"That was a good wave," I flicked back my wet hair, bringing my hands to my face to brush the remnants of ocean water on my cheeks.
"Super good, as always," Kie teased, before taking a hit off the joint. Kie was one of my closest friends, who had grown up with me and the crew practically. She was a kook gone pogue and she was a pretty damn good one.
"So, we're thinking of partying at the bonfire on the beach tonight... you coming?" Kie looked in my direction, as I set the board down onto the sand.
"Nah, not tonight. I've got another thing I have to do, but maybe next friday?" I suggested, but Kie turned a look of disappointment in my direction. I had already agreed to a party with Aurora at figure 8, who was never one to back down from asking me to go out with her.
Had the others known where I would be going, they'd probably kill me. Well, they'd laugh first and then kill me. Why? Because Pogues don't exactly get along well with Kooks.
In their eyes, pogues are lesser than.
The chump at the bottom of the barrel.
However, I guess I had an advantage with Aurora being my friend. We had met somewhere in a summer camp by Ocracoke Beach, where we got along for our mutual hatred of the cranky swimming instructor.
She was much more rich than I could ever even fathom, always offering to cover things for me and going overboard with her gifts. I was thankful for her, just as much as I was the pogues.
But of course, that left room for conflict and for secrets. A double life that brought some guilt for some time and also a lot of fun.
The waves crashing against the shore shot me back to reality and I looked away from the beach to meet Kie, "What time is it?" She furrowed her eyebrows in response, but looked down at her phone, "5:32, why?"
I gathered my things without leaving time for explanation, "Gotta go, see ya tomorrow!"
Adrenaline rushed through me, as I slammed open the door to my house. "Mom?" I heard no response, but continued to make way for my room. She must've been busy at Watermen's bar, where she worked.
I glanced at a picture of us together sitting on my dresser. It was just me and her for as long as I can remember. My father had died when I was younger and that honestly took quite the toll on her. She wasn't the same after.
I snapped back, grabbing at a mixture of different shirts and pants. This was a kook party, and I'd be damned if I looked like I didn't come from figure 8.
Of course, I settled on a simple pair of white beach shorts and a slim teal cropped tank top. Basic, but still looked pretty decent. Aurora had done the favor of giving me any of her spare clothes, which gave me a wider range of actually nice things in my closet.
Aurora
Hey, u ready?
Me
Yo, meet at Oden's dock in 15?
Aurora
Copy that
I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my shorts, slipping my favorite pair of flip flops on and making way for the kitchen downstairs.
I found a small pack of sticky notes, so I took that to at least leave my mom a message.
"I'll be at JB's with kie and the others, see ya sunday. Did dishes, loaded laundry and vacuumed this morning - Khali."
-
By this time now, it was 6:50 and I stood by the dock, suddenly becoming aware of the nighttime breeze that cursed everyone.
"Hey," A hand hooked around my shoulder and I looked to meet Aurora. I smiled in return, before she continued, "So, it's just a pretty chill party at Topper's beach house, y'know parents out of town."
I nodded, "sounds good." I tucked my hands into my pockets to warm myself a bit and caught a look at Aurora's right hand, which seemed to hold something.
"Twisted tea," she answered my questioning look, finally pulling the box into my view and raising her eyebrows.
"Nice," I laughed out, following into her stride once she turned back around on the dock towards the island.
"We'll be taking the luxury mobile!" She waved a pair of keys in her hand, smirking and I returned the same smirk.
The drive was fun, since it took quite the drive to make it from Oden's dock to figure 8. Mainly, we used a bunch of throwback songs to pass the time and took turns throwing gummies at each other to see who could catch which.
Life was... good. Yeah, it was good.
So simple, so comfortable and I reveled in it.
I let the breeze of summer stroke my hair, taking in the breathtaking view of the sunset and put my hand out the window to be closer.
I don't remember a time where I really wasn't happy, since hanging out with Aurora or the pogues.
I felt I truly had it so good.
On weekends, I partied in luxury mixed with stubbornness and on weekdays? I drunk beers with my friends, while we went surfing and talked about each star in the galaxy.
-
We came up to the big white house, struggling to fit in between the people organized in groups across the lawn. The bass of the music numbed my mind and I felt it reverberate into my feet.
"Yo, welcome in!" Topper stood by the door, opening it wider for us to enter. I simply gave a look of kindness, not really bothering to give him more than that.
Topper was the same age as me and Aurora: 16.
But god was he different.
