The Golden Days- Chapter 2: Just another day at the races

Sam tosses and turns around a lot in his sleep. That’s just a fact of life, along the lines of how it’s a fact that Sam’s name starts with an “s” or how it’s a fact that violins are instruments. However, this was a particularly special day, as in the past, Sam had never had a naked girl sleep next to him. In fact, he’s never had a girl sleep next to him period. When his alarm clock sounded, he jolted awake. He slammed the button on his alarm clock and then proceeded to arise from under his sheets. He stretched and then got dressed. Since Mina was still fast asleep, he grabbed a sheet of paper then wrote:

Dear Mina,

I’m going to head out to school. I’ll leave food on the table next to this note. I’ll be back soon.

Sam

Sam made two sandwiches, left one on the table in his room, and ate the other one. He put on his backpack and walked out the door. He was walking down the street when he was joined by his best friend and partner in crime, John. John ran up behind Sam and, before Sam could react, jumped onto him and began choking him from behind. Sam elbowed John, and John let go. The two shared a high five and then proceeded to walk to school together.

John asked Sam out of the blue, “So, Sammy, what was all that screaming last night?”

“Wait—you heard that?” Sam inquired nervously.

“Dude, I live right next to you. Of course I heard it,” John paused. “In fact, I think the whole neighborhood heard it.”

“Wha… Really?” Sam exclaimed.

“Naw, just messin’ with ya,” John said. “The whole town heard it.”

“Well, it was, uh…” Sam started.

“Your girlfriend, wasn’t it?” John teased. “Yeah, you really gave it to her last night. I could tell. Weird, I always thought you’d be the one screaming.”

Sam’s face turned red as a red apple. “Girl—Girlfriend? No, of course not. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Ooh, let me guess. It was Sophie, wasn’t it?” John asked mischievously, grinning from ear to ear.

“What, no. Of course not. We’re friends, that’s all. I swear,” Sam replied.

“Of course you are,” John said.

“Yeah, okay,” Sam sighed.

“Admit it, you kinda like her, don’t you?” John pressed.

“No. Not at all.”
“Just a bit?”

“Of course not!”

“A smidgen?”

“I do not like Sophie Mesmar!” Sam yelled, a bit too loud.

“What was that about me?” a voice called out from behind them.

“Oh, uh, Sophie,” John uttered, turning around.

“Hi there,” Sam said.

“Y-you don’t like me?” Sophie asked Sam weakly, tears in her eyes.

“No, not like that. We’re still friends. I promise,” Sam told Sophie.

“O-okay…” Sophie murmured.

“Hey, wanna walk with us to school?” inquired Sam.

“Yeah, sure,” Sophie answered weakly.

“Come on, let’s go,” Sam said, giving John the evil eye, with John still grinning as wide as humanly possible.

The school day went as a normal Friday. Sam jotted notes, John got in trouble, and Sophie read the entire day. After school, however, there were more oddities. After school ended, Sam’s teacher, Ms. Nesbit, told him to stay a while.

“What is it, Ms. Nesbit?” Sam asked.

“Grab a seat, Mr. Matthews,” Ms. Nesbit commanded. Sam obeyed. “Sit down. I have to talk to you about something.” She turned away from the whiteboard, her straight black hair pelting Sam’s face. “I understand that you have a… special guest in your apartment.”

“Uh… How-how did you…?” Sam was at a loss for words.

Ms. Nesbit chuckled. “I know a lot of things. Now, tell me, why didn’t you call 9-1-1 last night?”

Sam responded with another “uh”.

“Because she asked you not to, right?”

“Y-yeah. I guess that’s why.”

“So, you’d rather risk Mina’s safety than upset her, huh. You must really like her.”

“N-No! Not like that! I—Wait, how do you know her name?” Sam was flabbergasted.

“Again, I know a lot of things. So, do you think that you should continue to let her stay with you?”
“I- I don’t know.”
“Hmm. Okay. Well, I’ll leave it up to you. But if you make a decision that you regret, just don’t come crying back to me.”

“I, uh, okay.”

“You know, I know all about her. I could tell you a thing or two. Like what happened to her arms. Or maybe her leg.”

“Well, tell me then.”

“Nah, don’t feel like it. You really should bring her in on Monday.”

“Okay…?”

Ms. Nesbit took out the keys to the classroom. “So, you leaving or not?”

“Yeah.” Sam got to his feet and started walking out of the classroom.

As Sam walked by her, Ms. Nesbit whispered into his ear, “By the way, you really should feed her.”

Sam turned around and asked, “What?”

“Never mind. You’re not that cruel.” Ms. Nesbit shut and locked the door to the classroom. She walked down the halls, out the main entrance, and drove off in her car. Meanwhile, Sam stood right outside the classroom, his jaw hanging slack.

When Sam got back to his place of residence, Room 202 of 221 Chef Street, he found it exactly the way he left it. He went to his room to unpack his bag, and found the sandwich and note on the desk, untouched. Meanwhile, on the bed laid Mina, who hadn’t moved a muscle. When he noticed this, Sam asked, “Mina? Are you okay? Hello?” He realized Mina may not have heard him and leaned closer to her. “Mina?”

“S-Sam?” Mina muttered, surprised.

“Did you eat?” Sam asked.

“N-no,” Mina replied.

“Okay. Do you want me to feed you?” Sam inquired.

Mina nodded her head. Sam grabbed the sandwich and put it in front of her mouth. As she bit out of it, Sam told her, “Hey, Mina, do you want to come with me to school on Monday?”

“Okay, if it’s with you,” Mina answered. After she finished eating, Sam made and ate dinner, took a shower, and went to bed.