Espoir

One

i. Daffodil; A new beginning

Jasmine

She hated summer.

Even more than currently being stuck in her grandparents' hometown where all her friends weren't around, still not granted a mobile phone at the age of 16 because her parents thought it would distract her from her studies, and definitely more unbearable than facing her parents' high expectations of herself.

Summer's the worst.

"Aren't you sick of staying in for so long? You haven't taken a step out for days." Her mom walked into the living room and sat down on a bamboo chair beside her with a glass of lemonade in hand. "It's not like you're doing much anyway. You could go for a short walk. The weather's nice out there."

Distracted by the heat, Jasmine didn't immediately register what her mom just said.

She was staring at the lemonade that her mother was chugging down instead, and swallowed thirstily. Jasmine was very tempted for a cold, rejuvenating drink too, but she was feeling too sluggish to go get it from the refrigerator herself.

Honestly, the heat really wasn't the worst thing about summer. It was how it made her feel, unmotivated and not looking forward to anything. It sucks to wake up and go to sleep feeling that way. For days. And then weeks.

Being aimless wasn't a great feeling to have, she realized.

"Not happening." Jasmine fanned herself with a magazine that she was flipping through without paying much attention moments ago, frowning when that didn't help at all. Redirecting lukewarm air back to her face was only making it worse. "Mom, it's summer. It's burning out there. How is it possibly nice?"

Her mom took the magazine out of her hand, gaining a small whine from Jasmine. She was down with nothing to help ease the heat now. Sighing, she sank deeper into the couch.

Her dad spoke up behind the newspaper that shielded his face from her view, after her mom delved into the world of fashion. Jasmine had forgotten that parents came in pairs, always working together.

"Hey, this is the town I grew up in! Just a short walk won't do you much. Go take a look around. You'll like it."

Jasmine let out a small groan, bracing for what was coming next.

"Summer's a great time to have fun. The weather's always sunny, so you won't have to worry about the rain. When I was your age, all the kids were so excited to step out of the house to play during summer. We played in the river, went into the woods and caught many kind of bugs!"

Her dad went on and on about his childhood and how fun summer was. She rolled her eyes, not getting why her parents could be unaffected from the heat, loving summer entirely.

"We are staying for three weeks, no harm in getting to know the town." Her mom pushed a little more.

Jasmine sighed, remembering how her parents had received a call from her grandparents to come over during summer break, thus landing her in such a situation.

For the past few years, she dealt with summer better since she could hide in her room with air conditioners installed. This year though, Jasmine's grandmother expressed how much she missed them, so they had started packing just two days before the trip to make it back as soon as summer break began.

Glancing at her parents with mild irritation, she met their gazes that were expectant.

Guess I didn't really have a choice to begin with.