𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 ➝ 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧 [𝟐]

𝟔. 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨, 𝐡𝐮𝐡?

𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 girl, I always adored storms. Whether it was a massive hurricane that blew down trees and destroyed properties or a small mist of rain that barely fogged up the windshield of your parent's car. I always have and always will have a big place in my heart for storms. 

But another thing about storms is that they're unexpected and non-dependable. They could come at the worst of times and make everything more of a shitshow, or they could not show up at all and destroy cities and countries –if they're bad enough. 

It somewhat makes me think of how people and storms are alike. When I was in fourth grade, I had a birthday party by the beach and I invited all of my friends and neighbours to the party. But the one person who I really wanted to see was my father. 

He had been gone for a full week –business trip, was what he would tell me– and he had planned to be back for my one special day. As the hours passed and the cake was devoured, he never showed. He had let me down and never really explained why he wasn't there. 

I never knew what type of business trip he was on that day, but I do remember the obnoxious smell of sewer water laced onto his clothing and the muddy stains on the pair of his brand new sneakers that we had gotten him only a month earlier. 

Standing out in the rain made the memory become more vibrant, especially with my muddy shoes and drenched clothing. As thunder cracked in the sky, I peaked over a wooden fence that was shaking unsteadily with the weight of four teenagers. 

"Nice camera. Where'd you dig up that relic?" JJ asked as he glanced towards Pope, his eyes squinting through the heavy rain. "Why don't you just use your phone?" He added as I pulled myself higher against the fence. 

"Well, first of all, I like my antique electronics," Pope replied with a turn of his head, "Second of all, this is a telephoto. It allows me to get a close image from far away," 

I looked towards Kie who had an odd expression on her face. "You really picked a special one, huh," I joked as she faked a quick laugh and rolled her eyes. 

"For definitive proof of witness payoff, we're gonna need quality glass," He told the group, trying to justify for the old and weird camera that he had just lying around. "There he is," He said changing the subject as Ward ran towards the old surf shop. 

"Yo, get down," JJ quipped as we both pulled our heads closer to the fence, trying to keep an eye on him. 

"And there's Gavin," Kie said as we noticed another man running towards the surf shop. 

Pressing the camera up to his eye, Pope looked through the lens, "Where're you going, you son of a bitch?" The two men ran through the door and inside the store, as well as out of Pope's line of sight. "No, no, no, I'm losing them,"

"Where's he going?" Kie speculated as JJ hopped down from the fence and began looking at the buildings surrounding us. 

A sharp whistle sounded from behind us before JJ's voice followed, "Hey. I found something. Come here," He called as he waved his hand towards us. Hopping down from the fence the three of us followed him down the small alley.