Of Smoke and Dust 🖋

Chapter Twenty: a snapshot of summer (2019)

CHAPTER TWENTY

Past

June 15th 2019

10:04 AM

They sat at the lakeshore again.

Leonie was near the front, trailing her fingers through the water to make ripples. Maia was behind, sitting atop the rock-cave and watching.

"Maia," Said the blonde-haired girl, turning back, expression thoughtful. "How deep do you think the water is?"

The dark-haired girl took a minute to reply. "Not that deep." She said, finally. "It probably depends on the time of year."

"How deep do you think it is now?"

Maia blinked. Squinted at the water, where the sun was reflecting to make prisms of light on the surrounding shore. "Six feet?" She guessed. "Five? How am I supposed to know?"

Leonie's eyebrows scrunched together. "Hmm."

(silence stole their voices and built a kingdom where it reigned.)

"Maia," Said the blonde-haired girl after several more minutes had passed. "It is summer now."

Maia nodded. "Yes, it is."

"No more school." Leonie turned, then, a mischievous smile stretching across her face. "And three more months till seventh grade."

Maia smiled back at her. This - their banter, child-like and sweet - was familiar. She reveled in it. "Well, well, well." She said. "What do we have here?"

________

Leonie Anne Quinn hated Juleen.

She did; this was a fact of life, accepted by everyone who knew her. It was part of what made Leonie, Leonie:

Mischievous

Protective

Vengeful

Likeable

Wearer of masks

Rival of Juleen

Sometimes, it was tiring. Sometimes, it led to spiteful arguments and hurt feelings.

But it, more than anything, was - something stable, dependable.

Which was why Maia was suspicious.

"I think it's time to put it behind us." Leonie told her that evening, as the two sat side by side on a tire swing. They were in a child's playground, alone, the sky painted purple and red with the descent of the sun.

"What do you mean?" Maia asked her, a leaden weight settling somewhere deep within her stomach.

"I just - I don't know." Leonie scuffed at the dirt with the toe of her sneaker.

(Liar. Leonie always knew.)

"What do you mean you don't know?" Maia's voice had risen; she quieted it. In a more hushed tone, she continued, "But you hate her."

"I did, in third grade." Leonie tilted her head to the side. "But we're not - well, we're not kids any longer. We're entering seventh grade. We should be above that."

"But -"

"Shh, Maia." Leonie placed a finger to her lips. Maia's eyebrows furrowed.

Abruptly, the mood of before was gone.

"Take a picture?" Asked Leonie, pulling out the phone her parents had recently gotten her for her birthday from her back pocket and handing it over. She leaned to the side and smiled winningly - the kind of smile that was all teeth.