The Samantha Project (4 page)

“How do you know my name? Do you know my dad?” I got a nervous feeling and began walking backwards toward the door so I could keep an eye on him.

He smiled again. “Be seeing you soon.” He turned and walked back down the street.
 

I raced inside and slammed the door shut, locking it.
 

“Is something wrong, Samantha?” Mom was coming out of the kitchen.

“There was this guy in our driveway. And he knew my name.”
 

Mom looked out the window. “There’s no one out there now. It was probably just someone who came over to a neighbor’s house for Thanksgiving.”

I went to look for myself. The man was gone. It was like he disappeared. I started to feel sick. “Mom, I think I need to lie down. My stomach hurts.”

“All right. I’ll come check on you later.”

In my room, I looked out the window and still couldn’t find the guy. I couldn’t have just imagined him. Or could I?
 

I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until I heard Dad knocking on my door. “Sam, are you gonna sleep all day? Come downstairs. Colin’s here.”

It’s 5 o’clock already? I thought. I went downstairs. Colin was talking to Dave and my mom in the living room.
 

“Hey, where’s my pie? I’ve been down here waiting,” Colin said when he saw me.

“Sorry. That meal really wiped me out.”
 

He smiled. “I’m kidding. I just got here.”

“His mom gave us some homemade fudge,” Mom said. “Be sure to thank her for us, Colin. And I have some cinnamon rolls to send home with you.”

Dad came out of the kitchen. “Ellie, do you want to cut those pies of yours or do you want me to do the honors?”
 

“I’ll do it. You get the plates.” Mom went into the kitchen with Dad.

“So Colin, have you been watching the games all day?” Dave asked Colin.

“Yeah. My dad and a bunch of my relatives are all in the basement watching on the big TV.”

“Could be you someday.”
 

“No. I’m not that good.”

“You sure are. We never had a quarterback as good as you when I was at that school. You never know. Maybe you’ll play for the Vikings.”

Colin laughed. “I doubt it. But my dad would sure love that.”

Mom set out all the pies on a separate table, along with whipped cream, ice cream, and Colin’s mom’s fudge. “Time for dessert,” she announced.

We went back to the table, but I was still stuffed. “I might have to wait. I think I’m too full for dessert.”
 

“I’m not.” Colin smiled. “I’ll have whatever Sam made. So I can critique her baking skills.”

“I really didn’t do that much,” I confessed. “Pies are all about the crust, and Mom made all the crusts.”

“Sam made the pumpkin pie and the apple pie,” Mom said, handing him a slice of each.
 

“How’s basketball practice going, Colin?” Dad asked as he served himself a small slice of each pie.
 

“It’s going well. We have a really good team.”

“Sam, you’ll have to make sure you go to his games this year.”

I gave my Dad a look for butting in. “I’ll go to some of them.”

“Like one or two,” Colin muttered.

Dad ignored my look. “
I’d
like to go to some games this year. Maybe we’ll all go.”

I gave him another look to change the subject. It’s not like I hated going to Colin’s games, but I had no interest in sports. And it’s not like Colin and I were really spending time together when he was on the basketball court and I was in the stands. Still, it
did
bother Colin when I didn’t go, and the last thing I needed was my dad reminding him of that.

“Colin, did you hear from any colleges yet?” Mom asked.

“No, not yet. But I’m gonna major in biology so I could go anywhere for that.”

“I didn’t know you’d decided on a major.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think I want to go to med school. Specialize in sports medicine.”

I smiled because I knew the news would thrill my parents. Colin had recently decided this, and he wanted to tell my parents himself. I’d been friends with Colin for so long that my parents treated him like a son. His own parents didn’t go to college and his dad didn’t think Colin needed to either, unless it was to play football. His dad worked construction and did quite well for himself and his family. He figured Colin could do the same.
 

“Colin, that’s wonderful,” Mom said. “You’ll make a great doctor.”

Dad stood up. “Well, I think it’s time to toast. We’ve got this one going to Stanford,” he said, waving his glass at me, “and now this one going to med school. Let’s toast to their bright and happy futures.”

We clicked our water glasses. “I told you they’d be thrilled,” I whispered to Colin.

