A Boy's Summer

“You just have to lean back and let the water take you with it.” August demonstrates how he floats on top of the lake water. He slowly starts to sink down until he is submerged before he jumps back up and shakes his head to get his black hair out of his face. 

I try and copy him by leaning back and lifting my legs up to float just like him. “Am I doing it?” I ask him in a high pitch voice, not trying to interrupt my float.

“You got it!” He says enthusiastically as I now slowly sink closer and closer to the shallow bottom of the lake. When I jump back up, he is clapping and laughing so I begin laughing to as I brush my hair back.

Earlier we decided to “go on an adventure” as August called it. We crept into the forest so no other kids would follow us and we came across a large lake with trees and rocks surrounding it. It feels private.

“Do you want to jump off that rock right there?” August says as he points in the direction of a small cliff at one end of the lake.

“Is that safe?” I ask, concerned.

“Does that matter?” August matches my body and language and pouts. I chuckle at his stupid face. 

“Fine. You’re going first, though.” I reason with him.

“Deal.” He says while holding his hand out for another hand shake. I grab it and we shake on the deal we just made. We march through the thick water until we reach the cliff. We climb up one side, cutting our fingers on the rough rocks. Once we reach the top, the wind blows the water off of our soaking bodies and our hair starts to dry with it.

“Well, good luck dude.” I say, taking a step back from the edge. 

August looks over the edge clearly uncomfortable but tries not to show it. He gets a little closer and squints his eyes towards the water, “What is that?” He points down towards the water curiously.

I step closer to the edge next to him and look down at the water, “I don’t see anything-” without hesitation, August’s hand shoves my back and I fall off the edge and plummet towards the water. I let out a painful scream as I brace for impact. The water feels like it’a made of bricks when I hit it hard. I submerge under the water and jump back up to yell at August. But just before I get the chance, he jumps in after me. 

His large splash hits me in the face, causing me to wipe the water away again. He is laughing and smiling while I try and show him I’m angry by keeping a serious face on. 

“Oh come on Eli. That was fun and you know it.” August moves closer to me, slowly trying to get mey to laugh but I don’t budge. I keep a frown on my face and my arms crossed as water drops onto my face from my hair. I move my eyes away from him to show more anger. August gets closer and closer until he is right in front of me. “Eli, don’t be mad at me.” He tries to reason.

His smile has faded slightly out of worry that I actually am mad at him so I look back at him. How could I stay mad at his stupid face.

August gives a pouty face again which I can’t help but laugh at.ing.“Fine.” I give in and smile at him. He releases a breath as a smile grows back onto his face. 

“Do you want to do it again?” He asks raisingraisign his eyebrowseye brows. 

“Hell no. Never again.” I reply, taking a step back. He shrugs before jumping on me and tackling me under water. We wrestsle around for a few minutes as he lightly slaps me and I lightly slap him back. I call his name, “August” a few times followed by, “Stop it” but he never does.

When I finally escape his tackle, my hands are resting on his arms and his are doing the same thing. I quickly remove my arms and take a step back. I give a quiet, “Sorry,” without looking at him.

August doesn’t respond, it’s just quiet except for the small droplets of water hitting the lake one by one. August takes a deep breath before asking, “Do you have any plans tonight?”

I look up at him and his smile is gone but his eyes are filled with hope. I decide to answer, “I was probably just going to hang at Records.”

He nods his head and hesitates to ask, “Would you want to hang out again?” When I don’t answer immediately, he tries to make excuses, “It’s just that I’m not needed at work most of the time. More that they don’t trust me with the cash register or anything important, so I’m just looking for something-” 

I cut him off by saying, “Sounds fun. Where should we go?’ His smiles resurfaces and he lets out sighs of relief. 

“I’ll do my research.” He seems proud of himself saying that. He then says, “Meet me at the rooftop seven.” He then rushes out of the water to grab his towel.

I call after him, “Wait up!”