Summer in Review - Task 1
No matter how long she’d been living in South Carolina, she still could never get used to the heat. It was that reason that she spent so much time at the pool. A few months out of the year, the Norwoods and Whitehorns lived at a family home just outside the Greenwood campus. Flora adored being back in an actual home, not one that was scaled down for the sake of a school.
A proper home was exactly what she needed after spending so much time around peers. It almost felt normal again—almost. Flora wasn’t sure if it was because she was surrounded by more people now or the heat, or perhaps her grandmother constantly wanting to talk with her, but the Deas just wanted to be left alone.
Felix did his best to help give her space, but even he couldn’t help but worry about her. It was her first summer of being Titled and left alone. There was still training to do but Aunt Thina took the responsibilities of teaching her now. It took Flora months to beg her to stop letting their grandmother around. The woman wasn’t all that pleasant to be near consistently.
That day, however, was perfect to her—besides the heat. Everyone but Felix and Flora were home and it was the first time the twins had been able to be alone all summer. They made breakfast together and ate outside and while he was inside playing a game, she had her feet dipped into the pool. Laying down against the concrete, she sighed. The heated up surface nearly lulled her to sleep.
She stayed like that for nearly ten minutes until suddenly a wave of water woke her up.
“Felix!” She lifted up to glare at her twin brother who was smirking at her while floating by.
“Just making sure you weren’t dead,” he laughed at her expression and splashed a little more water towards her.
“That’s it.” Without another warning, Flora slipped into the water to enact her revenge.
They spent the rest of the morning in the pool, eventually making their way to the lounge chairs on the patio. They were quiet as they laid together in the sun.
“You doing okay?” Felix’s voice was cautious, knowing how touchy she could get. It had been too good a morning to ruin it now.
“Yea.” It was a breathy response as she realized that it was a true answer. “I’m getting better.”
His smile matched her own, and in that moment, they felt whole again.
