to going semi-kook

PULLING OUT A FEDEX LETTER from the dark crevice, Kiara hands John B the thick and bumpy envelope. Her hands shaking as she does so, her eyes bulging at the words: FOR BIRD written on it in his father's kooky handwriting.

"That's not gold," Pope mumbles, dropping the lantern to his side in disappointment.

Marty helps pull Kiara out from the tiny hole in the old concrete wall as John B curses in disbelief.

"This is from my dad." He says, startling the pair of girls. The sentence is quiet but very significant, both knowing that moving forward shit's about to get weird.

JJ lights up a spare bogie that he had hidden from the rest of his friends, including Martha. He always has one on him in case of emergencies. He blows out the smoke, pulling Marty away from the group and towards him.

"Can I take a hit?" She whispers, grabbing a hold of his warm forearm. Her fingers are cold and icy. She squints as J's forehead light beams brightly as he looks down on her lopsided, dazed, smile.

"Sure McFly, have at it," he smiles back offering the bud until he stops.

His ears picking up crunching gravel. A vehicle was approaching.

"Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!" His eyes widen as a much brighter light beam into the dark cemetery forest. He grabs Marty's hand, pulling her with him as he jogs and hops over sticks and loud leaves just to turn the corner and hide behind the building. "It's the guys who robbed your house."

The group shushes him, clicking off their flashlights and the lantern.

"Do you think it's them?" Kie whispers, JJ peaking out around the dead vines to check out who came.

"Homie's gotta gun," JJ whispers, his mind regretting that bud he just took hits off. "Fuck," he mumbles, causing Martha's ears to grow red and hot. "I'm never smoking weed in a cemetery, again."

"Yeah, like that'll happen," Pope scoffs, earning a giggle from Marty.

Men can be heard behind the group of teenagers, shouts, and whistles of pointing shadows that turned out to be nothing. And at that moment, Kie knew what had to be done.

"Screw this," she whispers, signaling to everyone else that they're running. Kicking off the wall, Marty laughs as she is pulled along by JJ clasping around her hand.

Running through the woods, she's finally not sleepy anymore. Her adrenaline kicks in, helping her tear away from JJ and race him to the gated wall. "Hurry up, loser! Or snakes will bite your ass!"

"Okay, game on! Prepared to be destroyed!" He yells back, whooping and cheering as he reaches the gated wall right after she does.

She laughs as she shakes her head, pulling herself up and over the iron gate with ease. She smiles triumphantly as JJ jumps down on the dirt road, his knees and hands dusty from his difficult landing.

"Haha, I won! You lose!" She brags, teasing him.

"You only won because I let you win," JJ replies, the corner of his mouth tipping upwards in a smug grin.

"Oh really?" Marty snaps back, crossing her arms in front of her and stepping closer to the blond.

"Yes, really!" He smirks, his headlamp showing off a certain glint in his ocean-colored eyes. "Now where is my prize?" He questions, stepping forward to where their bodies were touching. He looks down to her rosy cheeks and sweaty neck glistening from his fluorescent light above.

Martha scoffs, placing her hand on his chest, slightly pushing his torso back but he doesn't budge from his stance. "Sore losers don't get prizes, especially second place."

The tension was growing abnormally thick, Kie and John B already left in such a haste to the trusty van that they left Pope defenseless. The touron and pogue were too busy in their playful banter to notice their dear friend in peril.

"Marty, everyone knows that first is the worst," he points down to her height. "Second is the best," he points to himself, "and third is the one with the hairy coconut chest."

"Who's the third in this case?"

"Uh, I think that'll be Pope," JJ snickers, finally turning his head to see his beloved friend stuck on top of the twirly fence.

"JJ! I'm stuck! Stop flirting with Marty and help!" Pope whisper-shouts, his voice wavering in fear as he watches the go-cart quickly coming towards him.

"Pope, come on!" JJ whines, turning away from the tension and running to where his friend was literally dangling from.

"Wait. You're gonna rip me! Wait! Stop!" Pope shouts down to JJ, who is literally yanking him down by his pants.

"You're fine. Come on!" JJ yells, pulling him and completely tearing off his shorts, unfortunately revealing Pope's undies to everyone.

"Sweet pair! I think I have one of those!" Marty laughs, backtracking toward the van. "Come on, hurry up!"

"It's a little Tootsie Roll!" John B laughs as he spots the three friends jump in his car before it drives away.

Settling down a little, JJ couldn't help but ask, "do you actually have a pair of men's underwear?"

Marty nods, turning and giving the blond a quick kiss on the lips.

➵ ➵ ➵

BACK AT THE CHÂTEAU, JJ lathers some peanut butter and jelly on a sketchy-looking piece of bread.

The power is still out so the group surrounds themselves and the messy table with candles, lanterns, or any other light source that they could find.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago," Pope says to JJ, pointing out the obvious as he walks by in new shorts.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts," he replies, still layering the peanut butter as if it's the end of the world. "Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

Marty rolls her eyes at his comment but calls him over to the table anyway.

"Yup, yup, yup," he says, skipping over to where she is leaning over JB's shoulder. "Hot damn! Let's do it!" He bites on his sandwich, instantly gagging at the obvious awful taste, and spitting it out almost simultaneously.

John B rips open the envelope, revealing a coastal map with a bunch of notes scrambled on it. "Holy shit."

"Oh," Pope says, pointing to a point on the map. "X marks the spot."

"Longitude, latitude," John B mumbles, tracing the barely visible lines. He presses down on the map, trying to lay it flat until he realizes that there's something else in the package. "Wait, there's something else," he says, pulling out a vintage tape recorder.

