It’s late…And my brain is once again fried! I realize I forgot to clean up the last post. All those Quotes. Well, Maybe I can go back and fix it later…after we have a day off. But right now I have to get up early for the scoring and test my brain. By the time I get home, I’m done using it!
With that being said, I will at least try to give this the once over and try to fix the obvious mistakes. I’m not betting on the best second round draft though. We shall see. In the mean time….enjoy chapter 10!
Chapter 10
Samantha got off the bus and entered the High school through the large glass doors. First hour was about to begin but the last of the busses had not arrived yet; so she still had some time to go to her locker and put some stuff away. The hallway was filled with several dozen teenagers and a couple of teachers prepping for the first morning class. She found her locker and flipped through her combination. The door opened with the familiar metallic clack.
She opened her back pack and sorted through her books, taking only what she needed for the morning and shelving the rest in her locker next to her pictures of various teen age heart throbs and posters of hello kitty. She grabbed a couple of pens and tucked them into a side pocket of her backpack. She then closed her locker and reset her combo lock.
As she looked around, she noticed Andy Jaltima several lockers down. 
She smiled to herself then felt the small nervous jitters she felt every time she thought of talking to him. He was so cute!
She looked at the clock and noticed that she still had some time left. Even though it was early morning, She felt now was as good a time as any to make her move. She reached deep inside herself for as much courage as she could find, then walked confidently over to him. The first step was exalting! She was really going to do it!
Andy had just closed his locker when he noticed Samantha standing there staring at him. The sudden image startled him.
“Hi Andy.” Sam greeted with a long seductive voice.
“Hi Sam. “ He looked around nervously, then picked up her books and began to put them into his backpack.
“So I was wondering if you knew what the difference between a carburetor and a fuel injected engine was.” Sam began, Her face beaming with an impish grin.
“Uh Well yeah kinda, Why? “
“I don’t know I just heard you know a lot about cars. I was wondering what kind of engine I should be looking for when I’m able to drive.”
“You’re going to get a car?”
“Yeah! When I get my license.” She looked at him with the “duh” look
“You’re only 14. You won’t be able to drive for a couple of years.”
“It doesn’t hurt to start thinking of these things early.” She said nervously.
“Well, I don’t even know if they make cars anymore with carburetor engines. And who knows what they will make two years from now.” He zipped up his back pack and lifted it over one shoulder.
“Well maybe we can talk about it over lunch later?” She spoke casually.
“Oh uh, I don’t know if that is such a great Idea. “ Andy looked around as if planning an escape.
Sam looked shocked, then quickly gained her composure. “What do you mean?”
“I just don’t want people to get the wrong idea is all.”
“What do you mean by that? We are just talking.. It’s not like we are going out or anything.” Sam reasoned. She was not expecting this reaction.
“I mean your Dad, I don’t want him thinking we are going out.”
“My Dad? What does he have to do with anything?”
“Well, You kind of have a reputation concerning you Dad and the way he treats your friends that are …ah male.”
“Oh that, He just does that to scare people. He is really not as mean as everyone thinks. He is just a little over protective is all.”
“That’s not what I heard.” He backed away from her holding his backpack in front of him like a shield across his chest.
“What do you mean? “ Sam stepped closer to him so she would not have to talk so loud.
The Class bell rang with its usual ear splitting noise, warning that there were now only five minutes before class.
“I’ve got to go Sam, Catch ya later.” He turned to sprint away.
Sam ran after him. “What do you mean? Will I see you at lunch? Hey! Your classroom is this way!”
Andy darted through the crowd looking back as if ensuring he was not being followed. Sam stopped after he disappeared around a corner. That had not gone as well as she would have liked. Lisa said this was a sure think. Sam wondered what had gotten in to him. She didn’t know her Dad’s guardianship was that big a deal. She looked at her watch then gathered up her books. She headed for her class down the hall. 
The classes passed and were as dull as ever. Sam wondered why they always managed to schedule Algebra in the morning when her mind had not fully woken up. She kept wondering why Andy would ditch her like that. Maybe Lisa had got it all wrong. Or maybe Lisa was making it all up and set her up for failure. What ever the reason Sam had to get to the bottom of this and she didn’t know who to ask. It was almost lunch time and Sam didn’t know if she should try to find Lisa or try to find Andy and ask him to clarify what he meant.
The Bell rang and Sam headed for the cafeteria. She couldn’t help but notice the looks some of the other students gave her as she walked down the hall. She began to wonder if her hair was suddenly purple and she was the only one who hadn’t noticed. She dashed into the bathroom, passing two girls that giggled as they passed her. She looked in the mirror. He hair was normal, her makeup fine. She had no food on her face nor her clothes. She even looked around to make sure she had not sat against some wet paint or had a “kick me!” sign attached to her back.
