unspoken thing » jj maybank

06

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Emelina scrunched her nose in disgust as she watched JJ put peanut butter on moldy bread. She felt bad almost, that he's hungry enough to consume that. After hanging around with them the last couple of days, she's starting to realize how privileged she is and she couldn't help but feel guilty that she doesn't get to struggle but her friends do.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago." Pope reminded him, but JJ continued to place the spread on the bread. "I'll just pull off the bad parts. Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism." he replied.

"JJ," Kiara called him over, and he ran over to the rest of the group since they were waiting on him. "Yup, yup, yup. Hot damn! Let's do it."

With the help of a lantern and some scattered lit-up candles, John B stared at the white package that Emelina found. They were all anxious to see what could be in there that his dad had left him. John B opened it.

"Mmm..." JJ started to gag as soon as he took a bite of his peanut butter sandwich. Emelina couldn't help but stifle out a laugh and he spat out his chewed-up bread, throwing it away. "Disgusting..." she mumbled quietly.

John B pulled out a folded-up piece of paper and started to unravel it. Emelina got up from her seat and leaned over his chair to take a view of the printed paper, "It's a map?"

The map consisted of written coordinates, some arrows pointing to land, and other drawings that help conclude what John B's father was exactly looking for. "Oh," Pope pointed his finger on the paper. "X marks the spot."

John B started to trace his finger across the map, "Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's something else in there." He pulled out a tape recorder from the package.

"What's that?" JJ asked, and Kiara scoffed, "It's a tape recorder, dumbass."

John B pressed play, and an unfamiliar male voice rang through Emelina's ears as she started to listen. "Dear, Bird."

"Who's Bird?" Emelina asked, remembering what the package also had written on it. "That's what my dad called me." John B answered, stunned.

"I hate to say, 'I told you so,' but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either."

Everyone locked eyes with one another but continued to listen on. "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... And hopefully, we're listening to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, living off passive investments and pulling on permits. If not, and you find this for less optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for... There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If something 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 see you on the other side."