strawberry scented surf wax | obx

t h r e e

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"Pope, shut up about school," I roll my eyes, slapping him on the back with my board. "Summers only just started. I don't give a fuck about your merit scholarship at this point in time, bro."

"It's literally a year away until you can even do your interview, man," John B shrugs as we reach the sand on the beach, the hot summer sun beating down on us. "I wouldn't worry about it until then."

After a painfully hot morning and sweating profusely, us Pogues decided a nice surf would be just what we needed. John B rounded us up in his van— also known as the Twinkie— and we took off almost immediately. This was what a Pogue Summer was all about, quality time together doing what we love most.

"I just wanna be prepared is all." he frowns, hugging his own board close to his body as we walk further down the beach.

I glare at the boy. "As if you're even worried about not getting in," I scoff. "You're the smartest dude I know— you're gonna ace it. Stop stressing yourself out."

"Agreeing with JJ is rare, but I'm with him on this one," John B says, chucking when I flip him off with my free hand that isn't holding my surf board. "The more you worry about it, the more likely you are to not get in. Just chill for now and enjoy being a kid."

"Uh— guys!" Kie suddenly shouts from a few metres in front of us, making us come to a halt.

"What?" John B asks, glancing around the beach.

"Lavender's shack," she points over to the beach house. My breath hitches as soon as I see the vandalism. In big, bold, red spray paint, "kooks > everyone" had been written on the side of the building.

"You're fucking kidding me!" I curse, taking off in a sprint towards the shack. The three others follow close behind me. As soon as we reach a closer distance, each of us drop our boards and are quick to examine the damage.

As if it was planned, Lavender steps out of the front door with a bucket and a sponge, hair down and wet with a red bikini still on. Light blue denim shorts covered the bottoms, and a god almighty scowl was etched into her pretty face. Much different to the kind smile that I met just a few days ago.

"Lav," Kie says, making the girl jump when she notices the four of us. "What happened?"

After she calms down from the small scare, she places the bucket down on the sand. "Fucking Kooks," she grumbles. "They came in earlier and kept saying how nice this place was for a 'Dirty Pogue'. I cracked the shits and told them to piss off. We closed up the shop and dad left to do some meetings, I went for a surf," she points to her wet hair. "Came back to this." she points to the vandalism.

"I'm so sorry, Lavender." Pope frowns, walking towards the paint to run his hand over it. It obviously wasn't done that long ago, but because of how hot it is, the paint has unfortunately already dried to the wood. "This wouldn't have happened if wasn't for us the other day."

"No, no," she waves him off. "It's not your guys' fault, Pope. They're just dickheads."

I look at the spray paint, cringing on how large the area is. "Could you at least let us help you clean it up?" I ask, earning a surprised look from her. "Spray paint's a bitch to remove. You'll be here for hours if you're alone."