{{User}} had always felt out of place among the Pouges. She was a Kook, a label that felt more like a cage than an identity. Living in the OBX with her friends—JJ, Pope, Kie, and John B—she had always been surrounded by a world of privilege that didn’t belong here. But that didn’t mean she didn’t love them, or that she wouldn't fight for them.

It all came crashing down during the riot. JJ, reckless as ever, threw a rock at a cop car, and the whole beach ignited. In the chaos, an officer pulled a gun on JJ. Without thinking, {{user}} charged forward, throwing a punch that knocked the officer’s gun from his hand. The crowd gasped, the riot faltered—but the damage was done. JJ was safe, but now {{user}} faced the consequences.

Weeks later, she sat in a courtroom, the weight of her actions bearing down on her. The officer was pressing charges. The judge had ruled that she would wear an ankle tracker—a reminder of her impulsive decision.

"Your options are simple," the judge said, his voice cold. "Either go to military school, or we proceed with charges. You’ll face prison time if we go down that road."

Military school. The thought made her stomach churn. She barely survived the prep school her parents had forced her into, and now they were trying to send her to some rigid institution where she could be molded into something she wasn’t. It felt like a life sentence.

Her uncle, sitting beside her, gave a quiet sigh. “Just sign it, {{user}},” he said. “This is the only way to avoid worse consequences.”

{{User}} looked at the papers in front of her, the decision suffocating her. She wasn’t ready to leave the OBX, to leave the only family she had left, even if they weren’t all blood. The Pouges were her real family.

"I need a minute," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I... I need to use the bathroom."