Summer hit me up the next morning about having a get-together to celebrate being done with exams. The plan was to meet at her house, have some snacks and drinks, maybe order a pizza, and then see where the night took us.
The thought of getting to finally unwind and split a pizza with Summer was what dragged me through that last day of exams. I felt like I'd spilled my brains out onto the exam papers, to the point that I wasn't totally sure if I had any information left in my head at all. Everyone else, thankfully, seemed to feel the same, so at least it wasn't just me.
Summer's last exam was the period before mine, so I couldn't catch her and revel in our freedom with her immediately. I did get to wave excitedly to Nora, however, who was just hopping into a friend's car to head home at the end of the day. "Go get some sleep!" I yelled over at her, and Nora laughed.
"Back atcha," she grinned, slipping into the passenger seat.
I made it home in record time because I was so excited to be able to nap and relax and not feel guilty about not studying. Dad was still home, and I heard his footsteps scurry through from the kitchen as I unlocked the door.
"How did it go? How does it feel?" Dad was positively beaming.
"I have... no idea," I said, grunting as I toed off one of my boots. "But it feels so good to be done," I admitted.
"There's a surprise for you in the kitchen, if you're hungry..." Dad said, shrugging, as if I'd ever turned down food before.
I raised my eyebrows at him, cautious. "Is it a good surprise? Like, please tell me the kitchen is still intact," I teased, smirking at him as he lightly cuffed the back of my hair.
"Don't make me change my mind, Jess," he tutted, even though the sarcasm was thick in his voice. "I could eat it all myself, you know."
"Alright, alright," I said, rolling my eyes and meandering through. There on the counter sat stacks of pancakes, cooked to perfection, with an assortment of fruits sliced up. Most notably, there were bananas chopped up at the front â my favorite â and a bottle of maple syrup, both of which were calling out to me. "Ugh, you're the best," I groaned, rolling my head back and looking up at Dad. He knew pancakes were my kryptonite.
"Well, you know, teen movies told me having a daughter would be a waking nightmare, but you've been knocking it out of the park so far," Dad shrugged, sitting down on the other side of the kitchen island. "So I figured you deserved something nice for getting through your exams."
I shot him a downturned smile, almost feeling emotional. I darted across the room to press a kiss to his cheek before I scooped up one of the plates and sat beside him, reaching for the maple syrup immediately.
"Teen movies told me dads would be really shitty and controlling, so," I shrugged, giving him a grin, "we both lucked out, huh?"
Dad laughed, nodding as he took a bite out of a berry-laden pancake.
We caught up and ate our pancakes, decadently stacking them up high, until it was time for Dad's shift. He said goodbye and apologetically left me with all the washing up to do, but I supposed I couldn't really complain. He'd gone to so much effort to surprise me with pancakes-for-dinner that I didn't mind having to deal with the plates.
It was bliss, not having the weight of finals looming over me. I took my time having a shower, singing along to Nora's indie jams playlist while I scrubbed away my stress. I painted my nails (matte black) and picked out an outfit (super cute) for later, and then managed to have a decent half an hour's worth of napping. Was this what life was supposed to be like? I'd totally forgotten among all of the coffee, study sessions and sleepless nights.
Eventually, my alarm went off to let me know I had to start getting ready to go to Summer's place. I pulled on the outfit I'd chosen â a high-waisted skater skirt and a cropped sweater top, so I could either have a chill night in or a fun night out, depending on what our plans wound up being â and fluffed my hair down, out of its messy bun, to frame my face. A little bit of eyeliner and a slick of peachy lip lacquer later, and I was grabbing my purse, ready to head out.
Summer's house wasn't too far, and I wore my comfiest boots, anyway, just as a precaution. I had no idea what we'd really get up to, so I wanted to be prepared for anything. Maybe David would suggest going over to some party one of his bro friends was throwing, or maybe Nora would want us to stay in and detox?
I mulled over the options, distracting myself from the podcast I was listening to en route until I was at Summer's door. I knocked twice, and heard noise from inside. Voices convened just out of clear range, and then Summer appeared at the door, bright-eyed and grinning wide.
"Jess!"
"Glad you remembered," I teased.
"My parents were just leaving," she said, looking back into the hallway behind her. "Right?"
I peered in and saw her mother slipping a coat on.
"We'll be back late," Mrs. Nielsen said.
"But not too late," Mr. Nielsen chimed in from beside her, giving us both a jokingly stern look. He probably wasn't joking all that much, actually.
Summer's parents collected their things â phones in pockets, bags over shoulders â and slipped past me on the steps. Her father stopped to clap me on the shoulder, and her mother dotted a kiss to my cheek.
"Yeah, yeah--" Summer was practically kicking them out. "Have a good time! Get dessert! Actually, bring dessert back for us!"
I laughed, shaking my head. "Not for me," I said. "Dad made pancakes and I'm, like, beyond full."
"You got pancakes? I'm so jel. When was the last time your dad made us pancakes?"
"Probably at that sleepover where we watched The Notebook and sobbed our hearts out?"
"That'll be it. Why didn't anyone tell us it was so sad?"
"You two have fun," Mrs. Nielsen called back at us. "Don't get into any trouble!"
Summer rolled her eyes, but she grinned and waved after them all the same. As soon as they were both in the car, she grabbed my wrist, tugging me inside.
"We're free," she gushed.
"It's unbelievable, right?" I said. "I napped earlier. Like, guilt-free. It was amazing."
"God, I'm so jealous. You got pancakes and a nap? What is this, Christmas?"
"It's better than Christmas," I laughed. "So what's the plan? What are we thinking for tonight?"
Summer shrugged, leading the way into the kitchen.
"I have a bottle of wine, a Netflix account, and the number for every restaurant in town that delivers."
A big smile grew on my face.
"Ugh, well... if we have to."