Bad Karma

fourteen

Leilani Elrod

Episode 3. The Forbidden Zone

I pulled the FedEx packaging from the wall, inspecting it as I walked back to the hole, being sure to avoid Mr. Snakey over there. The package read, "For Bird". Who in the world is "Bird"?

"Here." I handed it through.

I could hear Pope groan, "That is not gold."

While they were out there figuring out the package, I had to figure out a way out of here. So, I got a running start and jumped up to the hole, gripping the edges of concrete and trying to pull myself up. Safe to say that my upper body strength absolutely sucks.

"A little help?" I heaved, out of breath. They all looked up from the package and JJ, like a true gentlemen, held his arms out and helped me down, keeping a hand placed on my back after it was all said and done. From the corner of my eye, I could see Kie wink at me, but I ignored it.

"Yo, yo." JJ began panicking as the sound of an engine got closer, "Square groupers. Square groupers! It's the guys that robbed your house!"

We ran and hid behind wall. But John B's light was still on.

"John B, your light!"

"Oh, my- right, light."

He flicked it off. Voices came closer and the engine stopped right by us. I gripped JJ's hand tighter, which I just now realized I was holding, and he began leaning out from the wall to see the situation.

"Is it them?"

"Homie's got a gun."

Kie put her hands up before slamming them down next to her and shooting up, "Screw this." She began running, pulling all of us along with him. I refused to turn around and be shot, so I pushed myself to run harder, until we were stopped by the big iron fences. JJ grabbed me from behind and lifted me up to the fence, making sure that I got over before he jumped over himself.

Pope, however, wasn't as blessed, because his pants got stuck to the sharp metal point at the top. John B and Kie went to go and pull him down, while JJ pulled out his gun.

"JJ!" I grabbed the barrel and pushed it down, giving him a stern look. I turned around at the sound of ripping, squealing and shutting my eyes with my hand over them too at the sight of Pope in his.. undergarments.

JJ was laughing hysterically and he pulled me along with him due to my lack of sight, "It's a little tootsie roll!"

I smacked JJ's arm, "Be respectful!" JJ just kept laughing and pulled me into The Twinkie.

I refused to look at Pope for the whole car ride. How was everyone acting so natural about this?! Our best friend had nO PANTS ON????!!!!!!!!!!!!!??!??!?!?!!??!? But I tried to play it cool, and by I cool I mean totally uncool. The most uncool of cool ever.

Halfway through the ride JJ declared that he wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when we got home and that's exactly what he did, until I walked up behind him and noticed the obvious mold all over the bread. Yeah, JB and I's food supply hasn't been great since he'd gotten fired... Sure, I helped out at the wreck sometimes, but that didn't really give us much.

"JJ, that bread has had mold on it for days." I told him.

He shrugged, "I'll just pull off the bad parts."

"That's bad for you, J."

He didn't seem to care, "Mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

"Guys, look!" Kie pulled us over to the table where JB was sitting with the packaging, in doing so, I took JJ's sandwich and put it in the trash, despite his protests. The last thing that we needed right now was one of us being poisoned.