The Story Doesn't End With the Book

A new friend

Maryn, July 2020

Finally summer is here. 

I've started to actually do some useful things. Well, useful in my books. I'm not sure if you could tell yet, but I want to study geology after high school. At least I think I do. So I've been going on so many hikes lately and picking up tons of rocks. 

I was going through a bit of a rough patch last month. My routine was totally off. At the beginning of quarantine I was being so productive, and everything was just...pretty good. But then I started to spend all of my time lying down or reading, or doing anything lazy. One thing about me is that I can't stand just being. I have to be doing something productive all the time. So when I hit this wall, and I just never did anything, it really hurt. I felt so lost. But I'm getting everything back together, so it's perfectly fine. 

I've realized that to fix things you have to actually try, and do stuff. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try. I have control over what I do with my life. So I'm going to do something worthwhile. 

Unfortunately we're still not allowed to do much because of the restrictions. We visited my grandparents the other day. Not much happened because we didn't want to risk exposing them to anything. We just talked about stuff. I found that I had hardly anything to say, which is weird. I'm usually bursting with random things that I want to share with people. I think I'm maturing. That sounds like I'm talking about a ripe pear, but no. I think my brain is aging. By the day. 

I used to think that sitting with my thoughts was bad. But I've come to realize that thinking isn't bad. Sometimes you need to think in order to find things. Our brains are made to think. And replacing that with numbness isn't going to do any good. 

...

"Maryn come down we're going somewhere!" My mom yells from downstairs. 

Huh. I wonder where it is we could possibly be going right now. 

"Swimming. At a lake." Lara walks into the room, reading my thoughts. "You said that out loud, don't look at me like I'm psychic."

I stop staring and start looking for a swimsuit and some summer clothes. "Where are we going? I can't wait, we haven't been swimming at all this year!" 

"Not sure. Somewhere up North, I think. Mom's new friend is inviting us to their cottage." 

"Oooh, awesome!" Then I realize there will be other people. "Ugh, are there going to be kids there?"

"She has a daughter in university who isn't going to be there, and a son your age." Lara says casually, and I wince. 

I was really hoping not to have to talk to anyone. I mean, sure, I love meeting new people, but today I'm not really in the mood. 

I spend the entire car ride with ear buds in trying to avoid Lara's comments. 

...

It took about an hour and a half to get here. I have to say, it's a really great spot. The water looks fresh and inviting, and I'm tempted to just avoid introducing myself and just go start swimming. 

Then Lara grabs my arm and forces me to accompany her to the cottage. 

There's a guy on the front porch. The only thing that catches my eye is the sharpie markings down his arms and on his right knee. 

"Hi." He says when we walk up. "I'm Asher." Then leaves it at that. 

Minimal words, I see. Maybe we could be friends. 

Lara squints at me, like she can tell I'm planning to just ditch her. "I'm Lara and this is Maryn."

"Nice to meet you guys. Do you want anything inside? You're not really supposed to come in because of covid, but I can get you something if you'd like. Drinks, snacks." He waves a hand around, but looks like that was totally scripted. 

I shake my head. "Nah, we're good. I'm going swimming, okay Lara?"

She frowns at me, but lets it go soon enough. I run down the stairs to the lake and the dock. The water is dark blue and shining. The trees, made up of a mix of evergreens and maples are tall and old. The dock is new, though. I can tell because the wood looks pretty light, and there isn't any decay anywhere. 

I take off my sandals and dip my feet in the water. It's cool, but not too bad. The mid day sun is hot, anyway. 

Just as I'm about to get in, Asher sneaks up on me. 

"Are you not a talker?" He sits down, social distanced of course, on the dock beside me. 

"Mm, maybe I'm just not in the mood." I splash my feet around. 

"Why'd you come then?" 

"Out of force, but also I love nature and swimming, and we have nowhere else to go so I profit from my mom's friends lakes." I smile and then jump in the water. 

When I come up, he's still sitting there. A little awkwardly might I add. I figure I'll give him a chance. 

"Well, are you coming in?" 

He looks around, almost like he has to ask permission, before jumping in too. 

...

You may be thinking, 'Oh, Maryn! This is a perfect romance novel story!' Absolutely not. Never. You see, I'm one of those few girls who are just not obsessed with dating. Hopefully Asher is the same way. He seems okay, so far. 

"So we're the same age?" I ask him a while later when we're sitting on the dock in towels.

"I'm 14, yeah. What high school are you going to?" He surprises me by actually continuing the conversation. 

"It's called Rose Fortune Secondary School. In Markham." 

"Seriously? I'm going there too." 

Huh. Weird. I feel like my mom set this up on purpose to make me have more friends. 

"Cool. You live in Markham too, then?" I pick at a scratch on my forearm.

"Yep." 

The conversation dies a little and I just leave it. It's kind of a nice silence actually. Just enjoying socializing without actually talking. 

So far, I've found out that he's introverted, and he likes to draw, hence why he has sharpie markings all over him. 

I get his phone number before we leave in the afternoon. Mostly because Lara suggests it. When Lara gets an idea in her head, you can't really say no. 

...

The next few weeks fly by. So far it's been a cooler summer than usual. The temperatures aren't nearly as high as they were last year. Nothing noteworthy happens. I go on bike rides, add some more rocks to my collection, and learn more songs on my ukulele. Before I know it, there's only a month left until what seems to be the next destination: high school.