After dessert, Colin and I volunteered to clean up so Mom and Dad could get a break from the kitchen. They went to the living room, where Dave was watching football.
 

“Okay, let’s see,” Colin said as he covered up the leftover pies with foil. “I’d give the apple pie an A and the pumpkin a B plus.”

“B plus? What? I don’t get B’s. Why would you give me a B?”

He laughed. “It’s just pie, Sam. The grade doesn’t count. You’re gonna have to get over your obsession with A’s because you might just get a B at Stanford.”

“No way. I have a straight A record and I’m not breaking it. Now tell me what’s wrong with the pie.”

He smiled. “Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s just not worthy of an A.”

I punched his arm. “Now I’m gonna have to make another one.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know why you worry so much about grades, Sam. Your parents wouldn’t care if you got a B. Or, dare I say it, a C.”

“They may
say
that, but I know they’d be disappointed.
I’d
be disappointed. If other people get an A, then I need to. Otherwise, I’m not working hard enough.”

“You put too much pressure on yourself, Sam.”

“And if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been accepted at Stanford.”
 

Colin gave up trying to convince me otherwise. “Hey, did you decide if you want to go to the party tomorrow night?”

“I’d rather go to a movie.”

“Why? Because you don’t like Darin? There’ll be tons of other people there. I think Jessica’s coming.”

“I don’t wanna be around a bunch of drunk people.”

“Not everyone drinks, Sam. I won’t be drinking. You won’t be drinking. And his parents will be upstairs.”

“Yeah, well if they’re not drinking, they’ll be doing other stuff I’m not comfortable with.”

“Like what? What exactly do you think goes on at these parties? It’s not like the movies where everyone’s doing drugs and having sex.”

“Can we just go to a movie instead?”

“And
then
stop by the party?”

“Fine. But if I don’t like it, can we leave?”

“You’ll like it.” He looked at his watch. “Speaking of leaving, I should go. I told my parents I’d be home a half hour ago.”

“Don’t forget your cinnamon rolls.” I handed him the pan of rolls.

“So tomorrow you’ll be with Allie all day?”

“Just the morning. Mom and I are going shopping in the afternoon. She wants to check out the after-Thanksgiving sales.”

“Tell Allie I said hi. I’d stop by and see her, but I have to entertain my cousins all day. They’re leaving in the afternoon, so I can pick you up at 6.”

“Sounds good.”
 

We kissed goodbye in the kitchen and I walked him to the door.
 

“Thanks for dessert, Mrs. Andrews,” Colin said.

Mom got up and met us at the door. “Glad you could come. And tell your family Happy Thanksgiving for us. Be sure to thank your mom for the fudge.”

“Will do.”

Mom looked at me. “Did you two make plans for tomorrow night?”

“Yeah, we’re going to a movie,” I answered.

“
And
a party,” Colin added, giving me a look.

“Stephen and I are also going to a movie,” Mom said, “although I’m sure not the same one as you two.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Colin,” I said. “Have fun with your cousins.”

Mom and I went back to the sofa, where Dad and Uncle Dave were sitting, yelling at the TV.
 

“Penalty? No way!” Dave yelled.

Dad agreed. “Yeah, that was a bad call.”

Mom laughed. “I don’t understand that game.”

“Me, either,” I said. “Even after watching Colin play it all these years.”

“I’m gonna head up to bed. I’m exhausted.” She leaned over to kiss my dad. “Night, Stephen.” Dad didn’t even notice. His eyes were glued to the game.
 

Mom and I went upstairs. “Are you still coming shopping with me tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yeah. Allie can only stay until noon.”

“Okay. Night, honey.”

“Night, Mom.”

I went in my room and closed the door, but I could still hear the football game announcer yelling from downstairs. Then I heard Dad talking to Dave. It was just like the night before. If I focused, I could hear their whole conversation from my room, even with my door closed. I listened in for a moment.

“So what’s going on at work, Dave?” Dad asked. “Seems like you never leave that place anymore.”

“There’s just a big project going on right now.” Dave’s voice got nervous. “And I’m stuck in the middle of it. That’s all.”