He was a good boy who was so caught up in hanging out with bad influences, more specifically Rafe. I remembered how he was before then, much more gentle and modest.
He really turned into an entitled spoiled brat.
Kid Cudi blared through the speakers, practically splitting my brain and I decided now was the time to go get more drinks.
"Be right back!" I yelled over at Aurora, who laid her eyes on Kam and struggled to break her gaze.
I walked away, watching all of the faces I had grown so familiar with. It was weird now that we were older, we stopped going out to the playground and started drinking and doing coke on the weekends.
On my way to the fridge of the house, I collided with Rafe, who seemed to be on another level of fucked. He barely could maintain contact, and he smelled of alcohol. "Yo," his hand rested on the wall beside him to stabilize himself, "tell your buddies, I got yayo."
I scrunched my nose up, "Thanks, will do." The flatness in my voice must've been picked up because he rolled his eyes and his carelessness showed in his stride away from me in the opposite direction.
Rafe? He was okay, but only when he wasn't knee deep into a coke binge.
Even with drinking, he wasn't nearly as bad as he was on coke. It was kinda sad, we had all collectively dismissed it as him just having fun and being young. But then 15 turned to 16 and then 17, 18 and 19.
But was it really just my business? I mean, a pogue's business to be judging of how a Kook lived their life?
No, I guess not.
"1, 2, 3!" I passed a table of guys playing beer pong, and struggled to keep my self steady against the wave of different people.
As long as I got a good shot in me or two, I'd be fine and dandy.
My phones buzzing took my trance away from the led lights, as I looked down to my back pocket and pulled it out.
Kie <3
Yo, it's fun here. We miss you!
Seeing her message tinged my heart a little bit, and younger me would've probably took this opportunity to hightail it the hell out of here and go back to surfing with the crew. Call me selfish, but instead I took a harsh breath in and stuffed my phone back in its pocket.
I'd just have to remember to respond in the morning.
"Ay, welcome the birthday girl!" hands clapped in praise, as a girl came through into the room.
She was... perfect.
And I hated the fuck out of her.
Not because of her being better than me, but she was a classic Kook. Stuck up, irresponsibly rich and completely ignorant.
I remember last summer at one of the Cameron's summer house parties, she had the nerve to kick me out because she recognized me as a Pogue.
The worst part? She had done it so passive aggressively, almost like she was completely justified in her rationale. Thankfully, time had passed and the more I began coming to parties, the more others had forgotten.
It was Sarah Cameron, the "golden child," as her dad put it. My mom's many stories of Ward's reckless behavior in youth and more entitled behavior recently, was no surprise. In fact, it seemed the entire family was like that and it was this inescapable curse that they had all learned to live with.
Truthfully, the curse was money.
I think it's the one curse I'd wish I had.
"Thanks everyone!" she waved her hand in the air, as Topper popped the cork off an old champagne bottle that he'd probably taken off his parents from the cellar downstairs.
"Here's to 16!" Topper held the bottle in the air, before handing it off to Sarah, who gladly took the opportunity to loosen up.
"I need a drink," I said softly to myself, turning into another direction to find a better source for a solid shot.
My phone buzzed once again, earning a click of my tongue in annoyance and I pulled it back out in the middle of my stride towards the fridge of the house.
JJ
U free?
Oh JJ.
Like a small girl, I bit my lip to hide the grin on my face and brought my thumbs to my screen.
Me
What's up?
JJ
bonfire ended 10 min ago,
meet at Currituck's?
I contemplated, looking around for Aurora and finding her deep in conversation with some random guy, who kept finding his hands all over her.
She'd be fine.
Plus, there's always next weekend.
I slipped through the crowd, making way for the door.
"Yo, Khalia," a voice called out, causing me to whip around, "tell your boys, hands off our shit, 'kay?"
It was Rafe, of course, who was clad in a yellow shirt and some shorts. His hair had begun to fall from its usual slick back, and his eyes were straight on me.
"What the hell do you mean?" I crossed my arms, more in curiosity than anger, at this point. I guess my response pissed him off, because he dryly laughed and took another sip of whatever drink was in his cup before speaking again.
"That John B kid, he needs to back off our shit on figure 8."
"John B wouldn't do that, Rafe," I rebutted, and he took a few steps closer, letting his breath fan over the surface of my skin. So close, I could feel every inch of heat on him and the smell of alcohol and cologne filled my surroundings.
"Guess you don't know him as much as you think you do, huh?"
Practically speechless, I kept quiet for a second before Rafe shrugged and walked back to join the party.
What the hell.