Out of the Fire, Into the Ice

Nathaniel reeled back as soon as the heat attacked him. He gritted his teeth not only in extreme discomfort, but also in great frustration. It would be one thing if he had been going outside, since it was supposed to get to 100 degrees Fahrenheit today. It was unfortunate, but the expectation helped Nathaniel deal with the dry, hot weather when he went out earlier for popsicles.

But what he had not expected was that instead of feeling fresh cool air as soon as he got home...he got heat. It wasn’t quite as hot as outside, but it felt kinda wet, like someone just poured water on rocks in a sauna.

That, combined with the fact that this was his home, his safe, sacred space...made the heat all the worse.

“Come on,” Nathaniel muttered to himself as he quickly rushed to the nearest vent. Any hope that his roommate accidentally turned off the AC died when he felt cool air brush against his fingers.

Maybe...maybe it wasn’t actually as bad as he thought it was?

Nathaniel hurried up the stairs, though his speed had no choice but to decrease as the heat grew more suffocating with each step. Once he made it to the second floor, he headed straight for the thermostat, which thankfully was not far away. But when Nathaniel arrived at the digital device, his heart plummeted in despair.

It was currently 86 degrees inside the house.

The AC was set at 71.

And it was only two in the afternoon.

….It was worse than what Nathaniel had thought.

Even though it was far from manly, Nathaniel couldn’t help but whimper. He knew that this house was old, and that the insulation was poor, but this...this was too much!

How were they supposed to survive?

Nathaniel groaned as he tilted his head back before moving it forward so he could ram his forehead against the wall. However, a flicker of something yellow caught his eye, causing Nathaniel to abruptly stop himself. He opened his eyes to reveal a yellow Post-it note stuck on the wall.

Posting this here before you make another hole in the wall with your big empty head. I contacted the landlord, and he’s gonna look at the AC tomorrow. I went to the store to get stuff that should help make the house cooler in the meantime. Keep calm and don’t be stupid.

-Rick

Nathaniel peeled the note off the wall and reread it before looking back at the thermostat. It was still at 86. But he knew that was likely to change soon. And not for the better.

Would he be able to survive until tomorrow? Until Rick came back? Whenever that was? And what was this stuff that could make the house cooler? Nathaniel was very familiar with Rick’s home improvement projects. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t.

A glance at the thermostat told Nathaniel that it was now 86.5 Fahrenheit inside.

“How can I keep calm when I’m dying?!” Nathaniel cried as he crumpled the yellow note and threw it on the ground. With another groan, Nathaniel wiped his forehead, causing the gray plastic bag to bump against his head.

“Ow...wait! The popsicles!” cried Nathaniel in delight as he opened the bag and gleefully stared at the familiar box full of his favorite, nostalgic popsicles. He reached a hand inside before he suddenly stopped right as a droplet of water slid down the side of the box.

How long have the popsicles been out of the freezer?

Nathaniel pursed his lips. The popsicles were probably fine for immediate consumption, but the traffic on the way back from the store was a bit worse than usual...maybe he should put them back in for like five minutes? Yeah, he could survive for another five minutes.

...Right?

Not having much of a choice, Nathaniel went to the freezer. When he opened it, he stayed still as the frosty air of the freezer touched his face, making him feel better than he had since he arrived home.

If only he could just leave the freezer door open and not expect a huge spike in his utility bill. Well, it was still probably going to be high anyway, but still...wait a minute.

What if…

Nathaniel studied the contents of the freezer before opening the door to the fridge as well. There wasn’t much in the freezer, and the fridge still had plenty of room. He pulled one of the white shelves a bit and found that while it was a little stiff, thanks to the ice frost stuff, it moved easily enough.

But most importantly, the freezer was about his height.

Nathaniel grinned like he was the Grinch on Christmas Eve.

The stuff in the freezer should be fine in the fridge for a few minutes. Popsicles included.

Without wasting any more time, Nathaniel yanked out all the freezer shelves, food included, and haphazardly shoved them into the fridge. Once the popsicles were in there as well, Nathaniel let the fridge door close before he carefully got inside the freezer. It was a bit cramped because of how narrow the freezer was, but thankfully, Nathaniel was slim so it wasn’t too uncomfortable. He did have to bend his head a little too, but other than that, he fit in the freezer perfectly. With a happy smile, Nathaniel closed the freezer door, the light turning off as a result.

Nathaniel sighed in pure contentment as the cold air brought him much-needed relief. No longer was the heat making him burn up and sweat. Here, where the freezer was comforting and cooling his skin after the hot ordeal, Nathaniel was safe. Of course, he couldn’t stay here forever, but Nathaniel was going to enjoy it while he could.

Minutes of chilly bliss passed by before shivers started to overtake Nathaniel’s body and coldness seeped past his skin. It was time to go.

Nathaniel sighed as he began to push open the freezer door. Nothing lasts forever...but maybe Nathaniel could come back later. Yeah, there was no reason why he couldn’t-

The door wouldn’t open.

A bit nervous but telling himself to stay calm, that the door was just stiff, Nathaniel pushed once again, with more strength this time.

It wouldn’t budge.

Wait, were freezers one of those things that could only be opened from the outside, not the inside? Was he stuck-

Nathaniel shook his head clear of that terrifying thought. He...he just needed more force! Nathaniel started pushing the door with both hands and all of his strength.

Not an inch.

Never mind. He was gonna die, he was gonna die, he was gonna die!

“Help!” Nathaniel desperately cried as he leaned back as far as he could, which wasn't much, and slammed against the door. When nothing happened, Nathaniel leaned back once more.

“Rick!” Nathaniel called out, not knowing if Rick was even home. Not knowing if Rick could even hear him if he was. As such, Nathaniel desperately threw himself at the door without waiting for an answer.

Only to be suddenly bombarded with light. And instead of slamming against the door, he crashed to the ground.

Nathaniel blinked, his eyes adjusting enough for him to tell that he was on the kitchen floor.

“I’m alive,” Nathaniel breathed out in relief. “But how? I’m pretty sure I didn’t-”

“Hit the door? That’s cause I opened it.” Nathaniel turned his head around to see Rick leaning his back against that darn freezer with one of Nathaniel’s popsicles in his hand. Completely carefree and not surprised at all.

“...You were holding it closed this whole time, weren’t you?” Nathaniel asked, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

Rick nodded.

“I came home just in time to see you enter the freezer. I guess you were too busy being an idiot to hear me,” Rick said as he licked the colorful popsicle before he opened the fridge and reached into it with one hand. “So I figured I’ll try the more subtle approach since directly telling you not to be stupid didn’t work.”

As the fridge door closed, Rick held out an unopened popsicle to Nathaniel.

“Popsicle?”

Nathaniel could only growl as he snatched the popsicle from Rick.