XLI. A Simple Life
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
SIMPLE LIFE — JAKE MILLER
So can we find a private island
Fall in love in peacе and quiet
Just you and I
THERE WAS A research paper Stella once read about cognitive dissonance. The theory states that when a person's behaviour is inconsistent with their beliefs, they'll experience psychological tension. This tension will then motivate them to change their attitude to better align with said beliefs. No more discrepancies, no more tension, no more uncomfortable feelings.
It was safe to say that Stella was experiencing a considerable amount of dissonance right now.
All her life, she had taken great pride in knowing who she was. Her character was sound and she was secure in the little reputation the people of Kildare had carved out for her. She was a loyal friend, a caring daughter, and an insatiable learner. She loved superhero movies and catchy pop songs. She feared being forgotten and hated heights. She loved with her entire heart and helping people was something she was born to do. Stella Marx knew who she was. Above all, she believed in herself—or at least she used to.
With Ricky's words echoing in her mind and her mother's clear look of disappointment burned into her memory, Stella wasn't sure who she was anymore. All she knew was that she wanted two things: to help her friends and chase her dreams. Lately, doing both seemed like an impossible task. The balancing game she played was getting harder to manage as the days passed and at every turn, it felt like she was sacrificing one for the other. She hadn't realized it until her argument with her mother.
Her mom was right, Stella wasn't acting like herself and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. This psychological tension was a parasite latching onto her, so she was forced to make a change. No more tension, no more discomfort. She was going to help her friends, but after that, she was done. She wanted out. Once they find the cross and get the gold, she was going to find out who the new Stella was. She was going to incorporate the new her with the old, and hopefully the result was a girl who put her goals first, a girl with ambition and fire in her eyes, a girl who didn't risk everything she had to chase lost treasure.
She was the first to spot JJ and John B as she followed her friends through the wharf. At the sight of her favourite person, she could feel the anxiety in her chest fade away and a wave of ease washed over her. Sneaking up behind him, she shook his shoulders with a grin. "Boo!"
He turned with his pocket knife clutched in his hand, only sighing in relief when he saw who it was. "I was about to stab your eyes out," he said, gaze softening as he looked at his girlfriend. He pulled her in by the waist to kiss her cheek.
"You looked scared as shit," Kie chuckled, joining the couple. She gave the blond a teasing smile.
JJ rolled his eyes. "How'd you guys even find us?"
"Stella geo-located your phone."
"Smart." He nodded in approval before nudging the golden girl's arm. "How'd it go with your mom, Sunbaby?"
Stella grimaced at the memory. "She gave me the 'I'm not mad, I'm disappointed' speech," she replied with a shrug. "I'm grounded for a week, though she'll probably change it to an eternity once she realizes I snuck out."
His lips pulled into a smirk as he looked down at her. "Naughty girl."
Behind him, John B stood up and turned to face her. "Aw, man," he whined, coming to a realization of his own. "If you're grounded, does that mean I'm grounded too?"
JJ nodded and patted his shoulder. "Definitely, dude. What about you, Kie?"
Kie shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Threatened with exile." Her words didn't incite much of a reaction since her friends were used to her rocky relationship with her parents.
The blond turned to Pope next. "Whoa," he said, stepping closer to get a better look at the bruises on his face. "You okay? What happened?"
Pope pushed his arm away and stepped around him. "Rafe, round three," he replied, peering around the corner of a shipping container.
"You freaking kidding me? Again?"
"This was a tie." He turned back to face his friends and nodded towards the men who were loading the nearby cargo ship. "Is that the cross?"
The five Pogues peered around the shipping container and watched as a group of crew workers argued about the weight of a wooden crate.
"Yeah, and they're holding Sarah hostage."
Stella and Kie turned to John B with wide eyes. "What? How did that happen?"
The latter of the pair returned her attention to the ship with her eyes narrowed in determination. "We have to get on that boat."
