed by JJ then Sophia. Sophia huddled next to JJ so she didn't fall, his arm was around her grabbing onto the side of the building holding them both. "hi," JJ whispered with a cheeky smile.
"Not the time, J" She hissed, even though she really hoped he couldn't feel how hard her heart was beating due to the closeness of his breath on her neck.
Sophia leaned forward trying to grab on to the window sill, she peaked through the gap in the blinds to see shoppers taking some cash for himself. The slimy sod.
There was a sudden clang as JJ's new gun fell on the floor from his pocket. Sophia winced at the noise hoping the coppers didn't hear it. Shoupe came to the window to see what the noise was but his gaze only saw Kiara and pope chilling on the boat.
After the cops had left JJ, Sophia and John B climbed into the room again finding an empty safe. On the way down the stairs Sophia turned around and handed the lump of cash she stole to JJ, he looked at the cash then up at her, "that's ma girl" he swung a shoulder over and they made their way to the boat. "We should get a dog."
Once they were safe on the boat and sailing away from the dodgy hotel JJ turned round to the teens who were left on the boat. "Could have warned us sooner"
Kie scoffed and hit pope lightly, "we would have except pope was on the math team"
"You were on the math team?"
Pope nodded.
Sophias ears prick up to the conversation. "Let me ask you a question, favourite math subject?"
"Algebra, no cap" He replied. "Algebras amazing!"
"Algebra is a load of pig shite."
"So what's yours?"
"angles."
"Angles? They're piss easy! There's nothing cool about angles"
"There is lots of us for angles! Algebra is the useless one"
JJ, scared of the conversation of maths and the fact he forgot what algebra was, picked out the gun and cash from his back pockets. "Did we find something? I think we did"
Pope looked at him like he was crazy, "what the hell?"
"Dude what?" Kiara stood up straight and looked at Sophia and John B.
"I didn't know he took the gun" Stella shrugged pretending she's didn't hear the clang earlier.
JJ stood up and made his way to pope. "Dude chill"
they all started arguing until Jj shouted over them. "Guys! Sorry I couldn't really hear you over the huge wad of cash in my hand."
"Im gunna loose my merit scholarship" Pope huffed. "Hey hey hey," JJ leaned over to the boy, reassuring him. "At least you have us right?"
Pope just glared at him and went back to driving the boat.
When the groups arrived back at the marina they were surprised to see the place swarmed by the police. Being the very curious teens they were they got off and walked to sit down on a bench by a local girl called Lily. They watched from a distance as a body bag was loaded onto a stretcher.
"Who's that?" John B questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Scooter grubs" the girl replied. "He was out during the storm. Check out this pick i got. Dead body." She showed the photo to the group. Kiara and pope grimaced. John B looked away.
Sophia jumped down from where she was sat and ran swiftly out of the scene to the marina bathrooms. She couldn't face seeing a dead body. Not again.