The Last Summer Apart

Chapter Four

My eyes slowly started to open. Light was pouring in the window. I looked over at Lucas. He was still sleeping. I reached over to my phone on the floor next to me. The clock said 7:30am. I groaned and rolled over. It’s too early for this I thought. But I’ll never get back to sleep now, it’s too light outside... ugh... I guess I’ll get up. I quietly grabbed my toiletries and crept past the sleeping Lucas and into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind me. I went to the washroom the washroom the girls picked, and someone was already in there. Surprisingly, it was Mahira.

“Good morning” I said softly.

“Hey! How was your sleep? She asked.

“Fantastic. Except I had to sleep on the floor and it kinda hurt my back.” I said, realizing the dull ache that sat on my lower spine.

“Dude you should have told me! I didn’t use my foamie last night, Roger let me use the bed. I could have given it to you! Do you have some muscle relaxants you can take?”

“Yeah, thankfully I thought ahead and brought all the meds I might need.” I said, popping one into my mouth and taking a swig of my water bottle. As I was putting my hair up into a bun, I saw Mahira pull out some makeup from her bag. “I don’t know if you need to wear any of that...” I began to advise.

“Jesus Audrey, if I have to hear one more time about how I ‘look beautiful without any makeup’ I swear I might just drown myself in that lake!” She retorted before I could finish.

“... because we’re going canoeing today and if you fall in, the mascara will run all over your face.” I finished.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry! That was so rude of me!! Thank you for the warning!” She said, throwing the mascara tube back into her bag with disgust.

I chuckled, finishing my hair. “It’s alright. You’re forgiven. I’m gonna go downstairs and make some coffee. See you in a bit.”

I went down the stairs and saw Roger already in the kitchen, leaning over the stove. He was shirtless, no surprise, and wearing red flannel pyjama pants. Does every article of his clothing have red flannel? I thought to myself.

“Good morning” I said, making him aware of my presence.

“Oh! Good morning! You’re up early.” He said in his rich accent, deeper than normal because it was so early.

“I knew there was no getting back to sleep because it’s so damn bright outside. I might as well get to helping. What can I do?” I asked.

He laughed loudly, then slapped his hand over his mouth, forgetting there were still sleepers upstairs. “Oops. I suppose you wouldn’t mind taking over flipping pancakes would you?”

“Sure thing.” I went over and took the flipper from him. As he passed me, I noticed a tattoo in the shape of a bird on the lower left side of his abdomen. “Hey, I’ve never noticed that tattoo before, when did you get it?” I asked.

He looked down, “Oh that! I got it at the beginning of high school. It’s kind of a commemoration to my grandmother, she passed away when I was in grade nine. She loved nature, and especially birds. She saw them as the freest beings on the planet, not trapped by schedules or commitments or anything. Just free. To soar and see the world.”

“Wow, that’s... inspiring.” I said.

“Yeah, she had that effect on people. I’ll be right back, I’ll go put on a shirt and wake everyone else up for breakfast!” He said, dashing up the stairs.

Before I could get too far into my thoughts, the whole crew came down the stairs as I was putting the last pancakes on. Lucas and Roger seemed to be bickering about something.

“...all I’m saying is that you could knock before just barging into the room!” Lucas was protesting.

“Oh that is rich coming from you!” I shouted from my position at the stove.

“This was different! He did it on purpose!”

“Ugh you guys, it’s too early for this!” Lauren said.

“I agree, can we try and keep the bickering down to a minimum this weekend?” Ethan agreed.

“Well at least this will keep everyone quiet for about half an hour.” I joked, putting the huge platter of pancakes down on the table.