The summer we turned thirteen (Re-releasing 2025)

Chapter thirty-eight: Never the same

Harlee

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The night ended on a high note.

After milkshakes, James and I rode home. Then we tried to figure out just how we'd climb back into our rooms without waking our families.

After a bit of deliberating, we resolved climbing up the way we came down was the only way. We knew it might result in disaster but felt we didn't really have any other options.

James came up with an idea for me to stand up on his bike seat as he held it steady to make the climb up smoother. But since I would be up in my room unable to do the same for him, that plan did not sit well with me.

I wasn't about to risk him falling and hurting himself either, so I was ready to call it quits and call our parents to confess.

Then I got an idea based on something I'd seen in a Starstreamflix spy movie and decided to use some of the bobby pins I had in my hair to get us both inside. A couple of Newtube tutorials later, both James' and my front door were unlocked.

Although I had unlocked his door first, James, being his cautious and protective self, refused to enter his house until I was in mine. So I was the first one to go inside. Before I could walk in, though, James seemed like he had something else he wanted to tell me.

"Good luck not getting caught," he'd said whilst squeezing my hand gently.

I had a feeling he had wanted to say more than that. But it was late, and I didn't know if my hunch was correct, so I didn't press it.

I went inside and locked the door then went upstairs quietly. After checking to make sure my parents were still asleep (which they thankfully were), I returned to my bedroom and untied my sheet from my bedpost.

After putting it back on my bed, I went to let my blinds down and close my window but waited until I saw my best friend enter his bedroom to do so. Once he had, I gave him a wave, then closed my window and shutters; I changed into my pajamas next; then replied to James' goodnight text; then finally got back to my photo album.

I smiled at the photo of James and me clinking our milkshakes together on my phone. I'd been looking at it over and over again that night.

My smile grew even bigger when I recalled that James had said we should make midnight milkshakes a tradition when we were old enough to drive. That filled me with even more hope that this definitely wasn't our last night as friends. In fact, it was probably the first night of the rebirth of our friendship.

"This is the perfect photo to close the album with," I smiled to myself as I uploaded the new photo of us to my laptop.

Afterward, I printed it off and put it in the photo album, making it complete.

I couldn't wait to give it to him the next day.

"Harlee, wake up," a female voice called out to me, waking me from my slumber.

I opened my eyes to see the sun peering into my window, and my mom sitting on the edge of my bed. She was dressed in casual clothes instead of work ones, and I wondered if I'd gotten my days mixed up or something.

"Did I miss something?" I yawned. "Is there a reason you're waking me up early in the summertime?"

"Early? It's nearly one; you slept so late I almost thought you had a fever," Mom responded, brushing some hair out of my face. "But then I figured you were probably just tired from all that fun at the amusement park."

Yeah, and from climbing out my window at midnight, I thought.

I stared into my mom's eyes to see if I could find any trace of suspicion in them. None was there. They really had slept through the entire escapade.