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꧁ － － － － － － ✧ － － － － － － ꧂
𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 — 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠
POPE DROVE HIS father's truck onto the ferry that would get the Pogues to the mainland. JJ sat on the top of the truck, Kie balanced on the edge. Leilani sat in the truckbed across from Kie, Scout's head in her lap and Pope stood outside of the vehicle, close to Leilani. Kiara had been ranting for a while, but Leilani wasn't really listening. "My parents are so paranoid of me being a Pogue, like it's the worst thing that could ever happen."
"Hey, I hear they got good weed at boarding school, though." JJ rolled a joint.
"I'm not going to boarding school. They're gonna have to kidnap me, tie me up and throw me in a van." Kie said as Pope read over the letter he had recieved.
"Rachel threatened to send me to a wilderness camp last week." Leilani said quietly, petting her dog's golden fur, trying to ignore the shaking of her hands.
"Do you think she would?" Kiara asked, looking down at her friend, a clear divide between them.
Leilani nodded. "She doesn't have to listen to my dad anymore. In a few days, she can do whatever she wants." her shark tooth necklace wound up in her mouth, which JJ related to the clear stress she was feeling.
The blonde finished with his joint, sliding down until his feet hit the truckbed. "Well, I say... we just crumble some herb right now." he handed the joint to Kie and sat down perpendicular to his girlfriend.
"Hey, Kie, have you tried to hit John B back on that number yet?" Pope asked, trying to refocus the conversation on what really mattered.
"Like, twenty million times." Kie responded, the breeze blowing her hair around.
"That's quite a few times." JJ chuckled, pulling his hat backwards onto his head, glancing at Leilani, who was focusing on the bottom of the truck bed to keep herself grounded.
"Some random lady at a hotel keeps answering." Kie explained.
Pope sighed. "Well, until we hear from them again, we gotta try and clear his name. Right now, this letter's our best bet." he said.
Leilani reached behind her and took the letter, deciding to give it another deep analysis. "Right. Stay on task. That's why I love you, Pope." JJ nodded.
Kie stood up and Leilani moved away so she didn't get stepped on. She offered the joint to Pope. "What Pope are you gonna be today?"
It didn't take long at all for Pope to make his decision. "I'm good. I'm gonna try to focus." Leilani smiled to herself at her best friend standing his ground.
