A heatwave from hell

 God, another day in this godforsaken heat! I feel like I can hardly take it anymore. Living in this awful region really sucks during the summer time. School has been out for months and that was the only best part of this summer. Every year it seems to be getting worse. Five years ago you could actually go outside during the day and not feel like you're being burned by the fires of hell, insert ironic smiley face here.

It's only August, but thanks to the virus it feels like we've lived three years in one. We had all four seasons in one week sometimes in just three days, but nothing could have prepared me for the summer of 2020. Honestly, with all that's been going on, I thought we'd have no summer thanks to the fact that we screwed up our ecosystem, but no, the heat had to prevail and enter the chatroom like it owned the place.

It would have been bearable if, say, I didn’t have to leave my house at 3p.m. every day for my IT internship. Yeah, why that late, you ask? Well, here's the kicker: the CEO of this small company, being the "nice guy" he is, told two of my colleagues and I, not to early because, and I quote: "There is no need for you kids to come in the morning, it's not like you are a necessity to the company". So, thanks to that, now I, an already slow walking and heat-hating girl, that I am, have to walk thirty minutes every day, five days a week, just so I can gain experience for about an hour, two tops, from a guy who uses paper plates when he eats. The worst thing is that I have no direct bus line, or any type of transport, thanks to the virus the bus schedule and routes have changed and the only bus that goes from my part of the neighborhood has been canceled indefinitely. I can’t bail, because I need the hours, oh and did I mention that we mostly just clean up after the regular staff and act as their secretaries? I mean what a place to be at during my one summer I was supposed to relax to the fullest, A+ work.

Don't get me wrong, I do get paid, I am pretty happy with what I get for the short time I’m there, but God, walking on a hundred and five degrees, are you serious? I could do the small work, we do in that half hour, at home and still act as your secretary, but no, I just have to walk for thirty minutes and and get a heatstroke just so you can have someone get your Starbucks order on the way. Sometimes I wonder: is this the best I can do? Is this my life and will it be my life twenty years from now? No stop. God, every time I'm on my way to the office on this godawful heat I just go crazy by thinking it's the end for me. It's not and to think I’ve been doing this for over three weeks. It never gets easier, but today it just got harder. Today, the heat is so unbearable that I feel like dying, literally. I am so not a summer person. I will take winter over summer any time.

Usually the shades on the way to the office are lifesavers combined with a nice breeze, but today the air just stands still. There is no wind. No change, just the killing, hot flames of hell coming from the sun itself. The streets are so hot you can make lunch on it, the sidewalk just actually melted some guy's shoe, no joke and the leaves from my heroic trees are losing color, dying from the heat and dehydration. Poor things, the animas aren’t doing any better. They are in the shades, hiding somewhere where the sun or its boiling hot touch can’t reach them. I wish I could hide like them, in a small cool place, not exposed like this. If someone were to ask me what my thoughts on hell were I would simply tell them about this horrendous day and how I somehow boiled and was set on fire at the same time.

You have to have motivation, though. My motivation is: this day has to end, tomorrow, will be better. That and watermelons. On this fiery road you have to keep the mind busy or else, like me, you end up going to the dark place and nobody wants to go to the dark place. I keep imagining myself with my little brother Lucas on out terrace with the fan on, eating frozen cold watermelons on the bench swing and just doing nothing and talking about nonsense. We did that last summer. Best one we had. This puts a smile on my face as I stand in line at Starbucks to get my bosses order. That didn’t take long, but the cool air was a God-sent for just a few moments before making it to my final destination.

I finally arrive at the office and a sign greets me out front. "Due to the heatwave, today we will be closed. We are opening again tomorrow at 09:00am." My eye twitches as I get a notification on my phone, I take it out and read the email I just got: "Hey interns, just popping in to tell you not to come in today because of the heat! Relax at home and I’ll see you tomorrow at 3pm sharp! Best, Paul" my hand falls on its own, my head bows down and I feel myself shake. I start laughing hysterically and crush the coffee throwing it at the door. "Are you freaking kidding me?! It’s 2 minutes to 3! And now I get the email! Screw you and your disrespect! I quit jackass!" I yell out in rage and turn around marching away, the two other interns were also there and were quite shocked at my reaction at first but agreed it was the right one, or so they told me later on.

Somehow, I don’t know how, I made it home. All I remember was how sweat rolled down my entire body and how the sun burned my skin crispy as I made my way, or should I say, dragged myself back. I got inside in the cool and relaxing atmosphere and made my way to the bathroom to wash off all this horrid day brought.

"You’re back?" Lucas peaked in the hallway.

"Yeah, I quit. I couldn’t take it anymore."

"Good, they don’t deserve you" he made his cute sympathy face "There’s frozen watermelon. I’ll be on the terrace."

"Thanks bud. I’ll be out soon" I patted him on the head as I was passing by.

The shower brought me back to life, I felt as if I was reborn, walking out to the terrace, I sent an email of resignation to my employer. There are places and people I can look for online. That's always an option and to be honest I should have done that in the beginning. I sat by Lucas who was laying down on the bench, watching a show on his laptop, and took a slice of a watermelon. That one bite, so juicy and fresh brought back memories and peace of mind to me. "What are we watching?" I asked as I took another bite.