chapter 1.
how's it feel to be
on the other side?

୨୧

KILDARE.
07/2020.

A teenaged boy enters the station. he can't be much older than eighteen, nineteen years old but carries himself in a manner that shows he's been much older for a while now. eldest child, perhaps.

the woman behind the counter recognizes him. of course she does; the only son of a family of well respected real estate agents, some real do-gooders and go-getters. he smells like cigarettes and salt and chews mint gum and smiles at the woman behind the desk. she knows she can't say no to whatever he is about to ask of her. no one can; he's an heir.

"i'd like to request a child welfare check on a family." he says these harsh words with precision and charm. flashes a pearl smile for good measure. "case of child abuse and neglect."

this isn't usually the way it's done, but she'll let it slide. he knows she will because she knows his last name and the blood of his father. "of course, thank you for coming in. can i have the address and family name?"

"the maybank residence. uh, luke maybank." he sets his jaw and it's so sharp it could pierce through the glass separating them. "little girl running around, no supervision. abusive father, alcoholic; wild card older brother with a temper." he's not here to get the brother in trouble. he's here to ruin the brother. "see this, here?" he points to a bruise forming around his left eye and the woman behind the counter can't look away because he's staring into hers. "from him. for no reason. they're trouble, that family. best to get the girl out while there's still time."

KILDARE.
06/2024.

A recent study done in new york city found a three point four ounce bottle of street puddle water contains about thirty one thousand fecal bacteria, including enterococci and e. coli. these are the only thoughts running through josephine maybanks mind as she exits the ferry on the small island of outer banks. she gingerly avoids each puddle on the dock and sidewalk leading to the meeting area, counting steps on each foot as she does so. right forward seven times. switch, repeat. she presses the pads of her thumb and index finger together until her joints ache and chooses not to acknowledge the judgmental look she knows her social worker is sending her way. 

josephine had been itching to break free from mel's suffocating stares the entire day. the social worker had only been required to accompany joey for the ferry ride given the child had been deemed a 'flight risk', however josephine felt like a prisoner being transported. they might as well have been handcuffed together given how close the older woman is pressed to her ward.

upon reaching the designated meeting area, josie's gaze immediately lands on a familiar group of teenagers whom had once been as close as family. now, though, they might as well have just been strangers.

her brother is the first to greet the pair, nervously approaching as they step off the ferry. jj is tall and awkward and his blonde hair far too long and unkept. he shakes mel's hand perhaps a bit too strong. it's obvious he had rehearsed. "nice to meet you, ma'am. i'm jj."

"you as well." the case worker introduces herself in return. "mel rogers." a house inspection had already been conducted; now all that's left was formalities, which happened to be josephines least favorite part. she hated the awkwardness of being left behind with strangers; or, in this case, strangers who weren't always strange. "you've seen her file, i assume?" satisfied with the boys nod, mel turns to josephine. "you're gonna be just fine, kid." jo only shrugs. she's always fine.

"just give it a try, all right?" mel lowers her voice, bending to the child's level. "and try not to set any fires this time." she pats the blonde on the shoulder and stands straight. she pretends not to notice the child's scowl; she knows better than to touch josephine with unwashed hands. "we'll be in touch, jo. see you in two weeks." the two week mark is when mel swings by unannounced as a rouse to catch unfit guardians in the act. this two week mark is also the time jo usually gets sent away. (she acts out in defense; no one but mel believes her. jo would be soil for the worms if it wasn't for mel rogers.)

"okay, you've got my number. call anytime." she walks off and josephine knows she will not call. she never has; jo could handle this on her own, just like she had everything else since the age of nine. it'd only be two weeks, anyways.

"hi, josie." jj speaks up tentatively. his voice had gotten octaves deeper and he sports facial hair on the tip of his chin. "you've gotten, uh, old."

"yeah, that's what happens when you're gone for four years." josephine narrows her eyes, opting to speak for the first time since departing from the ship. "you grow up." she hadn't planned on being so cold, but it didn't surprise her. jo tended to either retreat entirely inside of her shell or become as hard as the shell itself. it seems today she's chosen the latter. "and people don't call me that anymore. it's joey." (she hates the name joey. she hates josie even more; her brothers the only one who called her that, and she didn't want him to call her anything anymore.)

"right. well, uh, i'm sure you remember kie." the older blonde moves on awkwardly, stepping aside to gesture to the teens waiting behind him. he gulps as though nervous. "she's my girlfriend now, actually." he itches the back of his neck like bringing a girl home to his father for the first time. he never would experience this; luke maybank was not the type of man a son would proudly introduce his girl to.

