Everyone says the summer after the Exams (capital E because they're the only ones that matter) is the most carefree one we'll ever experience.

I, for one, disagree.

How on Earth am I supposed to relax and enjoy the summer when I don't even know my grades? How can I be calm when I'm not sure if I can make it into Med school?

"Seriously, Summer? Why are you still in bed?"

I look towards the door to see one of my best friends, Alex. He's wearing a black shirt that makes his pale skin look paler while his face shines from the sunscreen he can't skip using. With a more careful look, I notice his lips are redder than usual. He was probably making out with Sofia before stopping by, but I prefer thinking he's wearing the watermelon chapstick I've left in his room.

"I'm not still in bed!" I exclaim as I get up. "See? I'm up now."

Alex shakes his head, though I can see him smiling. "You should probably change your shirt unless it's supposed to have this orange dust on it."

I look down at my white top and, sure enough, Doritos residue clings to certain places, making the front of my shirt look orange. With a sigh, I open my closet, careful not to let all my clothes fall like an avalanche again. I fish out a tight black shirt and wave it in the air triumphantly. Alex chuckles before turning around so I can change.

As soon as I grab the bottom of my white tee, his phone rings. It's Sofia, of course. I know because he has a different ringtone for her.

I trade my dirty shirt for the significantly cleaner one in a matter of seconds. "You can turn around now," I announce before laying on the floor to look under my bed for my sneakers.

By the time my feet are in the Adidas Superstars, the call has ended, and I couldn't be happier.

Spinning around, I ask Alex, "How do I look?"

"Great as always, idiot."

I stop twirling and take a moment to stare at him. I always make sure I don't overdo it and, in order to keep it that way, I concentrate on one feature of his. I choose his freckles now, scattered around his nose and cheeks along with a tiny blush from the sun. He looks too good to be true. Sometimes I forget he's the same boy who used to cover himself in mud and pretend to be a pig.

"Is there something on my face?" he asks, instantly wiping his lips with his thumb.

I shake my head. "No, let's go."

His bike is on the grass in my backyard. Alex picks it up and waits for me to get on the pegs. He had borrowed my bike a few days ago and punctured my tires while cycling over the pins Sofia's little sister had thrown at their driveway. Now he's taking me to places as a way to pay me back, but the fact that I am the one that got pranked by a ten-year-old I don't even know hurts.

Our destination is the ice cream shop we go to every day: Parfait. Even though it's located a few blocks away from the town centre, it's still the go-to place for everyone, especially people around my age, who wants some tasty ice cream and a good Instagram post. With its white vintage tables, fake roses dangling from the ceiling and pink leather couches, Parfait would be a hit even if their ice cream tasted like sewage.

As soon as I spot the familiar pastel pink sign with the white calligraphy spelling the name of the shop, I hop off the bike, push the glass door open and scan the display for any new additions. Alice, one of the summer employees, notices and points them out to me. I'm trying to choose between Lemon Sorbet and Rocky Road when Alex pulls a chunk of my hair.

"Don't get off so fast, I nearly fell down!"

I give him a coy smile. "Yeah, that would have been a shame."

"I know."

"Because I would have missed it."

Alex rolls his eyes before staring at the display too. "Alice, I'd like a cone with a scoop of... Chocolate Pecan. And for Summer, a scoop of Strawberry with chocolate syrup."

I huff. "I might have wanted something different."

"Yeah, right."

Truth be told, I always have something with strawberry in it. Maybe it's the pink colour, maybe it's the taste. It's a habit I haven't broken in years.

Alice tries to hand me my ice cream, but I ask her to keep it until I find the €2 bill in my shorts. It's not hard, considering there's not much space in female jean pockets anyway.

I swap the money for the ice cream. "I'm paying for Alex too," I say before Alice can hand me any change.

My friend gives me a half hug, making me lose my momentum and fall on him, smearing half my ice cream on my palm. Alex doesn't notice as he makes his way to a couch, so I sneakily lick my palm clean. I can't let so much tasty ice cream go to waste.

I take the seat next to him with the excuse the chairs aren't as comfy.

"Can I try some of your ice cream?" I ask but don't wait for an answer as I dip my index finger in the chocolate goodness and lick it clean seconds later.

