The Summertime Squad

1

Tap tap tap. I frowned as a wave of confusion swept over me. What was that sound? I pursed my lips as I concentrated on the sound. Tap tap tap. It seemed to be coming from the window.

I hopped off my bed and ambled over to the window to locate the source of the sound. I looked out the window and gasped. Thick raindrops pelted against my window. The heavy rainfall mesmerized me. California had been suffering from a drought for so long and it was strange seeing such heavy rainfall. The rain was often associated with sad and depressing emotions, but instead, I felt a surge of happiness.

Mom's yell pulled me out of my reverie. "Aspen, do you want to go to the Amaris' house?"

I hesitated a moment before deciding. "Sure, just let me grab my raincoat!"

+++

My mother and Mrs. Amari (Saif and Mazin's mom), had become close friends. They bonded over their background since few Lebanese people lived in Grantville. Not to mention, my father did not speak Arabic so my mom enjoyed knowing someone she could speak to in her native language. My dad did like to claim he knew how to speak a little Arabic, yet the only word he knew was "no".

My mom knocked on the door and Mrs. Amari opened the door seconds later. "Marhaba Leila wa Aspen!" she greeted cheerfully, which translated to "Hello Leila and Aspen".

"Marhaba," I greeted back awkwardly, with a small smile. I slipped off my converse and scanned the room. Mrs. Amari seemed to notice because she said, "The boys are in the living room, gaming as usual."

I smiled. "Thanks."

When I entered the room I was surprised to see three boys sitting cross-legged on the carpet facing the t.v. instead of two. "Hey," I piped up.

All three boys whipped their heads over their shoulder. "Oh hey Aspen," Saif chirped.

"Hi," Mazin said sounding distracted, before reverting his attention to the t.v. screen. The other two boys did as well.

I sat down on the soft carpet beside Saif. My presence seemed to go unnoticed as his eyes remained glued to the screen. A black CD cover lying near me caught my attention and I grabbed it. The front said Call of Duty in bold white letters. I glanced up at the screen divided into three sections. Each section was a different perspective of a person shooting people. They were definitely playing Call of Duty.

"Ha! I win! Take that suckers!" Saif yelled seconds later.

Mazin narrowed his eyes. "Whatever noob. We let you win."

"Yeah right, just admit it I won," Saif said, soaring with pride.

"Sore ego Mazin?" I asked in a teasing tone.

Mazin blinked, taken aback. He looked over at me. "Oh, I forgot you were here."

I scowled. "Gee thanks, Mazin," I replied with mock offense.

"Sorry," Mazin said, sarcasm lacing his voice. His eyes flitted over to the quiet boy sitting on the other side of him.

"You know Lucas, right?"

I looked over at Lucas. He was good looking, with a lean, athletic physique. He wasn't heavily built, but he wasn't as skinny as Mazin. He looked like he was from a country in South America, with tanned skin and caramel brown hair. His eyes mesmerized me the most. They were hazel, but looked like a sea of gold, brown, and green. His eyes were earthy and reminded me of bright green grass and rich brown soil.

"Yeah I do, we're in the same grade," I responded, my cheeks warming. I hoped I hadn't zoned out for too long.

"And Lucas you know Aspen?" Mazin asked.

"Yeah I do, she's in three of my classes," Lucas responded, with a slight accent.

"Great thanks, guys. That saves me time from having to introduce you two."

I shook my head in mock disapproval and Lucas smiled. Saif remained inattentive as he played Clash of Clans on his phone.

"Let's get out of here, I'm bored," Mazin said, standing up.

Saif snorted. "You're only bored because I beat you," he responded, but stood up anyway.

I shuffled my feet in an awkward manner, unsure whether I was invited or not. As if reading my mind, Saif said, "Do you wanna come with us Aspen?"

"Sure, where are we going?" I asked.

The boys exchanged a glance. "The park?" Lucas suggested. "We could play soccer."

Saif and Mazin nodded in agreement. "Sound good."

