Gunning for a raise

We're the Pouges, and our mission this summer is to have a good time, all the time

It's been three months since Lorelai had met the best friends she's ever known. Fully included in the group as she worked for the Carreras as Kie fabricated some story, Lorelai didn't know exactly what was said but she didn't mind as she was able to have a steady income to help with bills at the Chateau.

And so far so good, Lorelai seemed like a perfect, sweet, law-abiding citizen so none of the law enforcement questioned her or looked to hard into who she was and where she came from. Everything was absolutely perfect.

John B was standing on the roof of a house, right at the edge, a Pabst blue ribbon beer  in his hand. He had one foot hanging over the edge as he looked down. He was doing well balancing. "That's what, a three-story fall to the deck? I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival." Pope said, he was on the deck holding a power drill as he looked up at his friend. Lorelai looked down towards Pope as she was pacing back and forth on the peak of the roof.

John B turned his eyes downward to look at Pope. John B gave a small hum before licking his finger and holding it up to feel the wind. "Should I do it?" He asked. JJ sitting on the scaffolding, glancing between the two with his own beer in hand.
"Yeah, jump. I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope said holding up the drill, aiming it at him and pulling the trigger making it whirl to life. "You'll shoot me?" John B repeated, pointing a finger gun at Pope. "Yep." Pope replies right as John B goes "phew." Firing his finger gun.

JJ found his eyes kept drifting back towards Lorelai as she balanced herself with a catlike grace. "Be careful Lore, I'd hate to have to save you!" He called up to her, sending her a teasing wink. The smile on his face only grew when he heard her laugh. Damn he loved that sound. "That would be a tragedy indeed." She smiled towards him.

The three boys attention going towards a girl walking out of the work in progress house. "They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kie said in disbelief, shaking her head. "Of course they are. Why wouldn't they?" JJ said as he looked down at her. "This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles I guess." Kie was obviously annoyed by this whole thing. "I can't  have cold towels." JJ said in a plain yet joking manner. Lorelai shook her head at JJ's joking comment.

Kie looked up towards the roof. "Can you please not kill yourself?" She said, her eyes squinted in the sunlight. JJ casted his eyes towards John B. "Don't spill that beer. I'm not giving you another one." The blonde haired boy said before taking a sip of his own beer. John B brought his foot back after balancing, dropping the can of beer onto the deck. "Woah, ah shit." John B said with a groan . "Of course you did, right after I told you. A plus." JJ said with Sarcasm lacing his voice. "Good job JB !" Lorelai clapped sarcastically for him. Kie shook her head turning to face the sea. "Smooth." She said in a low voice. "Dumbass." She then added as Pope went to the side of the deck, having heard car doors. "Hey!" A angry man's voice said as a flashlight clicked on. "Hey, uh, security's here. Let's wrap it up." Pope warned his friends.

John B looked that way. "Boys are early today." He said as JJ started to slide off the scaffolding. Lorelai looked over and almost slipping as she quickly slid onto the scaffolding. JJ pausing to look up towards her. "Come on Captain." He held his arms up towards her. Lorelai smiled at him as she jumped down, landing fairly well by herself but his arms still wrapped around her. "Gotcha." He whispered, his face inches from her own. "We got to go Starfish." She laughed soft.

JJ and Lorelai both wrinkled their nose at the nickname. "I will find you a sea worth name my pet, I promise.' Lorelai patted his cheek gently as she walked towards Kie, leaving the blond boy looking towards her before snapping out of it.

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll." JJ said as John B started getting down. Kie looked at the three boys. "Let's go, boys." Her voice was soft to some it would have even seemed flirty. Her arm slung around Lorelai's shoulders.

"Gary is that you?" JJ shouted from the edge of the house. Lorelai scoffing and rolling her eyes at the dumbass. "Come on quit it, get down." Pope, the voice of reason as always, said. "You know it's me." The security guard responded, he sounded annoyed. "Gary, good to see you man!" JJ shouted again as him and John B joined Pope, Lorelai and Kie on the deck. "You're asking for it." Kie said with a smile on her face.

The group of friends started running through the house going down the stairs. The bottom of the house still had doors open not being complete yet to where the security could get in still. "Hey, stop!" Gary shouted as he stood in one of the open door ways. JJ sliding on the ground some as he turned. He was now running after Lorelai, quickly gaining on her.

"Get em! They're comin your way!"He yelled to the other security guard. The one guard almost got JJ but the blonde got out of it, pulling Lorelai after him. "Not much of a hugger man."JJ said as he ran towards the outside world where Pope was. Lorelai was laughing happily, this was not how she expected her life to be four months ago but damnit it was amazing. "They're going out front!" The guard shouted towards Gary.

