Winds of Change

Chapter Seven

          Pushing through the crowds of people, I pulled a butterscotch Dum Dum from my pocket and stuck it in my mouth. Sebastian's Grill's big red sign was over head. It looked like a big wooden arch over the reception. The red paint had the diner's name written in green Harrington Font. The whole thing was faded, paint chipping off, but it matched the actual diner nicely. Sebastian's Grill was actually completely outside; big wooden tables with tree stumps to sit on under a red pavilion, and food cooked right on this giant bonfire in front of everyone, or the grill. Hence, Sebastian's Grill. I saw Jake at a table near the front and- holy pancakes. Was that his cousin? Really?

          I sat down next to Jake and plopped my backpack on the ground.

          "Hey, Bay. Oh, that rhymed. Nice to meet ya! I'm Samantha, but call me Sam." The gorgeous girl said brushing her luscious, straight ginger hair back. She looked like a freaking princess. In fact, she was the 3D version of Merida from Brave, except straight-haired! Not that-not that I watched that. I gave a tight-lipped smile.

          "Heyo, Samantha," she frowned at me using her full name. Good. I didn't know why, but I immediately didn't like her.

          "Jake has told me a ton about ya. Apparently you're the worst in school. I can see that." Samantha cringed her nose at me. Obviously it was meant as an insult. Well, that wouldn't do.

          "Thank you," I said with a placid demeanor.

          And then there's Jake, sitting with a goofy smile ignorant to the whole thing. God, he was so cute. Whenever you saw him, he was all hot and caring, and when you didn't well, who knows if he was still nice or not. With a cousin like Samantha, I wasn't ruling out possibilities. Was that that an insult? Yes, yes it was.

"Sam here is from Georgia and will be staying here for the next few weeks. I figured it'd be better if she met a few people from the school." Jake explained.

           "Why does she need to know people from the school? It's not like she can be put into the system for just a few weeks." I asked.

          “Well, the thing is… when I say a few weeks…well…” Jake’s green eyes danced in front of me as he tried to string together the words. I raised my eyebrows.

          “Jake,” I scolded. Samantha rolled her eyes and with much gusto wagged her explanation in front of me.

          “A few weeks are the bare minimum really. The truth is who knows how long I’ll be here! Could be a month, could be two, could be all year long.”

          My eyes expanded like a ripple in a pool as the words repeated themselves in my ear. All year long. I swallowed. Jake was smiling like this was a great serendipity! I looked over to the Princess who had her head tilted lower, causing a shadow to cross over her face like the freaking devil.

          I swallowed again.

          Kill me now.

          By the time the corn and the potato chips had been tackled and some steak was being roasted in the blazing flames before me, I was convinced that they cannot be related. First of all, Jake had curly chocolate hair. He had a charming smile and twinkling dimple. He had eyes like an emerald mine cave that stretched with depth from all the bedazzling jewels embedded- Okay that’s enough praise. Samantha? Pale. Straight ginger.  Tacky smile. Brown eyes. Plus, her southern accent was burning my ears! And if that wasn’t enough, their personalities were polar opposites. Jake was the kind of person to trip and then act like nothing happened, and then while you were laughing about it, he’d trip you. Samatha was the kind of girl to burn a field of roses just for getting pricked and then bribe judge not to book her for arson! I had tried that before. It doesn’t work out too well… Whenever I tried to ask them questions about exactly how they were related, with calm expressions vaguely stated facts. Nothing really deep though, just facts; like some you’d find on a family tree, or an instruction set. I didn’t press too much, but I’m certainly not settled. A mystery, I mused. How exciting.

          “So, Baya, do you have any siblings?” Jake asked through his steak.

          I lifted my head. The juicy steak was so entrancing I had forgotten where I was.

          “Huh? Wha’cha say?” Samantha rolled her eyes.  

          “I said,” he swallowed, “do you have any siblings?”

          “Oh, yeah: My little sister Molly.”

          “Aw! Little Molly!” My sister’s name sounded strange coming off the Princess’s southern tongue. “What a cute name. Is she anything like,” she pauses to look me up and down. “Like you?”

          I didn’t even register her dirty look. My back was straight, but my shoulders and head were bent downward.

          “No. Nothing like me actually. She’s sweet. Insanely innocent. Sometimes she comes to me in the middle of night when there is thunder or some storm. I’d wake up to see her little body curled up under my blanket sucking on her thumb. She thinks I’m the coolest person ever. She says she wants to be me when she grows up. She doesn’t know better.”

          “She’s six, by the way. Brown hair, unlike me, but we share our brown eyes. I love her more than anything else.” I coughed, realizing how heavy my tone had been. I continued more upbeat. “I mean, of course I love her; she’s my baby sister.”

          Jake looked at me with something shining in his eye. I didn’t know what he is thinking, but I thought it was good. I hoped. Samantha was just staring at me. Not with distaste; just staring.

          Lots of small talk and embarrassing story swaps later, we paid for the service and the “cousins” got in their car. He offered to drive me, but I turned him down since I live only a little way down. I wasn’t sure what I’d do on this Wednesday night, but I knew I wanted to do it with Molly.

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HOW ARE YOU ALL? HAPPY? WELL? GOOD. IF YOU AREN'T, READ SOME OF MY OTHER STORIES! THAT WILL CHEER YOU UP.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT TO RHIANNON! 

SO TELL ME, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF

S A M A N T H A? 

J A K E?

B A Y A & M O L L Y?

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! I LOVE ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO GIVES THIS STORY A CHANCE.

Steak, butterscotch lollypops, and Georgia,

Hannah.