2. The Trouble Begins

“Gavin?” Samantha’s voice was weak as she said her friends’ name. She sat up, her blond hair cascading down her back.

“Hey, she’s waking up!”

Samantha was suddenly surrounded by several smiling faces. All laughing and smiling and saying things like ‘Thank goodness!’, or ‘It’s about time Sammy!’

“Ow, my head hurts. And why is everyone talking at the same time?” she moaned.

“All right, she’s awake. Go spread it to the school and get out.” Gavin started herding the students out. His shoulder length brown hair stuck out in funny directions rather than the usually strait waterfall.

When he turned back around, his face was smiling but his eyes still had worry in them. There were dark circles under his eyes showing that he hadn’t slept in a day or two for more than ten minutes. The brown eyes were deep with concern and Samantha could see it.

“Gavin, what’s wrong?”

“I told you to go to the nurse. You scared the crap out of me when you just fell on me like that,” he said smiling weakly.

“What are you talking about?” She sat up but then lay back down when her head spun.

“I mean, after we met up in lunch you fainted. Right in the lunch line, and you fell on top of me. You wouldn’t wake back up. So me and a couple of the football players picked you up and brought you down to the infirmary.”

Her blue eyes opened wide. She sat up, her cheeks flushing bright red. Her blond hair was a mess and tangled and dry.

Gavin stared at her in surprise. His brown eyes held worry and concern. But that faded to humor and enjoyment. He broke out laughing and Samantha glared at him.

“What is so funny?” she growled.

It took him a moment to calm himself enough to talk.

“Your face is as red as a tomato. What was it that I said?” he said in a taunting voice. He was enjoying the moment. “Was it that two football players helped me carry you down here? No, can’t have been that…”

She got up off the bed and stomped over to him.

“Which two football players?” she hissed through her teeth.

“Hm… I think it was Brad Gambeson and…Oh who was that other one?” Gavin stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger while smiling.

“Gavin, tell me who it was, or I’ll make sure you stay in the infirmary with a broken neck.”

She took a fistful of his shirt and held him up against the wall. Her malicious smile looked like it would kill—and it probably would.

“All right, all right. Cool your jets. It was Tyler Smalling. Now let go of my shirt.”

“Brad and Tyler! They are the quarterback and running back! How could you let them be the ones to pick me up? You are undoubtedly the worst friend in the history of worst friends!” She released him and stormed out into the hall after putting her shoes on.

Gavin followed laughing. His hands were folded on the back of his head and he kept easy pace with her.

“Come on Sammy, they’re just football players.”

“Just football players?” She turned on him, a dangerous look on her face. “I don’t believe we’re talking about the same people. Brad and Tyler both asked me to the ninth grade Winter Ball in two weeks! I told them both I would get back to them after I thought about it. Now they’re both expecting me to say yes since they help me out. Not to mention it’s embarrassing that I needed help in the first place.” She wrapped her hands into her hairline and moaned. “Ugh, what am I going to do?”

Gavin stayed silent.

Samantha walked down the hall towards the girls dorms.

There were girls all crowding the hallway all gossiping and laughing. But when Samantha walked by them the giggled and said things like,

“So, Sammy. Who you going with to the ball? Brad, or Tyler?”

The nice people said, “How you feeling, Sammy?”

She said fine but still slammed her door shut after she reached it. She looked to the digital clock on her bedside table. It said it was June 30.

“Two days? Ugh, why is this stuff happening to me?”

She flew down onto the bed with her hair fanned out behind her. Her fingers went back to ripping the hair out of her hairline. Her scalp was practically screaming in pain but she ignored it.

The door opened a few hours later. Her roommate Danny walked in with a small frown on her face. Samantha ignored her for once and just kept trying to pull all her hair out.

Danny sighed, shaking her head. Her soft brown hair waved back and forth with the action.

“Sammy, cut it out. You’re going to make yourself go bald. Wouldn’t want Brad or Tyler to have to go to the ball with a bald date, do you?”

“Shut up, Danny. You are not helping one bit. I’m in enough trouble as it is with picking between the two of them. I don’t need your sarcastic comments to make it worse.”

Danny walked over to her own bed and sat on the edge, facing Samantha.

“Sammy, you don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what? There is nothing to get.” Samantha rolled on her side, facing away from Danny.

“You are the most stubborn and cranky person I know! Look at you! Ripping your hair out of your head because you can’t make the simplest decision of your life? It’s amazing how you can do so much and not make the choice! You are student council president; you run the announcements every morning. You help the lunch ladies with the menu, not to mention all the volunteer work you do on the weekends. Sammy, you were asleep for two days and yet you can’t see the obvious choice?” Danny was standing again now. Her dark hands were in tight fists and her face was distorted with anger.

“Well if I’m so blind, why don’t you tell me what the only choice is?” Samantha got of her bed and faced the roommate. Her arms were crossed and her eyebrow was raised expectantly.

“You want the choice?” Danny said softly but still angrily. “Pick neither! Pick the person who actually cares about you! Do you even remember his name or who he is?”

Samantha blushed.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about. There are a million boys in this school who care about me.”

Danny sighed and shook her head again with her eyes in her hand.

“Why don’t you tell your best friend/secret admirer Gavin that you’ll go with him? As I do recall, he did ask you about two months ago. You are so shallow sometimes.”

“I am not. And I already told Gavin two months ago that I didn’t like him like that. Only as a friend and I said no. Did you forget this little fact?” Samantha moved the back of her hands to her hips.

Danny sat back down on the bed.

“Sammy, you are shallow. And blind. And insensitive. Gavin has loved you for two years straight now and you didn’t even see it. You didn’t even know until he asked you to go to the dance with him. And you said no. You didn’t even care about what he was feeling. He really cares for you Sammy. A lot more than any football jock. And not every boy in this school cares for you. There are plenty—over 50% who don’t—and you are two blind to see the one that does.”

“Well what do you expect me to do? I don’t love him. It’s just a crush. He’ll get over it soon enough.”

“Really Sammy? Are you sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“He stayed in the infirmary with you waiting for you to wake up for two days. He hardly even slept. Maybe thirty minutes all together. He wanted to be awake when you woke up.”

“You know what? I’m going with Tyler. He’s bound to be better with his feet. He uses them more. And he has a volunteer dance class every other weekend.”

“Forget it Sammy! I try to help you with your problems and you ignore them!” She jumped off the bed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Her plaid mini-skirt just barely managed not to get caught.

Samantha jumped back onto her bed and screamed into a pillow.