chapter four / the tide is high

Even with tired limbs and paranoia prepared for takeoff in her buzzing mind, Lani Tūrei still managed to convince Ilyshah to part from her nestled position between the sheets to follow her and Sarah Cameron down the bush track to the Boneyard—where a kegger bound a truce between the Kooks and Pogues.

An air of coconut sweetness followed Ilyshah down to the sand as she adjusted the mini sunset printed sarong that sat low on her hips, and with the sweltering heat not yet died down it was enough to wear only a bikini top on the top half just in case Sarah wanted to go for their drunken dips under a twilight sky. She trailed behind Lani and Kelce, and giggled to herself as Sarah in all her glory climbed atop a rusted over red tower and looked out to the crowd below like a captain of her own vessel.

JJ Maybank came to be distracted in conversation with a bleach blonde Touron as their gazes met from afar with her fleeting soft smile, an unspoken moment that ended within mere seconds as another figure faded in from the blushing sunset—crisp linen button down intact with his sternum bare, freshly peeled skin kissed by the Italian sun until golden to a crisp, a crooked toothy grin and intense glossed over set of eyes which instantly lit up at the sight of Ilyshah.

       "Oh my god," Ilyshah whispered, before breaking into a glee filled laugh as she set off on her feet towards him. "Spence!" the moment she leapt into his arms she pirouetted in his tight, warm embrace.

                        "Surprise," Spencer Fishers muffled into her shoulder, covering her skirt with one arm to prevent it riding up by the wind.

She gasped once he dropped her back onto the sand as she fixed the lime green cap on her head and fought back a giddy smile. "How? I didn't think you were coming back for another week."

"Don't ask, I've been in the car for over a day since we got off the jet and I need a mai tai."

     Ilyshah raked her fingers through his fluffy, close to shaggy head of hair with a scrunched up nose. "You can't get haircuts in Italy?"

                    "Stai zitto," He delivered a light smack to her hand as she cackled, ruffling up his own hair meekly. "It's a new style I'm trying out."

   "You should try a mullet next," She teased, giving a playful shove to which he retaliated with the same action.

Out of all the Kook male kind on this island, Spencer Fishers was her only favourite fish in the Figure Eight sea. From the second they met on the lawn of a party, meteors dancing above them in hours of delight, she knew he was different from the others. No sleazy pickup lines, nor dull conversations about crypto or how much he benched. Not only was he the only Kook she witnessed on the beach riding an actual surfboard, what piqued her interest the most was the long drunken theoretical rant he went on about . . . the plot of Finding Nemo.

It bloomed into a bestfriendship, the kind perfect for all days hot and cold—built off Spencer being her plug for the grass she smoked as an added bonus, and Ilyshah in turn being his new sunbleached muse for any short film projects he had. Take just one scroll down her socials, and it was full of videos where she coaxed the demure rich boy into dancing with her or doing some stupid challenge. Any comments confusing them for a couple, deleted with an eye roll so far into the back of her head it nearly found a permanent home there.

   As the rest of the gang caught up to them, Spencer exchanged light cheek kisses with Sarah and Lani, nodding at Topper and Kelce who watched on with just a pinch of jealousy that he got so much female attention. He did a mental count in his head, frowning ever so slightly.

"Aren't we missing someone? Where's Rafe?"

        Kelce rubbed his palms together as the group remained silent, cocking his brows. "Your guess is as good as ours — but hey," he guided Spencer away with a pat on his shoulder, "don't worry about that bro we filled the coolers with a shit ton of mai tais."

Spencer Fishers, also known as the thorn in JJ Maybank's side. If he weren't sunning it up in Italy like he did every summer, JJ wouldn't have gotten a single word in with Ilyshah that's how knit together they were. And now that he was back, all bets were off. As JJ rose the red cup to his lips, his eyes would briefly flicker to the two of them sat on the bones of the shore, laughter filtering through the salty air as Spencer pointed his fuji camera her way.

          "Can you tell your adoring fans what you've been up to this hot girl summer?" Spencer prompted cheekily after the button had been pressed to record.

      "Oh you know, missing Fin, crying about Fin leaving me," Ilyshah sarcastically replied, pouting as if in thought. "Nothing else comes to mind, nope."

"Hey, I invited you to come with me," He dropped the camera body slightly to reveal his mockery of a frown.

She profusely nodded. "Oh, yep. That would go down a treat with my uncle fah, you're an egg," then broke out into a chuckle, covering her face with the flat of her palms as he turned the camera to face both of them side by side.

