The Pogues

Jacuzzi Dripped

She didn't know how much time had passed since she had positioned herself against the wall, but finally she snapped out of her thoughts and pulled herself up. Her legs felt tired but continued her course to her closet for a fresh set of clothes.

She shook off her other clothes and took a deep breathe. She put on a rushed outfit and found her reflection looking back at her in the mirror. She stared into the blue crystals staring back, "JJ needs you, pull it together." And with that, she whipped around, grabbing her keys and fixing her makeup.

Cassie strutted out of the door, locking up the house and boarding her car. She glanced at the time and looked at the wheel, finally deciding on her destination. Without a second thought, the gears shifted and she was on her way to the person that needed her the most.

The driveway held a familiar truck, the vehicle that Kie and Pope were peacefully chatting in. The house and yard was dark, which was unusual but not mysterious. Cassie got out of her car and leaned on the opened window, staring in at Pope. He looked at her but there was a level of understanding between friends that didn't need to be addressed. They were on the same page.

"Gotta be done before my scholarship interview in the morning," he said as Kie looked down at the paper he was holding. "Okay, well, we gotta focus." "I know. It's gonna be fine. We got John B and JJ inside the well, and me up top. You, Sarah, and Cass will be outside transporting."

They got out of the car and Pope brought the two girls back to the storage part of the truck. Cassie was pulled to something dark in the yard that she found strange while Pope made a strange attempt to flirt with Kie. She responded with a thanks about her reunion with Sarah but Cassie didn't really care.

Suddenly, Cassie's suspicion was right. Hundreds of Christmas lights were hung around trees and the house which showed the dark thing that Cassie had been staring at. "What the hell?" "Who the hell is that?" They both wondered aloud as the three of them swung around the tree to find JJ sitting in a large jacuzzi. He popped a bottle of champagne open as the cork popped.

The jacuzzi was filled with toys and jets as JJ put down his sunglasses, "I got a jet going straight in my butt right now. Y'all should get in immediately, you hear me? Salud!" Cassie saw a glaze over his eyes as they immediately softened when they gazed upon Cassie's disappointed look. He was broken.

Pope looked at him, "How much did this cost?" "Uh... Well, with the generator, the petrol, and oh, hey, express delivery...pretty much all of it, yeah." Pope's mouth gaped open, "All of it?" "Yeah, all of it." "You spent all the money in one day?" Pope clarified, unable to wrap his head around this train wreck. JJ smirked, "Yeah, burned a hole right through my pocket. But, I mean, like, come on, guys, like, look at this! Finest in jet-based massage therapy, that's what they told me."

JJ looked at Kiara, "Kie, what?" He couldn't look at her. Not without facing what mistake he had made. "Can't a man have a little luxury in life? Come on, all this scrimpin' and scrapin'... I mean, like... guys, we-- You only live once, right? Enough of this emotional shit. Get in the Cat's Ass. Come on."

Kie scoffed "In the what?" "In the Cat's Ass. That's what I named her," he grinned at his creation but then had a realization, pulling one of the switches and making a disco ball lower into sight and the colors change. "I almost forgot. Yeah, that's right, I know. Disco mode. That's right, baby!"

At this point, Pope and Kie stared directly at Cassie, who stood in the middle and directly facing JJ. She stood silent, showing no emotion. Pope took over, "Are you kidding me? You could have paid for restitution!" "Or literally given it to any charity!" "Or even better, you could have helped us buy supplies to get the rest of the gold out of the well!" Pope added.