_{Without in any way limiting the author’s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.}

July is Flash Fiction Month! I’ll be sharing short short stories here through the month of July. More notes at the end of the story.

---

The efficiency didn’t look like much, and that’s because it wasn’t. 

It was a square room with one door, one window, a refrigerator, a sink, an oven, and a few cupboards. The bathroom was scarcely larger than that of an airplane’s, but usable, if you didn’t mind your knees hitting the sink when you sat. 

Other than that, it was barren. But the linoleum wasn’t too cracked, and the noise from the street wasn’t that bad…Theo checked the spreadsheet on his phone once more. Split between him and his two friends, they would be able to afford rent and have a little extra money for the summer. 

“Well?” Brody peered over his girlfriend’s shoulders at Theo. Peyton leaned against Brody, his arms on her hips. His fingertips reached down to the inside of her torn jeans. Another reminder that Theo’s friends had a very active love life, and they were asking him to share a room with him for two and a half months. He’d constantly be the third wheel, and there’d be almost no privacy. 

“C’mon, man, we can’t do it without you,” Brody added hopefully. 

Theo looked around the room again. They could make do with air mattresses, maybe hang a sheet up between their “beds” for a little privacy. “Alright,” he said, a nervous smile coming to his face. “Promise you won’t have sex while I’m here, and I’m in.” 

---

Theo stared at the calendar on the wall of his dorm room. Two weeks until finals, and then his first year of college would be over. It’d be a relief when exams were over, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for the school year to end. 

His phone rang. Mom. 

Signing the rental agreement had been easy. Telling his mom his summer plans would be a lot harder. Ignoring her phone call, though, would result in several more until Theo finally picked up. He was the oldest kid in the family, the first to leave home. His parents had gotten better about giving him space to live his life, while still making sure that he wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere. Mostly. 

“Hello?” Theo answered. 

“Hi honey.” Lena said. There was excitement in her voice. “How’s school?” 

They talked for a few minutes about Theo’s classes and the glut of homework he had. She updated him on his younger sisters and the dog, then told him, “I ran into Mrs. Saunders from church the other day. She asked about you. I told her you’d be coming home for summer.” 

“Well, actually, I was thinking about that…” Theo started. 

“I’ve got good news! Her husband owns a landscaping company. She says that he always has a few extra job openings in the summer, and she’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Um…that’s great.” Theo wound and loose thread from the hem of his t-shirt around his finger. “But I thought I’d…stay up here for the summer?”

There was a pause. “What?” Lena asked after a moment. “But you haven’t been home since March.” 

“I can still come back and visit,” Theo said quickly. His next words rushed out. He had to tell her everything before he lost his nerve. “I found a place with Brody and Peyton. We’re going to rent it for the summer.” 

Another pause. “You just found an apartment, and didn’t tell us?” 

“Well…it’s only for a couple months. They’ve already got jobs for the summer, and I’ll get one up here too.” 

Lena clicked her tongue. “Did you already sign an agreement? Put down a deposit?”

“Yeah.” Theo smiled. He’d been nervous, but signing it and handing over his cash had felt so real. And he and his friends had done it by themselves. It was something to be proud of.

“Did you have anyone else look over before you signed it?” Lena asked. 

“Um…no?” It had been fairly straightforward – no smoking, no pets, trash pickup on Tuesday. “Why?” 

“So you could be sure you weren’t getting screwed over.” Lena’s “mom voice” was coming out, the one that was usually reserved for telling Theo to clean his bedroom or stop fighting with his sisters. “Theodore. Always have someone else look over a contract. You don’t know what you’re getting into.” 

“What I’m getting into, Mom, is an apartment. It’s fine.” 

“It’s not!” Lena snapped. “You’re just a kid. Does everything work in this place? Is it in a safe area? Or did you just see a ‘for rent’ sign and jump at it?” 

Anger creeped up inside Theo. “I’m not stupid, Mom. Obviously we tested everything,” he lied. “And it’s close to school. So it’s fine.” 

“Fine, fine.” Lena sighed. “It’s done. Just remember what I said for next time.” 

“I will, Mom.” Theo’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I have homework to finish. Talk to you later?”

“Yeah, go get your work done. Love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Theo ended the call. I’m not just a kid, he thought. And by the end of the summer, I’ll prove it.

---

No challenge today. I’m a bit behind and my brain is soup. Less than a week til the end of Summer Reading and FFM. And I can’t wait. 😴

I wanted to write a story about Theo sans Puck, just to get to know him a bit better. The biggest theme in my novel is “earning adulthood.” Theo strives for independence, while Puck has to be dragged kicking and screaming into it.

Other stories from this universe:

FFM 3: Love is a Battlefield
FFM 8: Queen of Nothing
FFM 15: It’s Not Rocket Science
FFM 18: The Goddess in the River