"The park?" I repeated.

The boys looked at me with a shocked expression. "You've never been to the park?" Saif questioned.

"Which park?"

"The park down the street," Mazin stated a matter-of-factly.
"Uh no," I said, feeling a little flustered. Why was it so strange I have never been to this park?

"Aspen you've lived on this street for years! How haven't you been to the park?" Saif exclaimed.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It never crossed my mind," I answered honestly.

Mazin rolled his eyes."You're so lazy, Aspen."

"Hey!" I cried, a little offended. "I didn't go because I'm lazy, but because I never thought about it," I defended myself.

"Sure," Mazin said, though his tone held an edge of playfulness. He started to walk towards the front door and we all followed suit. I quickly popped my head in the sitting room where my mom and Mrs. Amari sat.

"Mom I'm going to hang out with the boys at the park."

"Okay," my mom replied.

The boys already had their shoes on so I put on my converse in a hurry. "I'm ready," I declared.

"So what's so great about this park?" I questioned as we walked on the sidewalk towards the park. The rain had stopped and the skies cleared up. The sun shone warmed my back and I wished I had worn lighter clothing.

"It's where everyone hangs out," Saif explained.

"Really? I thought that was an elementary school thing," I responded.

Mazin raised an eyebrow. "Not if you live in this small town."

When we reached the park it amazed me to see so many people. The funny part was that it mostly consisted teens like Saif and Mazin had insinuated. There weren't any families or little children. The park didn't look how I expected it to, either. There was a playground, but there also was a big empty field, a splash pad, and a small pond. Besides the field, the park had many unoccupied grassy areas that I assumed were for picnics.

"Wow, this is... nice."

The boys didn't respond but seemed to be staring off into the distance. I followed their gaze, and they were looking at a couple of boys playing soccer. I remembered that they came here to play soccer. I didn't plan on playing though, I just wanted to watch and give whichever team I decided I liked better moral support.

We all started to make our way towards the boys on the other side of the field. As we neared, one of the guys noticed us. His face lit up and strolled over to meet us. "Yooo where were you guys?"

Mazin shrugged. "At home."

I recognized the boy as Connor Myers, a classmate of mine who lived two doors down from Mazin and Saif. Connor was the "stereotypical Californian boy" with blonde hair styled into a quiff, sea green eyes, and tanned skin. Connor also surfed which was most likely the reason for his athletic physique. I frowned, realizing that all the boys towered above me- well except for Saif who remained only a few inches taller than me.

"Oh hey Aspen," Connor said, as if he just noticed me.

I shot him a small smile. "Hey Connor."

"So are we going to play or not?" Connor asked, smiling.

"Same teams as last time?" Saif asked.

Connor shrugged. "I don't care. My team is going to win regardless."

"Oh my gosh, you and Mazin are the same," I remarked, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

Mazin scoffed. "Connor and I? Please, I am obviously much better at soccer."

Connor smiled in amusement. "Yeah, we'll see. Okay, same teams as last time."

We all started to walk to the rest of the boys; all whom I knew already.

"We're playing the same teams as last time," Connor announced.

"I can't remember the teams," An Asian boy named Ian said. Ian was the only one shorter than Saif- but only by an inch. Saif and Ian still were only 14, so they still had time to grow. I did not, but I wasn't complaining since I was fine with being 5'5.

"You were on Mazin's team," Connor reminded him.

"Prepare to lose," A boy named Joseph mocked, with his soft Nigerian accent. Ian smirked, "I wouldn't be so confident.""We have odd numbers though," James, a boy also in Saif's grade, pointed out. 7 pairs of eyes landed on me and I shifted uncomfortably, feeling nervous. Why were they looking at me? Mazin gave me a once-over and my cheeks started to burn. Finally, Mazin spoke up. "Can you play?"

---

A/N: Fast forward 2 years and it looks like not much has changed! Hope chapter 1 was enjoyable! Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, and don't forget to vote if you liked this part!