The next installment

I am the first to get to the river, which is the case almost everyday. Matteus always has a hard time getting out of the house, and Lily takes forever to get ready. Neither of my friends are particularly early risers like me, either. So I sit down on the old log that we have made our meeting area, watch as the sun lazily makes its way over the horizon, and practice skipping stones while I wait.

       "Oooh. You got five jumps on that one," says a teasing voice from behind me.

        I smile. "I know. I've been practicing." Matteus Skylark sits down beside me on the log.

        "Let me try. I bet I could beat five skips," Matteus challenges. He pushes his shaggy, dark brown hair out of his eyes and throws the rock. Of course, he manages to beat me. Matteus has always been better than me at things like skipping stones and shooting rocks. This time he over skips me by 3 jumps. Can you imagine it? I was pretty proud with 5 jumps, but he puts me to shame with 8.

      "Hey, can I try?" Lilibeth Arabella walks over to us and lightly perches herself next to Matteus. I am always surprised at Lily’s style choices. She always wears nice dresses for non-formal occasions, and I’m sure her parents spend more of their money on her clothes than my parents do on food. Today she is wearing a short, sky blue lace dress with tight black shoes. Her perfect golden ringlets are tied back behind her ears with a ribbon. Lilibeth is just plain terrible at skipping stones. After 7 tries, she manages to get a single rock to jump once across the surface of the water, and then sink down to the bottom of the lake.

       "So... what do you guys want to do today?" asks Lily as she finally gives up on skipping stones.  We are all silent for a few moments as we ponder our day’s activity.

       I suddenly remember how the day before I had seen a brilliant hiding spot in a giant willow tree. I had been excited to try it out, and now is my chance.

      "Um, let's play hide-and-seek,” I offer, trying not to seem too anxious.

       “That’s not fair!” exclaimed Lily. “You always win, June.”

“Then you’ll just have to do a better job finding me!" I call as I race away. Matteus leaps from his seat and heads in the opposite directions. I hear Lily sigh in frustration and sit down to count. Matteus dashes off to the bushes and I hear him dive into the thicket. Positive that no one is watching, I dash over to the giant willow tree that hangs over the water. I heave myself up the branches and make my way to the spot where the leaves cover me from view, but I am still able to see what is going on below me. I push myself up against the trunk of the tree and wait.

      I am surprised how comfortable the tree is. The bark is smooth and the branches are thin, but sturdy enough to support my weight. I reach out and gently stroke a strand of soft leaves that help to cover me from view. Then I press my back against the trunk and curl my legs up so I’m as small as I can be. Suddenly, I hear Lily yell, “Ready or not, here I come!!!” I can see her golden blonde hair bobbing up and down as she runs. She peaks into the brush next to the lake and then around the oak tree around where I usually hide. I observe as she checks a few other places and then she begins to get frustrated.

            The truth is, Lily isn’t very smart, and she knows it. She becomes frustrated every time she can’t seem to do something right. She's not good at math, or spelling, or anything like that. The only subject she seems be substantial in is history, and that's been drilled into all of our brains from the moment we are all born. She has a private tutor, but I’m not sure if he really teaches her anything. Whenever I try to teach Lily something, she always tries to stray from the subject, and somehow gets out of it. She does the same thing with her parents. Lily gets away with anything because she is always golden and bubbly, just like the drink her parents sometimes have after work, and she’s just as intoxicating.

            I snicker as Lily sits down to rest right underneath me. I am beginning to wonder if this game is ever going to end when I hear a loud “Aaaaachoooo!” from the bushes where Matteus is hidden. Lily quickly lifts her head and dashes over to the bushes where the sound came from. I hear loud rustling and yelping as Matteus tries to get away as Lily ambushes him, and I have to restrain myself from laughing out loud when he curses loudly. Matteus is a very sore loser. Having played and won this game many, many times, I know that I cannot reveal my brilliant hiding place to anyone. So, as quietly as I can manage, I jump down from the tree, creep carefully behind my friends, who are peaking into every nook and cranny that they think I could possibly fit into, and, finally, as they peak around a small birch tree, I sneak up behind them and yell, “BOO!”

            Matteus jumps a foot in the air, and then has to sit down to calm himself. Lily’s reaction really makes me laugh. Maybe it’s cruel, but I think Lily is really funny when she’s scared. Now she screams so loud that I’m pretty sure I have momentary hearing loss, and then bends over and clutches her chest. She squeezes her eyes shut and has to take deep breathes through her mouth to keep from hyperventilating. Meanwhile, I am on the ground laughing. Next to me, Matteus is rolling on his side and holding his stomach. Lily glares at us. “You guys suck.”

            I know that this is true, but it doesn’t stop my laughing fit. “June, never do that again!” Lily squeals. I nod seriously, but we all know that this is something I cannot promise.

            Once we have all calmed down, we sit by the lake and talk. Finally, I lay down to bask in the late autumn sun and listen to my friends chat idly next to me. The rest of the morning continues in the same state of lazy contentment, our brains covered in a lethargic haze that only autumn can produce. Eventually, we realize that none of us has eaten anything since we met at the lake, so we decide to head over to Matteus’ house to have some lunch.