One Day At A Time - Revised Edition

March soon ends with warm, sunny days and April starts with rain.

On the Friday before spring break, the rain pours and pours and pours outside.

Despite no one wanting to come to school, everyone shows up, excited for the break ahead.
They're also excited to spend plenty of time together.

So far, their first plan, thought up by Lucas, is to have a day at the park.

It sounds sweet and simple, but Ava, Lilly, and Rose can already read his mind.
He's not going to let a simple day at the park happen.

Something weird will happen thanks to him.
But nevertheless, a day at the park will be fun.

The world outside is still drenched when everyone wakes up eagerly the following Saturday morning, but when they all look out their bedroom windows, the sun is shining bright.

Thanks to Lucas not having his driver's license, Rose still working on getting their permit, and Ava lacking any interest in driving at all, Lilly drives them all to the park.

"When are you taking your permit test?" Lilly asks a little ways down the road.
"I have it scheduled for next Wednesday, so soon I can drive us around!"

For a moment, Ava thinks about correcting Rose, telling them that they can't have other kids in the car for a while after they pass the permit test.

But she doesn't say it.
She looks back at Rose through the car's front mirror, confidently,
"I know you'll pass it."
"Yeah, you're the smartest one out of all of us." Lucas states it like it's a fact.

No one can even get defensive, because he's exactly right.
Rose has always had high grades in school, with report cards that blow everyone else out of the water. (Rose is also quite wise, a thing that Ava specifically will forever be grateful for.)

They arrive at the park a little after noon, choosing to sit under a large shade tree.

Lucas has a backpack with him, a different backpack from his normal school bag.

"What's in the bag?" Rose asks him when the four of them walk over toward a large shade tree.
"I helped my mom make us lunch."
"Since when can you cook?"
"I can't." He replies, laughing slightly. "I helped with organizing stuff in the bag."
"So, you didn't do any of the actual cooking?"
"Nope."

Rose sighs dramatically,
"Thank God. I don't want to know what... concoction you would've come up with!"
"Shut up!" (His organizational skills are top-tier which makes up for the lack thereof cooking skills!)

The sky is clear and blue and the air is warm. Though, the grass is the tiniest bit damp under them.
It's a small annoyance for great day they have.
A day that only gets greater as it goes on.

They have their lunch of Lucas' mom's ham and cheese sandwiches, which are ridiculously good for how simple they are. Rose was right, it's a good thing that Lucas left the lunch preparation to his mom.

In the distance, a couple yards away from the shade tree, a sidewalk leading to a playground surrounded by mulch can be seen.

Lucas spots it first, jumping up,
"We should go over there!"

The group looks at him.
"To the playground? Aren't we, um... too old for that?" Lilly questions.
Lucas gives her a half-hearted, joking glare.
"Of course not! We're all still kids!"

He's right once again, none of them are even close to being eighteen yet, so they're all still kids.
The playground seems pretty empty.

So, they all get up and make their way down the sidewalk.