There was a silent agreement that rippled through the group. The feeling of dread overcame them once they realized the severity of the situation, and the task of saving their friend became just as important as finding the cross.
Stella watched as Pope stepped back and pulled a gun from his waistband. "What're you doing?" She questioned slowly.
"We need a distraction and I have an idea. Just trust me." He barely glanced at her before running off. Moments later, a gunshot rang out followed by the loud bang of an explosion. The Pogues shared a cautious look as Pope ran back to join them. "It's working," he said, watching as the nearby crew scrambled to put out the fire he had caused. "Look. That container's going on the ship. We can get in that way."
John B smiled. "You're a genius." He started in the direction Pope pointed out and beckoned his friends over. When he arrived at the last shipping container, he checked to see if the coast was clear then pulled open the doors.
JJ followed his friends as they crowded around the steel box, but stopped before entering. "Wait. Did you think this through?"
"Yes." Pope nodded. "This is the plan."
"That's a trap right there. We can't get out once we get in!"
"I know!"
Stella rolled her eyes. "We don't need a plan," she called. The boys looked over at her with raised brows and she stepped closer to them. "Every time we make a plan, it either backfires or goes to shit, so we might as well just wing it."
Her friends gave her blank stares, the ghost of judgement swimming in their eyes.
"What?" Stella defended, her voice raising an octave. "Why are you looking at me like I'm wrong? I'm right and you know it!"
Pope let out an exasperated sigh. "You guys don't have to come." He nudged John B's arm. "This is our fight."
John B nodded. "Right."
The two boys pushed past Stella and settled into the shipping container, leaving the other three to share a hesitant look.
JJ shrugged. "Nothing to lose?"
"Nothing to lose," Kie nodded.
The pair climbed into the container and turned to Stella. She stared at their outstretched hands and shrugged. "I actually have a lot to lose if this thing goes sideways."
Her summer program. Her future. Her mom. Her friends. JJ.
They didn't know what was waiting for them on that cargo ship. They could get hurt. They could be killed. Either way, getting the cross and saving Sarah wasn't going to be easy and she'd be putting everything she had at risk.
John B appeared at the edge of the container and looked down at her. "It's okay if you want to stay here, Stella." There was no anger or resentment in his voice, just the clear understanding that she wasn't like the rest of them, no matter how much they pretended she was.
Stella bit the inside of her cheek, giving her decision a fair bit of thought. She was going to help her friends, but after that, no more treasure hunts. "No," she said, shaking her head. "We're going to finish what we started. I'm with you guys 'til the end of the line. We get the cross, we find Sarah, and we go home."
JJ tilted his head. "Did you just quote Captain America?"
"You bet your ass, I did." She took his hand and pulled herself up into the container. "Now drop your socks and grab your Crocs 'cause we're about to infiltrate this bitch."
"Hell yeah, Sunbaby. Let's go!"
AFTER SUCCESSFULLY SNEAKING onto the Costal Venture, the five Pogues found themselves in a tricky predicament. They made it onto the boat, but were stuck inside the shipping container with no way out.
"Nice work, John B. You know these things lock from the outside, right?"
John B narrowed his eyes as he turned to the blond. "Okay, I was just trying to get us on the boat, JJ. I wasn't thinking that far ahead."
"We're stuck in here like rats. In this hot death cage!"
Across from him, Pope spoke up. "Okay, JJ, you're not helping."
"You don't have a lot of room to talk right now," JJ snapped. "You said you had a plan, but what happened to thinking ahead?"
"What happened to Stella saying we should wing it?"
Beside JJ, Stella furrowed her brows. "It was actually more of a observation," she defended, putting her hands up.
"I find your lack of self-knowledge disturbing."
"Hey, don't get all pissy with her," JJ said, stepping in to defend her before she could do it herself. "Last I checked, you literally shot an oil container with the gat. Stella had a plan which is more than what you have at the moment."
Pope looked at him with an incredulous expression. "Her plan was to not have a plan!"
