AURORA MAYBANK had many weaknesses: drinking, running, smoking, and (worst of all) cycling. She had one rule about cycling, to never ever cycle to a party. Aurora would end up in an old alleyway or in a bush with a cut knee. She was a lightweight- four or more drinks and she'd be anything but sober. Aurora realised that she was an angry drunk, instead of a happy one, but who could blame her?
Aurora grew up in the Maybank household, causing black eyes and bruises to become normalised. Her brother, JJ, insisted on them moving out to John B's Château- they've been staying there for a couple of months.
Without a mother-figure, Aurora had no choice but to grow up around toxic masculinity. She got her first black eye when she was 8- thank fuck she was good at lying.
"That's a three-story fall to the deck?" Pope called up at John B, who had one foot dangled off an old store, "I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival."
"Hm." John B licked his finger and tested the direction of the wind, "Should I do it?"
"Yeah, jump." Pope replied, pointing a drill up at him, "I'll shoot you on the way down."
Kiara walked out of the old store, with furrowed eyebrows, "They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers."
"Of course they are, why wouldn't they?" JJ questioned, sipping from his can of beer.
"This used to be the turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles I guess?" Kiara replied sarcastically.
"I can't have cold towels." JJ complained.
"Can you please not kill yourself?" Kiara questioned, looking up at John B.
Aurora walked out of the shop, ducking under the scaffolding, as she carried a plastic bag. She scoffed, "Fuck that. Do you know that tampons are $8? I mean, just for one pack. That's all of my savings gone, just to stop a natural event."
"At least you aren't pregnant." John B shrugged sarcastically.
Aurora squinted up at him, "Don't make me climb up there and push you off the roof, Booker."
"Hey, uh, security's here." Pope announced, as he watched a familiar security guard get out of the police car.
"Gary, is that you?" JJ called sarcastically.
JJ, Aurora and Pope took the usual route, teasing Gary by jumping over fences and squeezing through small spaces. Of course, Gary couldn't keep up but he tried his best. He was an unfit, middle aged man running after hyper-active teenagers- he was bound to getting a heart attack.
"Bus is leaving!" John B shouted to the three, as he him and Kiara pulled up in the Pogue's designated van.
Gary, bless his old heart, was sprinting after the van whilst the group teased him through the opened side door,
"Hey! You little pricks!" Gary shouted.
JJ stuck his head out of the door and waved the beer can in front of him, "You're so close! You can do it! They don't pay you enough, bro."
"JJ, you're gonna give him a heart attack." Kiara chuckled, pulling JJ inside the van.
Later that day, Hurricane Agatha struck to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, bringing heavy rainfall and dangerously strong winds. But a weather warning is bad, right? Wrong! Hurricanes brought fabulous surfing waves, which Aurora loved. The dangerous part, not so much. However, she was ignored and neglected- so, what else was there to do?
"It's a double overhead out there." Aurora informed excitedly, as she lead Pope and John B down to the shore.
"Double overhead?" Pope questioned, "Those aren't surf-able waves, bro."
