Making Sense of Summer

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing loudly into life. It sounded like a furious insect protesting at the invasion of its nest. My brain struggled to work, but my body responded in a state of alertness, identifying imminent threats. I grabbed my phone instinctively, too quick for me to read the caller's name. But it didn't matter; I recognised my best friend Kitty's voice instantly.

"What are you doing right now?" she asked.

"Actually, you woke me up," I said, trying to convey my drowsiness.

"Well, you need to get up and get ready. I have an adventure for us to go on".

It was a statement rather than an enquiry. Kitty didn't need to check if I was interested because we had an unspoken agreement to be each other's adventuring buddy whenever the other person required one.

"Yeah, sure, an adventure?", I said yawning. "What have you got in mind?

"Today is the summer solstice, and I thought it would be fun to drive down to Glastonbury Tor and see the sunset with the druids this evening. They'll be a party afterwards, and we can camp down there", Kitty explained.

"The summer solstice? Don't people usually go to Stonehenge for that," I asked.

"Yes, they do, and it will be busy. However, Glastonbury Tor will be better, less crowded and just as amazing."

Even though I'm not much of a traveller and my knowledge of heritage sites is poor, I was vaguely aware of the place. I'd seen pictures of a tower on a hilltop or Tor, surrounded by low lying fields and grassland. When it's misty, the Tor peeks out the top like it's above the clouds. It's a beautiful looking place.

"What's so amazing about it?" I asked.

"You don't know? - It has this incredible enchanted history and folklore. The Tor is supposed to be where King Arthur's buried. And, they have these two healing springs where the water runs white in one and red in the other, but no one can really explain why. It's been a mystery for centuries".

"That's pretty cool", I said.

"Of course, it is. But also, the Druids don't just think it's an ancient source of magic. They believe that beneath the hill is a hidden cave which travellers can pass through to the realm of fairies."

It was cute how enthusiastic she got about magical things. I liked the sense of excitement that surrounded her.

"So, you're telling me you want to go on an adventure to Glastonbury Tor, but really you want to go to the world of fairies, don't you?" I teased.

"100% correct", she replied.

I couldn't really argue with her. It did sound cool. And even though I was utterly unprepared to drop everything and leave home for a couple of days, the thought of a road trip and camping with Kitty was irresistible.

I'd met Kitty at school when we were eight years old. I'd been forced to move classes due to some bigger kids pushing me around. Rather than deal with the bullies, they shifted me to another class to keep us apart. I was upset about that at first, but as soon as I walked in and saw Kitty, my feelings changed. We hit off immediately and quickly acted on our childish attraction to each other by announcing to the world that we were boyfriend and girlfriend. It lasted about two weeks before my interests changed to football, and Kitty decided she preferred horses.

We didn't see each other outside of school for a few years. Our early declarations were a source of embarrassment whenever anyone mentioned it. But around the age of twelve, things changed again. We were paired up in English to write a story together, and our friendship reignited. Unfortunately, the success of our epic tale, The Great Journey of Mr Phillips, was limited. It was probably because it clumsily ripped off 'Around the World in 80 Days' and made no attempt to hide it. But despite the story's failure, working together had been a success. We'd enjoyed it, laughing together, playing around and just being in each other's company. From then on, we were best friends, spending all our time together in and out of school.

We never revisited the boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Most of the time, I could never really tell what Kitty was thinking on that front. I knew she cared about me, but she never said anything or expressed those feelings. We both saw other people and would loosely discuss things with each other but never in any detail. Instead, we just had our relationships, and our friendship was to one side.

All of my girlfriends, without exception, disliked Kitty. They complained that I spent too much time with her instead of them. Or demanded that we have the same closeness that I had with Kitty, which was pretty much the best way to turn me off them. None of Kitty's boyfriends liked me either. I had a few warn me off over the years, which was always the signal for Kitty to end it with them. After a while, I think word had got around that we were a non-couple couple. Girls started turning me down when I'd ask them on dates, and I overheard one or two of them asking their friends, "Isn't he going out with Kitty?"

But we'd just continue to hang out and play or console each other when one of us was feeling down. And to be honest, I didn't care about the other girls turning me down. As long as I had my best friend around, that was all I needed.

