"Coral! Coral!" my half-brother rushes through the house, making a ruckus. I'm pretty sure he knocked something down as he went.
"What?" I yell back as he finds me cleaning all the cans on the floor, my first step in cleaning this dumpster.
"There's a hurricane coming!" He smiles, looking absolutely overjoyed. My face, on the otherhand, drops.
"WHAT?!" I exclaim, thinking through all the things we'll have to do to prepare. Food, charging devices, not letting trees crash down on us.
"Hurricane Agatha is coming tonight!" He nods, still seeming pretty overjoyed.
"Why do you sound so happy about that, we need food, there's literally none in this house, and the moldy bread does not count. Also, this house is like- it's like made of straw! The big bad wolf could blow it out from a mile away!" John B laughs, and I just look at him confused. I don't see how this could do us any good.
He shakes his head at me, "Coral, it's coming today, it'll most likely do enough damage so that tomorrow-" Suddenly, it clicks in my brain. Child Services!
"Oh my gosh, child services aren't gonna come check on us in a hurricane!" I realize. John B almost starts jumping up and down, very proud of his discovery.
"Yep, already checked with them, our meeting is canceled." I give John B a high five, thankful for the boy I've only known for like a day.
"Now, I'm gonna go out and buy us real food, it's gonna be like bread, crackers, chips, stuff we don't need electricity to eat," I tell him, making a list in my head as I speak.
"Nice, Pope and I are gonna go surfing later." He says it to me as if it is the perfect day to surf. I already can't deal with this boy. Asking for death wishes I swear to God.
"John B." I give him a look.
"What?" He looks back at me oblivious, throwing his hands up. Yeah, I'm the one that makes absolutely no sense.
"There's a hurricane! Are you slow? You'll drown." I exclaim I'm starting to realize that the Pogues aren't only short on money, but also on street smarts. He kicks a beer can on the ground, at my feet, and I stomp on it.
"Nah. I'll live." He waves me off, and I kick another can at him, hitting his heel.
"Not if you drown." I snort.
I quickly went out to get the food, I also got peanut butter, and I raced home, the wind was already picking up. While John B was out, trying to drown, I continued to clean the house, it took me hours to make just a dent in the hell-hole's mess.
Not too soon into the night, the power went out. The good thing was that the storm would only be here for a night, the bad thing was that the storm will probably knock off power for a really long time.
That night, JJ did stay over, and I got the guest bed. Once I woke up I checked my phone, no power, just great, but expected. I'm walking to the back porch when I see JJ, passed out on the pull-out couch. I sit outside on the porch watching the sunrise, the sky is always best after a hurricane. I'm so glad this all worked out, what would've happened if John B decided not to take me in? I'd be on the streets, that's for sure. Taking me out of my thoughts I hear John B, " Yo, JJ, you been outside yet?"
"I have polio bro, I can't walk." He groans back, and I scoff. I can't tell if JJ's funny or just flat out annoying.
John B and I walk out back to the tree that got completely unrooted by Agatha. "Oh, Man." John B yawns. "That's no good. That is not good." He sighs.
YOU ARE READING
JJ and a Routledge
DragosteA couple of months after John B's dad went missing at sea, a girl named Coral shows up at his door claiming to be his sister, whom he never knew he had. They soon begin living together as she exclaims her story and dives into the Pogues and their di...