“Well, can’t you bring in some help? I’ve got some grad students who would love to get some work there. They could easily help out in the lab.”

“No, no. It will all work out in time.” Dave rushed his words, as if wanting to get off the topic. “Say, I need to talk to you and Ellie about something.”

“Well, I’m right here. Just tell me now. I can fill El in later.”

“No. I need to talk to both of you. This is very important.”

“Okay. What’s this about?”

“I don’t want to say right now other than that it concerns Sam.”

“Now you’re starting to worry me, Dave. Why don’t you just tell me now?”

“I don’t want to get into this on Thanksgiving. I’ve gotta work all day tomorrow, but I could come by Saturday morning.”

“Sure. We’ll be around. But if it’s about Sam, I wish you’d just tell me now. Is she in trouble for something?”
 

“No, nothing like that. We’ll talk on Saturday. Hey, they’re gonna score! Touchdown!” Dave yelled.

Not interested in their sports talk, I went to bed. Lying there, I wondered what Dave meant. What did he need to tell my parents about me? And why was it so important?
 

My mind wandered to the man I’d seen in the driveway earlier. What did he want? How did he know my name? Why did he mention my dad and not say how he knew him? I shivered just thinking of it.
 

I finally fell asleep. When I got up the next day, I could hear Mom and Dad downstairs. I checked the clock on my nightstand. 8 a.m.

I ran downstairs, where my parents were having breakfast. “Hey, why didn’t you get me up? Allie’s gonna be here soon.”

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Dad said from behind his newspaper.

“Yeah, morning,” I said, grabbing a leftover cinnamon roll.

“I didn’t think she’d be over this early,” Mom said as she thumbed through a magazine.

“She’s all messed up with the time change. To her, it’s already afternoon.”

Mom looked up from her magazine. “Well, that’s true.”

“I better get ready. If Allie comes, tell her I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

I raced up to shower and dress, then went back downstairs just as the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find Allie, finally home from Greece. She put her leather coat on the hook and gave me a hug.

“Sam! I’ve missed you so much! You look great! How do I look?”
 

Allie looked beautiful, as usual. Long, dark, naturally straight hair, smooth olive skin, and dressed in dark skinny jeans, brown leather boots, a tight camel-colored cashmere turtleneck, and a long red scarf that I guessed had come from some shop in Athens.
 

I don’t know how we had ended up friends. She always looked flawless, and I was completely clueless when it came to clothes, makeup, and my hair.
 

“You look perfect, Allie. Like you always do. I feel like you’ve been gone for years, not months.”
 

“I know, right? It’s so great to finally see you again!” Allie gave me another quick hug. “The girls in Greece weren’t that fun to hang out with. Most just wanted to drink and smoke all the time. Everyone smokes there, Sam. I seriously couldn’t breathe.”

Allie talked a lot, which was fine with me because I was more of a listener. It was good to hear her nonstop stories again. She had an energy that I had to struggle to keep up with. Sometimes it was exhausting, but usually it was contagious.

“Oh, and the guys,” she continued, “well, I guess I told you most of this over the phone, but whatever, I’ll tell you again. The guys were totally hot. And they actually knew how to dress. Not like the guys here who wear, like, t-shirts with sport team logos and those ugly hoodies. The Greek guys look like men. Like
real
men. And did I tell about that one . . .”

“Hi, Allie. Welcome home!” Mom came over and gave Allie a hug.

“Thanks, Mrs. Andrews.”

“Did you like it over there?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, but it’s good to be home. I was telling Sam how everyone over there smoked. I feel like I still smell like it.” Allie sniffed her hair. “I have to buy all new clothes ’cause I’ll never get that smell out.”

“Any excuse to go shopping, Allie,” I kidded. Allie could shop all day, every day, for weeks and not get tired of it. I got tired after shopping for just a few hours.

Allie smiled. “Well, I
can’t
go around smelling like smoke. My mom’s taking me shopping this afternoon. I would have told her no so we could hang out, Sam, but you know how she’s like, never here, so she insisted we go today.”

Allie’s mom had a job at one of those big investment firms. She worked constantly and traveled overseas for weeks at a time. Because of that, Allie didn’t have much of a relationship with her mom.