Mia sighed. “What should we do today?”

Jack groaned. “It’s too hot to do anything, Mi,” he slurred, speech lazy from the oppressive heat.

Normal summer activities had long ago been ruled out, like going to the beach; there was no breeze and the sand scorched their toes. And the community pool would be lukewarm with everyone by now. All they could resort to was laying beneath a large dogwood in shade that was scarcely cooler than the surroundings. Summer was here in a miserable way.

Endless. Stagnant. Hell.

Mia stared at the sky. She pined to tear open its white-hot haziness and bathe in the icy vapors of space. She propped herself up and turned to Jack.

“Wanna get Slurpees?”

He answered without moving a muscle. “The truck overheated yesterday. Bill still hasn’t come to fix it.”

She looked over at the old thing, and then down the dirt road. It wasn’t far to walk. But they would surely die before getting there.

She heaved another sigh and rolled onto her back, practicing astral projection to the arctic.