The sun stood high in the sky over the fenced-in pool area where Dylan lay, floating on his recently bought pool mattress. He hadn't really moved in a few hours now, with the exception of going to the bathroom and filling up the water bottle in his hand with more water. Next to his floated another mattress which was currently empty, but had a moment ago been occupied by his best friend Felicia.
"Didn't you just go to the bathroom, like, half an hour ago?" Dylan chuckled as Felicia came out from the poolhouse. She hopped onto her own mattress and, with some difficulty, put herself in a comfortable position.
"Yeah," she sighed and put her sunglasses over her eyes, "but you know, 'you gotta keep hydrated', and that leads to the need to pee." The middle part she said with some sarcasm, this to mock the words her mother had drilled into both of their heads before they had left the house. Dylan uttered a quiet "mmhm" and closed his eyes, taking in the last sun rays of August. Tomorrow school would start, and there would be no more relaxation for four painful months.
It was actually very strange that they were the only two in the pool a nice day as this. There had been a mom with two kids, but they had left at about 12:30, probably to get lunch. Now, they had been all alone for about three hours, and they'd decided to stay until dinner, despite the unfaltering heatwaves.
"Do you need a ride tomorrow?" Dylan asked and took a sip of his water. Felicia did have her own car, or well, kind of. She'd crashed it while on break, a story that she'd had to explain a million times over. It was nothing major, only a broken fender and some motor trouble, but she didn't have the money to fix it and her parents refused to pay.
"Nah, but thanks," she replied with a small smile on her lips. "Xander's driving me."
Dylan suppressed a groan. In his opinion, Xander was a jerk who was nowhere near Felicia's league, but after weeks of complaining when the two of them had just started dating, Felicia had given Dylan a piece of her mind. In short, she'd yelled at him for not being supportive and told him to get with the program or get out.
Dylan wasn't about to throw away ten years of friendship over not liking her choice in men, so they'd hugged it out and he'd apologized. It didn't change how he felt, but now he didn't say anything.
"I know you don't like him, but I do." She said as if she'd read his thoughts. "And I really appreciate you not telling me how much you dislike him all the time."
"Yeah." Dylan sighed and put his bottle in the cupholder. "Anyway, I'm getting too hot." And with that, he rolled off the mattress into the cool water.
He held his breath for as long as he could, peacefully watching the sun rays in the water from beneath the surface. Ever since he was ten he'd been fascinated with the ocean and everything it held. At fifteen, he'd learned more than one hundred species of underwater creatures, which had seriously impressed a guide at the local aquarium. Ironically enough had he been terrified of fish up until the age of seven, when he'd gotten one as a mean prank from his older brother William.
When he broke the surface again, Felicia was laying on her stomach, tanning her back. "You can hold your breath for a really long time." She mumbled with her eyes closed. "I thought you had drowned." Dylan let out a laugh.
"And you did nothing?" He grinned and rested his head on the floating mattress.
"Mmmm, no." Felicia smiled innocently.
"Okay."
He took hold of her mattress from underneath and flipped it over. Felicia's squeal was cut short as her head disappeared under the water, and Dylan was still laughing when she resurfaced with a look of faked irritation.
"You asshole!" She shrieked, a smile on her face, and started bombarding her best friend with water. She scooped up as much as she could and Dylan reciprocated with grabbing her by the waist and submerging the both of them.
"That's what you get for letting me drown." He chuckled when they'd come back up.
"You weren't drowning!" Felicia laughed heartily and steadied herself on her mattress. Dylan only shrugged, a smile tugging his lips, and sat down on the stairs to the pool. "Dylan?"
"Yeah?" He replied and slid down a step further down, submerging his ribs.
"We'll be seniors tomorrow." She said while trying to climb up on her float. "We will be the oldest in the school." She turned her head towards the sky and sighed.
"Huh." Dylan scoffed. It was kind of unreal to think about. Soon enough they would be in college and get a job and all that stuff. "One more year and then we're off."
"You're lucky, you know what you wanna be." Felicia paddled closer to him with her hands. "You have for a long time. Plus that marine biologists get paid well. I don't even know what I should major in." Dylan let out a nervous chuckle.
"You'll find something. You have time. And don't let me fool you, I'm terrified."
"I know." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Me too." Then she slid off her float and walked past him on the stairs. Dylan followed her with his gaze as she went over to the table where they'd put their stuff and got out two towels. "We should get going if we're going to get any dinner."
A hollowed-out feeling had settled in the pit of Dylan's stomach as they were talking about future plans. It shouldn't have, he had it all planned out, but he couldn't get rid of the weird feeling that something was off. It was most likely just anxiousness from beginning college in a year. And Felicia had it worse. She must be terrified that she hadn't picked a major yet, he thought as he helped Felicia pack their stuff up.
He didn't bother changing back into his shorts before they left. He pulled a white tee over his head and swung the beach bag over his shoulder. That was that. The last dip before having to worry about a trillion deadlines. The pool closed in September, so technically they had a few days left, but it wasn't the same after school started.
