Slater woke up in the morning with a light headache, but nothing she couldn't fix with a little water and some fresh air. She was still wedged between Pope and Kiara, who both took up much more room on the floor than either required.

She stumbled to the bathroom, rubbing her eyes. They felt super dry, as she'd slept in her contact lenses. She swished some water around in her mouth and spit it out and splashed some water on her face, which made her feel a lot less disgusting.

A glance at her watch told her it was only seven o'clock, so she headed out to John B's back porch to get some fresh air. Who knew when the rest of the gang would be up?

She noticed that JJ was already out there, and she silently cursed, backing away. However, it was too late, because as she tried to go silently back through the door, it swung closed with a loud thwack and he turned her way.

JJ glanced at her, a frown on his face. "Mornin'."

"Good morning," she replied, staring out at the marsh.

When it was clear that JJ wasn't going to offer anything to start a conversation, Slater wracked her brain for something to say.

"Looks like a good day for surfing," she quipped. It had stormed while they slept, stirring up all sorts of waves in its wake.

JJ glanced at her curiously. "You surf?" His voice dripped with disbelief.

"Every day, if I can," Slater replied. "My sister and I go out all the time. She's a better surfer than I will ever be, and she's only fourteen. Don't tell her that."

"Your sister sounds fun," JJ replied. "Must be quite a relief to your parents, after you."

Slater rolled her eyes. So much for a pleasant conversation. "Do you have anything nice to say?"

"To you?" JJ paused, feigning thought. "Hmm, no."

"In case you've forgotten, I saved your ass last night. If it wasn't for me, you might be waking up in jail this morning," Slater said.

"And thanks for that, I don't want to sound unappreciative. But, that doesn't mean I have to like you," he said.

"Clearly, you don't," Slater said. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't like you, either."

"Good, glad that's settled," JJ said, staring out at the marsh.

Slater rolled her eyes. He was so frustrating. "Well, I should really get home."

"Don't let me stop you," JJ replied.

She groaned and left the porch, marching back towards the living room. John B's bedroom door was still shut, and Kie and Pope were still sound asleep on the floor. She grabbed her keys and backpack, then headed out towards the Subaru.

The air was nice yet that morning — the day's humidity and heat hadn't gotten to it yet. Slater drove back to Figure Eight, hoping no one would recognize her car in the Cut and tell her father about it.

She parked in the driveway and walked up to their house, entering the kitchen just as her family was starting breakfast.

"Hey, honey," Slater's mom, Leanore, greeted her with a cheerful smile. "How was Kiara's?"

"It was fun," she said, making a beeline for her room. She hoped she didn't smell like beer.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Vic asked.

"I gotta shower and stuff, but maybe after," she said, offering a polite smile.

She didn't feel good about lying to her parents, but she knew she could never tell them the truth.

Slater showered and changed her contacts out for another pair, then brushed her dark hair and braided it into two pigtails. She dressed in a swimsuit, a pair of denim shorts and a green crocheted crop top that Maeve had made for her.

She slipped on her trusty pair of Chacos and headed downstairs to join her family for breakfast.

Leanore handed her a plate of food, which Slater immediately dug into. She hadn't eaten since getting ice cream with her sister the day before.

"I heard you came and visited me yesterday," her father began. "Sorry I missed you, bud."

Slater's heart began to race as she looked up at her dad. "It's okay, I figured you were busy."

Vic nodded. "Yeah, we had quite an exciting day yesterday."

"But don't ask, because he can't talk about it," Maeve said, rolling her eyes. "I already tried."

"Do you work today?" Leanore asked, to which Slater shook her head.

"No, I'm off," she said.

"Do you girls have any plans?" Vic asked his two daughters, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

Slater and Maeve looked at each other, each grinning. "The usual, probably. It's a nice day for surfing."

"That it is," Leanore said with a smile. "One of these days, I've got to get out there with you girls."

Leanore's mother, Slater's grandmother, had grown up in a Filipino family in Hawaii, so she'd taught her daughter everything to know about surfing. Leanore had in turn taught both of her daughters. Their birth father, who passed away when Slater was very young, was also avid about the sport.

Leanore worked at a flower shop downtown, and it was hard for her to get a day off.

"We'd love to have you, Mom," Maeve said, finishing the last of her orange juice before looking expectantly at her older sister. "Ready?"

Slater looked down at her breakfast, which was only half-finished. "Yeah, I guess."

The girls said goodbye to their parents before heading out to Slater's car and to the beach.

"So," Maeve began as soon as they were out of the driveway. "Are you going to tell me what you were really doing last night?"

Slater scoffed, a smile filling her face as she shook her head. "How is it that I can lie easier to our cop father than my fourteen year old sister?"

"Us younger sisters always know." Maeve grinned as she rifled through the CD box. "Come on, you can tell me. I won't tell Mom and Dad."

"Well, I was with Kiara," Slater said. "And some of her other friends that Dad would not approve of."

Maeve's eyes widened and she grinned. "Those boys she hangs out with from the Cut?" She asked, to which Slater nodded. "Oh my gosh, Slate! Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?"

"It's not a big deal, Maeve," Slater said, her cheeks turning red. "But you know how Dad can be about people from the Cut."

Maeve nodded. "I know. I'm just glad you're making friends, finally. It's only taken sixteen years," she joked.

It wasn't that Slater didn't have friends — she had "friends" that she talked to in school, but she didn't talk to anyone outside of class.

"Yeah, yeah," Slater said, rolling her eyes.

They arrived at the beach, which wasn't too busy yet. Tourists packed it in the early morning to watch the sunrise, and then filtered in throughout the rest of the day.

"Good day for some waves," Maeve said, which brought Slater's mind back to her conversation with JJ that morning. How could someone so intolerable enjoy the thing that Slater loved the most in life?

