Hazy Afternoon
It’s that time of year where the heat wakes you as soon as the sun rises. It’s been raining the past few days, so now that it’s sunny again the air is all steam and vapor. The fans that have been on for weeks do little to alleviate the discomfort. Still, it’s sunny and it’s the weekend, so it’s time to have the friends around for a nice cold drink or two. You send a text to the group chat and of course everyone is awake and keen already because, well, it’s summertime. There are Zooper Doopers in the freezer and beers in the fridge, so all that’s left to do is wait. You sit on the couch to watch tv and pass the time, but all you can think about is the puddle of sweat that's collecting between your thighs and the leather. You regret the leather couch more than anything right now. Amber and Riley show up first and join you on the couch; everyone is uncomfortable. There are chairs outside though, so you all move out into the warm breeze with your ice-cold drinks. You crack the top, take a sip, and then hold it against your chest. More friends arrive with drinks, eskies, and ice. You pull out the speakers and put on that song that always starts the sesh. People dance and drink under the blazing force of the sun. You look out at the tree that stands all the way in the back by the fence. The tree that dies in the heat of every summer and comes back to life every autumn. Today the air dances around it; the humidity sparkles in the sunlight of the hazy afternoon. The bare branches of the tree sway to the music and you think, I haven’t had that much to drink.
“Hey, guys.” You say. “I think maybe we should go inside.”
The crowd boos you into submission and you tell yourself it’ll be fine.
The sun passes overhead, and just as it starts to dip back down again, Amber falls. You rush over to help her up and take her inside. Heat radiates off her body and as soon as you’re out of the sun you can see the deep red colour her skin is turning.
“Oh God, I think I’m gonna be sick.” She mumbles and drops to the ground.
You let her rest on the cool tiles of the kitchen floor and go grab a Zooper Dooper for her to suck on. Riley comes in to check on her and sees her barely holding on.
“Oh shit, she doesn’t look good.” He says.
“Yeah, I think she might have heat stroke.”
Riley springs into action, grabbing the tea towel from the oven handle and soaking it under the kitchen tap. He squeezes some of the water out over her chest and then lays it over her neck. You run back outside to the rest of the group and cut the music. They glare and shout at you like you’ve just murdered someone right in front of them.
“Guys, Amber’s got heat stroke. Everyone needs to come inside.”
They grumble amongst themselves and drag their feet until Darcy starts throwing up. No one’s ever seen Darcy throw up before; he has the stomach of a Viking.
With the sun off their backs but the heat still in their skin, reality sets in. What they wouldn’t give for a little air conditioning. The fans are racing, but it isn’t enough. There are so many people laying on the tiles that they’re no longer cool. Rey drags an eskie inside and plonks her ass down in it, not bothering to move the drinks out the way. The ice immediately starts to melt and little puffs of steam rise around her. You hand out Zooper Doopers and cups of water. Three people are in the shower with the head spun up so the water can bounce off the roof and rain down over all of them at once. The floor is soaked, so you grab a towel and block the gap under the door hoping to flood the bathroom and make a pool deep enough to swallow you up. The water level rises and you lay down and close your eyes.
You wake up when Riley opens the door and lets your pool spill out into the living room.
“The sun’s down.” He says.
You lift your heavy body up and out into the living room where everyone is gathering themselves to leave. The floor is sticky with sweat and partially flooded, but you can’t bring yourself to care. The group files out and you shut the door behind them. You can’t look at the state of your house right now, all you can do is drag yourself to bed and sleep.