Stormy Summer

A Lazy Game

I gasped, and Anna squeaked as we both jumped apart to escape the ball that hit the wall behind us. This is not how we thought our time here would go.

This little ginger kid was awesome. I didn't think someone this small could possibly jump this high. His friend, too, is amazing. He's definitely a great setter. The smaller one is jumping and hitting with his eyes closed, which means that the setter is capable of tossing to the exact spot where his friend would hit the ball.

I've never seen a duo like this. Not over here or back home.

"That's so weird," Rose whispered toward me as she threw the ball back to Kuro, who had joined the three of them as soon as we got outside.

I nodded, my eyes lingering on them for a few seconds longer before I turned to look at Rose, "Do you want to keep watching?" I wouldn't necessarily be against it, though, I'd feel bad if they're bored again. This trip was supposed to be about us, after all.

Rose glanced at me and shrugged, "Don't really mind," she frowned, "Charlie?"

I turned to look at Charlie and saw her just before the door closed behind her. Rose and I looked at Anne, who just shrugged in response.

I was about to go after her when the door opened again, and Charlie came outside again, holding up my deck of playing cards, "Let's play?" her suggestion was voiced more like a question, as she looked somewhat unsure of her suggestion.

We walked a little ways away from the boys and sat down around a small table that I got out of the shed a few days earlier. Charlie handed the deck to me so I could shuffle and hand them.

While we played, we had to be cautious of the ones playing behind us, as the ball flew in our direction more than once, which is probably why Kuro is teaching them how to block properly. From what I gathered, they're first years, so it's not much of a surprise that they have a little trouble with things such as how to block accurately.

"What are they doing here anyway?" Anna suddenly spoke up, and I saw Rose almost flinch beside me, "Don't ask that so loudly!" she whisper-shouted.

Anna shrugged, "They're not even listening," she argued, "Didn't owl say they have to practice all week?" I nodded.

"I don't know... Maybe they got a few hours off for some reason?" Charlie offered, shrugging as well, "It's your turn, by the way," she added and Anna looked at the stack of cards in the middle of the table, "a nine?"

"A... six," Rose corrected her, checking to make sure, "You really haven't played before? you have to look at these corners," Rose raised her brow at Anna, who huffed in response, sending Rose a look that could kill. In turn, Rose raised her hands in mock surrender, "Alright."

When Anna had told us that she'd never played before, I was shocked, but then I remembered that she was an only child and thought that it may be because of that. The rest of us all have siblings we are more or less close with, or in Rose and my case, we had each other to play cards with.

Rose wasn't as close with her sister. While she seemed to love her dearly, their relationship seemed to be more complicated than it might seem at first glance. Her younger sister was the polar opposite of the kind Rose that I grew up with, and if I didn't know any better, I wouldn't have guessed them to be siblings.

I, on the other hand, had three brothers. Two older brothers and a younger one. When we were younger, Rose and I used to play with my second oldest brother, as we were all close in age, but we slightly drifted apart from him as we grew older.

While he went out to party with his friends every other weekend, I had sleepovers with Rose. While he got drunk, I binge-watched shows all day, either alone or with Rose. Later, Charlie and Anna joined more often than not. While we continued to go to school, my brother started working.

"Summer?" Rose nudged me and I startled out of my thoughts, "huh?" I let out intelligently.

"It's your turn," Charlie raised her eyebrow at me, "What's on your mind?" she added after a moment of hesitation as I ended my turn.

"Nothing much," I answered, "your turn again."

"If you say so..." she seemed unsure for a few seconds, but I knew she wouldn't ask about it further, "Spade, please," she declared, setting down a Jack, and I groaned inwardly.

I don't have spades.

What moron shuffled these cards?