On Top//Topper Thornton

four

The next morning we all sit in John B's backyard. Kie is playing the bongos while JJ throws rocks.

John B storms out the back door. "Look, I'm callin' it off. All right? Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

"And you believed her?" JJ asks.

"Yes, I believe her, JJ," John B replies.

"An actual cop, John B. You believed a cop," JJ states.

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out. It doesn't help that your ass was the one shooting a gun," John B argues.

"You know what I should have done? Just let Topper drown your ass," JJ says.

"Topper was gonna drown me?" John B questions.

"Sure looked like it," JJ tells him.

"Thats really funny," John B

"Have you looked in the mirror recently?" JJ remarks.

Topper packs more of a punch then I thought. He left a huge bruise on John B's cheek near his eye.

"Tell me some more. Come on," John B taunts.

"They always win, don't they, man? Kooks versus Pogues. They always, always win! Goddamn!" JJ shouts as he punches a hanging buoy.

"Look, it's okay!" I tell him.

JJ turns back to face me. "No, it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there, man," JJ points to John B, "and you know it. I know you do. And I understand why you don't wanna go." JJ looks at Pope. "You're the golden boy. You got way too much to risk." He looks at Kie and I. "And you two... I mean, you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?" JJ looks at John B. "But you and me, man, we got nothin' to lose! We really don't, all right?"

John B looks away. "JJ."

"And I know it didn't use to be that way for you," JJ says.

"I don't want to talk about this. I don't want to talk about it," John B states.

"So that's it?" JJ asks.

John B pushes past him. "Just get out of my way, bro."

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan." JJ walks over to John B. "You got the key to Cameron's big boat, right?"

John B sighs. "No."

"There's scuba gear. We borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids going into foster care, do you?" JJ argues.

John B gets the tanks and we head out into the marsh.

I inspect the tanks. "This is empty. You took empty tanks?"

"I..." John B starts. He points to me. "You didn't say they would be empty."

"I didn't know," I confess.

Kie checks the other tank. "Okay, this one's a quarter full. It's enough for one of us."

"Love it when a plan comes together," Pope remarks.

"Does anybody know how to dive?" Kie asks. We all look around at each other. "Anybody?"

"It's kind of a Kook sport," JJ states.

Kie looks at me. "There are your family's tanks."

I shrug my shoulders. "I stick to surfing on the water. Not diving under it."