"That it is," Slater said as she parked the car.

The sisters grabbed their boards and headed out to the beach. Just as Slater was about to ditch the rest of her belongings, her phone rang. Seeing that it was Kiara, Slater dropped her board and answered it.

"Hey, Kie."

"Hey, Slater! The boys and I are working on some stuff with the compass, and we wanted to see if you would like to join us," she said.

"Not all of us," Slater heard JJ mutter in the background.

"Most of us!" Pope called from the back.

"We could really use another brain to try and figure this clue thing out, and I know you love your puzzles," Kiara said.

That was true -- whenever Slater got a moment free at the Wreck, she was usually solving the crossword in the daily newspaper. She also had a fair share of riddles stored in her brain, which she loved to quiz the rest of the staff throughout the workday.

"I'm at the beach right now with Maeve...." she said, watching as her sister waited near the water.

"Good, stay there," JJ said.

Anger bubbled in Slater's stomach. It was clear JJ didn't want her to be there -- or anywhere where the pogues were.

She was going.

"You know what, Kie? I'll be there," she said, smirking as she imagined the anger on JJ's smug face.

"Great! See you then."

Slater hung up and looked at Maeve, her stomach sinking slightly. She was once again abandoning her sister.

"Hey, Maeve. So, change of plans. I'm going to hang out with Kiara ... and the others. Raincheck?"

Maeve shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. I'll see if Nora or Emma can come out," she said, already texting her best friends.

"Cool. I'm sorry, Maeve," Slater said.

"It's okay, Slate," Maeve offered a smile. "I'm just happy you're making friends."

Slater grinned and pulled her little sister in for a hug. "You're the best, you know that?"

"I know," Maeve chuckled before heading for the water, board in hand. "See you later!"

Slater loaded her board back on the Subaru and headed for the Cut, following the path to John B's that she'd taken to get home that same morning.

"Hello?"

No one was around as she entered the chateau.

"In here!" John B called from another room.

She entered a disorganized room that appeared to be some sort of office. Blueprints, photocopies, and pictures covered the walls. It looked like a conspiracy theorist's secret layer. A picture of the Royal Merchant on the wall told Slater that was exactly what the room was.

"Hey, Slater," Kiara offered her a cheerful grin as she entered the room.

"Hi," Slater said, feeling suddenly shy around the group. They were all so close, and she was such an outsider. "Any progress on the compass?" she asked.

"Not really," Pope said. He had the word "REDFIELD" written down on a paper. "It's the most common name in Kildare County. It could mean anything."

"We think it could be a pentagram," JJ said, gesturing to Pope's paper.

Slater rose an eyebrow. "Do you ... do you mean an anagram?"

JJ's brows furrowed together and he glared at Slater. "Whatever."

She smirked to herself before settling down beside Pope. "I do love a good anagram," she said.

"Me too," Pope said, smiling at Slater.

"Barf," JJ said, rolling his eyes as he took a hit off of his pen.

"Sorry, that's not enough letters to be the answer," Slater joked.

JJ rolled his eyes. "Wow, was that, like, your one good joke of the week?"

"Do you have to attack everything I do?" Slater asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes," JJ answered. "Because you annoy me, and I'm very vocal about what annoys me."

"Why do I annoy you?"

"Well, for starters--"

"Shh!" John B clamped a hand over JJ's mouth. "Quiet, both of you."

"What, am I not allowed to --"

"JJ, someone is outside," John B said, nervously looking out the window. "It's the dudes from the other day."

"The ones that shot at us?" Kiara asked, her eyes going wide.

Slater's mouth fell open. "Someone shot at you?"

"Welcome to the pogue life," JJ muttered.

"J, you got the gun?" John B asked the blond.

"You have a gun?" Slater hissed.

"Well, I ... I don't have it now, currently. It's ... it's on the porch," JJ admitted sheepishly.

"What?" John B said, groaning. "The one time we could actually use a gun, and you don't have it? Go get it!"

JJ moved to grab the gun when there was a loud banging on the front door.

"JOHN ROUTLEDGE!"

"Guys!" Kiara whispered.

"They're on the porch, I can't get the gun," JJ said, his blue eyes wide in fear.

"Where you at, boy?" One of the men called out.

"We've gotta leave!" Kiara said.

"The window," Pope said, pointing to the pane as the other boys rushed to open it.

"It's painted shut!" John B said, muttering a curse under his breath.

"Move," Slater said, pushing JJ aside as he tried to shake the window open. She pulled out her Swiss Army knife, scraping at the paint that sealed the window shut.

"You have a knife?" JJ asked.

"Welcome to the pogue life," she said, mocking him.

They finally got the window loose and John B jumped out, helping his friends out as they made a dash for the chicken coop. They hid amongst the chickens, trying to stay as quiet as they could.

The chickens, however, had other plans.

The rooster began to crow, setting each of the kids into a panic.

"Do something, Pope! Shut him up!" Kiara hissed.

"What do you want me to do?" Pope asked, his eyes wide.

"Pet it, or talk to it. I don't know!"

"You do something!" Pope whispered, to which JJ grabbed the bird and silently broke its neck.

Slater's eyes went wide as she watched him set down its limp body, his hands trembling.

"I loved that rooster."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

and here's chapter three! words have been POURING out of me for this book, and i'm so happy! i really love writing slater's story, and writing the banter between slater and jj gives me life. i also really love the friendship that is starting to develop between slater and the rest of the pogues.

also, have i mentioned maeve? i love maeve. she's literally the sweetest.

question: have you ever been to the carolinas? i have been to both north & south, but not the outer banks. time for a vacation!

thanks for reading, and please vote and leave a comment if you would like!

xx,
madi