“Hey! Get dressed and meet me at the park in a half hour. Something nice, please. See you then, L!” Marge chirped, sounding wide awake. The call ended and I groggily sat up, checking the time.

Seven forty-five? On a weekend? Isn’t that a crime? I thought when I saw that it was still in the A.M. I threw on a flowing lavender shirt and some jeans, and finished it off with converse the same color as my shirt.

I managed to get a few curls into my straight brown hair, and was out the door after some cereal. “Bye dad!” I shouted into the house. “Leaving already?” He asked as he came down the stairs in his morning robe, and I sensed a little disappointment in his voice.

“Yeah. Marge called to wake me up. Apparently she made plans at the park for me.” I replied. He nodded. “I’ll meet you there in a few hours. I was hoping we could play soccer, like old times.” He suggested with a small smile. When I was little, we used to go to the park every Saturday and play soccer on the big field.

I felt tears prick, but held them back. “That’d be great.” I replied with a genuine smile. He nodded with the same smile and went to get his breakfast. “See you then!” I exclaimed before dashing out of the house with my phone and lip gloss in pocket.

I arrived at the park a few minutes later, and saw Jack and Marge sitting on a bench with their backs to me. “She’s not coming.” Jack said to her. “She’ll be here. I know Liz, and she’s always here on time, if I may add.” She said, giving him a look. I put my hands over their eyes and said, “Guess who?”

Marge laughed. “See, I told you she’d be here.” Marge said happily. “Fine, you win.” Jack said as I let my hands fall to my sides. “So why are you summoning me this early?” I asked, plopping down next to Marge.

“We were just in the area and thought it would be fun.” She shrugged, and I could tell there was more to this. “Jack?” I said, raising an eyebrow. He ignored me and nodded towards a big tree. “I bet you can’t climb it.” He said with challenge in his eyes as he held out his hand.

“Oh yeah? I accept.” I replied with my competitiveness on as I firmly grabbed his hand and shook it with a smile.

“How much?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Twenty bucks.” I stated confidently.

“Twenty-five.” Jack offered.

“One-hundred dollars.” I said, holding my head really high.

“You’re on.” He said, shaking his hand again. I didn’t realize we were still holding hands as we negotiated.

I ran straight for the tree, getting a running start, and pounced on the trunk, wrapping my legs and arms around it. Then I managed to shimmy up the foot or so of the straight stump before throwing my foot onto a piece of bark sticking out.

Then I somehow pulled up myself onto a thick branch and sat, swinging my legs. I looked down, realizing how high I was but not caring as I smiled victoriously. “Did it! You owe me a hundred bucks.” I shouted.

He laughed. “I think the altitude is messing with your brain.” He shouted back. “No it isn’t! We made a bet,” I said with playful defensiveness. He rolled his eyes with a smile and pretended to pull out his wallet.

That’s when I started to wobble. I took a deep breathe, steadying myself for a second. But then I lost it as the branch (which I thought was sturdy) started to wobble with me. “I have to jump!” I realized out loud. “No stay-“ marge started to yell back, but I was already jumping down.

I closed my eyes, bracing for impact. everything stopped, and my body went limp. But it didn’t feel like hard dirt below me. It was squishy and warm. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Jack’s face smiling down at me. “Am I dead?” I whispered, and he chuckled a little.

“Nope. I just saved your life. I think that’s worth much more than a hundred bucks, don’t you?” He replied, a grin on his face. I rolled my eyes. “I suppose.” I said.

He started leaning in again, but I jumped down from his arms. Marge’s jaw dropped when she saw that I didn’t also lean in, but I shrugged. Then we walked to the fountain and slipped our shoes off, lowering only our feet and ankles in the cool water.

“Splash fight!” Jack shouted, kicking water at us. I screamed and so did Marge as we kicked back, all three of us getting saturated. “Truce! Truce!” I shouted breathlessly as the kicking stopped. We all looked intently in each other’s eyes, waiting for someone to start again.

I dove for Jack’s ankles, but he splashed me in the face. Now I was face-first in the water, laying in it completely. But strangely, I didn’t care. That is, until my dad cleared his throat from outside the fountain.

“That was highly irresponsible and childish, Elizabeth Smith.” My dad said as I sat in the car, soaking the seat. I cringed. He only used my full name when he was angry.

“I know, and I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.” I started, and he nodded gruffly. “But in my defense, I didn’t start it.” I added quietly. He sighed.

“It doesn’t matter who started it. But you were part of it, and that counts.” He said, and I faced the window. He sighed again. “I won’t punish you.” He said quickly.

“What? Why not?” I asked suspiciously. “You were having fun. That’s one of the few times I’ve seen you genuinely smile since Mom...” he trailed off and stared out the windshield with a sad look on his face. But he shook his head, and just as quick, the expression was gone.

“Plus, I like Marge and her brother. They seem like fun, which is just what you need right now.” He added with a small smile. It’s true, it was the perfect distraction for a little while. “Thanks Dad.” I said with a smile after a minute of silence. He nodded and looked at me for a second.

Then we pulled into the driveway of the fire station. “Go get into dry clothes.” He told me as he twisted the door’s key. I nodded and ran upstairs, picking out a red T-shirt with “AC-DC” in big blue letters and a picture of the band. Then I pulled on some black workout-looking shorts and brushed my hair.

As I headed downstairs, there was a knock at the door. “Dad, the door.” I called. No answer. He must’ve been on a work call helping someone. Even though we’re a fire station, we mostly help people with health problems or medical things.

With Dad MIA, it was up to me to answer the door. I looked through the peephole and was shocked to see who was standing there. I slowly and shakily unlocked and opened the door, revealing a boy behind black-framed glasses with red hair. “A-Alex? What are you doing here?”

“Hey Liz.” He said with a wink. My heart melted. “I was wondering what you were doing tomorrow.” He said shyly. What was left of my heart dropped.

“U-Uh, I don’t think anything.” I stuttered, face-palming in my head. “Great! Would you like to go on a date with me? The pizza place at six.” He said with a big smile before walking away, probably not needing an answer and assuming I’d say yes.

I smiled at the ground and closed the door, leaning on it. I sighed dreamily and slid down before squealing excitedly, jumping over the couch, landing on it, and grabbing my phone off the coffee table.

Liz : Guess WHAT?!

Marge : What?

Liz : Alex asked me out!!!

Marge : That’s great...

Liz : But...?

Marge : What? Nothing? I’m happy for you

I looked up, annoyed. Why wasn’t she as excited about this as I was? Did she also have a crush on Alex? Should I ask her? Ugh, this is exhausting.

Liz : You don’t seem too happy...

Marge : No, of course I am! I just envisioned you with someone else is all...

Now I was almost furious. She “envisioned” me with someone else? She isn’t in charge of my life! I can decide for myself who I wanted to date.

Liz : Okay then... C u later

-Liz has exited chat-