Something About a Meteor

“God, it’s hot.” Casper dropped down on the pavement beside his friend Alix after unwrapping his already half-melted ice cream. “Yeah that’s what the weather is, did you forget that?” Alix paused after that statement to squeeze out the water of his bandana to re-wet it again at the nearby fountain in the shade. “I guess it makes sense, yeah”

They finished their quick break to ride on their squeaky bikes back to base with a bunch of snacks. The wind blew weakly around the hot air as many others ran around during a long school break. It was summertime, of course, so a lot of people were excited to do a lot of things. Getting snacks together, racing around, building forts, it’s the youths’ prime time. Someone got into a fistfight over ice cream. A news board mentioned something about a meteor, it must have been the new movie. The ride back to their home base wasn’t that long that it was exhaustingly tiring, but it was long enough to see many parts of town like the air-conditioned library or nearby river.

The trees lost their leaves a bit quicker this year, but summer break was still going on so it didn’t matter that much to Casper. As long as he was able to hang around his friends and there’s no homework, it couldn’t be that bad. The sun was still beating down harshly on them, but there were still a good amount of fluffy clouds in the sky. Much better than winter in Canada, Casper thought to himself. They biked to the side of the river bank and decided to rewet their bandanas again. Bandanas were actually used by cowboys to make sure they stayed cool in the hot wild west! Wetting a bandana helps to keep their neck and face cool, thus acting as a great way to beat the heat. Fun facts Casper remembered over the textbooks in school. 

“Hey Alix.” Casper splashed a fistful of water onto his friend as he grinned. Alix wiped the water over his face and smiled before saying, “No you,” then returned the splash with an even bigger one. The river was a bit more narrow than they had remembered, but the water was luckily still as refreshing under the trees. 

They continued on their ride after the cooling water fight. “Yo, when do you think we should go to an amusement park?” Casper said out loud as he was wandering around his mind while riding. Roller Coasters are amazingly fun and an absolute must-do during the summer, right? A pause. Alix thought over the question a bit before sighing after a few seconds, “I dunno, maybe when this heatwave is finally over.” 

Once they got back they unloaded their bags to their snack reserves in the closet of their friend Mei’s basement. It’s their place to organize their fun missions for the day. Couldn’t get too lazy during the summer, right?

“How’s the heat?” Mei waved as she came to greet them.

“Not as bad as last week, but it might get hotter later on” Alix replied with a more tired tone than before, the ice cream effect was only a temporary fix. Casper laughed as he refilled his water bottle, “Say that when you’re not actually dying from the heat.” “Shut up, Casper, I’m fine.” Alix continued to wipe his sweat with the bandana. 

“Mei!” Casper threw an ice pop at her. “Ew, it’s melted” She grimaced at the squishy bag of juice. “Go freeze it then, bleh.” 

“Anyways,” Alix started to go over their “mission report” while leaning against the wall. It was their fun thing to do, acting like they were cool spies or scouts. “There’s less ice going around and a lot of people are fighting over every cold thing. I saw a fistfight at the ice cream shop” Alix tapped his head as if to see if he was forgetting anything, “I also feel like we shouldn’t go out that much now, it’s too hot.”

“Wait, what,” Casper turned around from organizing his backpack, “Since when was a little heat going to stop us from going outside?”

“When it starts getting too hot, Casper,” Alix said as he put his arms around his head. Casper stood up from sitting on the ground, “We have bandanas though, so what if ice is hard to get, we have a freezer.”

“Casper,” Mei said calmly, “I know you like going outside and all, but for real, I think Alix is right here.”

“Right? He’s always right! But it’s not that bad!” Casper exclaimed. Summer wasn’t for staying inside. Sure games and watching videos are fun, but it gets too stuffy inside. They had a code all the way from grade school to always hang out together outside every day during the summer. Casper started sweating a bit more, whether it was from the heat or his own blood starting to boil, he wouldn’t have known. 

“Hey, calm down,” Alix stated in a neutral expression, but Casper took it in a condescending way. “Look, I think the heat is getting to you.”

“The heat is completely fine! It’s summer! It’s supposed to be hot!” Casper yelled out in a defiant way. Alix and Mei looked at each other and then looked at the growing more confused and angry friend of theirs.

“Casper,” both said in unison, “It’s January.”

Casper fainted from heat exhaustion.

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