Summer Love

Planning Ahead

Sophie took note of all his belongings. "Since you already have the required stuff, I don't think we need to go to the store to purchase anything. However, I need to make sure of something. Is that notebook new?" She asked, grabbing hold of the notebook.

He quickly took the notebook from her and put it back in his bag. "No, it's not exactly relatively new, but it's completely blank. I bought it a while back, and I can assure you it will suffice."

Sophie lightly clapped her hands. "Alright, that's good to hear. To be honest, logging the charity work isn't really an official requirement by any means, but I think it will help in the long run."

"It's quite alright Sophie. Even if you hadn't asked me to do it, I'd still have done it," Max stated with a grin.

"Now that's the Max I know. Alright, it's time to go over the plans," she said, giving him a thumbs up. Max instinctively took out the notebook and a pen, ready to jot down the details. She unrolled her map on the table after clearing some space and pointed at a section of the map that had been marked with a circle. He inadvertently scooted closer to her to get a better look at the map and where she was pointing at. She felt a warmth spread through her chest when their knees touched. She held her breath and continued speaking, "First off, we'll be helping out at a nearby retirement home. It's within walking distance, so no need to worry about any transportation. Now, I know you're not too fond of interacting with people, so you'll probably just help with tidying up the place. How does that sound?"

Max breathed out a sigh of relief. "Yes, that sounds good." He chimed as he jotted down his assignment in the notebook. After he was done, he flipped the page upward to begin writing on the next page. "So, what will you be doing?"

She turned towards him and grinned, "I will be attending to the old folks."

Max shuddered at the thought, but he still wrote down Sophie's task just in case. Upon finishing, he clicked the top of the pen and the tip retracted into its designated place. He flipped between the pages, making sure he had everything written down. Once satisfied, he turned to Sophie, "So, is that all? You attend to the old folks while I tidy up the place?"

She giggled, "Yes, Max, that is all. Trust me, it'll be a lot more tedious once you've actually seen the place. This is your first time, so I wanted to keep it simple."

Max quickly shook his head and his hands. "Oh, no, no, no! I'm not saying that it's too little work. I'm just making sure that I've got the details right. This seems like plenty of work already," he muttered in a panic.

She grinned slyly, as if expecting his reaction. "Hehe, it's settled then. Let's go!" She cheered with both arms in the air. As Sophie stood up to gather her belongings back inside her bag, Max rushed throughout his whole house to double-check everything. He made sure to switch off most electrical outlets, and he made sure nothing was left unattended. After he was satisfied with his rounds, he headed to the front door where Sophie was already waiting for him. "Everything good?" She questioned, a hint of concern in her tone. Max gave her the thumbs up. She sighed in relief.

"Hold on, let me get your shoes for you," he said, grabbing his bag along the way. He walked out the front door and left it open. He donned his shoes first before reaching for Sophie's flats on the shoe rack. He handed them to her before stepping aside to give her space to wear her shoes.

"Well, after you, Milady." He gestured as he went to close the door.

"Why, thank you." She curtsied. Then, she started walking in a specific direction.

Max locked the door and tried opening it a few times, but to no avail. "Nice and tight." He whispered under his breath, smiling. When he finally gazed towards Sophie, she had already gone a few steps forwards without him. "H-Hey, wait up!" He called, quickly running up to her side.

They continued walking side-by-side in silence. They strolled along the sidewalk, avoiding the road despite there being no actual cars or traffic. Their hands and arms would occasionally graze against each other, making each of them draw in a nervous breath. He took note of their surroundings, passing the houses of his neighborhood. None of them were home as they were either on a holiday vacation, visiting their relatives, or they had work. As he kept thinking, a peculiar thought came to mind, "Wait, where does Sophie live then?" He wondered if it was an appropriate question to ask, but he decided that it was not necessary. Eventually, they reach the end of his neighborhood.

Max stopped in his tracks to breathe in the fresh air, and to prepare himself for departure. The route had been split into three different routes. Although he had been there many times, his journey would resume to the school on his left except for certain occasions where he would continue straight to a bookstore. He had never taken the route on the right. There would also be his neighbors and acquaintances to accompany him along the way.

After he had calmed down, he walked straight and suddenly bumped into Sophie. Unbeknownst to him, she had also stopped in her tracks to notify him of their next route. "Okay Max, the retirement home is just." Before she could finish, Max had cut her off when he bumped into her. They both lost their balance and started leaning in opposite directions; Max was leaning towards his back while Sophie was leaning towards her front. They both extended their arms in an attempt to regain their balance. To Sophie's surprise, her shoulders were suddenly grabbed by Max, which made her jerk backwards. This caused her to start leaning in the opposite direction, but it also allowed Max to steady himself. Sophie was on the verge of falling on the concrete sidewalk, but she found herself landing on something softer. Luckily for her, Max was there to catch her, still holding her shoulders.

"Um, sorry about that." Max shrugged, helping her get back on her two feet. "What were you saying?" He asked, letting go of her shoulders.

Sophie dusted herself off and turned around to face Max. Although she was glaring at him, Max noticed that her cheeks had a hint of red in them. "As I was saying, the retirement home is just up ahead. This time, I think I know a better way of guiding you there." She smirked, then grabbed one of his hands. Max did not have time to respond or process her action, and he was immediately pulled towards her direction.

Sophie continued heading to the retirement home while she guided Max behind her. Max was overwhelmed with mixed emotions; he was scared, confused and embarrassed altogether. However, his fear overpowered his embarrassment. He was more scared of being dragged around as opposed to Sophie holding his hand. Still, he kept trailing behind her at a steady pace so as not to bump into her again.

Eventually, Sophie stopped moving and let go of his hand. "Max, we're here!" She vocalized in joy as she turned around to face him. She also gestured to the building on her right, opposite to where they were at.

Max turned his attention from Sophie to where she had gestured. Just like she said, there really was a retirement home there, and it only took them about 10 minutes of walking to get there. "Well, what do you know? There is a retirement home here. I can't say I've been around here before," he noted as he eyed his surroundings. His paranoia faded in an instant and a new feeling was instilled; curiosity. He meekly approached Sophie, dragging his soles across the pavement. Then, he took her hands in his. "Could you show me more?" He muttered, and she nodded.

"Sure Max, but first, let's do this charity work." She said and looked at the retirement home.

Max cheered in excitement, jumping as high up as he could. "Come on then, let's go!" he exclaimed, running towards the building and pulling her with him. Sophie grinned, gladly following in Max's footsteps. Luckily for them, there were no cars in sight, and they were able to cross the road safely to the other side.