"Technically, that's still a plan!"
"Oh my God!" Kie exclaimed with a slight groan. "Shut up. Shut up and pull it together."
JJ and Pope sighed. "Okay," the former started. "Okay, let's try to find a way out of here."
John B leaned his head against the wall. "Hey, Pope," he called, "how do you kill a snake?"
The boy shrugged. "You go for the head."
"Exactly. But the head, in this instance, is the bridge."
JJ took a hold of Stella's hand and absentmindedly played with her fingers. "To take the bridge, we need maximum firepower," he said. "And I happen to know that there's an armory on this ship in case of pirate attacks."
The two girls shared a look and snickered. "Pirate attacks," they mocked.
JJ ignored them. "If we get to the armory... They have it all, I'm talking AKs, pistols, knives, double-barrels—"
"JJ!" John B hissed. He glanced at Stella for help, but she shrugged and took her hand back from JJ. "This isn't a video game. Listen, we gotta get out of here, but we can't do anything if we're still stuck in here. Let's focus on that, yeah?"
Silence fell over the group as they brainstormed ideas in their minds. After a few moments, that silence was broken by JJ. "If I get enough pressure, I can Spartan kick that thing open," he suggested.
John B shook his head. "You're not kicking shit."
"Why not?"
Stella poked his side and he jumped. "Because, one, it'll draw attention, and two, you'll end up pulling a muscle or something."
"Are you saying I'm not fit?"
"That's not what I'm—"
"Feel my leg." He lifted his leg onto her lap. "Go on. Feel how hard it is, Stel."
"I'm not feeling your leg. Stop flexing your muscles, JJ, you're going to cramp."
"Rock solid, baby, right there. Poke it."
Paying no mind to the couple, Kie looked around the container for another point of exit. Her gaze settled on a small grate located behind her head and she turned to the others. "Guys."
"I'm not poking your leg!"
"I could kick that door down in my sleep, Stel!"
"Guys!" All eyes turned to Kie and she pointed at the grate. "We can fit through that."
A proud smile pulled at Stella's lips as she nodded. "Nice one, Kie." The girl leaned over and pulled JJ's knife from his back pocket, ignoring the way he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. She stood up and walked over to the grate, prying it open and popping the metal out of its frame.
"Okay," John B started, standing up as well, "we raid the armory, get weapons, roll back here, and plot the next move."
"The armory is on the third deck, near the laundry room," JJ informed.
Kie furrowed her brows. "How do you know that?"
A small chuckle fell from Stella's lips. "He's had dreams of being a pirate."
She placed her foot on a nearby box to lift herself out of the open grate, but was pulled back by Pope. "Hold up. I don't think we should all go out there."
"Why?"
"It's too risky."
John B nodded, agreeing with Pope. "Yeah, I think you three should stay here."
"What?" JJ asked, squinting his eyes.
"I have Sarah that I'm gonna go after and Pope has the cross."
"Yeah, and Pope's gonna get the gold plated, seven foot cross all by himself? I don't think so." He joined Stella's side and tried to climb out, but stopped when John B grabbed his leg. "Dude, what?"
"Also, if you go out there, there's an hundred percent probability that you're gonna do something stupid."
"First of all, I think the correct terminology is 'ballsy," he corrected. "I'm a field player. Can't be a field player off the field."
John B looked to Stella and she sighed at his exasperated stare. "Fine," she said, knowing that he was probably right about JJ acting out. "We'll stay here. You'll need someone to bail you out if you get in a bind, anyways."
Kie and JJ turned to her in shock. "You just B teamed us, Stel!"
The former turned to John B and Pope. "Did B team not just find our way out, or am I totally tripping?"
Pope stuck his head out of the open grate and when he saw that there was no one in sight, he began to climb out. "Hang back. Hold down the fort."
"You guys have fun," JJ called, watching as John B followed after Pope. "It's your funeral, your game. I'll be in here, on the bench... chilling."
