John B stood on the roof of the half built building, dangling his foot over the edge.

"You're gonna fall to your death, dumbass." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"That's what, a three story fall to the deck? I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival." Pope shrugged.

John B licked his finger, sticking it in the air. "Should I do it?"

"Yeah, you should jump. I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope held up a drill.

"You're gonna shoot me? Pow!" John B laughed.

Kiara walked out onto the deck from inside the house. "They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers."

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they?" JJ sighed.

"That's some dumb ass rich people shit." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess." Kiara shrugged.

"I can't have cold towels." JJ said, mocking the kooks who though towel warmers were a necessity.

"Can you please not kill yourself?" Kiara said, looking up at John B on the roof.

"Don't spill that beer. I'm not giving you another one." JJ said, and almost on cue, John B dropped the beer can.

"Good one, JB." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Hey, uh, security's here." Pope said, turning back to the group.

John B and JJ hopped down from their high spots, meeting Pope, Kiara, and Gwen on the deck.

JJ taunted one of the security guards, earning plenty of 'shut up's and eye rolls from everyone else.

The group ran through the unfinished house, being chased by the security guard, Gary.

They were laughing as Gary was yelling. They jumped over the fence, Pope falling to the ground.

Gwen grabbed his arm, pulling him up as they continued running to the van.

Kiara and John B already got in, so JJ, Pope, and Gwen jumped in to the Twinkie as it was driving by. Kiara pulled the door shut as JJ laughed at Gary, who was still for some reason trying to chase the van.

"He never catches up. Why does he even try?" Gwen shook her head, laughing.

JJ opened the door, tossing out a beer can at Gary. "They don't pay you enough, bro!"

"JJ, stop. Stop." Kiara sighed.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." JJ said, still laughing.

Gary huffed, giving up on chasing the van.

Kiara slid the door shut once again as John B sped up.

[John B: VO.]

[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.]

The teens drive through a nice neighborhood with huge houses, people dressed fancy, and nice cars.

[Alright. This is Figure Eight, the rich side of the island. Home of the Kooks. So, guess where we don't live.]

The houses change to smaller ones, a lot of docks for fishing and boating, small shops, and some broke down cars or boats.

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

The five teens are sitting on a boat when one lies on top of the other, the rest following for a dogpile.

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

John B dumped a net full of fish onto the boat, right by Kiara's feet. "Ugh, John B."

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that. Been all bait for, like, three weeks." JJ nodded.

[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 of the water.]

JJ laid across a surf board sitting on the table on his stomach, wearing sunglasses upside down.

[Best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.]

Kiara set next to a random guy at a party, going off about islands and microplastics.

[And that's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her. And when she's not saving turtles, or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us.]

Kie sat next to JJ, posing with pink sunglasses as if she were in a magazine before putting the sunglasses on JJ.

[I'm not really sure why though. So, she's a rich kid, actually. 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.]

The five teens sat on a boat, all dancing around.

[We all have a thing for her. Well, not Gwen. I don't think, at least.]

Kiara rolled her eyes, pushing JJ's head away.

[That's Pope. He's the brains of the operation. Finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know.]

"Stop touching that." Pope didn't even have to look back to see JJ messing with some wiring.

[Little bit of a weirdo.]

"You are such a dork." Gwen rolled her eyes at Pope, stifling a laugh.

[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 Pogue, just like the rest of us.]

The five teens sat on a boat at sunset, Kiara singing some random song while Gwen laughed at it.

[And that's Gwendolyn. Gwen. She hates it when we call her by her full name. She's been a part of this group since.. Well forever.]

"You're gonna get yourself killed." Pope shook his head.

"That's the fun part. And I'll be fine." Gwen rolled her eyes.

[She's almost always with one of us, and not usually at home. She doesn't really talk about why, though. But we love her company. Don't tell Kie, but I think she's Pope's favorite.]

Gwen laid on the boat with her eyes closed, enjoying the sun when Pope sat by her, talking her ear off. But, she listened.

[So, that's my crew. And that's me. John Booker Routledge. And this is where I live.]

JJ was in the only bedroom besides John B's with a random girl. John B groaned and closed the door, going into the living room.

Kiara and Gwen laid on the couch that pulled out into a mattress.

"Morning Kie, Gwen." John B said.

"Morning." Kiara grumbled.

Gwen didn't even answer, only giving a half asleep mumble.

[An old fish shack on the marsh. The Château, as my dad used to call it. There's Dad. He disappeared at sea nine months ago, looking for a shipwreck. Who disappears at seat 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 now, on my own, hangin' out with my friends.]

Pope was laying on another couch when John B walked by, giving him a fist bump.

VI / JUNI SPEAKS.

woah first chapter