Summer Gone in a Glimpse

chapter six

As we stood before the towering block of flats, I couldn't help but let my words trail off, "We have about seven floors..."

Kendrick, always one to make a remark, couldn't resist chiming in. "Any obvious observations, Freya?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"We can wait until someone opens the door," Nova states.

"Or we can try to open it ourselves," Carter suddenly interjected, capturing the attention of all of us.

Without hesitation, he walked up to the door, a determined look on his face. We watched in anticipation as he grabbed a simple branch and skillfully manipulated it, as if performing some sort of magic trick. And just like that, the door swung open.

"I have to admit, that creeps me a little." I tell Carter.

With a proud grin on his face, Carter looks at me, "It did help though, didn't it?"

Filled with a mix of excitement and trepidation, the four of us stepped into the lift, ready to ascend to the seventh floor.

I knew Ava's parents weren't home, most likely just her little brother. I knocked insistently on the door, eager to see her face.

"Jesus Christ, Freya," she exclaimed, blinking away her sleep. "What the hell are y'all doing here?" Her voice held a hint of annoyance. 

After exchanging glances, it becomes painfully clear that none of us have the faintest idea of what we're doing. The weight of uncertainty hangs heavy in the air, suffocating us with its presence. Just as the silence threatens to consume us whole, Carter breaks the tension with a hesitant voice.

"Uh, we are going on an adventure," he declares.

Ava takes a deep breath before uttering her response. "Come in, you losers," she beckons, her tone a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

We step into her apartment and make our way into her room, which is noticeably smaller than any other room in the house. Everything surrounding us is so quiet that I can hear Kendrick's steady breathing behind me. We all find a seat on her bed while she is standing up like a disappointed mother.

"Why do you all look like you have no clue what you are doing?" she questions, her voice tinged with curiosity and frustration.

Before Ava can continue, I interject, "Okay, so, partially, you are right. We have no clue what to do now, but we do have an idea," I confess, my words hanging in the air.

"Continue," Ava prompts, her curiosity piqued.

"Carter isn't technically wrong. We are embarking on an adventure, one where we choose not to sleep tonight," I explain.

"We just don't know where to go now," Carter adds, his voice filled with a sense of longing for direction.

"Personally, I was abducted," Nova speaks up, her words met with a chuckle from Ava.

Ava lets out a sigh, "You guys never cease to surprise me," she says, shaking her head.

"What if we go somewhere we've never been before?" he proposes, his voice laced with a hint of uncertainty.

"Somewhere where exactly?" I inquire, my curiosity piqued.

"Does it matter?" Kendrick shrugs his shoulders, "That's why it's called an adventure."

"Nobody called it an adventure besides you," I look in disagreement at Kendrick.

Ava, always quick to contribute, joins the conversation once again. "How about out of town?" she suggests, her eyes gleaming with a sense of adventure.

"The beach?" Nova interjects, her words carrying a spark of excitement. The beach.

Ava joyfully says, "Oh my god, that's my dream!"

"You are the brain of this group, Nova." I gently grasp her shoulders and plant a kiss on her forehead.

I get up from the bed and go with Ava to pack some backpacks of meaningless stuff, something that we hope it's going to be for use, meanwhile she gets dressed.

"I see you came back from your little trip," she remarks, her voice filled with curiosity as we sit in the living room packing. I left at the beginning of summer to go and spend it in the suburbs. It wasn't planned or anything, but I couldn't hang out with Ava and Nova while I was there. I once suggested them to come with me, but Nova's mom said no, so in support of her, Ava didn't come either. "But I am not going to act like it's not weird to see you at my door at four in the morning."

In the suburbs everything is more accessible, to everyone's surprise, the parties blow everywhere once a week, the bike rides are endless and the friendships you build there stuck with you forever, "We were at a party and it got crushed out so we couldn't go home. Look, I want to make this day as remarkable as ever. I want to spend it like we always wanted. This one time, I want us to be reckless. "

"Do you think it's going to work?" Ava asks, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"I hope so, in fact, I know so." I say and hug her tightly. Ava has been my childhood best friend, and we always had the same dreams and ideas for what a perfect summer would look like. Unfortunately we can't spend the whole summer together since we all spread to different places.

"I'm glad you are back," we release from the embrace, yet she continues to hold my hand. "But tomorrow I leave for Italy."

"Tomorrow? Ava, that's amazing!" I exclaim, but I can sense her skepticism by the worried look on her face.

"But will we make it in time for tomorrow's flight?"

"Don't worry, tomorrow you will be thinking about how beautiful this day was." Ava smiles at me with hopeful bright eyes, and I do the same.

"Okay, what about this sundress?" She pulls a floral dress from her wardrobe.