I honestly felt bad for the guy, but I couldn't lie when I said that the look on his face at that precise moment was absolutely priceless. Pope straightened.
"Think that's my cue to go." I spotted John B eyeing us, his face full of envy. He practically danced when Pope reached to take the wheel, and turned to us.
"JJ, how did you forget her name? It's been ten minutes." JJ cleared his throat, and threw all of his efforts into changing the subject.
"Wanna see a party trick?" Everyone around me groaned as JJ approached the prow of the boat.
"Hey, Pope. Can you go a little faster?" Pope sighed and slumped against the wheel in defeat.
"Oh god, here we go. I'm moving." John B shook his head after JJ. "Doesn't work. We've tried this like 6,000 times." JJ was obviously unfazed.
"I got this. It's gonna work!" He stood up on the prow and tipped his beer bottle towards his mouth, spraying liquid into the air as the boat gained speed.
"You're getting beer in my hair!" Kie glowered at him. JJ straightened, and at that moment, it seemed to hit everyone what exactly he was doing.
"All right. All right!" they all coursed. I stared at JJ, having no clue what he was trying to do here, but just knowing it couldn't be good. I joined in with the 'all rights'.
"You're done," John B told him, but JJ simply grinned. I stared down at the waves, foam forming on their tops due to the sheer speed at which we were cutting through the water. I felt anxiety coil in my stomach, but tried not to let it show on my face. My eyes flicked back to JJ, who stood, continuing to casually aim the spray of beer towards his open mouth.
"All right, stop!" Pope yelled over the roar of the small boat's motor. And then the whole boat lurched violently. I heard someone scream as I was thrown across the deck like someone had decided to fire me out of a cannon. I barely managed to grab one of the railings in time to stop myself from flying overboard. I crashed back onto the deck and winced as a stab of pain sliced up from my right shoulder. I sat up and checked myself over thoroughly to make sure my bones weren't separated in more ways than they should be. I glanced up. The boat's engine sputtered. The cooler lay on its side, bottles spilling out of it and ice scattered across the deck. My eyes widened, but I was relieved to see the others all still alive, looking as shocked and dazed as I felt. As I struggled to pull myself together, I realised there was something missing. I glanced over the people on the boat - Pope blinking rapidly as he tried to regain his wits, Kie groaning as she sat up off to my left, and John B wincing as he pulled himself to his feet. Then I dragged myself upright and hurried to look over the edge of the boat. The clear blue water rippled in agitation from where it had been disturbed by our little escapade, and the thing clearly not helping was JJ, who lay on his back a metre or two away from the boat, looking stunned. I gave him a concerned look.
"Are you ok?" He winced.
"I think my heels touched the back of my head." I shuddered at the thought.
"Well, at least you're not dead," I remarked slowly, the look JJ threw my way, just exacerbating the fact that this was a horrible time to try for irony. I heard the others behind me omit moans of protest. I flicked my eyes back to JJ and witnessed him slowly dog-paddle over and clamber onto the boat.
"Pope, what did you do?" he groaned. Pope crossed to the stern and looked off by the outboard.
"Sandbar. The channel changed."
"No shit."
I turned to face the boat's interior and noticed that the outboard by Pope had been wrenched upwards. Wow. This sandbar must be something.
"Hey, I saved the beer, though."
"Congrats, JJ," John B muttered, sarcasm dripping from his words. I heard some shuffling behind me, and then a pause. When JJ spoke again, his tone had shifted slightly, but his words immediately grabbed my attention.
"Guys... I think there's a boat down there." I turned to see him pointing straight into the water. John B gave JJ a frown.
"Shut up. What?" Kie echoed his disbelief, but JJ didn't back down.
"No, no, guys. I'm serious. There's a boat down there." I would have thought he was joking, but for the half hour I had known him, I had never seen JJ so serious. Something told me this was no joke. I approached him cautiously, unsure if I was falling right into his trap. What I saw caused me to inhale sharply. The others crowded round, clearly realising from my reaction that JJ wasn't kidding. John B shook his head at the sight that met his eyes. Pope blinked.
"Holy shit, he's right," Kie stared. Below us deep in the water, the shadow of something large was clearly visible. I blinked, unable to believe my own eyes. Could that really be a boat? What had happened here? The rush of confused questions flooding my thoughts came to an unexpected halt when an eager grin lit up Kie's face.
"Let's go." I stared at her for a second, and she quickly stripped off her shirt and shorts to reveal a dark bikini. My eyes slowly widened.
"You're serious?" She met my gaze, the determined glint in her eyes challenging my uncertainty.
"Why not?" I shrugged, not wanting to look like I was some scaredycat, especially not to this girl.
