For a season meant to be nice, it felt like hell instead.

School's out, which meant kids were finally given a break, which meant she has to spend the next 3 months listening to the cheers and jeers of children in the streets. Some may find it refreshing to hear kids being kids, life is supposedly good, but to Maria? It was annoying. Hey, it was better than the frequent traffic jam she'd receive when kids were out of school. Now she had to look for other reasons to complain about traffic. Maybe people getting out from their nine to five shift? Eh, it'll do.

Stuck in nothing but her undergarment in a busted apartment with an air conditioner that isn't even working properly, she sat near an open window. Rays from the sun gleamed into her apartment and the breeze was hardly existent outside. With an aggravated sigh, she reached for a scrunchie left on the coffee table and wrapped her hair into a messy, but competent ponytail. From the same table, she then reached for her cold glass of water and took a small sip to temporarily cool her down. Next to her on the couch was a small pink towel and gently tapped it against her forehead to get rid of the sweat constantly coming out of her pores.

The smell of barbeque seeped through the window and reached Maria's nose. She could practically taste the food in her mouth, but alas, it was too hot to do anything in this heatwave. The most she could do was order takeout and let the brave takeout person to travel through the heat and deliver her food. Yeah, that sounded just about right.

On the arm rest of the couch was her phone that buzzed loudly next to her. She stared at the one name in her contact list that heated her up more than the weather ever could, even at a scorching temperature that pushed to almost one hundred degrees.

Victoria.

She didn't know whether or not to pick up or ignore the call. Knowing the other woman, she'd probably be more persistent with these calls until Maria gave in. A heavy exhale passed through her nose as she picked up the phone and swiped right to answer the call. Might as well get it over with.

"Victoria, hey." Maria said.

"Hey you," Victoria greeted in a cheery tone. "I hope you're keeping yourself cool 'round these parts. I'm practically becoming a melted popsicle over here." She laughed into the phone.

"The feeling is mutual. My A/C's busted and all that's keeping me sane is this glass of water. Other than that, ain't shit that's keeping me cool. Not even a shower helps." Maria explained, her other hand on the pink cloth to wipe off more sweat from her face.

"Well, I may have a solution to your problem. My brother's hosting a barbeque tonight and I was wondering if you'd like to come." Victoria offered.

"And why would I go from one hot place to another hot place?" She asked.

"I mean... we can be hot together or something, I guess." Victoria chuckled at the unintentional double entendre she caught on to. "Besides, it'd be fun! You'll also get to meet the family. I've talked about you so much to them but they've yet to ever see that you exist."

"If it means me getting free food, then I wouldn't mind coming over." Maria eventually taken the offer with a subtle shrug to herself.

"I'll uh... just pretend you're doing it for me and that you love me so much. Anyway, be sure to be there by 7!" Victoria chirped.

"Right, right, see you soon."