The Start Of Summer
1848 Words
The house had been unusually quiet since exams ended.
No alarm clocks. No rushed breakfasts. No textbooks spread across the dining table like battlefield maps. Just silence.
Bethany was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan as it spun lazily above her. Summer break had officially started. One semester left. Just one. And then high school would be over.
It felt unreal.
A soft knock echoed downstairs, followed by the sound of the door opening.
She didn’t think much of it until she heard her dad’s voice.
“Jake! It’s been a while. What brings you here?”
Bethany’s eyes widened.
Jake?
She immediately sat up.
Downstairs, Jake laughed lightly. “Dad sent something for Uncle. Said I should drop it off myself since I was coming this way.”
“Well, that’s good. You never visit unless there’s a reason,” her dad teased.
Jake scoffed. “That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“Is Bethany home?” Jake asked casually.
“She’s upstairs. Probably pretending to rest.”
Bethany gasped dramatically.
Before she could even fix her hair, she heard footsteps climbing the stairs.
Knock. Knock.
She jumped off the bed and rushed to the door.
“Yes?”
“Permission to enter, Bluey?”
She rolled her eyes immediately and swung the door open.
“Jakey!”
He barely had time to react before she threw her arms around him.
Jake laughed. “Okay— okay! I missed you too.”
She stepped back, scanning his face. “You disappeared.”
“You disappeared,” he corrected. “I called you last week.”
Her expression fell slightly. “I’m sorry. Exams. I was literally drowning in textbooks. I need to boost my score so I can get into the college I want.”
Jake nodded, instantly understanding. “That makes sense.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry though.”
“It’s fine. I get it.”
There was a small pause.
Bethany kept staring at him.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
She blinked.
Then suddenly gasped like she had just remembered something life-changing.
“Oh my God.”
Jake frowned. “What?”
She grabbed his shoulders dramatically.
“Jakey! Your birthday is coming soon!”
He stared at her blankly.
“It’s on Friday!” she continued, shaking him slightly. “Your 20th birthday!”
He tilted his head slowly. “…Oh yeah.”
Her jaw dropped.
“OH YEAH?” she repeated loudly. “Oh yeah?! Jakey, you’re turning twenty! Your first adulthood!”
He blinked. “I’ve been an adult since eighteen.”
“Not emotionally,” she fired back immediately.
He gasped, pretending to be offended. “Excuse me?”
She started pacing her room like a motivational speaker.
“Twenty is different. It’s dramatic. It’s symbolic. It’s— it’s… responsible adulthood!”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t have to,” she snapped dramatically. “It just sounds convincing.”
Jake laughed. “You’re unbelievable.”
She stopped pacing and crossed her arms. “So. What’s the plan?”
He shrugged. “No plan.”
“No plan?” she repeated slowly.
“I don’t have many friends to celebrate with anyway.”
Something softened in her eyes for a second.
Jake had always been like that. Quiet. Reserved. Never the type to gather a crowd.
Bethany suddenly straightened.
“What if,” she started carefully, “we go to your dad’s vacation house?”
Jake blinked. “The one three hours away?”
“Yes!”
He frowned slightly. “Why?”
“Because it’s summer,” she said dramatically. “And it’s your 20th birthday. And we need something big.”
He looked unconvinced.
She leaned closer. “We could spend the weekend there.”
“Just us?” he asked.
She paused.
Then smiled slowly.
“No.”
Jake narrowed his eyes.
“I’ll invite my friends,” she continued casually. “Ava. Cal. Nelson. Sarah.”
He looked confused. “Those are your friends, Bluey. Not mine.”
“Common, Jakey,” she nudged him. “They’re fun. You won’t be bored.”
He hesitated. “Apart from Ava, I don’t really know them.”
“And that’s the fun part! You get to know them.”
He folded his arms. “I’ve only talked to Evan once.”
“That’s enough!” she said quickly.
He stared at her.
Bethany quickly added, “Besides, it won’t just be you guys. It’s summer. Let’s go out and have fun.”
He studied her face carefully.
“You’re planning something.”
She gasped dramatically. “I am not!”
“You are.”
She grabbed his arm. “Please, Jakey. It’ll be fun.”
He sighed.
“…Fine.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?!”
“But,” he added quickly, “you have to convince Uncle. We’re spending the night.”
She froze.
Right.
Her dad.
She narrowed her eyes mischievously. “You convince him.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re turning twenty. Responsible adulthood, remember?”
He rolled his eyes but laughed.
“Fine. I’ll talk to him.”
“Yes!” she cheered.
Jake headed downstairs.
Bethany immediately grabbed her phone.
First call: Ava.
It rang once before Ava picked up.
“HELLO?”
Bethany grinned. “You sound like you were waiting for me to call.”
“I was bored,” Ava replied. “What’s up?”
Bethany took a deep breath.