"I dunno. What if there's a dead body down there?" Kie didn't offer an answer, she just grinned. The boys all leaned towards the edge of the boat, and I realised they really were planning to dive into the water like we were at a pool party. I hesitated behind them, not knowing what to do. I didn't have a swimsuit or anything on underneath my clothes, and my outfit wasn't exactly fit for getting drenched in sea water. My eyes darted from the four teens readying to jump to the dark shape amerced in the depths of the sea. I yearned to see what was hidden within that still shadow, yet everything seemed to be holding me back. Finally, Pope noticed my hesitation.
"You coming?" I shifted from foot to foot, not wanting to decline the offer outright, because besides the fact that I would look like a wimp, my curiosity was so strong I could almost taste it. John B glanced back at Pope's words and took in my clearly-not-fit-for-jumping-into-water appearance. I saw his eyes narrow, and though I agreed with what he said next, my heart still sank.
"You could stay and watch the boat: in case we get stuck down there. We do need someone available to call the coast-guards." I nodded, every single muscle in my body aching to scream no and join in the adventure as I witnessed the group dive into the water like they were built for this. I watched their shapes sink below the surface. I paced back and forth on the boat, frustration boiling inside me. I eyed the water, common sense the only fragile barrier between me and that boat. My mind turned to what could be concealed inside. Maybe nothing - or maybe some long-lost buried treasure gathered together by a blood-thirsty pirate 500 years ago and destined to fall into our hands...
I shook my head, telling myself these wild notions only actually existed in movies. The most they would find would probably end up being that dead body I had talked about. I shivered at the thought.
I realised I had taken my eyes off the teens while my thoughts had wandered, and I quickly glanced back down in time to see one of the figures finish swimming the length of the shadowy construction and then turn towards the surface. Of course, I had missed all of the action. I cursed myself under my breath as the teens all resurfaced, spluttering and gasping for breath.
"Well?" I blurted out, unable to keep the impatience out of my voice. John B was the first to look at me, before staring at the others with a look of awe mixed with excitement. The group traded looks, before the boys all laughed, incredulity clear in their expressions. Finally, someone bothered to answer my question.
"It's a Grady-White. A new one of those is like 500 Gs, easy." I blinked at them.
"So it's a boat?" They all nodded.
"Primo rig."
"Yeah. That's the boat I saw when I surfed the surge." I was brought up short, and my eyes landed on John B, his hair just as soaked as when I had first set eyes on him.
"You what?" He shrugged as Kie gave him an equally astounded frown.
"Anyway, maybe the boat hit the jetty or something." The four floundered over to the boat and clambered on, dripping water all over the deck. I backed away, my resolve to not get drenched still fresh on my mind.
"Do we know whose boat that is?" Pope questioned the others.
"No, but we're about to find out." JJ shook his head at John B.
"Dude, it's too deep."
"Oh, for the weak and feeble, JJ." John B stared down into the water.
"Well, I'm not resuscitating you. I'm just making that clear up front." JJ shrugged. John B crossed to the prow and reached down to grab something. Gripping it in both hands, he pulled upwards, and I saw he held a rusty chain in his hands. That chain was connected to the anchor, which rose slowly out of the water. John B dragged it to the surface, before climbing over the railing.
"Diver down, fool," Pope muttered. John B paused, and sighed.
"Diver down."
"Uh, don't drown," I told him, before he fell backwards off the boat, the anchor chain still held firmly in his hands. We all watched him sink below the surface, and I felt trepidation mingle with my curiosity. I swear if I was going to witness the guy who had been leading me through the streets of this island less than an hour ago drown on the spot, I would... well, I don't know what I'd do. Probably freak out. We all subconsciously gathered at the prow, gazing into the water, which had become ominously still. I firmly hoped that that was not a premonition. After several seconds of awkward silence, I heard Kie grind her teeth.
"What's taking him so long?"
"Relax. He's been down there for less than a minute," JJ proclaimed, though he kept his gaze fixed on the water. Adrenaline was running through my veins, making it almost impossible to stand in one place. I picked at my nails.
"A person can hold their breath for two minutes before, like, dying, right?"
"Safely and for someone inexperienced, yeah." Pope sighed. "Why did I let him do it?" Yeah, great question. I was contemplating similar questions, though mine stretched back way further than this boat. Why hadn't I put on a swimsuit - did I even have a swimsuit? Why hadn't I bought a swimsuit? Minutes seemed to stretch into hours, my eyes straining to see what was going on down there.
"Should we go get him?" Pope questioned, worry written all over his tensed features. Before anyone could prepare an answer, John B's head broke the calm water. Relief showed on the faces of his friends as he coughed. Kie and JJ leaned over and both gripped him by the arms, before hoisting him into the boat. This time I wasn't fast enough, and I was hit with the aftermaths of the wave of water that came with John B. I winced and tried my best to ring out my sleeves. Then I focused my gaze on John B.
"Any dead bodies?" Pope enquired, an eager glint in his dark gaze.
"Looting potential?" JJ added.
"No. No." He paused to catch his breath, before holding up a small object.
"I found this motel key." I eyed the key like a hungry hyena, resisting the urge to reach for it in order to examine it more closely.
"A key?"
