smooth seas//john b

fifteen

There are only three kinds of relationships in the animal kingdom. The first is commensalism. One example... fish finding hiding spots in coral reefs. Fish profit, but life for the coral doesn't change. Then, there's mutualism... a relationship where both animals benefit from each other. The tricky thing about animals is you don't always know what kind of relationship you're in. Which brings me to relationship number three. The parasitic.

Once John B gets out of the hospital I show him around Tannyhill. "This is your room." John B throws his hat on the bed. "It's not too shabby, huh?"

"Yeah. Not too shabby at all," John B agrees.

"And my room is just upstairs, in case you were wondering," I tell him. John B groans as he throws himself on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. No, I'm good. I'm good. I got it." John B groans as he sits up.

I laugh. "But I have to warn you..."

John B looks concerned. "Uh-oh."

"...I sleepwalk," I tell him. John B sighs and I chuckle. "So if I show up in your room in the middle of the night..."

John B smiles. "You just want me to roll with it?"

I smirk. "Yeah, maybe." I lean in and kiss him.

I hear Ward behind me, "Maisie Clara Cameron!" I turn around and face my dad. "You've already broken the first rule. What is the first rule? Stay out of each other's rooms. All right, seriously. Picture that as a boundary." Ward points to the door. "This is like a minefield. Yes, sir?"

I nod my head. "Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir, John B?" Dad asks.

"Uh, yes, sir. Yeah," John B replies with a smile.

Ward smiles. "All right. Maisie, can you give me and the new inmate a quick minute here?"

I nod my head. "Please be nice."

"I'll be nice," Ward assures me.

After John B and my dad talk John B and I head to the Wreck. I smile at John B as he drives. "What did you and my dad talk about?"

John B shrugs it off. "He wanted to know about the plat map."

"What about it?" I ask.

"He wanted to know if I was looking for the gold like my father," John B tells me.

"And what did you tell him?" I ask.

John B laughs. "That I was a history buff."

I let out a loud laugh. "And he bought that?"

John B nods. "I think so."

"You failed history last year," I remind him.

"Hey that teacher, he had it out for me," John B counters.

I nod my head. "Whatever makes you feel better, JB."

We sit at a table at the Wreck surrounded by Kie, Pope, and JJ.

"I'm sorry. You're staying where?" Kie asks.

"Tannyhill," John B states.

"So you're living with Mai," Kie says.

"Okay, look, the only reason I'm living there is because her dad bailed me out, right? And it's way better than foster care, which, by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn't..." John B starts.

Pope cuts him off, "Hey, so do you have a membership to the clubs now?"

John B shakes his head slightly. "I don't know, Pope."