「 RICOCHET 」JM ³

. . . extra & thank you

thank you for reading, and voting and commenting on RICOCHET !

your support means so much to me. obx came out so long ago and so many of you continue to read and reread this series regularly. truly, it brings me so much happiness whenever life gets too much or too hectic and i hope these books do the same for you guys.

the answer you're all looking for is yes; i will be writing another book for obx4, i could never leave you guys hanging like that. and i've grown too attached to b & jj to not write another season for them. keep this book in your archives/reading list because i'll update here when i've uploaded the 4th book.

again, thank you guys all so much for supporting me. i love y'all fr and enjoy this last snippet i cut out of the last chapter... see ya in obx4 <3

There was more to the story, Pope liked to refer to as THE AFTERMATH but he refrained from telling Bianca the truth. It would only make her feel more guilty, which was not the point of this narrative.

Still, Pope recalled trying to say hi to Bianca after that day at the Spelling Bee competition.

It was at a local fair when he saw the girl again, that same year. He spent the whole afternoon trying to build up the courage to go up to her, ask her if she remembered him.

There she was, buying fairyfloss with the same stark raven-hair and equally as jet-black eyes. But she held the fairyfloss with such care, so much gentleness, it made Pope smile.

Finally, he tapped her shoulder from behind but just as she turned around, a group of kids their age came bounding up to her. By their shiny shoes and starched dress shirts, Pope could tell they were Kooks.

One of them was a blond boy who reached for her fairy floss and stole a bite out of it. Pope could tell she didn't like this because she elbowed him away almost immediately.

"Topper!" Bianca scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's mine, you dickwad!"

"Ooh!" The boys around Topper snickered, shouldering Pope to the back of the group.

"Whatever," Topper grabbed more of the sugary substance and shoved it in his mouth before she could protest. "Your mom told my mom that we have to share."

"Shut up," Bianca rolled her eyes. "She did not."

"Did too," Topper shrugged. "Who was that anyway?"

Bianca glanced over his shoulder at the mysterious boy who tried to get her attention. He looked familiar, sure, but she barely had a chance to see his face before he disappeared again.

With a frown, she mumbled, "I don't know."

Pope never tried to say hi after that. He saw her around the Island, especially when he used to make grocery trips to Figure Eight with his dad. But every time, he would duck his head down and keep walking.

The next time Pope even came close to building up that same courage was when he saw Bianca through the window of the Wreck.

This time, however, she wasn't alone.

Kiara Carrera, Sarah Cameron and Bianca Prescott sat at a wooden table in the middle of the empty restaurant, laughing like they were hiding some kind of secret. The sun was setting, casting them in an amber glow and Pope, in the shadows.

"What are you girls giggling about over there?" Anna, Kiara's mother, counted the cash behind the till. By the small smile on her lips, the girls could tell her sternness was playful, "And why are you all covered in dirt?"