𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚-𝑻𝒘𝒐 | b. rodriguez

the hottest day

"I'm going to miss you so much," I said, squeezing Kate in a big hug.

That morning I'd helped her pack her suitcase and now we were just waiting for her mother's cab to arrive, standing on the driveway beneath a sweltering morning sun.

I gasped as Kate hugged me back even tighter. "I'll miss you, too," she said. Her embrace was so strong I choked for air for a few moments trying to escape her grasp before she let go.

"You trying to kill me?" I asked.

"Yeah, so I can bring your dead body with me."

"You're so weird," I teased.

"You too, sistah."

We giggled and she sighed.

"You know you told your mother you'd be back home by 11:00," she warned me. "So you can help her make lunch?"

I groaned. "You're right, but I don't wanna. I don't want you to go," I whined, bouncing on my heels like a toddler.

She put her hands on my shoulders and her sad blue-gray eyes peered back at mine.

"I'll call you as soon as I get there. You'd better answer. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And don't worry, I'll only be gone three weeks."

She grimaced as she said "three" as if it were an eternity instead.

"Only? Only? What if Phillips–"

"–Don't worry about that jackass. You can beat the shit outta him if you want, okay? He's not as tough as he seems. He's a wimp."

I furrowed my brows in anguish – being alone with a town full of boys with the only other girl willing to talk to me besides Kate being a stick up princess was not sounding too great.

"Go," she shooed me. "Your mom will be mad at you if you don't hurry," she said.

I gave her one last brief hug before I started off on my walk.

On the way home I ended up passing Ham.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey."

"Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing," he said, clearly flustered. "Just going for a walk, enjoying the day."

I raised a brow in suspicion. "Really?"

He tried to walk past me but I blocked his path.

"It's like 120 degrees."

"S-so?" he stuttered. "It seemed nicer before I started."

"You're crazy," I muttered, starting to walk again. "See you at the Sandlot."

"See ya."

✱ ✱ ✱ ✱

After I made it home in time to help my mother make lunch, she, Bill, Scotty, and I all sat at the table and ate in near silence. Poor mom kept trying to break it, asking each of us questions about what we planned to do that day.

Bill muttered something about going into the office straight away, and Scott and I just said "we're going to the Sandlot."

And so when we were done eating and cleaning our plates, we did just that.

Much to my dismay, the sun seemed to burn ten times hotter than it did just two hours ago. If it weren't for my Dodger's cap, the rays probably would've blinded me.