PAPER RINGS ✧˖° → JJ MAYBANK

chapter ten 💌

"A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?" John B rambled.

"Yeah, it's possible." Kie agreed even though the other three just exchange glances with each other.

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

Kie gave Pope a dirty look before shaking her head.

"Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that's how I do it." JJ grinned.

"Isn't that just you on a daily basic?" Olivia raised her eyebrows mockingly towards JJ.

JJ raised his leg to act like he was going to stuff his shoe inside Olivia's mouth before she kicked his leg with hers, earning an 'ouch' from JJ.

"I'm not concocting, okay?" John B argued. "My dad's trying to give me a message."

"If it helps you believe, John B" Kie added.

"Look, I-I don't need a therapy session, okay? I'm not trippin' out." John B told the group.

"It's okay to trip, bro, but-" JJ started.

"Look, 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. Just wake up every morning, wondering." John B stated.

"It's been almost a year." Kie's voice was gentle when she said that.

"Hey he could have been kidnapped. That's definitely a possibility." JJ suggested.

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

Olivia looked down to her shoes, feeling a little upset for John B. Their dad was actually friends before Big John got obsessed over the treasure hunting and they grew apart ever since.

She rarely played with John B but sometimes her dad will bring her around to hang out with him. So it makes sense if John B doesn't remember her. JJ on the other hand started hanging out with them a week before Olivia's father stop doing his usual hangout with Big John. Doubt he even remember her at all.

"John B, what do you think the message is?" Olivia looked up to John B.

"Redfield." He answered. "Redfield Lighthouse. That's my dad's favourite place."

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The van pulled up in front of the lighthouse and all five of them jumped out from the van.

They stood behind the white fence, staring up at the extremely tall lighthouse that stood a few metres away from them.

"Right. You're gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay?" John B walked up to JJ.

"Wait. Why me?" JJ asked, confused.

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

"Why?" JJ half yelled.

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