The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Think Swimmer

ON A LATE FRIDAY NIGHT, the constant state of stress and boredom combined had me watching this show Ben recommended a thousand times any chance he got. I couldn't do much from my house, could only brood so much until it wasn't helpful anymore. So when Dad retreated to his bedroom and I couldn't sleep, I opened my laptop and tried to distract myself. 

Two episodes into Breaking Bad, I felt the phone vibrate on the mattress. 

Need water bottle. Pass me one?

As always, part of me felt guilty over all the work to watch my house. I often passed snacks and anything they might need to try to compensate. I'd even offered to complete some of their homework since they were this busy. 

All quiet?

I don't feel anything close. You can come out. 

Five minutes later, I snuck out of my room with a fleece jacket and crept into the kitchen. Armed with a flashlight, I was out the back door, scanning the blurry forest for wherever Luc might be. I never saw him unless he wanted to be seen. 

A luminous blink among the trees placed me in the right direction, and he used signals every few seconds until I arrived at his abandoned backpack near a dense pine tree. Up he sat, on top of the highest branch that could support his weight. I clipped the flashlight out of the way.

"Ran out of water?" I asked and thought, why the hell not? I dug my fingers in and started to scale up. I could see ahead of me, but progress was slow as he snuffed out his light. 

"Uh-huh."

I spiraled around the bark, rattling needles with each transfer, but I found a solid perch just underneath his. Before I settled down, my eyes widened at what he was holding on his lap. 

"What's that?"

He smirked. "What's what?"

"That." I pointed at the wet little eyes poking out of his folded hands. "Is that a frog?"

He lifted it almost to my nose where I could stare into the tiny, brown critter. "Caught this handsome little lad before climbing and he decided he wants to chill here. My hands need to stay wet."

Ooh. I got it, now. "He didn't try to leave?"

"Nope. I opened my hands and the guy doesn't want to move. I'm kind of stuck here."

Since there was a frog that depended on me, I unstrapped my bag no questions asked and hung it within reach, then extracted one of the water bottles I was carrying. Luc let me pour a small amount. Once I returned the bottle, I leaned my elbows and chin on his branch, studying the thing and how calm it was. 

"And I thought you were so lonely and bored out here," I poked. 

He revealed a quick smile. "You've held frogs before?"

I perked up, shaking my head. Almost instantly, he gestured at me to open my hands, and I felt the feather-light patter along my palm as the frog gently moved. I couldn't help but stare at him in awe, because I didn't imagine it would be that precious. I never perceived frogs as anything cute or interesting before. 

"Okay," I said, won over as I peeked into the hole between my hands. He was small and snug, and his throat was bobbing nonstop. "He's mine now."

Luc peered down, placing his free hands on either side of the branch. "Give it a name, in that case."

"Well, the mister looks friendly..." I brought it to my face, squinting. "How about... Swimmer. We have that in common."

He seemed satisfied with that and gazed at the cusp of trees. "You showed up at the most boring season. In the summer, you can hear all the frogs trying to get laid or go swimming in the river. After it rains a lot, the trails become mud slides. In wintertime, you get snowboarding and iced slopes. But fall? Fall is just pretty to look at."