You might have called us daft, but the sun had been shining amidst a sea of blue this morning -- it would have been criminal to have taken an umbrella. But Mandy and me felt the change just after we got off the bus, on the way home from uni. Without any warning, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. It might have been August, but I gave a little shiver.
'I guess you need the shitty weather, Debbie, or you'd not be grateful when the sun comes out,' Mandy said to me with a giggle.
I glanced sideways at her -- taking in the wide band of pale skin in between her white crop top and ripped denim shorts, and the long stretches of leg that reached right down to her colourful flip flops.
'I'd kind of like some advance notice though,' I replied, taking a pointed look upwards. 'I could swear those black clouds weren't there a minute ago.'
I didn't have far to walk -- ten minutes or so, and it was about as far again to Mandy's. I guess that's what she gets for living in a slightly nicer area -- everyone's too posh to get the bus so they don't go too near. Anyway, I had a bit more protection than her too -- a regular tight T-shirt, black leggings and trainers. Where Mandy seemed to have gone all out to be sexy, I'd just pulled on comfy stuff without giving it much thought.
Now, our weather does tend to be a bit all over the place, but what it lacks in predictability, it makes up for in moderation. We get plenty of miserable days, but nothing too extreme. Or so I thought. Anyway, I wasn't concerned in the slightest when I felt the first few splashes on my face, or even when I heard a crack of thunder behind us.
'Thank God we're nearly home,' I said. 'We should miss the worst of it.' By this point it was decidedly chilly, but a few drops of rain weren't going to kill us.
But even before we reached the end of the street, I was wondering if I'd been too optimistic. Suddenly, the rain was coming down thick and fast. I could feel myself getting wet all over. The water had already soaked through everything I was wearing. Even my feet were starting to feel a bit soggy.
'Thank God I didn't wear much today,' Mandy said. It was only when I gave her a quizzical look that she added, 'Isn't it better to get your skin wet than to take a bath in your clothes?'
'Either way, I'd like the water to be a bit warmer,' I answered, 'but I don't remember the last time I forgot to strip off before getting in the shower.'
'Hey, come this way then,' Mandy said, grabbing my hand and leading me into the local park -- we'd just been passing the entrance. 'Now's your chance -- get those soaking leggings off and see if it feels better.'
'What a good idea,' I answered sarcastically. We both instinctively took refuge under a tree. 'I've never been so wet,' I continued as I took hold of the bottom of my T-shirt and squeezed it in both fists. A stream of water fell on my feet.
'This is fucking crackers,' Mandy said. 'Two minutes in the rain and we might as well have jumped in the pond.'
'Don't let me stop you,' I said, gesturing across the grass to where we could see the ducks swimming around.
I spotted a woman with a dog hurriedly leaving the park by the far entrance, but otherwise it was just us two -- we had the whole place to ourselves.
Just at that moment, there was a flash followed quickly by a loud crack.
'You know, sheltering under a tree when lightning's this close isn't the brainiest thing we've ever done, is it?' I asked.
'I hope my phone's OK,' Mandy said extracting it from the pocket of her shorts with some difficulty. 'It's supposed to be waterproof, and I guess this proves it.' She held it up to me -- it was still working, despite being covered in spots of water.
I took my mini backpack off my shoulders -- it was only just big enough to hold a phone, my keys and not much else. I felt inside for my phone -- I didn't know if it was waterproof or not, but I didn't need to worry as thankfully it had stayed dry.
There was another flash and an almost instantaneous bang. The rain was coming down heavier than ever now -- I could see the water jumping as it hit the path, and the grass was rapidly turning into a swamp.
'You know what,' Mandy began, 'we couldn't get any wetter if we tried. Shall we just make a run for it?'
'You're on,' I said, and, without waiting for a reply, I set off at a jog.
The road was already starting to look like a river, with streams of water flowing down each side. No one else seemed to be out and about -- either they'd got lucky, or had paid more attention to the weather forecast than us, or had already found refuge somewhere or other. There weren't even any cars out -- maybe their owners didn't fancy driving through floods. I turned round to see Mandy doing her best to run while keeping her flip flops on her feet. Her white top clung tightly to her skin.
'If you're going to be that slow, maybe I better leave you to swim home by yourself,' I teased.
'Fuck it,' Mandy said. She lifted up first one foot then the other, and took her flips flops in her hand. 'Let's run.'
She was away and past me before I'd begun to move, but I didn't get the impression that she was finding running bare foot to be much of an improvement on the flip flops. I jogged behind her, keeping a safe enough distance not to get splashed, but it was easy enough to keep up. I could see she was doing her best to run on the balls of her feet, but she also had her head down watching carefully where she put them.
