001 ― charming tales

When Adelaide Simmons was a child, she spent most of her afternoons plunging her little body into the ocean's embrace. Her feet kicked under the surface, and her smile gleamed as the sun shone on her innocent face. She'd get a glimpse of her surroundings, and wished to reach the yellow buoy that floated peacefully miles away. Taking a deep breath, Adelaide only had her determination to guide her along the vast ocean, and she fought against the surge of the light waves that crashed against her bones. A sense of accomplished washed over her as she managed to reach the float, that seemed so distant mere hours ago. She'd swivel her head around, the realisation of how far she was from shore dawning on her, and a real smile spread on her features, similar to the motion of an eagle's wings. The little girl could imagine she was the most beautiful mermaid of the Pacific, completing her daily swim, far from the humans' watchful eyes.

Her parents did reach her shortly after, yet so much time had passed that wrinkles lined her skin and her lips had turned a soft shade of indigo. She'd relentlessly fight against her father's grip as he held her back to the land, and her feet would sink in the grains of warm sand against her will. Her imagination came crashing down, and her memories of mermaids vanished, replaced by melancholic weeps.

The girl was barely seven years-old, and was already manifesting signs of undeniable stubbornness, as well as creativity. Ten years later, the girl was still at mercy for the water, catching every opportunity to be in it like butterflies.

Now, Adelaide's slow breaths were echoing through the damp, summer air, and beads of sweat were dribbling down her sun-kissed skin. She laid against a random wooden chair she found on the site, squinting as the figure of John B advanced slowly onto the roof. He was Adelaide's best-friend, and probably the one she confided in the most. An absolute sweetheart in-and-out, with the brightest smile. From their first meeting, their young minds came along like pieces of a puzzle.

One of his feet was dangling in the air, his eyes screwed onto the abyss of nothingness below him. "That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" Pope called out, catching the boy's attention as he pulled back. "I give a one-in-three chance of survival."

Pope was the golden friend, probably the smartest Pogue on the entire Island. Adelaide knew he was destined for something big, something that surpassed general expectations for someone like him. He kept them all in check constantly, his knowledge coming to their constant advantage. Sure, he was a little of a weirdo, but weren't they all?

"Should I do it?" John B asked, putting his index finger up, as if deep in thought.

"Yeah, jump, I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope snickered, waving his shotgun high in the air, squinting his doe-eyes against the sunlight.

"You'll shoot me?" John B repeated, a smile etching his features, amused by the weightless threat.

"They're going to have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara suddenly said, as she emerged from the house that was in the process of renovation. Disappointment brewed in her eyes at the statement.

"God forbid the Kooks have none other than the best toilets," Adelaide voiced from her seat, sparring her friends an amused glance that they returned.

The island was divided into two sides: the Kooks and the Pogues. The Kooks lived on Figure Eight, a place that was ruled by the splendour of money and spoilt children. They had the biggest boats, most prominent families, and a superiority complex. The Pogues, however, resided on the Cut, a place known for its chaos, flagrant poverty and rebellious inhabitants. They took care of the Kook's boats, catered their parties and bent down to their desires.

Adelaide and Kiara were both born into Kook families, but their personalities led them to join the other side, much to their entourage's deception. The two girls had a lot to relate on, both being in similar life situations. However, their characters were nowhere similar; not that it didn't stop them from being incredibly close.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles I guess?" Kiara sighed, until her eyes set on John B, "Can you please not kill yourself?"

"I'll give you ten bucks if you land on your feet." Adelaide piped up, and Kiara was quick to scold her with a glare.

"Don't spill that beer, I'm not giving you another one." JJ added.

"Oh, shit!" John B groaned as the drink did indeed slip out of his hands, bouncing against the floor, liquid dripping out.

"Of course you did." Adelaide snickered, and the brunette frowned at the sight of his now far-away beverage. Before anyone else could make another comment, Pope spoke up, "Security's here. Let's wrap it up." he warned at the appearance of two guards exiting their car.

"They're early today."