The group looks at it for a second, puzzled by the strange object.

"What's that?" J asks, confused about what they were gawking at.

"It's an old tape recorder," Marty replies, smiling down at John B to reassure him.

He clicks play.

Dear Bird.

"Who's bird?" JJ asks another dumb question.

"Damn, did that mold go to your head or somethin'?" Kiara snaps, tired of his annoying comments.

"That's what my dad called me." John B mumbles, his mouth not working anymore due to either complete shock or complete fear, or both.

I hate to say, "I told you so," but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, the sound of a desk chair creaking awakens something in John B— tears.

You're filled with guilt and self-loading over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either.

Clattering can be heard on the tape as John B looks up at Martha, who is automatically smiling at him, proud of herself for not giving up on family.

You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade. What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. Then a startling but familiar sound can be heard in the background, bullets being loaded into a gun.

Marty turns to JJ, looking at him to confirm that he hears it too. He nods wearily.

And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits. The gun cocks in the background, sending a deadly and grim tone to what Big John is about to say.

If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, scratches on the paper can be heard through the tape, the fast-paced sound of the scribble hitting each and everyone's eardrums.

The wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it. I'll... I'll see you on the other side.

The tape shuts off, ending right there. It's static cracking to a slow finish. John B clicks off the recorder, settling it down, before turning and crying softly on the door frame.

Martha couldn't help but comfort JB, even if JJ is ruining the moment and Kiara couldn't contain his social anxiety. Besides, he's her family. They only have each other. "Do you need a hug?"

John B nods, turning into the brunette's shoulder as she quickly embraces him lovingly, comforting his sobs.

➵ ➵ ➵

KIARA PLAYS HER UKULELE slowly, trying not to ruin the peaceful and quiet night after the eye-opening day. A distant thunder can be heard in the distance, locusts chirp loudly and the waves of the ocean echo through the sound barriers, surrounding them.

All of them are perched upon the wooden fence, except Martha— who happily chose to sit in between JJ's legs on a lower level. His thighs are the perfect pillow in her opinion. It's not like he doesn't mind it... at all.

"How much was it again?" JJ asks, combing his hair through Marty's silky brown hair. It was calming for both their nerves.

"Four hundred mil," Pope says, staring blankly at the floor at what he realized he just said.

A loon calls in the distance, urging JJ to continue. "All right, let's talk about the split." He shuffles a bit, startling Martha from her dazed state which she happily returns to once he's settled. "Now, before we say evenly, may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us," he shows off his gun, proudly, like it was just as special as the Merchant treasure. "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"J, you only shot a couple of times," Marty points out, her voice soft and caring. "In the sky."

"Shh, McFly you're supposed to help my case, that way we split our share." He whispers down to her, rubbing her face soothingly with his thumbs.

"Yeah, you haven't trained," Pope says matter of factory. "You've done zero training."

"Youtube, bro!" JJ shouts like it's obvious. Kiara rolls her eyes and JB just shakes his head as he swings back another sip of his beer can.

"That's at least a five percent bump right there."

"You haven't—

—"Any objections? No? Didn't think so."

"Yeah," Pope says. Kiara raises her hand and so does Marty.

"Put your hand down," JJ whispers, his face silly but his voice stern.

"Make me," she mumbles, her voice sending vibrations on his thighs while also playfully tapping his face-cheeks.

He grabs hold of her arm, putting it down on his leg but he doesn't let go. Instead, he leans down and lowly whispers in her ear, "you'd like that wouldn't you. Be a good girl, I'm tryin' to get you money."

That shuts her up real good.

Pulling away, he continues to debate on the split. "I don't hear any, so..." completely dismissing Pope's complaint.

"What are you gonna do with your 80 mil, Pope?" Kiara asks, breaking the tension and silence once and for all.

Pope looks at her longingly for a moment, before looking down and pondering about what he'll actually do. "Pay for college in advance." He nods, confirming his answer. "And, also textbooks. Those are expensive."

"What about you, Kie?" JJ asks, turning to face her.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" Pope adds.

"Donating to minority groups, the poor, animal shelters, duh." Marty joins, earning a smile from the curly-headed kook-turned pogue.

"Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues." She reveals, staring into the fire while Pope chuckles at her response. It's so different from what they expected. "You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is dead," Pope comments, earning Kiara to explain herself more.

"He's dead. I know. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die," she raises her Canada Dry can, toasting the late producer. "Whatta'bout you M?"

"Pay off my parent's debt, pay off my college tuition like Pope said, I guess donate some to charities and cancer research. I've always wanted to be an actress but I don't know. Buying my way through Hollywood seems like a drag." She rambles on, catching those who knew her best off guard by her ideals.

"Actually, I know what I'll do." JJ interrupts. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight and go full Kook." Completely shocking Martha with that answer. Become the enemy?

"You're gonna go full kook?" Pope queries, not believing his best friend one bit.

"Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself, and then I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish"—

—"I'm never visiting." Kiara laughs.

Pope turns to look at John B, who was quietly watching the conversation. "What are you gonna go, John B?"

It became silent for a moment. Everyone was eyeing John B and the only sound that could be heard was the thunder increasingly becoming louder and louder.

Only a few seconds passed but it seemed like it was an eternity for their friend to answer as if he was unsure himself. Eventually, he speaks.

"To going full Kook."

"To going full Kook," they all join in, raising their glasses for a toast. Everyone, except Marty, was excited about their new adventure. Going full kook? Why? Even after what that dick of a kook did to me?