Summer Rains
Haven't been writing in a while, since stuff gets in the way. And stuff.
So here's a little story about the rain disrupting the plans of a tiger and a couple of friends to hang out in the mountains and having to hang at his house instead.
Today hadn't been Noah's day.
The tiger had been looking forward to his school holidays ever since the mid-terms had passed. Enduring the dull talks he had with his teachers over his rather distracted conduct, zoning out during recess and lunch breaks, he missed the times when there wasn't anything expected of him.
At least the final assembly was over. There hadn't been any summer homework set, but the overcast weather did well to foreshadow what would happen next. He hadn't been on his hour long train home for 10 minutes when the droplets began to fall. It built up quick, and it was soon pouring. Noah sighed, suspecting he wouldn't be hanging around with the few friends he had out in the mountains. The disadvantages of going to a city-based school was that he rarely got to see any of his friends he made from there.
The next day, and the rain was still coming down. The Bureau of Meteorology site had issued warnings to be aware of flash flooding and potential power loss in his region, but Noah's home was mostly out of harms way, being located on a more gentle incline rather than in some of the valleys below. He had to be thankful that his parents knew what they were looking for when they built it, but the rain was noise to push most thought out.
The tiger had hoped to do something more than just video games, a hobby that he used really only when weather was bad, or he was in need of a distraction. He had hoped to go out on small hikes on the mountains, camp out and spend some time with the few friends he had made in his school. He would most likely be able to hang out a few times, but not so much be able to do the things he wanted.
As the rain continued to pour, he opened up his personal e-mail inbox, expecting to find that the people he had invited over cancelled on their plans to do some hiking as well as sleep over on the coming week. The dust grey rabbit had a tendency to be on the more quiet side, and Noah couldn't quite remember what it was that led him to being friends with the rabbit, but he seemed open to the idea of doing some exploration. Having asked only a few weeks prior, he had only gotten affirmative replies from Jacob and Mark. The rest were politeful declines which was a nice thing to see, considering how they got on in their classes.
It was a surprise despite the weather that they had both sent an additional message to say they were still going despite the conditions the weather brought. Of course there were adjustments to be made. There wouldn't be any hiking in these conditions, and they couldn't expect to be going out much. Jacob the wolf suggested a few board games and doing some silly films with the camcorder he had gotten for Christmas. Mark responded that he would bring some of his favourite novels along to bring some variety into his reading list. Noah replied to let them both know that their suggestions were fine, and that regardless of the weather, it would not get in the way of their visit.
Noah's parents didn't have an issue with the change of plans, though due to work commitments, neither would be available for the duration of his friends visit. His mother however did warn him to keep an eye on the stove when cooking, along with being tidy when they came home. It was a thing that she had always done when she left Noah on his own, but they both knew he would be careful.
The weekend eventually came to an end, and Noah decided to come meet his friends at the train station. As much as both Jacob and Mark were told where his home was, Noah thought it a matter of courtesy to show them the way. A quick check of the house to make sure it was neat, and he grabbed the largest umbrella he could find, along with his raincoat before he stepped into the rain.
Silverstone station was a 10 minute walk from his home in the current weather, and it was the first of a few stops within the mountaneous region. The platform only had a double line, which Noah thought reasonable given that there wouldn't be many travelling to Silverstone.
The train pulled in, and halted perfectly alongside the platform, before a handful of the passengers stepped off. Of it, Noah spotted Jacob first who had been near the back of the train carriages, then the rabbit who was closer to the middle of it.
"Hey Jacob! Hey Mark!" Noah called out with a grin.
"Hey Noah," greeted Jacob.
"Hi," said Mark.
"I swear this has got to be the wettest summer I've seen so far," remarked the wolf. Noah knew despite the wolf's overstated claims, there was still something to bring out a laugh from him. "What do ya think?"
"I think," spoke Mark, "that we'll be stuck through it all."
"Yup, it just had to go and knock on your plans, didn't it?" The wolf patted, motioning to his backpack. "I brought a bunch of stuff we can play together. Your tip on covering up important stuff with plastic bags was a nice help, by the way!" Mark also nodded in silence, having done the same with his books.
"Oh, thanks." Noah wasn't sure how important it was, but he didn't question it. "Shall we get going?"
The rabbit nodded, and the wolf did also. "Sure thing. Lead the way."
It was another 10 minute walk back, and though they had seen the town for the first few, it eventually led to a quiet road, just out of sight of Silverstone itself.
