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OFF TO THE SUMMER WINDS!
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     "Shut up."

     "Elementary level prank, Heyward," Wren scoffed at the boy's antics; a boat? Seriously?

     Nobody in Kildare County was stupid enough when it came to boats to let theirs sink. Many Kooks and Pogues were shallow minded when it came to a plethora of matters, but they knew how to properly manage their water vehicles. Blaming Pope's bad operating skills on a sunken shipwreck sounded outrageous, almost like saying your dog ate your homework, if you will.

     Were they beginning some kinda elaborate mystery? A fuckin scavenger hunt?

     Wren would go along with it, by all means. Getting her daily adventure intake was the energy coursing through her veins that made her the way she was. But this? This wasn't an adventure; it was a downright lie.

     Really, Pope?

     "I'd expect this out of J', but you?" Lauren scolded, boredom lowering her voice a couple octaves.

     "No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's like a boat down there, for real— guys this, it's a boat!" Pope stammered, pointing into the water for everyone to stand up and see for themselves.

     Shaking her head, but entertaining the idea, Wren stood at the bow, peering into the direction her friend was looking to. Her eyes doubled in size— no fucking way, there was a boat!

     Just to double check, the girl blinked, to rid of any visions she might've been seeing, for whatever reason. Much to her surprise though, when Lauren's eyes opened once more, the faint outline was still present— she hadn't been high out of her mind, or insane. And everyone else saw it still, too. That was a boat, alright!

     "Holy shit, he's right. Let's go," Kiara rids of her shorts, as the other girl in the group did the same, and the guys took their shirts off.

     "You think there's a dead body down there?" Pope questioned before everyone dove in, juggling the idea around in an excited manner. Hearing the nonsense was enough for Wren to start swimming down so she didn't have to listen another millisecond, to examine their precious finding.

     The murky salt water mingled unpleasantly with her eyesight, but she soon ignored it as she pushed her way closer and closer, through the rather still current. As Lauren found herself right in front of the boat, her eyes widened— this wasn't just any boat that they had came across. Pogues, or generally just most people on the island, knew their stuff. This was a Grady White.

     For those who don't speak nautical, simple terminology: a Kook's ride.

     Something that most of their group members wouldn't be caught dead in.

     Back in the day, Wren's mother went through boats like she burned through stacks of money; for a good year, (while the girl was still considered rich-kid material, of course), Camille and Teddy owned one.

     A scratch on its' exterior? New boat. A noise that was a bit too loud for their liking? New boat.

     The answer was simple.

     Hell, everything was simple when money was nothing but a one-way ticket to anything you could ever dream of.

     In their daughter's eyes, a Grady-White was a tad too flashy for her liking, but that being said, she could entirely understand why it cost as much as it did.

     Not only was the type of boat fascinating to be sunken underwater, but Lauren recognized that boat. It just so happened to be the same one they had come across while surfing the evening prior. Now that she looked back on it, there wasn't anybody occupying it, was there?

     Everyone took notice of this goldmine they had just stumbled upon, likewise. Smiles collectively spreading across their faces, the five all shot up from the water, eager to discuss what the hell they had just discovered.

     Gasping out of sheer shock, JJ's bright blue eyes darted back and forth to everyone, "You guys saw that, right?"

     "Yeah!"

     "Yeah, I did."

     "That's a Grady-White," he wildly laughed, "A new one of those is like 500 g's, easy."

     Paddling back to the Pogue, they all heaved themselves over the side, still outright shocked at what they had found. Was that real? Questions buzzing through Wren's mind, she couldn't help but wonder the story. For a boat that massive, shouldn't someone be looking for it— or, had they just not taken notice to it missing from the end of their dock? She could list a few families (that she knew of), that owned that model, but none of them seemed like the type to not properly care for their motor vehicles.

     "That's like a primo rig!" the blonde rambled on even further, relentlessly. Lauren might've even thrown a snappy comment his way for him to catch, but she could fathom the frenzy he was in— it was a pretty cool treasure, after all.

     JB ran a hand through his saturated hair, slicking it back. "Yeah. That's the boat Sage and I saw while we surfed the surge. Maybe it hit the jetty, or something," he theorized, although that wasn't a viable-enough excuse.

     Kiara froze at that statement; not all too surprising, being as she was the most responsible of their rag-tag gang. With a hint of skepticism, she interrogated, "You surfed the surge?"

     They were some good-ass waves. "Damn right we did!" Wren enthusiastically responded to the inquiry— another accomplishment resting in her belt; she'd be the first to start telling everyone and anyone that she surfed the waves during one of, if not the worst hurricane the OBX has faced in ages!