"One month I've been gone and she's already bullying me, do you see that?" Spencer asked the camera plainly, then panned to Sarah on the opposite side. "But this girl loves me, don't you?"

Sarah leaned on his shoulder with a huge grin. "Always," earning herself a deathly glare from Topper standing metres away.

The high navel sun melted into nightfall as the tide crept onto the shore packed with chattering teens, the air still leaving warm impressions on golden skin at her favourite time of the day—summer nights under a full moon in aries. Spencer lit up his Russian imported cigarettes, paper thin and dainty in his grip. Ilyshah hated whenever he smoked because her hair always soaked up the acidic tendrils that left his sunchapped lips, but she no longer said anything because he never listened.

A pool of mellow engulfed Ilyshah floating to the top of the world with each unshared drag of her joint, for one night surprisingly she didn't feel like dancing, crawling inside of herself by resting her head on Sarah's shoulder sleepily while her and Lani rambled around the fire pit dug in the sand. It was more than just the full moon looming overhead, but a deep worry that something bad was about to happen, sending currents down her arms through to her fingertips.

"Should we take you home, hm?" Sarah murmured, bopping Ilyshah on the nose bringing a wistful smile to her lips with her eyes wound shut. "You look really tired, Lysh."

Ilyshah hummed, taking Sarah's hand in hers and resting it on the soft flesh of her thigh. "'m sleepy, been riding my bike all day."

"Where to?" Sarah questioned, using her free hand to reach around and caress her temple with a feathered touch.

"Just... places. So many places."

With Sarah close to her side and Topper off to find Spencer from the circle of another group, all Ilyshah could focus on were the ribbons of heat siphoned off the pit in the sand as embers crackled off to join the stars roped into the sky. She had to otherwise her eyes would drift over to JJ gifting cups of beer to surrounding Tourons and wish the barrier between reefs would break down so she could talk to him without her cousin treating it like a greek tragedy.

Spencer swooped on her attention as he knelt down to her eye level and patted the tops of her kneecaps. "I'm gonna take you home now, okay? We'll be fine, I had my last drink an hour ago."

Through the sweat slicked bodies of teenagers with beers firm in their grip, Spencer waded his way through with Ilyshah as they followed behind Sarah and Topper. Through the thrum, a booming voice cut through demanding their attention.

"Hey, hey. Hey, Sarah!" JJ Maybank shouted, politely offering a red solo cup. "Sarah, can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?"

Sarah gave a small smile. "No, thanks."

"Come on, is it not fancy enough for you?"

"No, we were just leaving," She quickly wrapped a piece of windswept hair behind her ear before Topper cut in.

"Hey, you know what? I'll take it — I'll, thank you man. I appreciate it."

JJ pointed towards him. "Oh, that's nice for you to suggest that Topper but I didn't ask you. Now, if you said pretty please, maybe but you didn't—"

"Oh, pretty please?"

  "Yeah, hey Ilyshah! Maybe you want some?" JJ persisted, motioning the cup over to her with Spencer behind her, his jaw set in a deep frown. "Come on, have some."

Before Ilyshah could reject it, Topper flipped the cup forcefully with his hand, soaking JJ's front in the foamy liquid, "They don't want it you—" earning a rage-fuelled shove from JJ. John B advanced to hold him back, and Spencer moved forward to do the same with Topper.

"You're so funny, man!" JJ yelled as John B and Pope surrounded him.

And the one phrase that turned the entire night on its head came out in a graveled protest from Topper.

"Dirty pogues!"

Ilyshah and Spencer backed up and away from the vicinity when they noticed John B propel forward invigorated with fury, pushing Topper at the chest. It was too late for Spencer to hold him back this time as Topper launched a grunt inducing sucker punch to John B's face. If Ilyshah wasn't sharp with her wits earlier, she had certainly been awakened now with blown pupils.

Chanting of second nature now sounded over the beach like a shark alarm as the two boys engaged in all out war, tackling each other into the crashing waves, delivering strike after strike to their weak spots of flesh. Ilyshah broke free of Spencer to grab Sarah as she repeatedly bellowed at her boyfriend to stop, wails drowned out by the crowds' tenacious battle cry.

King among them, JJ who vicariously lived through John B during the entire ordeal—jeering on the two with Pope in their own choice of side comments until John B had his body slammed into the sandy bank. Head now pressed beneath the water under the merciless clutches of Topper Thornton.

"Topper!" Sarah screamed as ragged, gurgling gasps could be heard from John B. "Topper, stop! No!"

