¥showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks¥
In which Jackie Routledge and her group of friends from the south side of Outer Banks try to have the summer of their lives, but end up it being filled with mystery, tragedy, risks, adventure...
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{Road Trip}
As we pile into the van, JJ fires up the engine and drives us out of the school parking lot, heading towards Figure 8. "Do you want me to come in with you?" I ask, glancing at Kie. She shakes her head. "No, I'll only be a minute," she says, stepping out of the van and heading toward her house.
"I can't believe we're actually going to Charleston," I say, leaning back in the passenger seat. JJ gives me a smile, his eyes briefly flicking over to me. "What?" I ask, noticing his stare. "You're beautiful," he tells me, making my cheeks turn pink. Pope groans from the back seat. "That's disgusting," he mutters, and JJ and I burst out laughing. "Don't be jealous, Pope," JJ teases before planting a kiss on my cheek.
"Stop it!" A voice yells, and I turn to see Kie standing on the porch, her parents yelling at her. "Should we go help her?" Pope asks, but I shake my head. "She'll be fine."
"How'd you get this rig?" JJ asks, eyeing Pope. "I undid the intake valves on the carburetor. Made it start pinging," Pope responds. "And now you're just gonna crash it at your cousin Jeff's house, get it fixed?" JJ shrugs. "Crash overnight," they both say in unison, and I laugh.
"I think I'm rubbing off on you, Pope," JJ says. "Lying to your old man, stealing his truck... sounds familiar." I sigh as Pope looks over at JJ.
"Alright, that's a sore subject. My bad," JJ adds. "I'd say we have about 18 hours before your dad totally loses it," Pope says. "As long as we get it back before then, we're good," he adds, and JJ nods in agreement. The conversation quiets as we all focus on Kie, who's still getting an earful from her parents.
Kie storms toward the truck, and JJ, Pope, and I pop our heads out of the windows to get a better view. "It's good to see y'all, Mr. and Mrs. Carrera," JJ greets them with a small wave. "Hi, uh, ma'am, sir... I promise we'll have her back at a reasonable hour and safe," Pope stammers.
"What are you doing?" Kie asks him.
"Kiara, listen to me. You want to go, then you can go. But if you don't come back at the proper time, don't bother coming back at all!" Anna, Kie's mom, warns. Kie looks shocked. "She's bluffing," JJ whispers, and I glare at him.
"You all have a good day," JJ waves at her parents as Kie climbs into the van. Pope backs the car up, and we start to drive away. "This would be so much easier without parents," Kie mutters, and a frown crosses my face as I think about my father. "Don't say that, Kie," I say, crossing my arms as I look out the window.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," she apologizes. "It's just... my parents are so worried about me being a Pogue, they're going to send me to boarding school."
