Summer Sun's Arc

Chapter 1 of 15

Summer Sun stood in the meadow and watched the big golden thermometer glow at the center of it. The needle held steady at a warm, perfect number. She had set it there at sunrise, the way she did every morning since she was twelve. That was the year a friend dared her to make a grumpy stranger laugh. She had not stopped cheering people up since. Today she was thinking about one face in particular, a face that had taken three weeks to crack. She still wondered where that person was now. A sunflower turned toward her. Summer Sun patted its head and started down the path to find her best friend. Angela Ant was waiting near the hedge, holding a clear jar of bright green slime. The jar dripped onto her boots. She did not wipe it. "Matilda gave it to me," Angela said. "She said to pour it into your thermometer. She said it would make the summer end." Summer Sun looked at the jar. Then she looked at Angela. Behind Angela, between two thorny bushes, a dark iron cauldron bubbled with the same green slime. Matilda stood beside it with her arms crossed. Her eyes were flat and tired. She did not say hello. "I told her I would do it," Angela said. "I have not done it yet." "Why did you tell her yes?" Summer Sun asked. "She asked. No one else asks me to do things." Angela held the jar out. "You should take it." Summer Sun took the jar. She walked past Angela, past the cauldron, and stopped in front of Matilda. Matilda's mouth was a hard line. Summer Sun had seen that line before, on the person who lasted three weeks. She felt her chest tighten in a familiar, hopeful way. "You look tired," Summer Sun said. "I am tired," Matilda said. "Give me the jar." Summer Sun tipped the jar over and poured the slime onto the dirt between them. It sank in and disappeared. Matilda watched it go without moving. Then Summer Sun set the empty jar by Matilda's feet and walked back to the thermometer. The needle had not moved. The meadow was still warm. Angela followed her. "She will be angry." "She is already angry," Summer Sun said. She looked back. Matilda was still standing by the cauldron, staring at the wet spot in the dirt. "I am going to make her laugh." "How long will that take?" "As long as it takes." Summer Sun smiled at the thermometer, then at Angela. "She is the grumpiest person I have ever met. I am glad I found her." Behind them, Matilda picked up the empty jar, turned it in her hands, and threw it into the cauldron. The slime hissed. She started walking toward the meadow.