Chasing Summer

Spot of Warmth

Lunch period was spent sitting in the middle of the basketball court with Jean, which had basically been our ritual since seventh grade. He was stretched out in front of me, hands tucked behind his head so he could gaze up at the overcast sky with a cigarette caught between his parted lips. Smoke drifted out of his mouth, giving his face a hazy effect. All I could think about as I stared down at him was how the ground he was so casually lying back on was covered in old, chewed up gum.

Disgusting.

"Hey, Levi," he said, passing me the cigarette. "Are we going to that bonfire Coach Smith is throwing tonight?"

Since there were only two weeks left of school, Coach Smith thought he'd be a champ and throw a bonfire for the seniors at Shiganshina High. I hadn't planned on going, but there wouldn't be anything better to do tonight. This town was so small it was almost nonexistent.

As I took the cigarette from him, I said, "Might as well."

He sat up, a smirk appearing on his face. "Petra's going."

I liked to let Jean believe that I was into Petra, a pretty red head with big, amber eyes. Her and I went way back, knew her long before I was a fuck up. I considered her a good friend, someone I could count on, but that didn't mean I felt anything for her. She was just a friend, but if I told that to Jean, he would never shut up about it.

"Yeah," I said, letting the cigarette roll around on my tongue. The sharp taste of cloves bit at my throat, complimenting the smoke that was now burning my lungs.

"I think she's bringing that kid, though."

That kid that Jean was referring to was Grisha Jaeger's son. Grisha had become Shiganshina's own family doctor earlier this year. He spruced up an old building out on Ray Road, smacked Jaeger Family Medicine on the front, and was welcomed into the community of this shitty town with open arms. The nearest hospital was in Trost, a good two hour drive away, so it was no surprise that all the locals were glad to see a doctor take up residence here.

"So?" I said.

"I don't know. It's just going to be a drag with him around."

Eren, that was the kid's name, was confined to a wheelchair. Petra had told me that there wasn't anything wrong with his legs. That wasn't the reason behind the wheelchair. The reason was his lungs. She didn't know the details or the severity of his health issues, but even the simple act of walking was too much for him. He ran out of breath easily, so in order to get around without any trouble, he used a wheelchair.

"You won't even have to do anything," I told him. "Petra will push him around." She had taken a liking to Eren, said he was nice. I knew it bugged her that no one had befriended him because of his mode of transportation.

Jean shrugged. "Whatever then."

The bell rang and I took one last drag from the cigarette before I handed it back to him. "Put that shit out."

"Why the rush?" He took another puff of smoke. "Coach will be able to smell it on our clothes, anyway."

"Just put it out," I said.

He dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his shoe. "Happy?"

I didn't answer him. Instead, I walked toward our fourth period, which was gym class with Coach Smith. He was a monster of a man and was one of the few adults in this town that I didn't downright despise. That had a lot to do with the fact that he'd bailed me out of trouble more times than I care to admit. He was the only person who knew that Kenny, my good-for-nothing uncle, had more or less abandoned me.