word count: 35,000+ slow burn.
Seven years ago, Sam pointed to the moon. What followed was France, A Firefighter, London, A Balcony, and a townhouse with peach-coloured walls and an upstairs kitchen.
Lyla didn't expect to ever see "someone" Kiszka a...
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Michigan, 7 years ago. Sam Kiszka is 15 years old.
Sam's morning wasn't going to plan. Firstly, he woke up late for school.
-You're gonna miss the bus, dude.- His brother Jake shouted from behind his bedroom door. Sam was vigorously brushing his shoulder length hair whilst simultaneously trying to smell the armpit of a shirt he found on the floor, to check if it was good enough to wear. He had 5 minutes until the bus left. He knew this because he just heard the front door slam, meaning his siblings had left without him.
Sam dreaded the thought of having to wake his dad up and tell him that he needed to be driven. The anxiety turned him slightly superhuman. He managed to look at rock and roll as he could within the 5 minutes he had. Then he raced out the door and caught the bus, wearing just one shoe, the other in hand.
Sam's backpack contained the following items: 3 notebooks, all with ripped off covers and barely any pages, a can of deodorant which he would only ever use after gym class, a small plastic flute he stole from the 4th grade music room, 3 pens, one of them containing pink glitter gel ink and 4 guitar picks which he stole from his brother Jake, to make him feel crazy.
Sam managed to catch the bus with about 14 seconds to spare. The students all looked him up and down as he walked the single aisle with his sock on show, one dirty white sock. Sam didn't care, he was going to be famous. Besides, he hated wearing shoes anyway. He took his regular seat in the middle of the left aisle. He sat down and collapsed against the window. Ready for the next stop.
Sam particularly liked the next stop because a group of girls in his grade would get on and refuse to notice him. He didn't do much for them to notice him anyway, but he enjoyed looking at them, imagining himself with them all and making himself laugh because he was way too rock and roll for a girlfriend. Plus, he wouldn't even have time for one, he thought. -I'm going to be famous anyhow.-
Sam's school day went as it normally did. He didn't listen, he got in trouble, and he visited his favorite teachers during his lunchtime. He had an appointment with the school counselor for his multiple lesson disruptions, but he didn't go.
After almost missing the bus home, Sam sat patiently and waited for his stop. So he could get off the bus and immediately write music. However, he came home to angry parents, he was grounded and got his instruments taken away from him.
Sam's parents, when they would ground him, would encourage him to go outside instead of keeping him in. This is because one of Sam's main problems was his inability to be social outside of school. So his parents sent him over to his best friend Danny's house. To get him out of their sight.
Sam walked sluggishly down the road, wondering how his day could get any worse. He waited until he was 5 minutes from the house to pull out and light a half finished cigarette from his coat pocket. He smoked about a quarter by the time he reached Danny's house. Danny was sitting on the porch waiting for him.
