Honestly, it really had been too cold out.
But the sun was tentatively shining, growing more confident as the day matured, the first flowers of spring were making a debut appearance, and there was absolutely nothing stopping us.
We wore our summer clothes. Ratty t-shirts, threadbare shorts, our faithful, deteriorating sneakers. All standing in neat rows on our bodies, waiting to be crumpled and muddied. My hair pulled back; his, shading his eyes like a dense hedge of autumn colored leaves. I was itching to rip out the rubber band and let my uneven bangs sweep back over my cheeks, a tangled curtain of freedom.
Nothing was in our way. Leftover diamonds in the late morning grass sailed our shoes along. We kicked up grass as we hopped the fence at the far end of the lane, buoyed along by naive joy on a cloudless sapphire day. We hardly dared to stop; it felt as though we were flying. A laugh escaped me and I breathlessly called out his name.
“James!”
He glanced back at me with a gleeful smirk on his face, sneakers beating out a triumphant song on the damp earth as we hurtled down to the ravine, ringed by a dense clump of trees which spread out into a churning sea of little green flags, fluttering on the cool breeze. “Going too fast for you, Katie?” he shouted back over his shoulder.
I grit my teeth and spurred on. “Watch yourself, you idiot,” I growled, and careened into him. We slammed to the ground and rolled down the hill, crushing an army of twigs and weeds into our arms and legs. Panting, bruised, and entirely happy, we slowed to a stop on the rocky banks of Endor Creek.
Disentangling our sandy limbs, we laughed together, peals of it ringing out over the rushing water, pooling and swirling where the stream stilled. It collected near the rocks and glittered in radiant droplets on the emerald ferns gathered at the edges of our resting place. As ours faded away, it was replaced by the serene, steady chuckling of Endor Creek. Overlaying the rich melody was a chiming of high giggles, filling in the harmony.
The mood had grown too tranquil. James pried a rock out of the moist soil and tossed it into the middle of the stream.
Ker-plunk.
Again, nothing but unfaltering burbling and our panting breath under golden-green light filtering down through the overgrowth. I tugged the rubber band out of my hair and shook my head to let my dirty blonde tangles fall over my shoulders. Adults told me it was caramel colored. Caramel is too sweet. It smoothes over your tongue, frictionless, sealing your tastebuds like spackling paste with its sugary flavor. I prefer dirty blonde. I besmirch beauty.
James leaned back on his elbows. He grinned at me. “I bet you can’t beat me across the creek,” he goaded.
“I bet I can.”
“Prove it, Princess.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re on. Loser.”
James snorted and straightened up, wearing the fresh grime on his clothes like a prestigious medal. He offered me a hand up. I slapped it away and stood up myself, causing his smug grin to widen.
“On the count of three…” James turned to the eddying creek, facing the slippery, mossy stones strewn across its undulating surface, over which we would soon be hopping.
“One…”
I contemplated the nippy breeze that had already raised goosebumps on my arms and legs. How much colder would I be if I fell in?
“Two…”
Too late now, I don’t want to look like a wimp, but…
“Three!”
We sprang forward, our nimble feet seeming to barely touch the slimy stones before flitting forward. I felt the rush of adrenaline from my desire to beat James, fueled by my unwillingness to fall into the icy water. Right, left, right, left, my stomach gave a nasty wobble as I nearly missed my next foothold. Then, I saw it. James and I were going to collide. The split second before we reached the same rock, my instincts kicked in. It was him or me.
My arm flew out, smacking him squarely in the face.
“Katie!” I heard him screech behind me, followed by a magnificent splash. I safely bounced off and arrived at the opposite shore. Breathing heavily again, I turned back to look at a soaked, shivering, disconsolate head bobbing in the middle of Endor Creek.
“How does that water feel?” I cracked up, watching his grumpy face.
“Come here,” he demanded, treading against the currents, his reddish hair plastered to his face.
“Ha. Very funny. Get out.”
Something sparked in James’ eyes. “Come here, Katie.”
Endor Creek
-Danica M.