Summer before 6th grade:
I hated the fact that my mom made me come to this. Our family friends, the Ridders, were having a huge bon fire in honor of their grandfather who had recently died. It was at their grandparents house, a place I had been before but not one that I felt very comfortable in. We were there to support Melinda and Mikey. Melinda was going to be in the eighth grade and Mikey was going to be in the seventh. My mom and dad dragged my siblings and I to the house, and just getting there I was already sure I would hate it. There were fire fighters every where, seeing as their grandfather was a fire fighter before he passed. We got out of the car, each of us carrying a different kind of food my mom insisted we bring with us. We quickly went and found Melinda, who was with our other friends, Sally and Jaylin. Sally and Jaylin are going into the seventh grade, same as Danielle, my older sister. My younger brother and sister, Kyle and Hannah, went to find thier respective friends. Melinda, Sally, Jaylin, Danielle, and I were hanging out by the house still, not wanting to make our way over to the bon fire just yet. Mine and Melindas moms came over to us and began talking about the kid who was sitting on the side of a red jeep parked across the driveway. They called Mikey and Kyle over and told us that we had to invite him to hang out with us because he didn't know anyone. I was not happy. He looked weird and why couldnt the boys just go talk to him?
" Guys, how would you feel if you came to a party like this and didn't know anyone? Wouldnt't you want people to try and talk to you atleast?" My mom said, while pointledly looking at Danielle and I.
" His name is Sam Walden and he's going to be in your grade Leah! Go talk to him, his parents are just so nice!" Mrs. Ridder said. I blushed because she sounded like she was suggesting something, and I didn't even know him. Eventually, we got the boys to go over and talk to him and we all headed up to the bonfire together. The girls and I just stood around talking while the boys got busy. They decided that they wanted to make a smaller fire off to the side. They didnt really know what to do until Sam started instructing them. He told them what kind of kindling to get, when to light it, how to fan it. He was so intense about it that I was a little weirded out, but at the same time, I knew that I wanted to be his friend. He seemed like he didn't really like many people, which naturally made me want to show him how cool I was. I started helping them make the fire, gathering dry leaves and sticks. Sam smiled at me, surprised by how okay I was with getting my hands dirty. All of the girls he had known throughout elementary school all only cared about their dolls or other girly things. He took a stick and burned little marks into a green leaf, crouched down by the fire. I looked up and he was looking down at me. I tossed the leaf into the fire, stood up, smiled at him, and made my way back to the house. That was the first time I met Sam, and I would never forget it.
