Icarus

Chapter 6

Hardwicke, Hardwicke high school

August 31, 2004

"Seriously Rose, what is actually annoying you about Sam working at the shelter? Is it that he's showing some interest in another girl or something else?" I could not believe that my mom had just suggested that I was jealous that Sam's attention was on someone else. For the past half hour now I had been speaking to her over the phone, she and my father had gone out of town the day after she had taken Sam and I down to the shelter. 

It was becoming more common for the both of them to be out of town and their stays out of town were becoming longer and longer. I guess that was what happened when you ran a business from the ground up, you nurtured it and watched it grow and when it was finally ready to run on it's own you were there when needed but not as much.

My parents weren't quite at that stage but if they put in the same amount of effort as they had in the past then I could see the company growing soon enough.

"Ew, gross mom! Sam and I are best friends, I'm more upset by the fact that he told me he had an allergy to cats when I asked if he wanted to volunteer but now! Now he's working in the cattery with Beth and the worst part is that he asked to work in there, he wasn't allocated that spot!" Maybe I was being a little harsh on my mom but the fact of the matter was that my best friend had lied to me about something so serious but sold himself out just to work with the girl he liked.

"Okay Rose, be rational here. If Sam asked you to do something you absolutely didn't want to do, would you have done it or made up an excuse as well? I'm do not accept lies but think about it, if roles were reversed would you do the same thing as Sam?" Groaning in annoyance I thought about it for a moment, I could hear my dad in the background talking to my mom while she waited for my answer.

"I guess you're right mom, if Sam asked me to sit in the library with him for a few hours each day I think I would lie and say I had an allergy to paper." It was a joke, on my mom thankfully understood and laughed. 

"That's my girl Rose, so just act normal around Sam? Maybe apologize to him just so he knows you're not angry with him? Whatever you do honey, you'll know if it is right or wrong. I have to go now, your father and I are going to a meeting soon. I'll see you in a few days, okay? Take care! And remember, no boys, booze or parties. Love you!" I didn't have time to even get a word out before the line went dead, when rushed my mom never really stuck around to hear what others had to say. It was an annoying trait of hers that I often wished she would change.

The dilemma with Sam seemed like it had an easy fix but swallowing my pride and admitting I overstepped the line was a hard pill to swallow.

Sighing I went to put the phone back in the receiver before going to the lounge window to look across the street to the Walker's home. This was something Sam and I did often, we would look out each others lounge windows to see if the other was looking, if they were than it was a clear sign that we needed to talk and generally we sorted things out.

My breath caught in my throat when I peeped through and saw Sam sitting on the sofa in his parents home, he was doing the exact same thing that I was doing. Almost as soon as we saw each other our faces broke out into a smile, mine was relief and I think Sam's was happiness.

Going out onto the front lawn I lay down in the grass, I knew Sam would be over sooner rather than later and smiled when I heard approaching footsteps. Pulling myself up a little so that I rested against my elbows I smiled, Sam smiled and then before either of us knew it we were laughing hysterically. I really don't think either of us knew why we were laughing, just because maybe? It felt good to laugh with Sam about stupid things again, I don't know what I would do without my best friend.