summer of ava

THE LAST LAUGH

Their last tutoring day was on a Friday. Mr. Patterson had given up on actual teaching and let them have a "fun day"—which meant watching a movie about mathematicians and eating pizza.

After class, Jason and Ava walked out together, neither of them ready to go home yet.

"I'm gonna miss this," Ava said, looking back at the school building. "Is that crazy? Missing summer school?"

"Definitely crazy," Jason agreed. But he'd miss it too. He'd miss her.

They ended up at the school field, sitting on the grass under a big oak tree. It was hot, the kind of sticky summer heat that made everything feel slow and golden.

"Water?" Ava pulled a bottle from her bag and took a sip.

"Yeah."

She tossed it to him. Jason caught it, opened it, took a drink—and then, on impulse, squeezed the bottle so water sprayed all over her.

Ava shrieked, jumping up. "Jason! What the—"

He was already running, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

"You're dead!" she yelled, chasing after him.

They ran across the field, Ava surprisingly fast for someone who'd told him she had the athletic ability of a baby giraffe. She caught him by the tree, grabbed her own water bottle, and dumped the rest of it on his head.

"Truce!" Jason gasped, holding up his hands. "Truce!"

"Never!" Ava shouted, but she was laughing too hard to follow through.

They collapsed on the grass, both drenched, staring up at the sky through the leaves. Jason's sides hurt from laughing. His shirt was soaked. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this light, this free, this happy.

He turned his head to look at Ava. Her glasses were crooked, her hair was a disaster, and she had the biggest, goofiest grin on her face.

"You're not that annoying anymore," he said.

She turned to look at him, still smiling. "Wow. High praise."

"I'm serious. You're... you're actually really cool, Ava."

Something flickered in her expression—something soft and vulnerable. "You're not so bad yourself, Mystery Boy."

They lay there in the grass until the sun started setting, painting the sky pink and orange. Jason thought about how the summer had started with him hating everything, and now here he was, wishing it would never end.

"Same time Monday?" he asked as they finally walked toward the parking lot.

Ava hesitated. Just for a second. "Yeah. Sure."

But something in her voice was off. Jason noticed, but didn't push.