After finishing up their shower and tugging on some comfy clothes, which consisted of cotton shorts and JJ's old Star Wars shirt for Grace and sweatpants and one of the many graphic t-shirts he and John B shared for JJ, the couple headed out to the shop where Sarah, John B, and Kie were piling around the scroll they'd swiped.
JJ lit up a joint as John B filled them in.
"Okay, so, obviously it's a map of sorts, right?" John B mused.
"Yeah, but it looks like a trippy mosaic." After the words left his mouth, JJ, who was leaning on his elbows against the counter, took a puff of the joint.
"It's so weird. It's all scrambled," added Kie, who was sitting on one of the barstools that were usually occupied by customers who chomped away at Cleo's sandwiches or Grace's baked goods.
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Sarah asked from beside Kiara.
While plopping down on the stool beside her sister, Grace piped up, "Well, there's gotta be something else to it, right? Some way to read it?"
JJ pointed over at her while nodding, fingers pinching the joint as it let off a gentle stream of smoke. "She's right. We gotta decode it. That's what we're supposed to do."
Sarah tilted her head, examining the old paper while squinting slightly.
"But... how?" Kie asked the obvious question.
"With the code breaker. That's how," said the blonde as he passed the joint over to John B. "All right, everything's coming into focus now. You've just got to let your eyes go out of focus for it to be in focus."
As JJ's slightly stoned rambling continued, Grace made grabbing hands towards the smoking spliff. John B grinned at her before passing it along. She wasn't a big smoker, and her friends knew that, so they all got really excited when she decided to get high with them.
Bringing the expertly rolled paper to her lips, Grace sucked in a deep hit, willing the weed to work its magic and transport her into a world of deep serenity. She wanted escapism and great sex, and strong homegrown weed was the answer at the moment.
Absentmindedly passing it down the line, the joint made its way into Sarah's fingers.
"I think we're mind melding," mumbled John B.
Kie furrowed her brows, staring back and forth between the two sisters as JJ and John B rambled on mindlessly. "What are you doing?" she whispered.
Sarah and Grace's eyes widened as the blonde frantically passed the joint to Kie.
When Kie stared at Grace incredulously, Grace shrugged while smiling sheepishly. She was glad Kie had seemingly been let in on the secret in the time she'd been in the house with JJ because it had totally slipped her mind. She wasn't a doctor by any means, but she did know that cannabis and babies did not mix.
Grace rested her cheek on her palm as she watched John B and JJ talk aimlessly, spouting random ideas that had little to no merit and letting the high wash over her. Because she didn't smoke very often, the effects were already hitting her, especially since it was Kiara's homegrown lettuce.
It was only when a loud crash sounded in the distance that her head perked up.
The group froze and went silent for a moment.
"What was that?" JJ was the first to break the silence.
The distinct sound of the old metal fence on the edge of the property clattered out.
John B stared out of the door while JJ looked over his shoulder towards the marsh.
Grace's eyes flickered from window to window, searching for the intruder. Any calmness the weed had gifted her was shredded.
YOU ARE READING
𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank
FanfictionGrace Cameron was a Pogue. Always has been. Sure her dad and half-siblings were the Kookiest a Kook could get but her mom had grown up on the Cut so she did too. Her friend group vowed to have a good time all the time but when a boat goes down in th...
