One Stupid Thing

1:9:32

JJ, Kiara, Pope, and I take refuge in a warehouse at the dump. We all stare up at the sky as my family's plane flies overhead, taking the gold with it.

"There goes the gold," Pope says bitterly. "Shit! Fuck!" Pope cries out. He stomps over to the random trash inside the warehouse and goes on a rampage, kicking and smashing everything in his sight. "God damn it! Shit! Fuck!"

"Pope! Pope!" Kie shouts over the noise, trying to snap our friend back to his senses. Thankfully, Pope grows too tired to continue and he takes a seat on a weird bench on the verge of tears. "Pope," Kie repeats.

"Yeah, dude. I was wondering when this was gonna happen," JJ says. He walks over and offers him a blunt. "Here you go, chief. A little weed never hurt no one."

"JJ," Kie warns.

"Relax, Kie," he dismisses her.

"You know he doesn't smoke," she points out, but Pope proves her wrong and takes the blunt from JJ's hand.

"Well, maybe not until today." JJ plops down on the bench next to Pope and helps him light it. I shake my head. The day I smoke or drink to solve my problems is the day that I officially go off the deep end.

"Pope. Yeah, what's that gonna help?" Kiara asks him.

He takes a puff before answering. "I lost my scholarship. Walked out in the middle of the interview. It's gone. It's not gonna happen," he chokes out.

"Pope, I am so sorry," I say to him.

"You did that for us?" Kiara asks.

"No, not for us." He stands up and looks right at Kiara. "For nothing."

"I'm here for you, Pope," JJ says, wrapping an arm around his friends shoulders and tapping his chest with the other. "Welcome to my world, okay?"

"JJ, not helping," I scold him.

"What? He's right. It doesn't matter anymore," JJ points out negatively. Pope goes to take another hit.

"You don't have to do that," Kiara reminds him. Pope slowly turns his head to look at her, his eyes full of defeat.

"What do you care?" he says bitterly. Just as Kiara is about to spit back a response, Pope's eye catches something behind us. We all turn to look and there's John B standing in the doorway of the warehouse.

"Dude! Dude, you good!" JJ dashes over to him as quickly as his feet will carry him. We all follow behind.

"Oh, my God! John B!" Kiara calls to him. JJ grabs John B's arm and examines his hands, both stained red.

"Is this yours?" JJ asks him.

"Who's blood is that?" Kiara adds.

"John B, are you okay? Is Sarah okay?" I prompt him.

"Hey, are you okay, man?" JJ looks at his friend, but standing there is a shell of a man who once was John B. A man who has clearly witnessed a tragedy. A siren approaches quickly and without hesitation we all dive behind a tall pile of junk. Thankfully, the blaring noise fades away.

"John B... what happened?" I ask him gently.

"P-Peterkin. Sheriff Peterkin, she uh, s-she was shot," he chokes out, too emotionally drained to look any of us in the eye.

"What?" Pope asks with wide eyes. He stops mid-smoke to make sure he heard that right.

"I—she, uh, she came to the airstrip to arrest Ward, for my father's murder..." John B trails off and looks at me, but I can't read his expression.