Finding nothing, she breathed a sigh of relief then opened the door and walked toward the cafeteria once more. There was something going on and she needed to get to the bottom of it.
….
David sat back in his chair sipping another cup of coffee. He had hoped it was going to be an uneventful day. No fires, no accidents no chemical spills. He only had a couple of hours left before his shift was up. Randy sat down beside him.
“You watching this?” He asked pointing toward the television.
“Nope! Go ahead. But make sure it’s interesting.”
Randy flipped thru the channels and settled on a soap opera. “Yeah! “ He said gleefully. “ I missed yesterday! Stupid call right as I was going to find out what happened to Tiffanies baby. “ He smiled never taking his eyes off the screen.
David looked up dismayed. Ah well Randy loved his soaps. He was almost done with this day and would be heading home soon. Maybe he would stop in at the hardware store and see if he could pick up a new shovel for Trace. Maybe that would get her off the detective wagon and put her back in the garden so she wouldn’t harass him so much .
“You got a long weekend , aye?” Randy asked still watching the television. A commercial for feminine products was on. He clicked the mute then looked at David.
“Yeah, full Saturday and Sunday off. Have not had one of those in a while.”
“It doesn’t matter to me much anymore. I ‘m just happy I get two days off in a row. They don’t have to be a Saturday /Sunday combination. I’m happy with a Tuesday/ Wednesday.”
David nodded in agreement. 
“So how much longer have you got on Todd’s shift?”
“Couple hours.”
“Good deal!”
“Yeah, I couldn’t resist. He gave me 6 hours of his shift and took my whole Sunday. I couldn’t pass that one up. He must have needed today off really bad. Something about his kids I imagine. They will make you do the strangest things to prove your love. So help me. Oh! it’s back on! SHHHH! “ He clicked off the Mute and began watching once more oblivious to everything else in his surroundings.
David looked on as Peter confessed that he was secretly seeing Victoria’s mother and that they had stolen Tiffanies baby as their own. Certain no one would find out.
“I knew it! “ Randy shouted out “ It was too obvious that they would have a kid at the same time Tiffany’s baby was kidnapped.”
“And no one else figured this out?” David looked on skeptically.
“Heck no man, this is a soap! The people in them are as dumb as a rock! “
“Then why do you watch them?”
“’Cause there ain’t nothing else on at this time of the day. I can almost feel my brain cells dying as I watch it. It’s Great! “ Randy shushed with his hand to catch the key last bit of dialogue. “Yeah! You in trouble now baby! You in trouble now! “ He shouted at the screen.
David wondered if he could even find a shovel like the one he had lost. Perhaps they would have a substitute if they didn’t have exactly that one. David looked at his watch then looked at the television. Soaps were not very entertaining for him, but watching Randy’s reaction to them was a show in itself.
….
Sam entered the cafeteria and looked around, She took a deep breath noticing that no one had looked her way. Perhaps she was seeing things that were really not there. She guessed that this mornings reaction had just made her more self conscious than normal and that people really weren’t looking at her or talking about her. She selected a yogurt and a cup of fruit. Sloppy Joes were the main menu item and were gross. She decided that today was a good day to stick to her diet.
She moved down the rows to find a table of friends. She saw Andy sitting with a couple of football players and decided to join them determined to get to the bottom of the cold shoulder. After all, they had talked about sitting together at lunch. She sat down across from him.
“Hey Andy.”
Andy’d face turned white as the life drained from it. He swallowed hard squeeking out “Hi Sam.”
“So what were you trying to say before the bell rudely interrupted us?” Sam peeled back the top of her yogurt.
“Oh nothing, Hey! Wow. Look at the time, I had better get going.” He picked up his tray and stood up with a bit of a shake. He still had most of his food on his plate. He picked up a glass of milk and began to chug it as he walked away.
“Wait! When Will I get to talk to you again?” Sam called after him. “What is bothering him?” she said aloud.
“I don’t know.” came a voice from beside her.
Sam turned around to see Brian Jacobs sitting next to her. She hadn’t even noticed him sitting there in her huff to talk to Andy.
“Brian Jacobs!” She exclaimed.
“That’s me! In the flesh. “ He answered with a smile.
“I’m sorry I just sat here wanting to talk to Andy about something. Now he’s gone.”
“I’ll talk to you, You don’t have to rush off. “ He took a sip of his milk.
Sam’s face grew hot and she knew it. She pulled her chair back in and tried to settle down. “Ok I don’t know what to talk about though. I mean I really don’t know much about football.”
“So let’s talk about something else. Like what were you going to talk to Andy about.”
“Oh nothing. He said something about cars and I wanted his opinion. But now he doesn’t seem to want to talk to me and I don’t know why.”
