miss americana | jj maybank

six | t and jb

six | t and jb
[101: pilot]

The morning after the boneyard party, Tess woke up beside Beck at the Jacobs home. Their mid-sized house was near the divide between the two sides of the island, but decidedly on the Cut along with the rest of the Pogues. Dennis Jacobs' salary as a police officer didn't cover much, especially as the single income providing for two children.

Charlie and Beck did everything they could to help their dad afford their standard of living. The summer was one of the better times of year for the Jacobs siblings, Tess knew. Charlie was able to pick up plenty of shifts at the Wreck. Their situation only became more dire when his athletic seasons filled up his schedule and pulled more from their savings for equipment and travel.

When Tess finally roused from Beck's room, she noticed her best friend had already awoken and left, no doubt to help her dad cook breakfast. Tess was fine with this, of course. She knew her way around the Jacobs home better than Tannyhill most of the time and there was a toothbrush that decidedly belonged to her in the house's singular bathroom.

That is where she went now, to wash out the taste of beer that still lingered in her mouth. As she brushed her teeth with one hand, her other was drawn up to her curls which had kinked and grown frizzy and unruly over the course of the night. She was not looking forward to the lasting humidity that lingered outside.

She rinsed the toothpaste from her mouth as she heard a voice greet her, "Morning, Tess. Looking lovely as always."

Tess looked up to see Charlie approaching. "You know just how to charm a girl," Tess replied easily. She stood up straight and Charlie didn't hesitate to brush behind her into the bathroom, beginning collecting his own toiletries to start his morning.

She took Beck's comb from below the sink, currently used sparsely as the girl's hair had been styled in knotless braids for the summer. Tess took to pulling the comb through her hair carefully, spraying her hair down with water occasionally to help the process.

Charlie stood beside her, brushing his teeth and pretending he wasn't watching Tess's every gentle movement until her hair was swiftly under control for the time being. He cleared his throat when he finally finished brushing his teeth. "Um, w-what are you up to today?"

There was one thing very prominently on her to-do list. Tess left the boneyard party hastily the previous night, and for good reason. But John B was likely in pain this morning after his altercation with Topper. She didn't get a chance to check on him last night. For all the complexities of their friendship, she did reluctantly still care about him. "Not sure," she lied. "Working later though."

"Cool, cool," Charlie muttered. "Last night was fun. You know, before everything went down."

"Sure," Tess said, smiling half-heartedly. Truth be told, the fun part of Tess's night was the time spent with the Pogues. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty that her ditching them for Sarah's group may have triggered the heightened emotions of the night.

"Pogue parties are just... well, they can be like that, I guess," Charlie continued.

Tess looked up rather suddenly as she processed Charlie's words. Knowing any response she had would spark further debate on the topic, she instead just left the bathroom, headed for the kitchen and dining area of the home where Beck and Officer Jacobs could hopefully relieve her from whatever this was.

"I was thinking about hitting the waves yet this morning, though. Wanna join me?"

"I actually think I have some stuff to do before work. Sorry," Tess said just as they entered the kitchen, halting further debate. "Good morning, Officer Jacobs." She patted the man's shoulder as she passed him on the way to the coffee pot.