"Don't get shot!" The two girls called out.
"I WAS THINKING," JJ started. It had been about twenty minutes since John B and Pope left and they hadn't heard anything since. There was no outburst of angered shouts or gunfire on the deck, so they could only assume that nothing bad had happened to them. All they could do for the time being was wait, even if it was getting boring.
"You know how to do that?" Kie questioned, tilting her head.
Stella let out a soft chuckle. "What are you thinking about, J?" Her hand raised to toy with the ring hanging around her neck and the boy sitting across from her smiled at the sight of it.
"When this is all over and we're rolling in the dough, I'm gonna get a brand new board and go on a surf trip. I don't know where, but... The world's calling." He raised a brow at his girlfriend, knowing that she had a list of vacation destinations hidden on her notes app ever since they first spoke about their future together. "Where do you wanna go, Sunbaby?"
She blew air from her mouth and pondered his question. "The Philippines sounds nice," she settled on saying.
He grinned. "Then after the Philippines, South Africa or South America, or one of the south places."
His eyes met Stella's and he could picture them on the beach far away from any worries. Just him and her, lounging under the sun in peace and quiet. He knew how troubled she had been as of late. Even if she hadn't mentioned it, he could tell by the way she carried herself that she was unhappy—of her behaviour, of herself, of her habit of constantly dropping everything to help her friends. She would never stop, though, because that was the type of person she was. She would light herself on fire to keep her loved ones warm, and she would work out a problem until she solved it or ran head first into a brick wall. He promised himself long before he said I do that he would be there to pick her up each time she did. Right now, she needed a reminder of what they were fighting for besides Sarah's safety and Pope's family legacy.
"Ripping jungle break all day long. Bamboo hut, cooking a fish on a fire, and after that, you go back out and just hit the waves again." Kie raised a brow at his plans, but smiled softly as he cast a fond stare over Stella. "And when we've seen everything, we'll get a house right on the water. With a library with floor to ceiling shelves and those ladders on wheels. Far enough from people, but close enough for you guys to come over on date nights to watch the kids."
"Kids?" Kie questioned, looking over at Stella. There was amusement in her tone. There was no doubt in her mind that JJ and Stella were meant to be, but the thought of them being parents was a sight she'd love to see.
"Baby Pogues," Stella mused, reminiscent of an old conversation they once had. "Two of them. JJ wants to be a stay-at home-dad and teach them how to surf."
Kie huffed. "So that's the dream if you had a bunch of money? A house on the water, married with two kids?"
"See everything and have everything." JJ shrugged. "A simple life, Kie. We deserve it after all the shit we've been through."
Stella found that people tend to separate themselves into two groups—people who wanted more, to see the world and live shamelessly, and people who wanted the quiet life, full of laughter and the warmth of a family. But she was never one to limit herself and she was a firm believer that you could be both, so she was.
"You guys got room for one more?"
JJ nodded. "You got your passport?"
The two girls squinted. "You don't have a passport."
"Hell no, I don't got a passport. Kookiest thing ever."
The trio laughed and when they recovered, Stella looked over at Kie. "After all this is over, what do you say about a girls trip to Spain? "
Kie grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."
A rattling noise from outside the shipping container caused them to freeze. They held their breaths and exchanged wide-eyed stares, convinced that the ship's crew had caught them. It wasn't until they heard Pope and John B's hushed whispers that they let out a sigh of relief.
Kie stood and removed the metal grate from its place.
"Took you guys long enough," Stella said, watching as Pope and John B climbed through. Her head tilted in confusion when a third person followed them through. "Uh... Who's your friend, boys?"
Kie straightened her back, but John B was quick to reassure her. "Remember I told you about the girl we met in the Bahamas that saved us?"
Stella raised a brow. "Cleo?"
The third girl smirked and twirled a knife in her hand. "At your service."
RAE SPEAKS !
stella every time her friends find another lost treasure to chase:
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