Middle of Summer

Chapter One.

Three Months Earlier

The first day of break and there was simply nothing to do. Nothing. Every kid besides myself was outdoors playing baseball or in the streets. But no, not me. My mother wanted me to stay home with my sister Ella. Dad was out on a business trip (big surprise there) and wouldn't return for two weeks.

I couldn't even go to the malt shoppe with Rider; he was packing for a job up in Nebraska with his uncle for the summer. So I would lounge around here in the house, watching Yo Gabba Gabba with the five year old.

Normally at this point, I would go to my room to pick up a book to occupy my time. But not even that was allowed. "Blake," mother said, "You are not allowed to leave this room until I get home from the store. Understand?" Being the good child I was, I would obey her orders. So my eyes traveled around the living room at anything but the TV set.

My phone began to vibrate, kinda bouncing on the coffee table. I picked it up and pressed it to my ear. "Hey man."

Rider spoke to me on the other end, "Hey! Uncle Jake said that if you wanted, you would be able to spend the summer with me up there. He's comin' to pick me up in three hours so if you want to come, better make the choice now." My eyes flickered to Ella, to the television and back at my phone. "Alright. I'll see if I can talk the woman into it."

With that I ended the conversation. I scrolled through my contacts 'til I reached "Mom" and called her. The rings reverberated through my ears; the annoying tone bothering me. But she picked up quickly, "Blake. Is everything alright?"

"Just peachy, ma'am." Yes, I called my mom ma'am. "But Rider just called-"

"Rider? Oh, what does that rascal want now?" My mother never really liked my friendship with him. He was kinda' a rebel around these parts, I guess. You skip church once to go hang out with a girlfriend and suddenly you're a bad kid.

"Well, ma'am. You know he's spending the summer with his uncle-"

"And good riddance for that." My mother liked to talk a lot, as you can tell. And stating her opinion was never a problem of hers.

"Anyways...he wanted to know if I would like to go with him. His uncle picks him up in three hours."

"Fine, fine. I suppose you've been good enough this year. I'll let you go. But as long as you call me every night and let me know how you are." Over protective. "Also, I will have his uncle keep a sharp eye on both of you."

"Yes ma'am." I had the temptation to roll my eyes, but thought better of it. Even though she wasn't here in front of me; I had the strange feeling she would know if I did.

"I'll be home in five minutes. Stay in the room with Ell until I get there." Of course. Although it was only a mere five minutes, the little rat couldn't stay alone. Mother was afraid that she would hurt herself. The child is almost six years old.

"Alright ma'am." Then, again, I was the one to hang up. Quickly I called Rider back though and told him the news. "Great, man. Come over at three." I looked over at the clock- twelve fifteen.

"Sounds great." I announced. We said goodbye and then my phone was thrown back down on the coffee table. My eyes turned to my little sister, her eyes glued to the TV. I sighed and leaned back into the cushion.

-

Mother walked through the door, her arms filled with paper sacks of groceries. Ella got up and ran, hugging mom's legs. I rushed over and grabbed the majority of the bags, setting them down on the counter. "May I go pack now?" I said in a hurry, my words jumbling together. She nodded and I raced upstairs, my hand sliding up the railing so I wouldn't trip on my way up.

Grabbing out the large duffelbag I had from football- thank goodness it had been washed and didn't stink of dirty gym socks anymore- and threw my wardrobe into it. A few pairs of shoes were in there too. All the things critical to my hygiene were stuffed into the sides and packed in little baggies. I was tempted to bring my entire bookshelf with me but I settled for two. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (personally my favorite of the series) and The Stranger by Albert Camus. It was a short read but it was perfectly well written.

Squashing it all down so I could zip it up, I bit my lip. It was quite a tight squeeze. But it worked and soon I had a bulging duffle bag ready to go. Looking down at myself, I thought I looked presentable enough. Surely not well enough to go to church; however I looked dressed enough. Then my eyes flew to the watch on my wrist. Two-thirty. Just on time. It would take me probably ten minutes to reach his house. Then twenty to hang out with my bud.

I hopped down the stairs, ocassionally skipping one to get down faster. I grabbed my mom's face and kissed her cheek. "See you in a few months. Love you." Then I picked up Ella and kissed her forehead. "Bye bubba." She smiled and waved at me. With a wave back at her, I threw open the door. The screen door slammed behind me; it was always a rickety old thing.

I was most eager to get out of the house to avoid, "Be safe darling." "Did you remember your toothpaste?" "How about your undies?" from mother. And thankfully, I got out just in time. Normally I would take my truck; but I didn't want it sitting in Rider's driveway all summer. So I walked. The sun beat down on me; I didn't mind though.

Looking up at the crystal blue sky I said aloud to myself, "This is surely going to be a summer to remember."