SUNBURN | JOHN B ROUTLEDGE

022

The Pogues sat on the dock, the distant rumbling of thunder adding a low, ominous note to the otherwise serene night.

Kiara gently strummed her ukulele, the soft, melodic notes mingling with the gentle lapping of the waves against the wooden pilings. The moonlight reflected on the water, casting a shimmering path that seemed to stretch endlessly into the horizon. John B, JJ, Kiara, Pope, and Gabriella sat in a loose circle, their faces illuminated by the silvery glow of the moon. They were a picture of camaraderie, bound together by the unspoken understanding of the trials they had faced, and that they are going to face.

JJ broke the peaceful silence, his voice cutting through the night. "How much was it again?"

Pope breathed out, the weight of the number heavy on his lips. "Four hundred mil."

JJ jumped down from the wooden banister where he had been perched, clapping his hands together with a wide grin. "All right, let's talk the split." He pulled out the stolen gun from the motel, as if it was his most prized possession, "Now, before we say 'evenly,' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us."

His comment elicited a chuckle from the group, but there was a seriousness underlying his words. "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training." Pope argued.

"Youtube, bro!" JJ threw his hands up. Kiara's brows furrowed, knowing that because of the storm there was practically no internet on the Cut and JJ is the last person to willingly go to Figure Eight, also judging the fact that a browser history of a boy from the Cut wanting to learn about guns wouldn't exactly be smart. "That's at least a five percent bump right there. Any objections? Didn't think so."

"I actually-" JJ cut of Gabriella.

"I don't hear any, so..."

Kiara continued to strum her ukulele, her fingers moving deftly over the strings as she looked up and smiled. "What are you gonna do with your 80 mil, Pope?"

Pope, who had been gazing thoughtfully at the water, looked up, a little taken aback by the question. He scratched the back of his neck, clearly caught off guard. "Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive." he said slowly, a smile creeping onto his face.

Gabriella smiled at the boy who cared so much about his future. He had so much to lose, and so much ahead of him. It made her think about her future, that was in the depths of the ocean, unknown. She had nothing ahead of her, apart from just being in the present with the Pogues. "What about you, Kie?" Gabriella asked.

Pope sighed dramatically but then broke into a grin, "Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" His question clearly made Kiara feel uncomfortable.

Even though she had money, it never felt like hers, it was her mom and dad's money that they used to control her. She couldn't do what she wanted so long as she lived in the bubble wrap her mom and dad provided for her, having a laid out a complete plan of her life since birth. She wanted to focus on the simpler things, she wanted to feel grounded, feel the roots of the planet they were spinning on between their toes.

"Just wanna make a double album." Signalling towards her ukulele, "About OBX, the Pogues."

"As long as I get to be featured." Gabriella grinned, grabbing the ukulele from Kiara and gently strumming it. "I haven't played since..." She cut herself off. Memories that she had locked away had resurfaced. Drunken Dean smashing her ukulele over her head for creating 'too much noise'.

As JJ had said the first day she met, dad's are dicks, and she stood by that. He knew the look that was on Gabriella's face. He has that look from time to time. From the outside, she seemed fine but her eyes told a different story. JJ jumped in, trying to distract Gabriella from her own mind, "I know what I'll do. I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook."

"Really? You gonna start wearing polo shirts?" Gabriella snickered at the thought.

"Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish--"

"I'm never visiting." Kiara laughed, cutting JJ off mid sentence.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asked. Everyone had turned to look at John B who had been silent ever since listening to his dad's tape.

John B's head rested gently against the weathered wooden pole that held up the dock. His eyes were fixed on the vast expanse of the ocean, the moonlight casting a silver shimmer on the waves.

He sighed deeply, his thoughts a whirlpool. Slowly, he turned around, his gaze searching the familiar faces of his friends. But his eyes lingered on Gabriella. She was illuminated by the soft glow of the lanterns they had hung around the dock, her hair gently tousled by the evening breeze. There was something captivating about the way she looked at him, her eyes filled with warmth and understanding.

Raising his drink, John B broke the silence. "To going full Kook," he said, his voice dripping with determination.

Everyone around him smiled, raising their drinks high in unison. "To going full Kook!" they echoed, laughter filling the air.

But even as the others clinked their drinks together and took hearty sips, John B's focus remained on Gabriella. Her smile was radiant, a beacon of light that seemed to cut through the darkness of their uncertain future. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, the soft flush of her cheeks, the way she looked at him—it all made his heart pound.

As the others chatted and celebrated, John B couldn't draw his eyes away from her. There was an unspoken connection between them, a magnetic pull that he couldn't resist.