“Me either, I doubt I would leave the room if you came to talk to me.” He said with a grin
Sam’s face must have surely been beet red by now. She took a spoonful of her yogurt to hide the effects. Quickly she tried to find something to say. “So how do you know Andy anyway? “
“Oh! Hhe is my neighbor. We grew up together. I don’t see him much anymore since I made the varsity team. So we usually sit together for lunch.”
Suddenly A figure appeared in front of them holding a tray.
“What are you doing? “ The voice came from Joann Lipkin
“Nothing! “ Both Sam and Brian answered in unison then looked over at each other with a grin.
“Brian looked back at her, “Hey Joan, What’s happening? Have a seat.”
“What are you doing with her?” Joann pointed her tray at Sam.
“Nothing, we are just talking.” Brian defended. “She was sitting with Andy and me and Andy left. We’re just eating and talking now.”
“Look, you’re suppose to be sitting with me.”
“So have a seat! “
“Alone! Just the two of us! Me and you.”
“And all your friends, and they all hate me. I’m sitting here with ….what’s your name again?” He motioned toward Sam.
“Sam! I mean, Samantha! but everyone calls me Sam.” She blurted out.
“Yeah Sam. So you can join us or go sit with them. “ He took another sip of his milk.
“Look Brian, You don’t want the wrong people to get the wrong idea about you two.”
“What do you mean?” Brian took a bite out of his cake.
“I mean… “ Joann bent down and whispered in Brian’s ear.
“OH! Brian’s eyes widened. “Oh, Ah hey Sam, It was really nice meeting you. But I think I better get going.” He stood up and grabbed his tray. Joann grinned evilly at the chaos she had created.
Sam looked up with a confused expression. Not knowing what had just happened. One minute she is talking to one of the best looking most popular boys in school and the next he is yanked away by one of the most popular girls. The social structure was brutal in this environment, and apparently very strict. She was really getting to know Brian too. It was things like this that made Sam certain that she would never get a popular boy as long as she was in high school. Unless, of course, she could become popular someday and climbed the social structure. Until then, all Sam could do was eat the rest of her yogurt in silence, alone.
Afternoon classes were not any more interesting than the morning ones. Science and Chemistry were perhaps the most boring. 
Added to that, her Lab partners for both classes did not bother to show up today. It was the first day of Small game season and Sam was convinced that the two boys had skipped and went hunting.
The last class over, Sam had one afternoon study hall then she could head home. She would catch the last bus home after it and she tried to do as much homework as she could before the end of the period. She planned on hanging out with her friends all weekend long.
She had just finished the last assignment for Monday when she looked up to see Lisa come in and sit next to her.
“Hi,” She whispered , opening her book as if to ask a question.
“Where have you been all day? “ Sam asked quietly with a slight tone of anger.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all afternoon. I have something to tell you.”
“Well, I have something to tell you. I thought you said that Andy liked me! He has been treating me like a leper all day. Every time I try to talk to him he practically bolts for the door. “
“Oh? Yeah, I can explain that. “
“Did you set me up? Was this some kind of joke? Did you tell him anything?”
Lisa looked around making sure no one was looking at them. “I can explain, Let me explain. “ She insisted.
“Did you tell him I like him? What did you say to him?”
“I didn’t say anything…my brother did!”
“Your brother? How? What? Did he tell Andy I like him?”
“Oh yeah. That and much more.”
“How? “
“He picked up the phone when I was talking to you.”
“That little Jerk! I’m going to kill him!” Sam clenched her book to keep from screaming.
“That’s not all, you better sit down and brace yourself. This is kinda bad.” Lisa looked around to make sure no one else was listening.
“I am sitting down and besides, what could be worse than this? He told Andy I like him and now Andy is avoiding me like the plague.” Sam shook her head, “it’s because he doesn’t like me, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think that is the reason .”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” Sam looked down at her book feeling depressed.
“No, I mean the reason Andy is avoiding you is because he thinks your Dad is going to kill him.” Lisa said slowly and deliberately
Samantha looked up! “What? What do you mean?”
“I mean my brother heard our conversation, all of it! And told a bunch of his friends , including Andy, that your Dad killed Jamie because he wanted to date you. By now it is all over school. Everyone thinks you are the kiss of death!”
Sam looked up shocked! Then slowly smiled, then began to laugh. “Whoa, that is a good one. Man, you had me there.” She snickered trying to keep her laugh down so as to not draw attention. “Man you had me, but only for a second. Really!”
Lisa looked at her dumbfounded. “I’m not kidding. Really!”
Sam smile faded. Then her eyes widened! She shoved her head down between her knees and began to breath rapidly. It was true! All the people all day looking at her laughing at her! Scared of her! Because of her father :the boyfriend butcher! It didn’t have to be true or not, People just had to believe it to be true. Her popularity was ruined, Ruined! She would never be one of the popular girls, she never would be allowed to date a popular boy. Her life was officially over! And this was all her Dad’s fault!
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