“Okay. So. Jake is turning twenty on Friday.”
Ava went silent.
Bethany smirked.
“And he had no plans,” she continued dramatically. “None. Zero. So I told him we’re going to his dad’s vacation house for the weekend.”
There was still silence.
Then—
“WHAT?!”
Bethany burst out laughing.
“Wait,” Ava said quickly. “Start from the beginning.”
So Bethany did.
She explained how Jake came over, how he forgot about his birthday, how she reminded him it was his “first adulthood,” and how she suggested the vacation house.
“And he agreed?” Ava asked breathlessly.
“Yes.”
“Like agreed agreed?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re inviting people?”
“Yes.”
“And I’m people?”
“You are first-class people,” Bethany replied.
Ava squealed.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.”
Bethany laughed.
“This is huge,” Ava whispered. “Do you realize what this means?”
Bethany smiled knowingly. “Summer freedom?”
Ava groaned dramatically. “Alone time.”
Bethany burst into laughter. “Relax.”
“No, you relax,” Ava snapped playfully. “Do you know how long I’ve liked him?”
Bethany softened slightly. She knew. She knew everything.
“It’s just a weekend,” Bethany said gently.
“Exactly!” Ava replied. “A whole weekend!”
Bethany laughed again.
“Start thinking about what you’re going to wear,” she teased.
“Don’t even joke with me,” Ava said seriously. “I need to plan.”
Bethany could already imagine Ava pacing her room.
“This is the best start to summer ever,” Ava declared.
Bethany smiled.
Maybe it was.
After hanging up, she immediately called Evan.
It rang longer this time.
“Hey, Blue,” he answered softly.
Her heart melted at his voice.
“Hey, Van.”
“What’s up?”
She bit her lip.
“So… Jake is turning twenty on Friday.”
“Okay,” Evan said cautiously.
“And he planned something.”
Technically a lie.
“He’s taking us to his dad’s vacation house for the weekend.”
There was a pause.
“Us?”
“Yes. Me, you, Ava, Cal, Nelson, Sarah.”
Another pause.
“And he asked me to invite you.”
Silence.
“Wait,” Evan said slowly. “Jake knows Cal and Nelson too?”
Bethany froze for a split second.
“…Yes.”
A beat.
“…Well, no.”
“What?” Evan asked, confused.
“I told him I’d invite them,” she corrected quickly. “But he specifically asked me to invite you.”
Another lie.
She felt slightly guilty.
“Oh,” Evan said softly.
“Common, Van,” she continued gently. “You’ll get to know my brother more. And it won’t just be you guys.”
He hesitated. “It’s the whole weekend?”
“Yes.”
“I’d have to tell my mom.”
Her heart skipped.
“Please?” she whispered.
“I want to come,” he said quickly. “I just… need her to agree.”
“Convince her,” Bethany pressed lightly.
He chuckled. “I’ll try.”
She exhaled slowly. “Okay.”
After hanging up, she texted Cal and Nelson.
They replied almost immediately.
Cal: “Free vacation? I’m in.”
Nelson: “Say less.”
Sarah responded a little later.
“I’ll ask my parents.”
Meanwhile downstairs, Jake was having his own battle.
“I don’t know about this,” Bethany’s dad said.
“I’ll be there,” Jake replied calmly. “I’m the oldest.”
“That doesn’t make you the adult,” her dad countered.
“The nanny will be there too,” Jake added.
Her dad narrowed his eyes. “I’ll call your father to confirm.”
Jake nodded. “That’s fine.”
There was a pause.
“Uncle,” Jake said seriously, “I’ll take care of them.”
Her dad studied him for a long moment.
“…I’ll think about it.”
Jake nodded respectfully.
When he returned upstairs, Bethany was pacing.
“Well?” she demanded.
“He said he’ll think about it.”
She groaned dramatically.
“But,” Jake added, “he’s calling Dad to confirm about the nanny.”
Her face brightened slightly.
“That’s good, right?”
“It’s not a no.”
She crossed her arms.
Jake leaned against the doorframe, smirking. “You’re way too invested in this.”
She gasped. “It’s your birthday!”
He raised an eyebrow.
She quickly added, “Your first adulthood.”
He burst out laughing again.
“You’re impossible.”
She grinned proudly.
After he left, Bethany lay back on her bed.
Ava was probably already planning outfits.
Cal and Nelson were probably packing in their heads.
Evan was probably talking to his mom right now.
Her smile slowly faded into something softer.
What if his mom says no?
What if Sarah’s parents say no?
What if her dad says no?
Her entire summer plan depended on those three answers.
Across town, Ava was lying on her bed staring at the necklace Jake once gave her—the first necklace she ever got from a guy.
She touched it gently.
What could she get him for his 20th birthday?
Meanwhile, Bethany stared at her ceiling again.
Would everything go as she planned?
Or was summer about to surprise them all?
- Writer