Pope was almost at the fence when JJ rounded the corner. "Go, Pope! Go! Go, go,go,go,go, go!" JJ said as if saying go multiple times would make him go any faster then he already was. Lorelai wasted no time as she reached the fence she jumped up, grabbing onto the edge and swinging her legs over to land on the ground.

Pope jumped over, landing flat on his stomach, the boy groaning as JJ  landed on his feet. "You okay ?" Lorelai asked as she looked towards Pope,who gave her a small thumbs up. "Get up, Pope, fatso's coming." His voice was light and he had a bit of a laugh to it. He helped the boy up as the guard lifted himself up on the fence.

A horn honking could be heard from the road. "Hey! Come here, you little pricks!' The guard yelled angrily. "That's no way to speak to a lady!" Lorelai called back with a grin. "Bus is leaving!" John B yelled as he pulled up in the Twinkie. "Come on, guys! Whoo!" Kie yelled excitedly from the car. JJ making it in first, Lorelai and Pope soon following after, Kie closed the door some as John B started driving

The group didn't have a care in the world, just having fun. "Check out Gary, gunning for a raise."Pope said with a slight laugh.  "Come on, Gary!" He shouted with a grin on his face, he was having fun with this and that was obvious. "Wait slow down." JJ chuckled as he moved towards the open door, beer can in hand, Lorelai looked at him curiously.

"Hey you little pricks! Hey!" Gary yelled as he ran after the van, he was actually doing a very impressive job. "You're gonna give him a heart attack." Kie said looking up towards John B who was in the driver's seat.

"Come on  boy, you're so close! You can do it. There you go." JJ said "encouragingly" using one hand to hold onto the handle inside the van. Lorelai grabbed the back of JJ's shirt to keep him inside the Twinkie. JJ threw the can to him which Gary didn't catch. "They don't pay you enough, bro." He said with a small, joking groan of disappointment. John B and Pope where laughing, sharing a glance.  Kie grabbed the back of JJ's shirt and pulled him back, the boy landing beside Lorelai once again."JJ stop. Stop." She said with a somewhat pointed look on her face which the boy didn't take seriously at all. "Oh, come on. The sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." He said with his smile on his face. Gary groaned as he gave up running after the Pouges.

The Outer banks, Paradise on Earth. It's the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island.

John B was looking out of the widow as they drove into the fancy, rich part of the island. The houses big enough to house at least two families. Lorelai couldn't get over the difference just by simply crossing over the bridge but the hardest part to believe is that if she grew up here with her parents she would be on this side, a kook. Would that have changed the friendship she had with the boys? As Kie was a kook as well.

All right. This is Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. How of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.

They crossed a small bridge that lead to more of a area that had normal sized homes and ones that sort of looked like run down old country stores, some of the yards littered with junk.

And then, this is the south side or the cut. Home of the working class who make a living busing tables, washing yachts, running charters. The natural habitat of...drumroll, please....the Pouges. That's us.

Pouges, pogies, the throwaway fish. Lowest member of the food chain. Okay. So, the downside of Pouge life is that we're ignored and neglected. But the upside of Pouge life? We're ignored and neglected, which means we do whatever we want, whenever we want.

That's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her. When she's not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she's hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why though. So she's a rich kid, actually. A foot in both worlds. Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks  Institution. Total cash cow with the tourists. You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. I guess we all sorta have a thing for her, well not so sure about JJ now that Rory is in the picture.

And that's Pope, the brains of the operation, finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get it for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pouge, just like the rest of us.

And that's JJ, my best friend since the third grade. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat. He's reckless, a storm that pours for hours.

But after the storm, you know that soft golden glow of the sun still blocked by the clouds? That is Lorelai, Rory, Lore whatever you want to call her. When JJ seems to be angry forever she is right behind him reminding him of the warmth. Yeah she had a harsh life like he did and she does have some anger issues she never shows that when JJ needs her to be calm. She's a great friend to have around here. Loyal, fiercely protective and some dare say charming, she can sweet talk just about anyone, silver tongued as she says. She is the one always by JJ's side through the good and the bad.

So that's my crew.

And that's me, John Booker Routledge. And this is where I live. An old fish shack on the marsh. The Château, ad my dad used to call it. There's dad. He disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck. Who disappears at sea these days? I miss him. And then there's Mom. She split when I was three. Last I heard, she was in Colorado. I think it was Colorado. That's uncle T. Since Dad's vanished, he's supposedly my legal guardian. At the moment he's in Mississippi, building houses. Which means it's just me right how, on my own, hanging out with my friends. There months after my dad was missing, he was officially presumed dead. I refused to sign the papers. Until I see a body I'm not giving up