Maybe this was the year when he finally got a bae. The thought had come so abruptly that it almost surprised him, and in his head it had sounded like Felicia's voice. He'd never tried to get a girl before, not even in tenth grade when Felicia was trying to set him up with every single one of her friends. For some reason, none of them interested him. At all. Not even enough for a second date.
"Dyl?"
Dylan was ripped from his thoughts by Felicia's voice and he turned to face her. "Huh?" She laughed.
"What'cha thinkin' about?" She inquired with a slight grin. Dylan cleared his throat and smiled.
"Nothing important."
"Girls?" Felicia's grin spread across her face. Dylan hit her shoulder playfully.
"Yeah, right." He laughed. "Because as you know, that's all I think about. Not school, not soccer, girls. No, that's not what I focus on." Felicia looked at him intently. Her grin had quickly turned into an expression that even he, after knowing her for forever, couldn't place.
"I know..." She smiled and they continued down the road in silence. A few minutes passed before they finally turned into the driveway of the Solander residence.
Felicia opened the door and both of them stepped inside. She'd moved into the large house a year before kindergarten started. Before that she'd lived in a remote town outside of Jamestown, NC. Her mother had gotten a great job offer that they just couldn't say no to, and while she'd been sad at first, meeting Dylan had been the greatest thing to ever happen to her (her words, not his).
"Hey mom, we're home!" She yelled out and kicked off her bright green crocks. Dylan followed suit, dropping the beach bag to the floor and taking a few steps into the house. A strong smell of food hit him and he breathed in the scent.
Mrs. Solander had always been a wonderful cook, and Dylan could still remember the first time that he'd been invited over for dinner. It was a strange thing to remember, considering how long ago it was, but younger Dylan had never tasted something as good as Mrs. Solander's pasta.
"Hey, guys!" Mrs. Solander wore a bright smile as she came out into the hallway, hands on her hips and an apron wrapped around her waist. She turned her gaze towards Dylan. "I trust you'll be joining us for dinner?"
"Of course, if it's not any trouble." Dylan beamed and Mrs. Solander turned back to the kitchen.
"You know it never is." She replied, stopping in front of the stove to check on the food. Dylan did know that he didn't have to ask, but he always asked anyway. His mother didn't raise an impolite kid, after all.
"How long is it 'till dinner?"Â Felicia asked as she took a step up the stairs.
"Not long, could the two of you set the table?" Her mother responded. Felicia shot Dylan a look, asking if it was okay. Of course, it was, and he shrugged.
"Alright," Felicia answered her mother's question and went back down the stairs.
Dylan followed his best friend into the kitchen and started getting out plates and cutlery from various cupboards, both of their stomachs growling from the aroma of food.
"I was thinking that we could eat outside tonight," Mrs. Solander broke the quiet, "it's too nice out to sit inside, don't you think?" Felicia nodded and lifted the plates she'd been collecting.
"Good idea."
Dylan followed, though the glass door and out to the terrace. They put the plates down on the table beneath the gazebo. When they were finished, Felicia took a seat closest to the handrail. She looked out over the backyard and further still, toward the sunset.
"What're you thinking about?" Dylan asked, looking intently on his friend. His gut told him that there was something bothering her, but he didn't know what. And she didn't seem to want to tell him. She turned her head towards him, a gleam in her that even he couldn't decipher. Insecurity, maybe, or realization.
"Nothing. That summer's over." She sighed. "I'll miss the peace."
Dylan nodded slowly. "Me too." He pulled out a chair and sat down opposite of her.
"Do you think we will change? When we start college, I mean?" The question was almost shy, as unlike Felicia's usual extroverted personality as it could be. Dylan smiled.
"I think so, but I don't necessarily think that it's gonna be a bad thing... And I also think that you shouldn't worry about that yet. We still have an entire year of high school." He replied. "Don't get too ahead of yourself."
Just then, Mrs. Solander came out with a large frying pan filled to the brim with steaming hot pasta drenched in a brownish sauce. Dylan's mouth watered at the sight, so much so that he didn't even notice Mrs. Solander's struggle to carry the heavy pan.
"Dylan, honey, would you get me a placemat for this?" She gave him a slightly pained smile and he shot out of his seat. Without even replying he hurried away into the kitchen to get the mat. From outside he could hear Mrs. Solander ask Felicia to go get her dad.
"I'll do it," Dylan said from inside, hurrying out again with the placemat before Felicia even had had the chance of getting up from her seat. "He's in the garage, I assume?" Mrs. Solander nodded with a bright smile on her lips as he turned back inside.
"Mr. S? Dinner's ready." He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe to the garage. Mr. Solander's head poked up from behind a red Mustang and soon his entire torso was visible.
"Dylan, son, you know you can call me Rob," Mr. Solander sighed and wiped his dirty hands on an even dirtier rag. "And I'll be right there." Dylan pursed his lips and nodded, turning back towards the kitchen.
"He'll be right here." He said as he took a seat next to Mrs. Solander.
///