     "Wait... wait," Pope interrupted the light-hearted fun bouncing off of one another, "Do we know who's boat that is?"

     "No, but we're about to find out," John B threw out one of his signature smirks, that usually meant that he was up to zero good. Kneeling on the floor of the HMS, he began to take the anchor out from its' compartment.

     "Dude, it's too deep."

     "Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ," the boy tested.

     Squinting, with the sun burning his lively sapphire eyes, his arms crossed, "Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm making that clear up front."

     "That's fine."

     "You couldn't perform CPR if one of us was on the ground, about to croak," Wren picked at the piece of skin at the corner of her thumbnail, as the situation went down with the boys. Hiding it, she'd be telling a full-on lie if she had claimed she wasn't curious. Now that they had come across something so compelling, each of the Routledge kids were fastened on it— it was a mystery that they just itched to get to the bottom of, like it was a pesky mosquito bite. Not only that, but Wren believed it'd be comical once they identified the owner; they'd get a ridiculing coming via her way, without hesitation.

     Eyes narrowing in her direction, JJ attempted to threaten her, but her features remained alight, not phasing her. "Fuck you, sunshine— I could... definitely— save someone, if it uhm— came down to it."

     "Uh huh."

     "John B," Kiara abruptly spoke up, the only member of the group to not be wearing a smile on their face. Very likely, it was due to one of two facts: she had common sense at times when the others did not, or she was constantly anxiety-ridden. Lauren mentally determined that in this scenario, it was the second one. Her cousin-basically-brother was notorious for doing downright stupid shit, whenever the opportunity arose.

     He'd be fine.

     "Diver down, fool," Pope saluted, also captivated by the what-ifs of what could be hidden inside of that Grady-White.

     "Yeah, he is," the Maybank boy suddenly pushed him off, and John B clung onto the anchor, as a way of keeping him underwater.

     Scanning across the cloudy waters, Wren scoured to find JB's silhouette swimming about; however, it was just too muddy and blurred for him to be seen. While the others hovered over the edge with worry creasing their brows, she sunk back into a seated position, with her ankles crossed and her face peering up towards the sun. Glasses being pulled down to shield her eyes, Wren couldn't help but wonder what the hell they were so concerned about.

     John B wasn't some amateur. Pogue through and through, he could handle being at the bottom of the marsh for a mere minute or two, while he tried to scrounge for any pick-pocket-worthy finds from inside the water vehicle.

     "Should we go get him—" Pope started to say, but John B breaking through the surface was enough to halt his words. Fiddling with the thread friendship bracelet on her wrist, Lauren stood up with ease, as the brunette coughed.

     Rubbing the back of her neck, Kie's eyes widened, "Oh my god. That took forever, jeez!"

     That— was an exaggeration.

     A wide grin lit up Pope's eyes, staring at his friend. "Any dead bodies?" he inquired, sounding more eager than disgusting of that being a possibility.

     "Looting potential?"

     "No. No," John Booker lifted his hand from the water, swinging a small keyring around his ring finger, "I found this motel key."

     "A key?" the Heyward boy deadpanned— a real bummer, that was.

     "Yes, a key, Pope."

     "Great—" anything but excitement laced the blonde's words, "We salvaged a motel key."

     "Guys, we should report the wreck to the coastguard," Kiara theorized, "Maybe we'll get a finders fee!"

     Money being involved, that called for JJ to naturally be intrigued, "Yeah, and not work all summer. Thanks, Agatha, ya batch!"

———

     Wren could've put two and two together, before they even reached the Coastguard. Despite all the families that had seen their fair share of storms, many still liked to race around like little rodents, complaining about every inconvenience that was blown their way.

     Come on, people. It was a storm.

     A storm.

     What caused everyone to be so dramatic about it?

     Hearing the woman whining about her dog— seriously? What about the people who had a tree fall split through the center of their home, or their car was totaled? From the few minutes the Pogues happened to be there, trying to catch some authority's attention, Lauren hadn't heard one story that seemed to pack an urgency.

     Now a boat— a whole-ass Grady-White at that? That was one of the things that those people wanted to hear. But, being a group of untrustworthy sixteen-year-olds, that were likely to be known more for their felonies than charitable acts, nobody gave them the time of day. For just once, not a soul cared to hear their finding.

     Fair. If they wanted to play that game, then so could they.

     And that's when the gang of misfits chose to take matters into their own hands. If nobody there was going to listen in and investigate, then why shouldn't they?

     Okay, maybe they shouldn't barge into a possible crime scene. However, what did a majority of them have to lose?