"C'mon Humpty Dumpty, let's roll." JJ said, waving over to John B and tapping Adelaide's head. JJ and Adelaide always had a (how do you say?) strange relationship. They were the closest out of everyone, but their occasional digs at each other were a daily routine. If you didn't know either of them and walked in at the wrong time, you could believe they hated each other's guts. Guess some people just had a unique way of portraying their affection for each other?

"You little pricks!" Gary yelled as he caught sight of the teenagers, fed up with the trouble they usually caused. Adelaide jumped from her seat, a grin dancing on her lips childishly. She was a sucker for trouble, and the reason for that might actually be her origin: being a Kook pushed her to desire the pleasures of risk.

The five began sprinting down the stairs of the construction site, attempting to get away from the security guards. JJ nearly ran into one of them, so the rest of the group span the other way, adrenaline pumping through their veins. Adelaide couldn't stop herself from letting out an amused shout as the blond boy came in contact with Gary, before joining them in their motivated run. JJ helped Addie up the fence, and Pope ended up falling miserably onto the ground, mouth full of grass.

"Let's go Pope, fatso's coming." JJ said, before the three continued their escape.

"Come here you little pricks!" was all Adelaide heard as she leapt into the mini van, Pope and JJ in her trail. Her heart was drumming in her chest, and her mouth was contorted into a pearly grin as they all watched Gary run as fast as he possibly could behind them.

"Check out Gary, gunning for a raise!" she laughed.

"Wait, slow down." JJ said, and John B followed his words. The boy popped out his head out of vehicle, staring directly at the other security guard. "Hey, you're so close, you can do it." he encouraged mockingly, and Adelaide fell back in heaps of giggles. He even threw his beer towards the man; "They are not paying you enough, bro."

JJ's eyes then moved to Adelaide, whose cheeks were wrinkling and nose scrunching under the influence of her laughter. He smiled lightly, pride oozing through his heart at having triggered this reaction.

He didn't know what it was, but the girl held some sort of undeniable power over him, causing him to constantly seek for her attention, to wish she was there in situations she wasn't. God, he even started meaningless fights with her to feel that her only focus was dedicated to him, and him only. Adelaide was probably the most desired girl of the Island, she had a charm that radiated out of her no one could compare to. And JJ Maybank had been one of the many boys to fall for it.

"God, that initiative is just begging to be punished." he snickered, and all the teens laughed in unison. The Pogues were ignored and neglected, but Adelaide believed that brought more benefits than anything.

"I mean, it is his job." Kiara shrugged, slumping into one of the free seats, Adelaide positioning her head between the girl's legs.

"He's just a security guard, he could chill a little." Adelaide said, her hair falling on her face after the effort.

"That's what I'm saying!" JJ loudly agreed, high-fiving the girl immediately.

"I just get you, don't I?" she laughed, irony dripping in her words. Yet, she wanted the blond to validate her sentence, to tell her that she did in fact get him. She didn't know what caused for her to seek for some particular words to seep out of his mouth, but she did. Even if he was the biggest player of the Cut and probably had at least a thousand Stds from sleeping around.

"You really do, Ads." he chuckled, as if he had read her mind. The girl in question could feel Kiara's knee digging in her back, but she ignored the motion, at loss of why the girl would do that, as if she was attempting to send a message.

"Why do you suddenly look beat up, JB?" Pope spoke, eyebrows furrowing at his friend's expression.

"Nothing. Nothing, just wondering when Dcs is going to bother me again." he groaned, staring ahead at the road in front of him.

"You're always welcome at mine, if that's a comfort." Adelaide affirmed.

"If you don't jump on that opportunity, I will." JJ exclaimed, surprising everyone in the minivan with his sentence.

"And why's that?" she asked.

"Because her mom is a total catch, and I want to experience the charm of Amelie Simmons first-hand." he was quick to respond, and Adelaide hit him on the head as soon as the phrase came to a halt.

"Ew. Don't speak about my mom like that, I'll barf." Adelaide frowned.

"Come on, you can't deny the your mom's hot, Addie." John B nodded, a small smile lining his lips.

"Okay, okay. Can we just change the subject?" she pleaded, before she turned her head towards Kiara, "Kie, why are we friends with such weirdos?" she asked.

