Paradise Falls ||JJ Maybank||

[1] Paradise On Earth

Paradise on earth. That's what we pogues thought about the outer banks. There was nothing that could beat waking up on a Saturday morning to the glow of the sunrise shining through your window, along with the gentle sound of the waves screaming your name to come out.

That's how I started off my morning. Coming from my home, my parents didn't really care too much about what I did, as long as I didn't get into too much trouble.

I'm smart when I want to be, but that doesn't happen often.

My days are spent mainly with my friends out on the streets causing trouble.

There's JJ who'd steal anything he could get his hands on that had some sort of value, John B who encourages him most of the time, and then Pope and Kiara who try their best to stay out of it.

Pope, poor boy, is always a nervous wreck. Coming from a poor family like everyone who lives on the Cut does, Pope relies on earning a scholarship to be able to go to college.

My mother encouraged me to spend time with the smart boy, wanting his knowledge to sort of rub off on me. That didn't work.

Instead, the two of us spent so much time together, we had to take a day to not see each other.

Out of everyone in the group, my parents easily dislike JJ the most. John B is next in line, but he gets pity points for his father's disappearance. As for Kiara, they're iffy about her because she was raised as a kook and decided to go pogue. My parents would be lying if they said they weren't intimidated by Mr. and Mrs. Carrera.

Going to the beach I'll be back later... Don't miss me too much- Veronica

I left my parents a note on the kitchen counter, making sure to put it next to the daily newspaper so it was almost guaranteed to be seen there. Then, after changing into a bikini top and a pair of shorts, I was off.

Although my family is extremely poor, I worked my ass off during the school year so that I could afford a car. It's absolutely not anything special, but it at least smells better than John B's car—'the Twinkie'.

My car is a red 2006 Nissan Xterra. My friends like to call her "squeaky" because for some reason, the brakes make a loud squeaking noise whenever they're pressed. JJ had a look at it, since he's the most mechanical out of the group, and he said there was nothing wrong with the brakes.

but, that could also just be because he thinks the sound is funny.

I tied down my board to the rack on top of the car, then hopped right into the driver's seat. As I drove and listened to the morning talk show that played on the radio, I learned of the storm that'd be hitting the outer banks within the next 48 hours. I wonder if my friends knew about that, because I sure as hell didn't.

Switching the radio station to something I was actually interested in, I caught the beginning of one of my favorite songs.

"But I Stiiiiiiill haven't fouuuund what im lookin' fooooor" I sang along, turning the volume up to a louder setting.

Just to be a jerk, I made sure it was as loud as possible as I drove past John B's house — 'the chateau', and beeped my horn. I wasn't going to stop, I just wanted to see if I'd get the blame later.

I parked about a block away from the beach once I arrived. To my surprise, there were a good amount of people there at the early hours of the morning, so parking was limited. Plus, I didn't want to risk someone scratching up squeaky with their car doors and nasty children.

As I got out of my car and unstrapped my board, I figured I may as well leave my shorts in the car with the rest of my valuables instead of risking them getting stolen while I was in the water; So that's what I did.