Ilyshah turned to Spencer Fishers, twisting the fabric of his shirt as she kept a comforting hold on Sarah. "Spence, do something!" fretful doe eyes expanding as he leaped slightly forward only to be kept back by Kelce. She squeezed her eyes shut only for a second, and that's all it took because once she opened them, there he was.

JJ Maybank, a gun within the grips of his right hand driven directly into Topper's scalp.

"Your move, broski."

The surrounding areas were cleared out in no time, Mother Nature's work left barren and cold. With nobody left besides the Pogues, Sarah, Ilyshah and Spencer.

"Come on, chill dude!"

"JJ! Stop! JJ put the gun down!"

                "Did you say somethin', princess?"

Topper raised quavering hands in defeat, backing away from John B. "We're good! We're good!"

"Put the gun down, JJ!" Ilyshah shouted, garnering his attention to her expression etched with pure fear, as if her mere presence acted like a magnet eroded the weight of the gun away from Topper's head.

"Kie! Can you check your psycho friend, please?"

     "Okay everyone, listen up!" JJ screamed at the top of his lungs, pointing the gun skywards. "Get the hell off our side of the island!" firing off two shots above his head with gritted teeth as more of the crowd bolted off accompanied by screams.

      "Lysh! Lysh, we're getting the fuck out of here — let's go," Spencer hastily grabbed her by the waist as she gasped from the whiplash and hauled her off without a second thought, Topper and Sarah running fast behind.

The flight from the beach to Spencer's range rover parked up the bush trail left no time for Ilyshah to piece together what just happened. Her heart thumped out of her chest she thought it would rip at the chords, and a cold knot tightened in her stomach as a splash soaked Topper clambered into the vehicle with Sarah Cameron disheveled, ready to fall apart at the seams. They didn't even have time to buckle up before Spencer sped off into the night.

   "What the heck just happened?" Ilyshah inhaled quickly, clutching at her chest as it rapidly rose and fell.

"Hey, hey," Spencer whispered, soothing her with his free right hand in her lap. "You're okay."

        "Yeah Ilyshah, you're not the one who had a fucking gun pointed at your head," Topper spat bitterly.

    "Topper, don't talk to her that way," Sarah scolded, head vibrating against the side of the window with pearled tears rolling down her already salt pinched cheeks.

   "No, that was some serious bullshit, Sarah!" He protested, kicking the back of Ilyshah's front seat out of frustration as she gripped Spencer's hand tighter with her eyes closed.

    "Take it easy on my ma's car, Top!" Spencer argued, then took a deep breath as he briefly checked the rear vision mirror. "Sarah, you okay?"

   Ilyshah turned halfway when Spencer's question had been met with silence, letting out a sullen murmur. "Sarah."

       "I'm fine," She mumbled, knees pulled up to her chin as she tried to keep as much distance between her and Topper as possible. "I just wanna go home."

  "Alright, I'm taking you home first Top, then Sarah."

In their post mortem of the boneyard party, Ilyshah and Spencer did what they do best—talk shit as they munched on late night snacks of cereal. There was no filter for her penny thoughts in her adrenaline fuelled state as she paced laps around her bedroom while Spencer watched on from the edge of her bed, bemusement tugging on his lips as he shoved back a handful of frosted flakes.

"That was crazy. I mean John B and Topper were just going at it y'know. Then he tried to drown him!"

"I know, I know."

"—and JJ pulled out that gun! I mean, just like that... no biggie," she continued her winding ramble as her hands flailed around, "because this is America and all, fah I can't believe I texted him too — oh and sarah, jeez I hope she's okay Topper is such a—"

"Wait, wait! Hold up, what did you just say?"

"I said I hope Sarah's okay—"

"No before that, you were texting JJ?"

She faced her back to him with wide eyes as she walked in her closet. "I said that? Must've... mistaken him for another guy starting with J."

"That's almost convincing," he deadpanned, then dropped his hands into his lap and gave a short lived cackle. "When were you going to tell me? I mean out of all the guys on the island, you text JJ?"

She frowned deeply as she discarded the night from her body and slipped on a Bob Marley tee. "Do I smell..." she comically sniffed, "jealousy?" then giggled at Spencer's bored expression. "C'mon, don't be a sad guy ow — what? Is it because he's a Pogue?"

"Or maybe because no less than 20 minutes ago he had a gun to Topper's head."

