It’s Hot (Short Story)

A story of child abuse, this takes place right after “Zucchini.”

After school let out for the summer, the children at Rainbow House spent most of their free time outdoors. In July and August, some days were brutally hot, but the foster parents insisted on the children remaining outside during the day. Stan was usually at work during the day, leaving Sandy alone to take care of all the children; she just could not cope with so many kids running around indoors, getting into trouble. She would let the children watch television, but with so many kids, they usually spent more time fighting over what to watch than actually watching the TV.

While the kids were outside, Edan and Rafe played together in the sandbox in front of the house. Rafe was always building a house in the sand. He told his brother he was building an orange house for an orange judge that he was going to go live with. He never explained who the orange judge was or why he wanted to live there. Angie and Lauren kept to themselves over by the swing set since they were the same age. The older of the three children, Marissa, Katie and Dawn, hung out together in a tree off to the side of the house and talked about boys. The hours the kids spent outside were long, but during really hot days, they seemed even longer.

One day, the heat was so unbearable, the older kids tried to conjure a way to be permitted to remain inside. They all decided we would fake an illness, or sustain some injury – Marissa would cut her arm, Katie would fake a stomach cramp, and Dawn was going to pretend to sprain her ankle.

Marissa found a piece of glass on the ground and began scratching away at her arm while Dawn stood beside her and watched. Unbeknownst to either of the two sisters, Katie had gone inside shortly after and told her mother about “the plan.” She complained to her mother that the heat was unbearable so the kids had no choice but to manipulate their way indoors to stay cool under the air conditioner. Sandy then came outside and chastised Marissa and Dawn, but allowed Katie to remain indoors for being an “honest” good girl.

This story continues in “Leaving Rainbow House.”