"sass-ephine! we've missed you." a tan skinned girl with sunkissed dark curls waves, wide smile stretched across her face. jo is not the least bit surprised the two had ended up together. she'd seen the way her brother looked at kiara carrera for years — it was about time they saw it, too.

"kiara." josephine sets her lips in a straight line and nods once in greeting. "don't call me that." 'sass-ephine' had been jo's childhood nickname courtesy of her brothers friends. a maybank by blood, jo led by her mouth first and thoughts second. of course, her brother was the original foul-mouth of their group, but that language was to be expected from a sixteen year old boy; not so much for a nine year old little girl, hence the nickname sass-ephine. jo had been the leader of quick comebacks and witty insults since birth, thanks to her father and elder brothers colorful vocabulary.

but now, josephine is thirteen. a teenager who had been subjected to far worse things than a nine year old who swore like a sailor and sassed like a mother. now, her ways were valid; she had been the only one on her side for the past four years. she needed to be tough and insulting. it wasn't about a silly nickname any more; it was about survival.

"you remember john b and pope." jj clears his throat, gesturing to the two other boys waiting beside kiara; her brothers friends looked similar to their sixteen year old selves, despite popes hair being longer and john b's slightly more kept.

"jojo!" the routledge boy greets with the excitement of a child receiving a puppy. he steps forward, opening his arms wide to embrace the girl who was once a sister.

"i'm not four." josephine promptly ignores the gesture, skipping over the older boy and furrowing her eyebrows at the two additional teens, one of whom she had never before seen in her life. "why the hell is sarah cameron here?" much like her brother, jo had been conditioned to dislike kooks. although she had stayed in quite a few upper-class homes back on the mainland, that never seemed to change her mind. in fact, it only further cemented the notion that the rich are stuck up, polo-shirt wearing, country-club membership-sporting dick suckers. she had also seen first hand what sarah had done to kie in the tenth grade and, being well aware of the latters hatred for the cameron girl, is quite surprised to see how civil they seem with one another now.

"she's my...wife. not legally." john b answers with a shrug. "long story."

this is a poor explanation, but jo cares too little to ask for an elaboration. "and the chick with the knife?" she gestures to a dark-skinned girl standing beside pope, sporting curly deep brown hair and fidgeting a pocket knife between two fingers.

jj laughs lightly. "that's cleo. also a long story, but she's one of us."

"just don't come near me with that thing. i got pepper spray." she resists the urge to prove this, bending at the knees to hoist her single duffle bag of belongings over one shoulder. josephine brushes past her older brother, starting down the dock. "and if you think i'm just gonna crawl right back to luke, you've got another thing comin'."

jj scratches at the back of his neck, starting after her. "yeah, uh...you don't gotta worry about him anymore. he left a few months after you did. fled the country. drug charges."

"you've got a ton to catch up on, kid." john b lets out an airy laugh, slinging an arm over josie's shoulders.

she immediately shrugs him off and steps away, snarling. "get off me. and don't call me kid." breathe in. hold for seven seconds. breathe out for seven. repeat.

jj notices the thick pink stripe in his sisters messy blonde hair, a stark contrast from the last time he had seen her. "uh, i like what you've done to your hair." he reaches out to touch the colored stripe; he doesn't know it's only a clip-in.

jo scowls and yanks herself from his reach. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. exhale. repeat. she struts ahead, missing the original four pogues exchanging worried glances. this girl was nothing like the happy go-lucky nine year old who had left the island four years ago.

the jo they remembered had seen john b as a second brother, and would have leapt straight into his arms out of pure excitement. he'd been the one to help teach her how to surf and ride a bike, and was always getting into fights alongside her brother in her defense. the josie they knew would have immediately demanded all the details of his relationship with sarah, and been utterly pissed to have missed their 'wedding'.

the josie who left the island had practically worshipped the ground kiara carrera walked on; they were like sisters. kie brought her to get their nails done together, snuck her food from her familys restaurant, and taken her shopping at all the fancy shops over on figure eight. in normal circumstances, josie would have immediately demanded a girls night to share all of what happened during her four years away — the good, the bad, the juicy, and the ugly.

josephine had looked up to pope's determination and perseverance for as long as she had known him, which basically was her entire life. he helped with all of her homework assignments, taught her how to stick up for herself without violence, and his parents allowed her to hangout at heywards shop whenever the boys were working so she wouldn't have to go home.

this girl who returned in her place was not much of a girl at all. she was a shell of one; a soldier who had returned from battle half her weight. josephine maybank was unrecognizable.

evie speaks !
the image at the top is what
josephine currently looks like :)
* not all images will be current,
some will be from years past