"Looked like Topper was asking for it to me," she mumbled as she seized a wipe from her bathroom vanity, removing any traces of makeup that weren't melted from the sun and sea sprayed air. "Not like it matters, I won't be texting him when the cell towers are back up."

Spencer's hand joined hers in the cereal box as she plopped down in front of him. "Tell me, what attracted you in the first place? He's the only guy you gave the time of day besides me."

"That's because you annoyed your way into my life," she mumbled through her chews, then swatted his hand as he pulled out a cigarette pack, "not in here."

He impatiently sighed as he tucked the packet back into his shorts. "Missed you too, Lysh."

Uncle Kahu rapped on the half-open door before he swung it open the rest of the way. "Alright bro, time to go. Curfew's been reinstated."

"Ciao," Ilyshah tauntingly waved with a smug smile as he scoffed in response.

"You're not getting out of telling me," he pointed at her as he backed out of the room, then sent a smile Uncle Kahu's way with a respectful pat on the shoulder. "Ciao undool."

Uncle Kahu cocked a single eyebrow at Ilyshah after he left. "Get out of telling him what?"

All Ilyshah could respond with was an eye roll, burying her face into the soft, silkened pillow under her where she buried all her secrets and locked them in a tomb.

"Alright, don't tell me then. But you know I'll find out."

       There wasn't much that happened in the Outerbanks that Uncle Kahu didn't eventually find out about, and with Sheriff Peterkin's visit to their house that next morning—his employee's mishap was now out like the headline of the Kildare Chronicle.

Ilyshah followed behind Uncle Kahu's long strides on the way to the docked Paikea where JJ was working, an intervention on the horizons about the gunfire at The Point.

"Undool, undool wait!" she called out and raised a flat palm as she caught her breath. "Woah, okay didn't think I'd catch up that quick — look, undool it was all a misunderstanding. He was just saving his friend."

"You were there?" He barked loudly making her jump slightly. "You and your cousin lied to me about going to Sarah's, I should ground the both of you."

    She gave a loud sigh as she ran a hand over her haor. "Okay we... misrepresented the truth a bit but I'm telling you the truth now. His friend was being drowned, you'd defend your friend from that wouldn't you?"

"Ilyshah," he shut his eyes to gather himself as he held out a firm hand. "Go back inside, we'll talk later."

She spent the past twenty minutes fiddling her thumbs at the end of the dock, gnawing on the exposed film of her bottom lip. JJ Maybank hopped off the stern onto the wooden planks, defeat written across his face. He wasn't fired, only given a talking  by Kahu who bestowed pity upon the boy, knowing what his father was like. But he didn't need or want pity from anyone. Anger pumped through his saltwater veins, and he didn't want Ilyshah to see him this way but she left him with no choice as she stepped into the firing line, safety off.

Her head swiveled around hastily when she heard his footsteps, sliding off the railing was perched upon. "Hey," she murmured nervously, "did... my uncle fire you?"

"Nah," He bluntly responded, detached from the conversation with hands stuffed into his pockets. "No, he uh... let me off with a warning."

She gave a soft sigh of relief, eyes darting to avoid his. "Good to know he listens to me then."

"What are you talking about?"

"I told him I was there — that it was a misunderstanding and—" She trailed off, furrowing her eyebrows when he bared his teeth and let out a huff of amusement.

"I don't need some Kook savior, okay?" He spread his arms out in protest, grasping onto the back of his red baseball cap. "I really don't."

She nodded slowly, taken aback by the sudden hostility. "Okay... noted. Next time I'll just let you get fired then?"

"Why did you even say anything? Why do you care if I get fired?" He snapped at her with a shrug, but deep down he just wanted her to admit the truth he has been wanting to hear ever since they exchanged numbers.

"I figured you wouldn't want to lose your job over some stupid mistake," she narrowed her eyes. "I thought we were friends..."

Friends. The very last word he wanted to ever leave her mouth. Did it all mean nothing to her? The unmistakable, unabashed flirting. Was he only an intermission while Spencer Fishers had been away?

"Thanks a lot for your help friend, I appreciate it," he nodded once, jaw clenched as he paced away from the dock, away from her.

       Ilyshah Tūrei parted her lips, eyes fixed on the back of his pelican marina shirt as it disappeared into the bayside, seagulls cawing overhead with the dimming sun.

       "Dickhead," she muttered under her breath, shaking her head as she boarded the Paikea.

Whale Rider ━━ JJ Maybank
Chapter Four, The Tide is High
Outerbanks S1 ━━ Ep. 1 Pilot CONT.