     Besides, Wren personally preferred this plan just a tad bit more. A nice adventure, with a nice thrill attached? Count her in!

     Coming up on the motel, Lauren was reminded just how much of a dump it was. Out of the way, and pretty secluded, she never had stayed in one of their rooms, and had only passed it enough times to count on one of her hands. Did anyone stay there? From the absolute shambles it was in (and that was saying a lot, coming from a Cut-kid's brain), she guessed that they had bed bugs in their mattresses, and TV's that couldn't even power on with a remote.

     "I thought the Chateau looked bad," JJ whistled, taking in the state of the establishment. The SUMMER WINDS sign had been completely toppled over, and there appeared to be tarps, or something on the roof, to cover up holes, or something along that line. Not a soul in sight, Wren wondered what the status of the building was, even before Aggie hit.

     "Suddenly, I'm feeling Kook-y," Wren modified her posture with a change of footing, suddenly standing up much straighter.

     Agreeing, JB sighed, "This place is a shitshow."

     "Motel or meth lab?" Kiara questioned from beside the other girl, who's eyes were fixated on all of the mattresses being taken out of rooms.

     "You be the judge."

     The Carrera girl did carry a solid point. "It looks like some shady shit goes down here," the Routledge gritted her teeth together. It was gross, and definitely not a place that Wren would willingly choose to rest at. And that meant a lot, coming from her; within the past few months she had stayed in quite a few dumps, if she were being honest.

     "Doesn't look like the type a' place somebody with a Grady-White stays," JB expressed his doubt, which, to be fair, wasn't an unpopular opinion amongst everybody.

     Deadpanning, Pope's head shook, as he adjusted his cap, "No. Looks like a place someone with a Grady-White would get killed."

     Another solid point.

     "Alright. Here we go," the Routledge announced, as he approached land.

     "This is your captain speaking. HMS Pogue comin' in for landing," Maybank used his radio voice, before hopping out onto solid ground to tie her up, "Whoo!"

     "We good?"

     "Yeah, we good."

     Twirling the key around his thumb casually, John B exited the boat, "Alright. Here goes nothin.'"

     Following after him, Wren took a step out without question— there was no way in hell she'd be sitting out of that one! Craving adventure like it was a meal at the Wreck, she frowned at the minor facial expression from the blonde standing beside her. "You're stayin' out here, with them," he remained stern and gestured to Pope and Kie, as if his icy-appearing eyes would frighten the girl and lead her to obey.

     Lauren mentally pondered if JJ Maybank forgot who she was. "Who the fuck do you think you are, bossing me around?"

     "I think— I'm a Pogue, that has a lot more say in this matter, as opposed to you, sunshine," jaw clenching, JJ bickered back with a snappiness in his tone.

     "Hey—" Kiara attempted to intervene, although it was unsuccessful.

     Throwing his arms out in aggravation, he didn't stop there, "No! You do realize, that whatever's hidden inside there, she's gonna take for herself and leave? Admit it, JB!"

     Believe it or not, they were friends, at one point.

     The best of them, at that.

     He used to throw pebbles at her window, urging her to go surf with him when nobody else displayed any apparent interest. No matter what her status was, the Maybank boy never cared—he always just kinda knew what Lauren's life consisted of. It wasn't something she could sort out or control, but that was okay in his mind.

     After all, it made her more of a Pogue.

     It wasn't like that, anymore, safe to say.

     Wren thought it was just lighthearted teasing at first, coming from his way, but it wasn't. It was built-up negative feelings that she couldn't fathom his reasoning for in the first place. For once, JJ was doing something he didn't tend to do: be serious.

     Maybe she was overanalyzing it— that's what she was trying to convince herself, anyway. Truth be told, it had only been a day or two of seeing them all again.

     But, Kook or not, Wren could pull her own weight against whoever tested her. Even if it was JJ—freakin—Maybank! "Now I don't know what crawled up your ass, but I'm not having this argument, in front of the goddamn Summer Winds!" she pointed to the battered-down motel, "Whatever you have against me, for whatever reason, save it!"

     "Hey—" Pope removed the tension hanging low in the air, speaking towards John B, "Don't let him do anything stupid. And try to keep them from killing one another, would ya?"

     Gazing back towards the two, on-edge individuals, his lips pressed into a thin line before turning back to the Heyward boy, "Don't know if I can make any promises."

     Slumping back, with a sense of knowingness, Pope murmured an 'I know' under his breath.

     "Uh— be careful," Kie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I mean it."

     "Okay, troops," John B slung an arm around each of them, sure to stand in the middle in case one of them felt the sudden need to throw a punch at the other, "Let's go."

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