SINK OR SWIM, jj maybank

c h a p t e r o n e

Teddie Thornton can't actually remember the first time she heard the word Kook. Growing up on the island, it's kind of something you just know. That, as well as Pogue. It's kind of like learning your ABC's.

It's weird, how one small word can define you. But in the Outer Banks, it's how it is. In the OBX, there are two types of people; the ones who have two houses and the ones who have two jobs. Teddie happens to fall in the first category, but her hearts in the latter. A foot in both worlds, as her friends say.

The rivalry of the Kooks and Pogues goes back as far as the teenage girl can remember. But even as a young girl, when she'd hang out with her brother Topper and the "Kooks" like Rafe and Sarah Cameron, Kelce Pierce, and Libby Marks, she never felt like she belonged. Luckily for her, Kiara Carrera transferred to Kildare Prep- or Kook Academy as the Pogues would call it. Kiara and her parents earned their money, unlike just about everyone else on the Figure Eight who came from generations of inheritance and success. It was hard for Kiara to make friends, not all of the Kooks were welcoming of the new girl who still insisted on hanging out with three boys from the cut. But Teddie liked her, and the two became fast friends at twelve.

Teddie didn't really go around the Pogue's a lot at first, instead sticking to hanging out with Kiara during the week and after school and spending weekends with Sarah Cameron while Kie went to the Cut. Eventually she got the two girls to befriend each other, but that ended up in flames. And it wasn't long after that before Kie was dragging Teddie along with her to the cut to hang out with the Pogues. It wasn't what Teddie was used to, but after hanging out with the boys, she never looked back. She loved her found family more than anything, but there was one boy in particular that she loved just a little bit more.

••••••••••

"This is so stupid." Kie complained, as her and Teddie walked through what will soon be the bedrooms of the house development that the group of friends were all hanging out in. "This was a turtle habitat, Tee. Turtles! And now it's just another unnecessarily large house with unnecessary things." To put it simply, Kiara Carrera was passionate. She didn't have a lot of love and patience for most people, but when it came to animals and the environment the girl would do just about anything.

"Eat the rich, Kie. Eat. The. Rich." Teddie sighed as she followed behind her friend and glanced around the in-progress home.

"We're the rich." Kie laughed humorlessly.

"Don't remind me." The slightly shorter girl sighed, moving her sunglasses from the top of her head back down so they were covering her eyes, "Let's head back out there before one of the boys gets themselves killed."

Kiara nodded and followed her best friend onto the back deck that the boys had been hanging out on. "Oh, you're gonna shoot me?!" They heard John B shout and laugh as they walked through what would soon be a door and onto the deck.

"JJ, beer." Teddie called, holding her hand out and catching the beer that the blonde haired boy threw to her from where he sat on some scaffolding.

"Anything for my queen." He smirked.

"They're going to have Japanese toilets and towel warmers." Ki said angrily as she stood next to Pope.

"I can't have cold towels." Pope joked, earning a shove from Kie.

Teddie snickered as she glanced up at John B, who was scaling the roof above the deck. "Hey Johnny, suicide isn't the answer, bud." She called up to him. John B flipped her the finger then shot the girl a wink.