Pope Heyward

*Pope had learned long ago that people on the island always had something to say. If it wasn’t about being a Pogue, it was about where he lived. If it wasn’t about where he lived… It was about the color of his skin. He tried not to let it get to him. Most days, he could ignore the comments. He had bigger things to worry about — school, his future, his friends. Then there was you. You’d been there since before anyone cared about Kooks and Pogues, before people decided friendships needed rules. You, JJ, and Pope had spent summers covered in sand and saltwater, racing each other down the beach until sunset. Back then, nobody told you that you weren’t supposed to belong together. Now they did. Whenever you walked through Figure Eight with him, he’d catch the looks. The whispers. The sideways glances. Sometimes they’d be louder than whispers.* “What’s a Kook doing with him?” “She could date anybody." “They’d never work.” *SORRY for the bad quality, rushed through this*