The summer we turned thirteen (Re-releasing 2025)

Chapter thirty-four: Backyard camping and shooting stars

Harlee

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"I can't believe she actually apologized," Rachel said through the phone.

"I can. Like I told you, she isn't all that bad," I remarked.

It was the end of James' and my first full day together, and I was sitting in my bedroom telling Rachel about all that happened. Right then, we were discussing the surprise encounter James and I had had with Farrah and Evan in Town Centre. After zip-lining, before we arrived at our lunch destination, we ran into Farrah and Evan, who were on a "non-date" date.

Apparently, Farrah had asked him to go out with her.

That wasn't much of a surprise to me.

I had actually kind of expected something like that to happen.

What I hadn't expected was Evan to say yes to her.

But his facial expressions and actions indicated he'd merely done it out of obligation. Even more so, when he made it clear that it wasn't "a date" during our conversation.

When Farrah pulled me aside to talk to me in private, I told her how much she'd hurt Rachel. And Farrah seemed to feel bad about it.

"I'm really sorry about kissing Evan right in front of Rachel," she had said to me. "It wasn't my intention to upset her at all. I've just been waiting so long to do that. I guess I just should have thought more about what I was doing and that she was standing right there."

The most surprising part of the apology was the last of it when she said, "Please, tell her I had planned to do that before I even knew she was coming to the party. And I didn't mean to hurt her feelings."

I repeated it verbatim to Rachel, clinging to the hope this might be the chance for them to reconcile their friendship. And it seemed to be melting some of Rachel's iciness toward her ex-best friend.

Because once she got over her initial shock, she said,

"Maybe, you were right, Harlee. Maybe, I have misjudged Farrah."

My mouth curved into a smile at her statement. I pumped a victory fist into the air.

"I mean if she cares that much to apologize for something she didn't even mean to do...Then maybe..." she started then paused a minute. "Just maybe, she doesn't only care about herself," she finished, sounding hopeful at the possibility.

"And maybe, you two could forgive and forget?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, just maybe," Rachel replied.

I gave a triumphant cheer, and Rachel giggled at me.

The fact that she was willing to mend things and Farrah seemed to be willing to as well felt like a step in the right direction.

Now, after such a fantastic day, I had even more to celebrate.

Two friendships being put back together in one week, I thought happily.

Summer seemed to finally be looking up after all.

"Flashlight?" I asked.

"Yup," James confirmed.

"Bug repellent?" I read next from the checklist on my phone.

"Check."

"Marshmallows?"

"Check and check," he said, holding the two bags of them up.

We were standing in his backyard, making sure we had all the supplies for our camping trip. It was Tuesday evening.