Half an hour after she woke me, Kitty picked me up in her batted Volkswagen Scirocco. I'd managed to have a quick shower and chuck some clothes in a rucksack, but I'd skipped breakfast, and the lack of coffee made it hard to shrug off my sleepiness. I yawned loudly as I sat in the passenger seat.

"Do you think you should call your mum?" Kitty asked, briefly turning to look at me before focusing her eyes back on the road.

"Er, I don't need to let my mum know my every whereabouts", I protested.

"Yeah, but won't she worry if you're not at home for a couple of days? That seems like something parents worry about".

"I'll probably drop her a text later. But there's no rush. It's not a big deal", I lied.

Of course, it was a big deal, and my parents would freak out if I didn't turn up for a couple of days. In fact, my mum would probably make embarrassing phone calls to everyone I know, interrogating them for information until she found out where I was. Which is why I'd already texted and let her know I'd gone camping for a few days. Kitty knew I was a massive nerd of course. She knew everything about me, but I was still reluctant to confirm it by calling my mum in front of her.

"Ok, just make sure you do. I don't want her to be mad at me for kidnapping you", she said smiling.

It was hard not to smile back. It was an intuitive response when Kitty paid attention to you. She was a beautiful young woman, 20 years old, with a pretty face and light brown hair down past her shoulders and a thin French plait twisting around the side of her head to the back. Kitty wore a soft white cotton top with a flowery print on it and denim cut off shorts that showed off her tanned legs. When she smiled at me like that, I would do just about anything she asked.

"Oh, so this is a kidnapping? I thought you said it was an adventure".

"It is an adventure - with a little bit of kidnapping as well". We both laughed, and Kitty reached out a hand to turn the radio on and chucked me her phone.

"Can you sort some music out?"

I flicked her Bluetooth on and opened her music files. I smiled as I picked a song I knew she'd like.

"T.Reeeex!" she shouted in a drawn-out but approving tone. We both hummed along to the opening verse before singing in unison.

We sped down the motorway and Kitty put her foot down. Hitting 80mph, it sounded like one of the wheels might come off, and the vibrations made it harder to hear the music. Not that it mattered as we were both singing the words by heart and loving every minute as we headed west on our kidnapping adventure.

An hour into the drive, my stomach reminded me that I'd skipped breakfast by grumbling loudly. It was impressive that the noise could be heard as it competed with the vibrating Scirocco and the music from the stereo. Kitty was still singing, but she shot a glance at me and pulled a face.

"I was getting ready, so I missed breakfast", I explained.

"You had half an hour. What were you doing?"

"I was taking a shower. I didn't want to stink out the car. And then when I'd finished, I was getting my stuff together".

"Well, you do smell, generally, so that's good you took a shower. I appreciate it".

"Ha-ha, that's funny," I said sarcastically. "I think you'll find it's called the smell of success".

"Oh really? From an outside perspective, it's just hard to tell the difference between success and failure when you're wearing the same t-shirt as yesterday and haven't shaved for a week."  

I sucked on my teeth for a second. Kitty was getting the better of this exchange, which meant my only course of action was feigning dejection.

"I thought you liked this T-shirt".

"I do, but it will start smelling if you wear it for days on end".

For some reason, I couldn't tell if she was still joking or actually giving me hygiene advice. We sat there awkwardly, not saying anything. My eyes scanning the inside of the car, looking for something to change the subject to. I could feel the silence building, and I desperately checked the dashboard for conversational inspiration. It was caked in years of sedimentary dust and looked like a desert in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It was complete with a steampunk compass and raiders in the form glow in the dark teenage mutant ninja turtles.

Kitty broke the silence first. "I also like your stubble. But there's no action required there."

"That's lucky because I didn't pack a razor."

She slowed the car suddenly, dropping 20mph off our speed and pulled us towards a slip road.

"Services", she said. "Let's get some breakfast and a coffee".

The choices were limited at the service station. But Kitty got the coffee, and I went to the shop to see what food I could locate.