"No," he says before doing the same with my ice cream.

"Hello, world!"

I don't need to turn around to know who it is, but I do. Olivia is walking in the shop with her dark glossy hair in a disheveled ponytail and her trusty skateboard in her arms.

"Nope, you're not bringing this inside. Mrs. May doesn't allow it," Alice says from behind the cashier.

"But someone's going to steal it if I leave it outside!" Olivia argues. "Besides, Mrs. May isn't here now."

"I just mopped in here, out."

Olivia retreats and leaves the skateboard outside, but not without stroking it. When she walks back in, she gives it a longing glance and says something like 'We'll meet again, my dear friend.' Louder, she says, "Where is Jess anyway? He, at least, lets me put it under the counters."

"He's at home, packing our bags. We're going to Europe for the next month," Alice replies.

"You're already in Europe," Olivia deadpans.

Alice rolls her eyes. "Fine, we're going to travel in other countries of Europe."

My eyes widen and my jaw drops. "What? Who's going to work here, then?" The scariest of thoughts hits me. "You're not shutting this place down, are you?"

Alice huffs. "Of course not! I mean there's Ben and John working here too, but Mrs. May is hiring two new employees to cover our shifts."

"For real?" Alex asks with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, there has been a poster outside since last Tuesday."

He nudges me. "We should totally apply for the job."

Before I can say anything, Olivia sits on a white chair with a hot pink pillow on the opposite side of the table. "I second that. We're going to have so much free ice cream that way."

The funny thing is, even though she's always trying to find ways to spend less money, Olivia is loaded. I'm talking about big money. Her house is three-story, but she refers to it as a two-story because the top floor consists only of an all-white bedroom and a huge balcony. Even if it had only two floors, it would still be huge. I'm positive the bottom floor is as big as Alex's, Kal's, and my own house combined.

Extending my arm, I grab as much of her green ice cream as I can with my finger. "I would eat so much ice cream my stomach would hurt, if I could have it for free. And that's not good. I still have to lose these eleven pounds."

"I need to gain another fifteen so that my grandma stops thinking I'm underfed," Alex says. "I've tried, honestly. On the other hand, I don't want to not fit in my current jeans."

I pinch his arm. "You're not allowed to remind us of your amazing metabolism before we lose all the weight we put on because we only had time for studying this year!"

His lower lip juts out. I don't know how an eighteen-year-old can pull off a pouty face, yet Alex nails it. "You were not allowed to tan without me either, but here we are. You go skating at noon, and I look like a ghost next to you two."

Olivia reaches out for his hand. "Alex, you'll always be pale. I'll always be tan. Get over it."

Alex shakes his head. "I hate BT minor."

I open my mouth to remind him that thalassemia minor is an asymptomatic kind of anemia and doesn't even require treatment, much less makes him pale, but he never listens. He makes up all sorts of side effects it has on him, his favourite being he can't run because his lungs can't get enough oxygen due to bad blood circulation. He used to sit out so many hard PE classes. 

Olivia chuckles. "C'mon, don't be sad. You're lucky you don't have major thalassemia. Tom Holland is pale but also really hot. You have the freckles too, and you know girls go crazy about them."

Alex sighs. "I hate them. My grandma said they'll go away sooner or later. I'm hoping it's sooner. I mean, Sofia says they're really cute but... maybe she's just being nice."

I don't have to look over at Olivia to know she has the same slightly narrowed eyes and pressed lips like me. She happens to hate our best friend's girlfriend, too.

"So, when's Eliza coming back, Summer?" she asks in an attempt to change the subject.

Eliza is my older sister. Some people call her the better Ioannidi. Rude, if you're asking me.

"I guess sometime next week. Her exams aren't over yet."

"So she's going to be here before the results are out?" Alex asks.

"Oh my God, she's going to punch your codes in and keep on refreshing hours before they're out, just so she can see them before the system crashes!" Olivia adds.

I swallow the last bit of my cone, A.K.A. the best bit, the chocolate tip. They should make a whole ice cream made of this.

I hide my face in my hands. "Dad told her I have a 19/20 at most in Chemistry. And if that wasn't enough, he told her what was the question I got wrong and she sent me a one-minute voice message yelling at me for not knowing the chemical balance of a liquid solution is not affected if we add a solid element in the solution."

