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Lake woke up bright and early with a clear vision in their mind of their plans for the day. The cloudless blue sky, the gusty breeze and five miles of rugged Arizona terrain were calling their name. Plus, now that it was the weekend and Jessie actually had some spare time on their hands, Lake was sure that their bff would be more than happy to tag along on this adventure. Unfortunately, their planning for the aforementioned adventure was quickly interrupted when both Lake and Jessie’s phones emitted a startling, ear piercing noise. Jessie nearly rolled out of their bed in their panic and grabbed their phone, fumbling with it, desperate to stop the noise that had so rudely awakened them. Lake, although equally startled, regained their faculties much more quickly as they read aloud from the alert. “Residents in rural areas of Rainbow Lake urged to stay indoors due to heavy wildfire smoke... Aw man, there goes my plans for today I guess...”
Jessie, although still somewhat sleepy, immediately attempted to jump into people pleaser mode, noticing how bummed out Lake was at the alert. “Don’t worry, these things always pass in a few days or so, I’m sure we can do whatever you want in a few days after the fire is over!” They tried to smile reassuringly even though their grogginess showed through more than anything. Lake sighed disappointedly, slightly averting Jessie’s gaze. “I know, I just had bunch of ideas for stuff we could do today, especially since you actually have some free time away from all your clubs and stuff right now.” Perking up a little, Jessie decided to press them for details, after all nobody did an adventure like Lake. “Hey, no matter how busy I am, even if I’m in like a zillion clubs, you’re my best friend and I’m always gonna try to make time for you. So what exciting travel friends adventures you did have planned for us today anyway?”
Lake’s expression softened as they laid back on their bed, resting their arms behind their head. “Well, I really wanted to go up and see this hiking trail I’ve been reading about, and then I guess we could have like gone into town and gotten some food or something since I know you’re rarely a nature person without some kind of ulterior motive.” Jessie giggled at the accusation. “Well you’ve got me there, it is too bad about the fire though, it sounds like you had a really fun day planned.” Lake shifted to lay on their side as they continued the conversation. “Yeah, I guess, y’know come to think of it, you seem oddly calm considering how you’d usually act when confronted with something like this.” Jessie shrugged. “What can I say, I guess the train made an impact on me. Also this happens like multiple times a year, you just kinda get used to it I guess.”
Lake snickered. “So it’s really more of a desensitization thing than anything then?” Jessie lopsidedly smiled and responded with an unsure “Maybe?” Lake sat up, smirking. “Man Arizona’s like way more hardcore than I thought, heh, how’d someone as soft as you manage to wind up in such a danger state?” Jessie set their phone back on the nightstand and shrugged. “Just lucky I guess, but I’d take this any day over something actually scary like snow though.” Lake rolled their eyes and waved their hand dismissively. “Snow isn’t scary, there was tons of it in Minnesota all the time, oh man this one time Tulip made this huge snowman that was like eight feet tall it was crazy, I wouldn’t have believed she made it if I hadn’t seen the reflection in her glasses.” Jessie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah but snow can be scary too, didn’t she also say she got picked up by the train because she tried to go to Wisconsin in the snow in the middle of the night and was almost buried alive by it or something?”
Lake shrugged. “Fair point, it wasn’t quite that bad but yeah. Tulip may be a genius but that doesn’t mean she’s smart. I don’t know why she thought she could walk 400 miles in the snow in a hoodie and cropped leggings.” Jessie opted to overlook their comment as if they were trying to gloss over a nonexistent conflict. “Hey you could give her a little more credit, she was going through a lot, besides I bet you’re pretty happy she did decide to do something that stupid anyway.” They added with as much of a smirk as Jessie was capable of, which really was more of an earnest smile. Lake’s chrome cheeks warmed up with embarrassment as they waved off Jessie’s comment. “Yeah, yeah, I am, then I wouldn’ta met you and had this great life or whatever.” Jessie beamed. “Yeah that’s the spirit!”
Lake decided to abruptly change the subject, having had enough of the ‘let’s talk about Tulip hour’ “It’s still kind of a bummer that we can’t go through with my plans for today though, like I’d probably fine if I went and did the hike but you and your squishy meat lungs can’t handle stuff like that. And besides, it wouldn’t be any fun to go without you.” Jessie smiled. “Aw thanks.” They also shivered a little, fully processing Lake’s words. “Also please don’t refer to any part of my insides as ‘squishy meat’ ever again, thanks.” Lake nodded sheepishly. “Heh, sorry, I’ll try to remember that.”
Now it was Jessie’s turn to be a touch too eager to change the subject. “Anyway though, even if we can’t go out today there’s a ton of fun stuff we could do in the house, like video games, or watching tv, or crafts or cooking or probably a bunch of other stuff I’m not thinking of right now!” Lake shrugged. “Yeah I guess, it’s still sort of weird for me staying in one place all the time since I was always moving on the train, but who knows, maybe it’ll be fun to learn how to actually relax in my own home.” Lake didn’t elaborate further but the phrase ‘my own home’ felt incredibly foreign and unsure on their tongue despite the fact that they pushed themself to say it. Jessie grinned. “Well, we’ve got all day to figure out what kind of stuff you’d like to do, so I’m sure we’ll come up with something fun that you’ll enjoy doing right here! You’ll see, it’ll be like an adventure! Except without any danger, or any new places, but it’ll still be fun!”