𝑪𝑳𝑶𝑺𝑬 𝑻𝑶 𝒀𝑶𝑼 | 𝑱𝑱 𝑴𝑨𝒀𝑩𝑨𝑵𝑲

Chapter Five - Tootsie Roll

Devon reaches her hand into the crevice to pull out an envelope that reads "FOR BIRD." She walks back to the hole and gives the envelope to John B. "That's not gold." Pope says. Devon goes through the hole, JJ on the other side helping her down.

"Holy shit. This is from my dad." John B realizes.

JJ lets out a puff of smoke as he realizes a vehicle pulled out. "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" The group runs behind a wall ducking down and turning off their lights.

JJ and Devon peek over the side of the wall. Kie asks, "Do you think it's them?"

"Homie's got a gun." JJ responds and Devon squints her eyes.

"That doesn't look like a gun. And they are in a golf cart. I'm not getting square grouper vibes." Devon looks back at her friends.

"Screw this," Kie whispers before making a run for it, the group following behind her. They all go to jump the fence, JJ giving Devon a boost since she doesn't hop fences in her free time like the rest of the group. The two land on the other side, looking back at the fence to see Pope still up there.

"Pope! Come on!" Devon yells.

"Guys, I'm stuck." Pope admits.

JJ pulls out his gun and points it at Pope, "Pope, don't move okay?" Devon is quick to push the gun down and smack him on the head.

"I got you." Kiara runs over to Pope.

"Wait! You're gonna rip me!" Pope repeats as Kiara pulls him from the fence. Pope finally reaches the ground, his pants still hanging on the fence, revealing his boxers.

"Nice! Come on, dude." JJ comments. Devon runs to the car with the group laughing at Pope's underwear. "It's a little tootsie roll!"

They all file into the car and Kiara shuts the door behind her. Pope tries covering himself, embarrassed.

...

Devon stands next to JJ, watching as he makes a peanut butter sandwich. "That bread had mold on it, JJ." She tells him, pointing to the spots on the sandwich.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts." JJ reasons.

Devon's face scrunches up with disgust, "The entire thing is a bad part, J"

JJ doesn't stop spreading the peanut butter, "Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

Devon lets out a laugh, "Who told you that? Wikipedia?" She grabs his wrist and walks them to join John B, looking at the envelope. John B rips the envelope open as JJ takes a bite of his sandwich, immediately gagging from the first bite. Devon looks at JJ with an amused smile on her face, "you know I hate to say it, but I told you so!" JJ ignores her as he spits his chewed food into the garbage.

"Holy shit." John B says, bringing Devon's attention back to the paper on the table. It's a map with coordinates.

"X marks the spot." Pope comments.

"Longitude, Latitude." John B traces the paper. "Wait, there's something else in there." He reaches back into the envelope and pulls out a tape recorder. Devon's eyebrows raise at the sight.

JJ looks at the girl next to him and leans into her ear, "What's that?" He whispers.

Devon turns her head to face him, "It's a tape recorder, dumbass." Her cheeks warm when she notices JJ's eyes flicker to her lips and she quickly turns her head back to John B as he plays the tape.

JJ clears his throat, turning to John B as well. "Who's Bird?" He asks.

"That's what my dad called me." John B answers.

The group stare in amazement as they listen to the tape. John B's dad claims that he found the Royal Merchant and he wants his son to finish what he started. Once the tape finishes, John B stands up and stands in the doorway, crying.

"Holy shit! He did it! Big John found the merchant!" JJ raises his voice.

Devon puts her hands on his chest, giving him a look to calm down. "Can you please?"

"Sorry," he whispers, looking down at the girl. Kie goes over to John B, hugging him as he sobs.

...

The group now sits on the dock, listening to Kie as she plays the ukulele. "How much was it again?" asks JJ.

"Four hundred mill." Pope answers.

JJ lets out a sigh before saying, "All right, let's talk the split." He looks around, "now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I'm the only one that can properly defend us from those groups who are after us." Pope's jaw drops as he listens to his friend. "Protection? Not cheap."

"You aren't even trained!" Pope points out. "You have zero training."

"YouTube, bro!" JJ defends. Devon face palms at the boy's words. "That's at least a 5% bump right there. Any objections? Didn't think so." Kiara, Pope, and Devon all raise their hand to object. "I don't hear any, so."

Kiara ignores the boy, "What are you gonna do with your 80 mill, Pope?"

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you Kie?" JJ asks.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope inquires.

Kiara lets out a laugh before answering, "I just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues." She looks down with a smile on her face. "You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is dead." Kiara and Pope say at the same time.

"I know. The spirit of Peter Tosh will never die." She says, raising her drink.

"I know what I'll do." JJ says, "I'll get a big ass house on figure eight and go full kook."

"You're gonna go full kook?" Devon asks.

"Yup. Get a marble statue of myself. And then I'm gonna get a koi pond."

Devon lets out a laugh as she comments, "I'm never visiting."

JJ smiles as he puts an arm around her, "That's because you'll be living with me, Dev."

Devon rolls her eyes, "Your confidence is inspiring." She takes a look at him before turning to John B, "What are you gonna do?"

John B thinks about it for a second, looking around before saying "To going full kook."

The group smiles, all raising their drinks in the middle "To going full kook!"

Notes

I think I'm going to start writing notes at the ends of the chapters because it makes it feel more personal...IDK

Anyway...this is my first fic and I can't tell if it's shitty. HELP. I also don't proof read anything. It's fun tho :)