I feel Alex's hand on my back. "Don't let it bring you down. Besides, you said yourself many people got it wrong."

"These people don't want to go to Med school."

Silence. They both know I'm right.

Olivia claps her hands, maybe a little too loud since Alice shoots us daggers.

"Look, we all know you and Kal have scored the highest scores in our school, okay? It's useless to torture yourself if you got a nineteen or a twenty."

Alex nods quickly. "Yeah, you're going to be the best doctors the world has ever seen."

I huff. "Maybe he should be a vet. That way he'll be able to examine himself too."

"Summer, won't you ever stop this?" Olivia asks with a sigh.

I cross my arms. "No, I won't. Now that he's not around it's my only chance to say what's on my mind."

They always invite Kal when we hang out. At first, I hoped he was their charity case and that they would, eventually, stop bringing him along. Six years later I'm starting to think they have forgotten we're supposed to be a trio.

"You could stop making fun of him fullstop," Alex suggests.

It's one of these rare times that his lips don't go up when he talks, and that's how I know he's butthurt I insulted his best man or whatever. If he only knew...

"Look, I know you had this constant contest to be on top of the class but...school is over. You should leave that in the past," Olivia says. "He's not going to try to be on top of you," she adds with a smile.

I roll my eyes and ask them what they both think about the new Spider-man movie, successfully changing the subject.

Time passes fast, with laughs and sex jokes. When it's dark, Mum calls me and demands I come home to help with the barbeque. Even though I suck at it.

"Hey, guys, it's barbecue night, do you want to join us?"

"Duh," Olivia says. "You guys go ahead and I'll follow you with my skateboard. But I'll probably be there first. Do you want me to give you a headstart?"

Alex does the puppy eye look (that still works, too, because his eyes are the exact colour as my dog's). "I can't tonight. I've made plans with Sofia. I can drop you off, though."

I can feel my heart breaking and dropping to my stomach, but I hide it with a smile. "I have legs that walk faster than you cycle. I'll see you tomorrow, idiot."

We exit the shop and go our separate ways. Alex gets on his bike and disappears quickly while Olivia and I try to skate together for the bajillionth time. It's a fail, again. At least this time no one broke their arm.

We each take turns skating after that. One skates and the other runs to catch up and so on, all the way to my house. Maybe all we talk about is Sofia, and how much we hate her, but it's normal. Friends are supposed to hate their friends' partners. It's not like we're jealous or anything.

When we're close to my house, Lucky starts running towards us. Her tongue is flapping out of her mouth and her ears flutter in the wind. I give the skateboard to Olivia and drop on one knee on the asphalt, waiting for my dog to run into my arms. When she reaches me, I lift her up in the air. I put her back down and we race to my front door. Despite being only six months old, she wins.

The lights on the balcony are on. Dad is setting the plastic table and the door opens, revealing Mum, who holds a bowl with, what I assume is, the meat. Her eyes crinkle when she spots Olivia.

"Great, at least you brought someone who doesn't turn the meat into charcoal," she says chuckling.

"I'll teach Summer my ways, someday," my friend replies and she rushes to help Mum.

"Isn't your boyfriend going to come?" Dad asks.

I don't give him the satisfaction of denying Alex is my boyfriend and insisting he never will be. It kind of hurts thinking about it now. Besides, my parents know he has a girlfriend so there's nothing going on between him and me. They've known him since he was a fetus, and they're aware he hates lying. Alex would never cheat on anyone.

I go inside and wash my hands at the kitchen sink. It's one of the few times he's not here along with his grandma on a barbecue night. I wonder if he's having more fun with Sofia or if he's sitting at a table bored out of his mind, wishing he had stood her up.

"Oh, it looks like the results will be out in five days," Dad says when I get out again.

I sigh. This is what I should be thinking about.

....

2408 words

I'M SO EXCITED TO POST THIS! I wonder if I'll actually finish it this month or at least meet the 50k word milestone :)

Thanks a lot to IceBlueShadows for the beautiful covers she made! I chose this one for now but I'll use all of them. I added a filter and a few stars as I was cropping it, I hope that's okay.