Infinitely Yours

The Lucky Compass (Pt. 2)

I'm gonna work on my merit scholarship essay, and I'm trying to keep felonies to a minimum.

......

John B immediately books it to the van and gets into the driver's seat. Kiara gets in the front seat and the rest hop in the back. Juniper lays her head on JJ's lap and does the same with her feet on Pope's. JJ runs his hand through the girls hair causing her to close her eyes, while John B starts driving. Pope just places one of his hands on Juniper's leg and slightly rubs it.

A little through the drive John B speaks up. "I mean, it's obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message?" He says, holding up the compass.

"Yeah. It's possible." Kie agrees while turning towards the back.

"It could be possible that you're concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feelings." Pope suggests.

"Bro, you know how I process my feelings? Dank nuts and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ tells his best friend.

"Gross, Jay." Juniper says opening her eyes and scrunching her nose in disgust at the boy. He just smiles and gives a wink in return.

"I'm not concocting, ok? Look, I'm not trippin' out." The boy in the driver's seat snaps.

"It's ok to trip, bro but --"

"Look, my -- my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don't know what it's like to have the person closest to you vanish and then have no idea what happened." John B snaps. He is sick of hearing how his dad is "dead" when he knows he isn't. "Just wake up every morning, wondering." He finishes.

"It's been almost a year" Kie says softly, not wanting to upset the boy any more than they already have.

"Hey, he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ offers, while admiring Juniper's face. She looks so relaxed and angelic, laying on his lap with her eyes closed. She's too pure for this world and anyone who says different has obviously never met her. 

"Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub getting interrogated by the KGB." Pope agrees. 

"Absolutely. Uh... or Atlantis." The blonde replies. Juniper shoots her eyes open and lightly slaps his chest.

"JJ." She scolds him with just his name. She then sits up and places both feet on the floor to turn her attention to John B. "Look, what do you think the message is?"

"Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favorite place. The rest of the ride is silent while the teens process everything that has happened in the past couple of days. Once the van stops outside of a big red and white lighthouse, the teens hop out instantly. John B turns around to form a plan with his friends.

"Right. You're gonna post up and look for bogeys, ok?" He instructs JJ who immediately looks offended. 

"Wait... Why me?" The blonde responds.

"Because you're not coming." Pope answers.

"Why?"

"There are independent and dependent variables. You're independent. We don't know what you'll do."

"Shut up!" The blonde responds, pointing a finger in the boy's face.

"Listen to me for a second!" John B yells. "Pope, Kie, you two stand look out with JJ, Okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ's house."