Week Twelve: Friday
Who: Summer and Ari
When: Friday Afternoon
Where: In a clearing in some woods far, far away from all the noisy emotions of the people at the school

The school had been tolerable throughout the break just because there weren't all that many people around. But now that everyone was starting to arrive back, Summer was starting to feel the impact of just how many people there were at Halcyon, and just how intense the emotions here could be. She couldn't handle it. It was worse than being in the freshman dorms right before final exams, worse than taking the SAT's which she had bombed for the simple reason that she couldn't get her head on straight because everyone else was in it. This place was so much worse than that, and she wasn't sure exactly how long she was going to be able to handle it. Solitude was definitely going to be a necessity.

And that is why she was here, in the middle of the woods, in a clearing that she had found while walking, laying on a blanket she had spread out on the grass. Her I-Pod was beside of her, in the little docking station with the built in speakers, Led Zeppelin's Over the Hills and Far Away playing. Summer hummed along as she lay on her stomach, stripped down to bare feet, incredibly short denim shorts, and a bikini top. Hair was pulled up in a loose bun so as not to get in the way of the sun, and her nose was buried in a book, Twilight. It was supposed to be for young adults, but it was a good book regardless, a love story, and it seemed very fitting considering where she was in life right now.

A page was turned, a few more lines read, and the chapter she was on was finished. She bookmarked it and then put the book aside, rolling onto her back to peer up at the sky. Summer stretched a bit, and then settled onto the blanket, eyes closed. She started to doze off. She had such a hard time sleeping when she was around people.