"Say, I wasn't sure if the address you supplied us was right." Noah turned partially in acknowledgement. "I looked it up on Google Maps, but the satellite imagery just showed trees and brush all over the place!"
"Yeah, it's kind of hidden," responded Noah. "Not exactly visible from above, but it's there alright."
They eventually came across the property that was to be their shelter. All of them were thankful that they could finally escape from the downpour, left to the outside world. But the warm day left much to be desired, and so Noah opened a few of the windows while the other two dried off with the towels in the bathroom.
"So, what'll it be first?" asked Jacob.
Morning came to noon, and though the rain let up briefly, it started anew with no mercy. So much for an adventure, thought Noah as the three battled it out with Pictionary. Jacob briefly introduced it with 'conversation' indicated by some scribbles of characters and comic speech bubbles (though without the words), then the others got a chance to do it. Despite it being a more casual setting, Noah found himself slightly nervous when the spotlight was on him, and getting the word 'apathy' wasn't one he found he could draw easily. Especially since he didn't even know what the word even meant. In the end, he had to pass it on and watched as Mark got 'nap'.
It progressed reasonably, but had to end when Noah had to get the food they would be having for lunch, prepared beforehand, but yet to be cooked. Jacob continued his game with Mark, and as he later found out, was a close win by the rabbit, being able to make the guess on 'jet lag', leaving the wolf in disbelief.
"I thought for sure I'd had you by that one!" exclaimed Jacob. "How'd you figure that one out?"
"My uncle made that remark when he came to visit once from the States," responded Mark, tail swirling for the briefest of moments. "Said it was worse than some of the parties he got into when he was in college, apparently. Dad had that knowing look, as if he'd been there to see it."
"A partygoer? Never thought you had any nonsensical relatives!" The wolf pouted for a moment, then calmed again. It was only a simple game. "Well, there's bound to be a few oddities here and there to shake things up, aren't there?"
"Like me being able to invite you guys over while my parents are out?" chuckled Noah. "That's certainly an odd one."
Lunch was served, and they found that heated bread with beef mince and a helping of salad was quite good, as well as it being what they would have had if they had still gone ahead with the hike. The three could have decided to be disappointed the entire time of not being able to venture out, but all knew it would do no good, and that they could still do something here.
A quick clean up later, and Noah soon found themselves amongst the collection that Mark had brought to the set. A good deal of them were short story compilations, which the rabbit suggested due to having a good variety of content from budding authors. In addition, he also brought along the latest of The Dreamers by Owen Coffens, titled Reclaimer of the Kingdom. It was a good title from what the tiger had been told, but could not locate at the Silverstone library.
"Now hold on a sec." Noah hadn't expected Jacob of all wolves to speak up when the book was mentioned. "I've not really read into Coffens' stuff before. Are they good to read, or are they just generic as hell?"
"Oh, I'd certainly recommend them, if you can stomach the fantasy setting as well as the detailed workings of the mind," Noah answered. "Dreams are easy to forget, and it's a core importance to the plot in this particular series." When the wolf didn't appear any more persuaded he added, "it's a cool thing to read."
"Right. Did you bring the first set Mark? I wouldn't mind taking a turn with it." Jacob made his request with a look of curiosity that neither the tiger or rabbit expected. Mark rustled through his backpack and retrieved another book, roughly the same size as the other he had brought. "This one's slightly stronger than the second book, but I reckon they're a great read."
"Coolio. I'll read it after I've gotten through this one," said Jacob, motioning to the March edition of Quiet Tails he held.
The rest of the afternoon was spent on reading, and they ended up formulating some logical hypotheses on how _The Dreamers_could possibly be a reality. A few taps on the on Noah's computer, a quick Google search, and they soon had three pages on the subject, including such possibilities as having a sixth sense, gaining senses after losing one, and one which suggested that they tapped into the power of the metallic plumbing system the Kingdom had adopted.
Pasta was served for dinner, and they chuckled as they ate whilst watching _Big Bounty_in the living room. It was said to be one of the most ridiculous movies of the decade, and as the female vixen (who appeared to be out of proportion) stomped on the muscular stallion who had been the villain in the last half hour, the group burst out laughing, partially because of how bad it was, the rest to how it had suddenly just thrown a plot twist for no apparent reason whatsoever.
On and on they talked into the night, and Noah knew not when they had fallen asleep as the next day came to rise. The tiger shifted his body, and upon noticing the feeling of his friends resting next to him, he felt content.
Their summer would be a good one.