The forecast said: cold.Reality said: LIES. ALL LIES.
Harumi woke up glued to the futon, the sheet stuck to her skin and her hair in a configuration that could only be described as an environmental crime.
— …no. — she muttered, opening one eye. — NO.
The sun burst through the window like it had been personally invited.
Harumi sat up instantly.
— NO NO NO NO, this is "October heat," I DID NOT PREPARE FOR THIS—
She stumbled through the house in full zombie mode, opening doors, windows, everything at once, until she found the fan.
Old.Yellowish.A war survivor.
She turned it on.
The fan responded by blasting 1998 dust straight into her soul.
— COUGH COUGH— I JUST WANTED TO LIVE—
Takeru appeared at the kitchen door, holding a plate, watching the scene with that calm expression that said "this is not my problem, but unfortunately it is."
— …are you fighting the wind?
— The wind started it. — Harumi replied, coughing. — It knew I was late.
She grabbed a glass, threw random things into the blender, pressed whatever button existed, and created a smoothie that had exactly the color of "I'm too pale to exist."
She sat on the floor, turned on the TV, and started sipping through a straw.
shluuuurpshluuuurpshluuuurp
The sound kept going even after the glass was empty.
Takeru frowned.
— …it's gone.
— I KNOW. — Harumi replied, still sipping. — This is psychological.
She jumped to her feet.
— I'M GONNA BE LATE. — grabbed her bag. — IF ANYTHING HAPPENS, DON'T DIE, I'LL BE BACK TONIGHT.
— That's not reassuring.
— IT'S ALSO NOT A WILL!
And she left.
Coughing. Happy. Wrong.
The problem officially began when Mei opened the back door.
She was completely excited to finally debut her beach outfit… until—
— Takeru… — she said slowly. — the lake is gone!!!!!
Takeru walked over.
The kiddie pool.
Dry.Sad.Abandoned like a bad idea.
— …ah. — he said. — makes sense.
Mei crossed her arms.
— IT DOES NOT!!!!
— It does. It's too hot.
— But TODAY was the day.
— Heat doesn't care about plans.
— I DO.
She stood up, determined.
— Mission: FILL THE LAKE.
The mission failed in five minutes.
Short hose.Weak water.Too much sun.
Mei sat dramatically on the ground.
— Takeru, why is steam coming out of the hose?
Takeru made a slightly alarmed face.
— …yeah, it's really hot.
— Summer betrayed us.
— It's still ten in the morning. — Takeru said. — Something worse will go wrong later.
He had no idea.
At two in the afternoon, like always, the neighborhood kids started showing up.
One.Two.Five.Seven.
Harumi's house officially became a meeting point.
Shoes abandoned at the entrance.Backpacks thrown around.Jackets forgotten.Laughter everywhere.
Takeru stood there, already knowing his role in life now was preventing accidental deaths.
— Is there food?
— In the fridge.
— Can I take some?
— If you don't finish everything.
— No promises.
They ate.They laughed.
And then—
Silence.
When Takeru noticed, THERE WERE KIDS IN SWIMSUITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM.
— …what are you doing?
— Summer. — one of the boys replied.
— The lake is dry.
A brief pause for everyone's collective disappointment.
— Then let's go to the BEACH!!
— …what beach.
— Ours.
"The giant backyard of Harumi."
The big lake behind the neighborhood.
The place where adults pretended kids didn't go alone.
Takeru closed his eyes.
— How many are we?
— Eight.
— Ages?
— Nine to thirteen.
— Technically not allowed.
— …we're basically four to seven.
— …perfect.
That's when his friend showed up.
Messy hair.Easy smile.Zero concern.
— Takeru! Let's go!
— Did you tell your parents?
— They know I exist, that's enough.
Takeru sighed.
— You're a problem.
— I know. — he laughed. — But what about you, did you tell Harumi? — Sora said, clearly trying to provoke him.
— Uh…
"Do I even need to tell her? I don't understand Harumi. Sometimes she worries about dumb stuff, and when it's serious… she doesn't care…"
He thought, making a doubtful face.
— Yeah, I get it… women are complicated. — Sora said confidently, like he understood everything.
Takeru replied with his usual expression.
"Now that I think about it… these two are actually pretty similar… idiots."
They started planning = mistake number one.
— I'LL BRING THE UMBRELLA.— I'LL BRING CHAIRS.— I'LL BRING FOOD.— I'LL BRING A BALL.— I'LL BRING THE COOLER.— I'LL BRING MY PLASTIC FISH.
— …no one is bringing a fish. — Takeru corrected.
Takeru grabbed a paper.
— List.
Mistake number two.
— Food.— Water.— Sunscreen.— Towels.— Extra clothes.
Girls: food.Boys: chairs, umbrella, cooler.
Everything coming from Harumi's house, because that house had everything… except common sense.
And just like that, without Harumi knowing,without any adult noticing,with absolutely no solid plan,
the neighborhood lost seven kids for an entire afternoon.
And gained:
An improvised beach.A guaranteed disaster.And the certainty that this would go wrong.
But not now.
Now…
it was summer.