"Yes, a key, Pope," John B wiped a hand over his forehead.
"More information." I felt my lips lift into a smile. I felt like a detective on the hunt for clues. By the sparkle in the others eyes, the excitement wasn't missed on them.
"Guys, we should report the wreck to the coast guard. Maybe we'll get a finder's fee." I glanced at Kie, surprised she was the one making the suggestion. John B shrugged in agreement. I couldn't help my own heart sinking. Of course I didn't want us to get mixed up in some random person's death, but we had found this boat. It was only fair that we got to do a bit of investigating before calling in the guards.
Pope went to start the engine. John B pulled the anchor up, and the boat rocked into motion. I winced as we took off, feeling a slight nausea come over me. Looking down at the rolling deck only heightened the feeling, so I resorted to closing my eyes, my hands clasped around the starboard railing.
"Are you ok?" I glanced up to see John B observing me. I nodded.
"I may suffer from sea sickness." He made a face.
"Should've told me that before I invited you out here." I slumped against the railing.
"Hey, I didn't know."
"You never been on a boat before?" I hesitated, not wanting to look like some person who never touched grass.
"I... I'm from the middle of Pennsylvania. Beaches weren't exactly a daily occurrence." I couldn't explain the relief that washed over me when he didn't press the matter. I closed my eyes again, my senses overtaken by the constant thrum of the engine vibrating through the railing. For once everyone left me alone, and I was somewhat glad for the solitude, not that I didn't enjoy their company. It was nice to have people to talk to, even if all we did was throw really bad jokes back and forth until someone gave up. But after a few minutes, I decided I needed to say something about the thoughts circulating through my mind like a group of annoyingly persistent flies. I straightened and approached John B, who stood gazing idly off into the distance, fiddling with the bandanna still tied around his neck.
"Hey, uh, are you just planning to hand in all the evidence?" He started, and glanced at me. I gave him an apologetic look.
"Huh? Oh, not sure. Why?" I shifted my feet.
"I don't know. I just... I just kinda think it'd be a good idea to check this out." I noticed his brows arch slightly, and I quickly met his inquisitive gaze. "I don't mean we should excavate the boat or something, just..." My mind scrambled around for the right words, the problem was there wasn't really any way I could say this without sounding like I wanted to be really nosy. John B's laughter filled the silence.
"You want to snoop?" I felt my face redden.
"Not really." He smiled.
"I see what you mean." He leaned back against the railing, the wind playing with his wild hair as his brow furrowed in thought. I felt hope blossom in me when he straightened, though it battled with my nerves.
"I won't hand in the key. We'll just report the boat, and that's it." I met his serene brown gaze again, and felt a grin slowly spread across my face.
"Nice." At that precise moment like it was trying to ruin everything, I felt something buzz inside my pocket. I jumped, and reached into my sweater, pulling out my old scratched up phone. My eyes widened at what I saw on the screen.
"Shit," I hissed under my breath.
"What?" John B blinked. I gave him a pained look, feeling dismay flow over me like an inexorable wave of all that could have been.
"I, I'll have to get off at the island. I never told anyone I'd be here." John B gave me an understanding nod, before waving at Pope.
"Stop by The Cut, would you?" He glanced up, casting John B a questioning look. John B motioned at me.
"Karlie's gotta go back to her place." I winced as Pope signalled his acknowledgement.
"Sorry." John B shook his head.
"Trust me, no-one wants furious parents - I'm guessing this is about your parents?" I nodded. I scowled down at the phone in my hand, my mother's message still highlighted on the screen. I eyed the perfect lettering and wished that for once, I could run off and do what I wanted without having to plead for permission. And there was no freaking way she would ever agree to let me do what I had requested John B do. There was no way I was abandoning this chance. I would have to lie, or at least sneak out. The thought made me feel like I was betraying someone, but I pushed this feeling back. It was fine. It would only be for an hour or two. I let out a long sigh. No matter what I decided to do, for now, I was going to have to let these guys do all the fun stuff.
I was feeling a good bit better by the time Pope pulled up at the dock, and I hoped that meant my body was accustoming to the boat. I thanked John B sincerely for letting me come.
"Tell me how it goes." I tried saying it lightheartedly, but the slight sympathy in John B's expression told me I'd failed.
"Sure. Where can we find you?" I glanced around, realising that was a good question. I bit my lip. JJ gestured at the phone I was still holding for some reason.
"What's your number?" My eyes sparked, and I quickly recited my number while John B scribbled it down on the inside of his wrist using a pen JJ threw at him that he barely caught. I went to clamber off the boat.
"Seeya!" JJ called. I gave him a half-smile, before waving at the group. The engine revved, and then the small boat was moving swiftly away from the shore. I watched it until it was a tiny dot in the distance. As I turned towards what I was now forced to consider home, one question kept plaguing me, causing me to cast frequent glances over my shoulder, as if I expected another random teenager to run up and start introducing themselves. Because what on the actual earth had just happened?
