Overlap

Chapter 47-A: Malica Ridge

<05/05/2011 - 10:10 | Saffrin Middle School (Outskirts), Austell, GA, USA>

We're finally getting to that point in school when all of the final learning units are about to end, and everybody is full of energy because of it. That goes double for the kids in grade eight, since this will be their last year of middle school before going into high school.

Keeping with middle school tradition, close to the end of the grade, each school sets up an event outdoors when the weather is supposed to be clear. Right now, I'm standing before the impressively large display of sporting events, most of which involved water. I'm not alone taking in the sights in preparation either. The entire school is all around me doing the same, well, seventh graders anyway. It's too easy for me to recognize what this is; every person going to elementary or middle school in America knows what this is. This is the setup and startup for a field day.

And so, everybody was excited to get started playing with water sports on a hot sunny day, almost everyone. Yep, you guessed it. I'm possibly the only kid here who is dreading this very moment as we speak. I even let out a stressful sigh right next to Banarus voicing my concerns. "They had to pick today of all days to do this?"

"Get with the program Reed. It's only a month away from summer now. We got lucky they decided to do it early this time!" Banarus wasn't even angry for what I said. Her joyous attitude bubbled up and repelled any lurking negativity coming from me.

Early, late, I don't really care about this right now. To tell the truth, I was actually looking forward to this a bit, but only for one reason. I wanted them to conduct this field day when it was cold outside, so that I could bring Lumina in to see what it was like. Care to take any bets on how well my luck went this time? Seriously. I know that this field day is supposed to be about having fun, but right now, I'm having no such thing.

Before I could even continue the thought, my body and face cringed harshly in response to the combined senses bombarding me. I covered my nose, trying to pretend I couldn't smell that, but I just can't get it off now. That horrible sensation, that smell of the summer air mixed with the sunscreen emanating off everyone; I really don't want to smell that right now. It's ten times worse only because it's being combined with the strong bright sunlight and its raging heat from above. Anyone who lives in Georgia knows what I'm talking about. It's like some lightly burnt tumbleweed mixed in with the smell of proliferating bugs and the rising heat from the sidewalk is all flowing with the radiant heat from the sun. This is what summer smells like.

Why is that such a horrible smell? It's obvious. The heat right now is thankfully only 70oF, but that's still way too hot for me and Lumina to connect to each other. I intended to have fun at the field day with Lumina, but the weather is too random to predict, and it's not as if I could pick the day to have this moment. I don't care if the Altiri hate the feeling of water on their skin. I would have forced Lumina to enjoy those moments with me.

At least, I did manage to contact her yesterday. The weather here just keeps cycling between hot and cold. It's like Georgia is giving a very obnoxious warning to let everyone know that summer is right around the corner. Not only that, but lately, my ability to talk to Lumina has only been successful really late, after the night air cools the place down, assuming I decide to stay up that late. Here's a news flash; I do stay up that late now, all the time. My bed time used to be around ten, midnight at the latest. But now, I'm getting in my sleep as late as three A.M. and still waking up at six-thirty. Some sleepless mornings are just worth it to get in those few hours with Lumina.

"You were right. It's so nice out today!" Her voice was so cheery and happy that it turned a few heads in her direction, including mine.

I was about to silently give her a piece of my mind, as I couldn't disagree more. However, as soon as my eyes brought the tall girl into focus, a twitch shot through my body, freezing my thoughts in place. It was no surprise to me that I've never seen the classmate before, at least until I was dazzled with the beautiful grace of her alluring charm; it felt like several long seconds before I could actually process how I felt about this.