"That's a question I ask myself on the daily." the brunette sighed, leaning her head back into her seat.

"Adelaide, are you even listening to me?" Amelie Simmons scolded, hands screwed on both her hips. Adelaide was the spitting image of her mother, it was actually frightening. Wether it consisted of their features or their expressions, a striking resemblance was clear from the first glance. They had a great relationship, though the mother didn't necessarily approve of her daughter's environment: Amelie had a difficult time adjusting to the fact that Adelaide preferred hanging around the Cut instead of residing in their home. It was a mystery why exactly she'd want to hang around a bunch of rebellious misfits!

"Yes, I am, and I agree with you Mom." Adelaide nodded her head, taking another bite of the vanilla cake positioned in front of her.

"Will you stop stuffing your face." Amelie said, pushing the plate away from the young girl.

"Hey!"

"And don't speak with your mouth full." she added, wiping specks of ivory icing off her daughter's lips. "Are those the manners your friends are teaching you?" she asked, in disapproval. Nevertheless, Amelie wasn't too fond of the Kooks herself, partly why she actually let Adelaide seep out of the house to hang with the others. She wasn't blind: she could see that Figure Eight was full of obnoxious and kids with an ego higher than the moon.

"Come on, you know Pope and Kie, they're good kids." the girl said, twirling around in her isle chair.

"But honey, you could have so much more. I mean, look around you: what's missing here? I don't know what they offer you that's so much better that you have to escape where you came from." Amelie said in a strained voice, cupping her daughter's cheeks. This was a conversation they'd had a million of times, but the mother never lost hope. Guess Adelaide picked that up from her as well, which was ironically why most of their arguments were created and persisted.

"Mom, I love it here; you know I do. I never miss out on an opportunity to have a good time in Figure Eight! But right now, it's summer, and my goal isn't to fret and shop all day, it's to spend two months I'll never forget." Adelaide voiced truthfully. She was incredibly thankful of being a Kook, unlike Kiara who spent every second attempting to ignore what she was born into.

Adelaide wouldn't deny that she enjoyed the days laid on a yacht, or evenings spent in fancy restaurant where the food melted on your tongue. In fact, she loved it; what she didn't love as much were the people who were granted this life style. In her opinion, her friends were so much more deserving of it, more than anyone else. But then, she also believed their their up-bringing was what caused them to have a heart of gold.

"So you'll go to Midsummers?" her mother questioned, referring to the original subject of the conversation.

"Yes! Yes, I will. Why would I miss out on wearing a silk dress and flirting with rich boys?" the brunette grinned, and her mother's mouth couldn't help but match her daughter's.

"You evil, evil girl." Amelie joked.

"Just following in your footsteps, mom." Adelaide smiled.

"You do know what that means, though: dress shopping." her mother said, slapping her hands excitedly on the counter.

"Can't wait." Adelaide mumbled, jumping from her seat.

"But—But there's a slight twist. You know the Camerons? Well Sarah, their daughter, will join us. She's desperate for a dress as well, and let's say her father doesn't particularly have the best taste in women's clothing." Amelie explained, unsure of what reaction her daughter was going to have as the words rolled off her tongue.

"You mean Sarah Cameron?" Adelaide echoed, eyes narrowed.

"She's a sweet girl, and I think you two will get along just well!" Amelie insisted, already reading the deception on the young girl's face.

"Is this you trying to reel me back in the Kook world? Because trust me, that is not the way." she shook her head, "That girl is the reason I don't mess with—with them!"

Sarah and Adelaide had never formally met, none of them had ever wanted to approach the other. Adelaide knew her from Kiara's judgemental words, and the betrayal she offered her friend. Just picturing herself with that blond, incredibly spoilt Kook princess could make her barf.

"Give it a chance, sweetheart! People are full of surprises, you know."

"I think the only surprise Sarah is full of is her boyfriend Topper." Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's too late anyways. You are meeting her, wether you want it or not." Amelie imposed, her lips recoiling against each other and holding a firm line that radiated authority.

"Urgh! Fine, since I clearly don't have a choice." her daughter sighed, walking out of the room with her arms folded over her chest.