No Shade

The heat was unrelenting. One of those apocalyptic days where it doesn’t matter what time you wake up—it’s already burning everything down. Becca and I drove out to the Lamerdinger Baggerweiher, this local gravel pit lake that someone at the gymnasium’s school paper had somehow thought deserved a rating: ’Ice cream trucks, ducks and fish, no shade.’ I don’t remember seeing any ducks or fish, but there were plenty of bodies stretched out in the sun and one older guy who’d clearly made peace with his body a long time ago.

The water was cold enough to keep us occupied for maybe an hour before we gave up and drove back. We ate fatty oven cheese straight from the pan, which somehow didn’t feel as heavy as it should have despite the heat. By evening, Becca, Ana, Martin, Marina, her friend Basti, and I were at the Chap. Little Straub showed up wanting a turn at whatever game the rest of us were playing. It was pretty fun, even if 12 marks for a cocktail still seemed like too much.