Adored and Amused

Summer and Alex walked hand-in-hand, their fingers laced together like a perfectly executed knot in a macrame project gone right, which, given Summer’s usual luck with crafts, was saying something. The air, once thick with the oppressive dread of April’s reign, now hummed with a lightness that tickled Summer’s nose like a stray feather. Laughter bubbled up from her, a sound so foreign yet so utterly delightful, Alex mirrored it with a booming chuckle that echoed through the quad like a particularly enthusiastic foghorn.

“You’re still giggling,” Alex observed, his thumb tracing lazy circles on the back of her hand. “That’s a good sign, right? Means April’s reign of terror is officially over, and the Summer of Sunshine and Shenanigans has begun.”

Summer nudged him playfully. “Shenanigans? Is that what we’re calling it now? I thought it was more like ‘Summer’s Hilariously Unplanned Adventure into Not Being Miserable’.”