Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"THIS IS THE NORTH DRAIN. It should've gotten washed into the gully." JJ explains. "So if it got flushed out from this drain, it would've been pushed out to, like—"
"Somewhere in this trash." Pope gestures down to a pile of plastic waste floating around in the water at their feet.
"Correct."
"Oh my God. People who use plastic should be shot." Kiara huffs in disgust.
"Okay, personally, I love plastic. Use it every day. Love the stuff." JJ pushes her buttons, just for the fun of it, while Judy begins to wade through the rubbish mound silently.
"Okay. Well, hopefully you recycle it and don't just let it flush into the ocean."
"I thought you'd say something like that, so..." Pausing, Pope retrieves a black roll from his back pocket. "Trash bags."
"Did you just proactively protect the environment?" Kie gushes, concealing a smile.
"Maybe."
Their mutual gaze lingers for several long seconds, before the blond boy can't refrain from voicing a remark.
"You want us to leave you two alone, or, what's going on?"
Pope, embarrassed, lobs the garbage bags into his friend's chest. "Just pick up the trash."
Together, the three of them sieve through the mess. But tension hangs thick in the air. Judy hasn't said a word to Kiara, and Kiara hasn't said a word to Judy. In fact, they've barely spared a glance at one another since they met up here.
It's not that Judy doesn't feel bad, she does. She took her frustration out on her, but she did fuck up their entire operation because she was angry with Ward.
Likewise, Kiara acknowledges her own stupidity. She did let her fury interfere with the task at hand last night. And the younger Routledge is right, had she not brought attention on them all — hovering on the roof recording Ward's every move — they'd probably still have the footage to secure John B's innocence.
Nevertheless, neither of them have chosen to be the bigger person and break the ice. If there was ever a time to insert the 'crickets chirping' sound effect, it would be now.
