“Which way does this...”
“Loop it through there - no - there - ”
“Stop, wait... no - get your hands off - ”
“Let me try - ”
“Let me.”
“Wait, my hand - OW!”
Lesley snatched back her hand as if it were on fire.
“Shit,” I hissed, balancing precariously on the branch while I strained to catch a glimpse of Lesley's hand. “How bad is it?”
Lesley whimpered and flipped me off.
“What,” I gasped, affronted. “It was an accident, no need to - ”
“No, idiot, my finger!” Lesley whisper shouted.
I peered at the impolite gesture in bemusement.
“There's nothing wrong with it.”
“Look.”
I studied it closely. It was slightly pink around the edges of the nail.
“Oh for Christ's - ” I sighed exasperatedly and turned away, reaching up to finish tying the knot. “I thought I broke something.”
“You nearly did!”
“Suck it up.”
“Shhhhh!” Lesley suddenly hushed, and I obeyed, for there was a figure standing by the window right beside our chosen tree. It's shadow cast itself onto the curtains.
Lesley shot me a panicked look as we strived to make ourselves as small as possible.
A tanned hand reached out through the dark curtains and undid the lock, sliding the window open. Then it disappeared. We stayed in the same position until the lights turned out.
“Phew,” Lesley sighed. “That was close.” I nodded with feeling.
“What the fuck?”
I couldn't help it - I shrieked. Lesley slapped a hand over my mouth and we froze, staring at the window in horror.
There was no one there.
“Down here.”
We slowly exchanged looks and moved our gazes two meters down.
“What the hell are you two doing in my tree?” Chad Ervins demanded in all his Batman pyjama pants glory.
What on earth was he doing here?
“Is that Robin on the corner?” Lesley whispered not so quietly.
“I think so - and there's the Batmobile too,” I whispered back.
“Detailed pair of pants, huh?”
“Indeed.”
“I don't think my pants are of any of your concern,” Chad said. From our vantage point, his face was fabulously bright red.
It occurred to me that if we could see him so clearly, it was probably the same for him.
“They're very nice, I have a pair just like them,” I called down.
“Uh, thanks.” He appeared slightly mollified but mostly confused. “Can you guys get down from my tree?”
“Oh, right. Sure!” Lesley replied brightly, and we proceeded to scramble down the knarled tree with ease.
“Lesley?” Chad said as soon as we stood before him. He ran a hand through tousled blonde hair in bemusement.
“Hey, Chad,” Lesley said easily, giving a little wave. I was mystified for a moment, wondering how he knew her.
YOU ARE READING
The Rules of Summer
Humor“Why do I feel like high school was so... unfulfilling?” Biance's high school life was normal. Bland. Boring. And after graduation, she was unsatisfied with how her teenage life was doomed to end. So she and her best friend, Lesley, decided to come...
