P4L | Outer Banks | JJ Maybank

Pogue Lyfe

When she was younger, Cory and her sister were inseparable—virtually attached at the hip. Her sister was just barely older than her. Enough to be put in charge, and to be expected to be the money maker of the family. But that didn't change their closeness.

Now, Cory wasn't sure when was the last time she saw her sister. She knew it was sometime in the past week when Cory had made a reluctant trip back home. She'd returned to her friends with a bruise etched across her hip.

Her friends.

Given she no longer had her sister to talk to so frequently, she had found herself a new family. The Pogues.

They were lower-class kids who lived on the Cut. The poor side of the island.

Cory's older sister was born here but was somehow now making her way into Kooklandia. AKA Figure Eight. It was where the rich kids lived. Cory's sister was no rich kid, but she seemed to be dating one of them in an attempt to bring herself up in the world.

Cory rolled her eyes. She'd stick with her Pogues.

The leader of the Pogues was John B Routledge. His house was their main hangout spot. His dad had died just under a year ago, so it was a house free of adults. Perfect for a group of kids who just wanted to smoke and surf all day.

Then there was Kiara. She was a kook at birth. Her parents were Kooks and they hated her hanging with the Pogues. But she rejected the Kook ways, and the Pogues welcomed her in.

Thirdly, there was Pope. He was the brains of the operation. He did what he could to keep them out of trouble and keep himself on the route to getting his scholarship. His dad, Heyward, was a big name on the island. Though living on the Cut, they were doing alright. The Kooks liked to hire Heyward for big nights, like Midsummers.

And lastly? JJ. JJ was an interesting boy. He was the loose cannon of the group. They never knew what bullshit he was gonna pull. But they loved him nonetheless. He was their loose cannon.

Cordelia glanced back at her friends from her ledge overlooking the ocean. They were hanging at a build site for some future Kook hotel or something. Bullshit.

She turned back to look out over the ocean, taking a sip of her beer. She had no reaction as she gulped it down. Most kids on the island could handle a drink.

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" Pope's voice came from behind Cory. She glanced back, seeing John B balancing on top of the roof. "I give you bout a 1-in-3 chance of survival."

"Hm," came from John B. "Should I do it?"

"You should jump, I'll shoot you on the way down-"

"Pope," Cory warned. Pope made a gesture with the drill he had previously been pointing at John B.

John B's voice came from above, overlapping with Cory's. "You'll shoot me?"

"Yep."

"Pow."

"They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers," Kie emerged from the building.

JJ spoke up. "Of course they are, why wouldn't they?"

"This used to be a turtle habitat," Kie continued. "But, who cares about the turtles, I guess?"

"I can't have cold towels." Cory turned to JJ, making an exasperated face at him, to which he only winked back.

"Can you please not... kill yourself?" Kie asked John B.

"Don't spill that beer," JJ announced. "I'm not giving you another one."