Breakfast wasn't really on offer in the shop, which seemed to cater specifically to people with an awful taste in music and a sugar exclusive diet. So, I searched the chilled cabinet for pre-packed sandwiches. The only one left was a tacky looking egg mayo that I could smell through the packaging from four feet away. It left me with the suspicion that eating it wouldn't end well. So, I set off searching for alternatives. By the time I met back up with Kitty, I'd decided on a large bag of raspberry doughnuts. Unconventional, but without question, the food of adventurers.

We listened to more music for the next few hours, munching on our doughnuts and playing a game of eye spy. We usually made it hard for each other. Such as F for forlorn-looking cow contemplating its life choices. Or P for psychotic farmer prone to fits of sporadic violence when challenged about the nature of the relationship with his mother. Neither of us ever won, but it wasn't really the point. It was fun listening to what Kitty came up with, and I enjoyed hearing her laugh at my answers.

As we travelled further along the single-lane roads in Somerset, we ran across a sign for Milton's Cider farm.

"We have to get some cider", said Kitty.

"Yeah, I'm up for it. We’ll need something to drink when we get to Glastonbury anyway."

We pulled into the car park, which was really just a big field with a gate that led to the main road. It felt weird to suddenly be driving over earth instead of tarmac, and the car jolted erratically. We got out and walked to the farm building on the far side of the car park, nervously observed by a handful of sheep in the adjacent field and diligently scrutinised by an old working dog settled by the door to the farm shop.

The shop, was bigger than expected as it stretched backwards out into a barn with row upon row of cider barrels. We walked towards the barrels, and were met with a syrupy, slightly vinegary odour. It was almost overpowering. We picked up a tiny sample thimble each and went around testing the various mixtures. It was fun working out which were our favourites. Neither of us liked the acidic taste of the dry cider and we found the sweets were too sickly. In the end, we picked medium sweet ciders figuring they would probably be best over the course of an evening. We paid the cashier, patted the old farm dog by the door and hit the road again.

We arrived at Glastonbury at 16:04 and parked in town. But instead of making our way to the Tor, we mooched around the quiet little town to stretch our legs and shake off the journey. Eventually, we found our way to an atmospheric little pub called the King Arthur to grab some dinner. After driving for so long, it was nice to see Kitty relax.

"Drink this!" Kitty said as she produced a small shot glass on her way back from the toilets.

"Shots! Isn't it a bit too earlier for that?"

"Come on, it'll be fun".

"Yeah, sure, but we still have to put the tent up. That might be difficult if we're smashed," I pointed out.

"We're not putting a tent up".

"What?"

"There's no camping at the Tor, and I don't know about you, but I don't really fancy marching to the other side of town in the middle of the night to find our tent. I thought we could hang out at the party and then just sleep out in the open. We'll be warm enough if we have our sleeping bags, and we'll put a blanket down to lie on. It'll be fine".

I took my shot and downed it.

"Sure, why not. It's an adventure after all", I said.

"Exactly", Kitty replied, grinning.

We finished dinner and had another pint in the pub before heading back to the car. Then grabbing the cider, supplies and our sleeping bags, we headed up towards the Tor.

The hilltop was busy but not as crowded as I'd thought it would be. Druids were wandering around hugging each other in their long white robes. A few temporary camps had been set up and groups sat in circles chatting. We found a spot facing west overlooking where the sun would set and arranged our camp.

Sitting on the throw Kitty had brought from the car, we squished up next to each other and wrapped a soft blanket around our shoulders. Somewhere nearby, music was playing, and the sound of singing hummed through the air. We drank the cider and talked about our plans for the journey home, which slowly merged into our plans for the rest of the summer. All around us, life buzzed and purred joyously in the fading summer light.

It was 20:47, but the sun was still hanging in the evening sky. A giant ball of glowing light, ninety-three million miles away felt a lot closer as we sat on top of the Tor. Its warmth on our faces was soothing, and the sweet floral smell from the fields below carried on the air, wafting up like an intoxicating spell. Centuries of nature and magic converged. It was easy to see why the solstice was so enchanting. I took another swig of my cider and looked round at Kitty. She was staring at me, her eyes locked on mine. Then, leaning forward, she kissed me softly on the lips. She pulled back, and I smiled at her.

"I love you", I said.

"I know".