One Stupid Thing

Pogue Initiation

"What?" I exclaim. "Why me? Why can't you do it?"

"Well, uh, I don't want to do it..." Kie shoots back.

"I don't either."

"...but, you're smaller than me and, hey, consider this your Pogue initiation." She pats me on the back and nudges me towards the open sewer drain.

"All right, fine. Since none of you cowards want to do it, I will," I shrug and approach the drain. It can't be that bad right?

"Uh, just be careful, okay?" JJ stops me.

"I'll be so careful," I reply sarcastically. As I enter the drain on my hands and knees, a musty, damp smell hits me and makes me wrinkle my nose.

"Just, uh, holler if you need anything, okay? We'll, uh... we'll holler back."

"Very helpful. Thank you, JJ."

As I crawl further and further down the damp tunnel, I breathe solely through my mouth to avoid the stench. A dripping sound echoes ahead of me, and sunlight manages to stream through the holes in the drain. My sun catcher pendant swings back and forth and the rays manage to catch it and light up the concrete walls beautifully. My knee catches on a slimy part of the tunnel and I slip, but I mange to catch myself before I face plant. "Shit," I groan.

"Stella, you find anything yet?" Pope's voice echoes.

"Yeah, El, do you see the gun?" JJ's soon follows.

"Nothing."

"It's probably at the bottom of the catch basin," Pope informs me.

"Of course it is."

"I do not envy her right now," Kiara says. I can barely make out the words but I know exactly what she said.

"I heard that!" I yell back in frustration. The tunnel opens up into a larger space that has a ladder leading up to a drain cover. I gulp and begin to wade in the water. Never in my life did I think I would be stuck searching for a gun in a catch basin. On my hands and knees, I search through the muck and trash. "What the fuck did I get myself into," I mumble to myself. As I continue to feel around, my pinky brushes something solid. "Guys! I think I found something!"

"Wait, you got it?"

"Is it the gun?"

When I lift it to the surface, I am faced with something I can't even describe. I just know, with every bone in my body, that this is not something I would want to be touching. "Ah, JJ! Pope! Kie! You guys, there's something dead in here!" I cry out, scrambling away from whatever it is and screaming in panic. "Oh my God! There's something dead. I repeat, there's something dead in here!" I am replied with multiple questions and chaotic statements that only make me freak out more.

"Like a person?"

"El, don't touch it, that's how you get worms!"

"Oh my God what if it's Gavin?"

"Did you find the gun?"

"What is it? Is it Gavin?"

"Don't touch it!"

"El, is it a gun? Do you see the gun, El?"

"You guys owe me for life!" I yell back. The sound of rushing water causes me to whip around and completely forget about the dead thing. The drain is being flushed and I'm stuck down here. "Oh, shit. Guys? Guys, the water!"

"Stella, get out of there now!" Pope yells. But, the catch basin is already filling with water.

"I don't have enough time! Guys! Shit! Oh no!" I begin climbing the ladder, when something hard slams into the back of my leg. I stop climbing and reach into the swirling water, frantically searching for whatever hit me. Finally, my hand clasps around it. I pull it out of the water and in my hand is a pistol. The gun. I found it.

Quickly, I shove the gun into the back pocket of my jean shorts and continue climbing upwards. When I reach the manhole at the top, I push on it, but nothing budges. The water rises at an alarming rate and I feel panic overtake my senses. "Please! JJ! Guys! Help me! I'm over here!" I yell through the openings.

"El! El, we're comin'" I hear JJ reply, except this time it doesn't come from the end of the drain, it comes from up top.

"Hey, guys! I'm over here!" I repeat. I stick my fingers through the holes and wiggle them as much as I can. Water swirls around my waist now. "The water is coming up!" Through the openings, I can just make out their faces as they crouch over the hole.

"Stella!" Kiara cries back. "We're gonna get you out of there.

"Pull! Pull it!" I cry. As they all wrap their fingers around the drain cover and pull on it, I push with all my might. The water is flowing up to my shoulders now, swallowing my body whole. "Hurry! Hurry!

The four of us grunt in immense effort. My life does in fact depend on it. "We'll get you out of there. I promise," Pope assures me. His voice cracks with emotion.

"JJ! Pope! Kie!" I call out desperately. I wish to say more. If those are my last words then they will have been pretty pathetic. Taking one last gulp of air, the water rises over my head. I tread water and continue to push up on the grate above me, but I feel fatigue quickly overtake me.

Suddenly, the grate lifts from above my head and I frantically grab onto the edge. Many hands grab onto me and pull me out of the sewer system. As oxygen re-enters my lungs, it takes me by surprise. I cough and sputter the murky water that had made its way into my mouth. Laying chest down on the wet pavement feels like heaven. My muscles ache and it feels like I don't remember how to breathe.

"Holy shit, Stella," Kie pants.

"Are you alright?" I hear Pope ask me from my right.

I manage to get to my hands and knees and lift up a thumbs up. "Never better," I manage to say, before another round of coughs hits me. To my left, JJ is panting heavily. He clutches a hand over his heart and looks back down at me. Using what little energy I have, I throw myself in his arms. He cradles me in his lap and rubs my back soothingly.

"I thought I lost you," he croaks.

"Please. You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried," I laugh. His chest vibrates softly and I smile gratefully. "Oh, uh, I wasn't sure if this would help, but..." I say, reaching into my back pocket and holding the gun out for the Pogues to see.

"Oh my god!" Kie exclaims.

"We're gonna get this son of a bitch, man!" JJ celebrates, whipping a towel from his shorts' pocket and wrapping the gun inside it. Kie and Pope help me up and allow me to catch my breath. "You did it, El. You did it."

"Hell yeah! Good job, Stella." Kiara pats my back. "Officially, welcome to Pogue life." We all participate in a brief, celebratory group hug.

"Let's get this to Shoupe," Pope says.

"Okay, yeah. Good idea," I pant.

JJ helps me over to the Twinkie, allowing me to lean on him on the way there. It's comforting knowing that I can be covered in sewage and probably smell like absolute shit, but he'll still be here for me regardless. And, while I'm grateful that we found the weapon that not only killed Peterkin, but killed Gavin, too, the only thing I can focus on is going home and taking a nice, warm, shower.

——
I know that it is Kie who goes into the storm drain in the show, but this just seemed fitting for Stella's character development.

Edited: 4/3/26