Friends Forever

[OverCast]

Matthew sat on the steps of his porch, waiting impatiently for his friend to arrive. Finally summer, done with the fifth grade and ready to start middle school. School was the last thing on Matt's mind; he was more consumed with thoughts of hanging with friends, which was what he was waiting to do now. His brother was in the front yard, juggling a soccer ball around like always. That was Garrett, always the soccer player.

With his parents consistently away for business, Matt was allowed to roam the city freely, and he always had money on hand. Maybe him and Corrie would go swimming or something, it sure was hot out anyway.

 

[RacingTheSunrise]

Corrie practically skidded to a stop in front of the house, tripping and catching herself with outstretched hands on the top step. Her recent growth spurt had left her uncoordinated, to say the least, even though she hadn't really grown that much. She would have appreciated it more had she known how little she was going to grow in the coming years, but for then it was annoying. "I'm here!" She exclaimed excitedly, peering up at Matt with a wide, lopsided grin, and brushed her badly-cut bangs away from her eyes before sitting down on the step beside him. "Where are we adventure-ing today?"

 

[OverCast]

"Adventuring is for little kids, Corrie! Aren't you s'posed to be in middle school?"

Matt snickered, walking off of the steps of his porch, meeting face to face with the girl.

"We should go swimming at the lake! It's really hot out!"

Matt crossed his arms. he already had swimming shorts on, so they might have to make a stop at Corrie's house to get some clothing for that escapade. Matt was a pretty capable swimmer, at least for his young age. He grabbed her by the hand innocently and began running gently back towards her house, limiting her decision to either: going swimming or going swimming.

 

[RacingTheSunrise]

"You can still adventure in middle school!" Corrie exclaimed, her blue eyes widening at the prospect of an adventure-less future. However, her train of thought was quickly cut off by Matt's words and, before she could really make a decision, he was pulling her towards her house. She stumbled slightly before regaining her balance, but before long she was running beside him, their hands clutched between them.

The Connors household was quite close- only a few houses down from Matthew's -and they reached it quickly. Corrie tugged her friend through the door into her house. Without another word she dropped his hand and ran to her room, returning a few minutes later in a bathing suit. "Noah, we're going swimming!" She shouted upstairs in a voice that seemed to big for her little body. Her older brother was probably still sleeping, she decided, catching up on missed rest during his first year of university. She grinned broadly at Matthew. "Ready to go adventuring?"

 

[OverCast]

Matt waited downstairs as Corrie put on her bathing suit, waiting for her so they could go swimming. When she came down the stairs, Matthew couldn't help but express his distaste.

"Finally! Lets go!"

He made his way towards the door and pushed out of the air conditioned home and into the hot, humid air of Melbourne. Elmwood, the neighborhood they lived in, was shaped like a circle, and in the center was a huge lake that kids from all social classes swam in. It wasn't that far; in fact, the road just off of the one he was on led straight to it. He turned off the street, looking behind him to make sure Corrie was still there every so often. They came to the edge of a forest that overlooked the massive lake, of which the water was clear. Even in the center, where the water was fifty feet deep, you could see the bottom.

 

[RacingTheSunrise]

Corrie stopped at the edge of the woods, her wide eyes taking in their surroundings. She came to the lake just as often as any other kid around here -a lot- yet still, the lake's beauty never ceased to amaze her. There were less people there that day that she had expected, but still, the sounds of laughter and splashing water filled the warm air. Corrie, kicking off her shoes, shot a crooked grin at Matthew. "I'll race you there!" She shouted and quickly took off towards the sparkling surface of the lake, her long shock of a pony tail streaming behind her.

 

[OverCast]

Before Matt could get ready, Corrie had already offered a race.

"No fair!" he shouted, running after her in a futile attempt to catch up. Despite the fact that he played soccer, he was very slow on his feet compared to other kids; maybe that's why he played goalie. She made it to the water first, but he was only a few seconds behind, and he immediately splashed her, before he was even knee deep in the cool, refreshing lakewater. After splashing her a little bit, he began to tread water, going deeper into the blue.

 

[RacingTheSunrise]

Corrie let a soft giggle escape her lips as she wiped the cool water off her face. She splashed back half-heartedly, but was obviously much more interested in swimming deeper into the lake. The small blonde was a pretty decent swimmer- not nearly as good as she pretended to be, but good enough that she was confident she wouldn't drown. Still, she was kicking a lot harder than she probably had to to keep herself afloat, her mouth occasionally dipping under the surface of the water, and she had to invest a lot of willpower in not swimming back to somewhere she could touch.

 

[OverCast]

Matt swam in the deep part of water pretty easily, although the "deep" part they were swimming in was only about ten feet deep. He smiled and dove under, disappearing, the refraction of the clear water concealing him. Matt's favorite part about fresh water was that unlike a pool, you could open your eyes under water without having them melt away. He swam under Corrie and emerged right behind her, grabbing her and laughing, intending on scaring her.

 

[RacingTheSunrise]

Corrie let out a rather undignified squeak and stopped kicking her feet, her head going under the water. She broke the surface a moment later, sputtering, and shot him an indignant glare. "Matthew W-Wilson, you- you jerk!" She crossed her arms in annoyance, only to find herself slipping under the water yet again. "I hate you." The small girl frowned- a stark contrast to her nearly always-present grin. After a heart beat of listening to him laugh, however, she felt the corners of her mouth tug up slightly, itching to smile, and she turned her back to him to conceal it.