Of All the Lights

1

Samantha Robins arrived at the Newport High school at exactly twelve fifty-three. This meant she had approximately seventeen minutes to catch her friends before they dispersed into their designated classes. Sam knew exactly where to search for them - the cafeteria, of course!

She had a reminiscing moment as she suddenly remembered their usual lunch table - the slightly longer and wider version of the regular, off-white tables. Her entire group had the special table all to themselves, slightly making the high school experience more... enjoyable? Could a table do that? For them, possibly.

But it always occurred to her how ridiculous that was. Having the 'cool' table and the 'cool' friends. People did look up to them. But the table wasn't about being cool or whatever, she always pointed out to herself. It carried spirit. It was almost as if it had a soul, with all the talks and dramas it had witnessed. It was their table and everyone knew it.

But at the same time, it literally was just a table.

Sam thought this as she stood a few meters away, her friends not seeming to see her yet. The rhythm of her steps grew faster and the sounds of familiar chatter grew louder - this was it! Finally, her summer break was over. Long overdue, but finally over.

"Sam! Sam, Sam, Sam, SAM!" Quinn screamed with happiness. "Oh my God, Sam, you're here!" Quinn stood up and raced towards her, throwing her arms around Sam's waist. Her friends all turned at the sound of Quinn's voice, their eyes lighting up and their mouths gaping in surprise.
"I'm here," Sam laughed in reply.

"For a second we thought you were dead," Natalia grinned as she stood up to hug Sam as well.

Sam winced. She was suffocating between her two best friends, but she wasn't complaining. She missed the ladies so much; automatically recognizing Talia's spicy perfume and Quinn's endearing warmth. It was as if neither of them changed - Talia still had her long, curly locks and the same dark eyeliner around her eyes, as Quinn still kept her dirty blonde 'do just above her shoulders.

"Make some room, girls, Spence and I gotta say hi to Sammie too. Where's my hug at, Sam?"
"I don't think I want to give you a hug, Justin." Sam replied, rolling her eyes, but as she tried to hold back her laughter, she couldn't help but smile. Justin broke out in a lopsided grin.

"Ignore him Sam, he's still in love with you." Spencer basically wheezed.
"Shut the fuck up, Spence," Justin made a face. "I am so not in love with you, Sammie. Oh, and Spencer, go off and make some robot shit, okay? Or get codes or whatever it is you do."
"You wanna know what's funny, Jus? I could, in fact, get those codes. You, on the other hand, can't even get that hug. Take this 'L', boy." Spencer shot back, chuckling. He did a 'giving' gesture and Justin responded to that by slapping Spencer's side. This only made him laugh harder.

Sam giggled, saying "I've missed you dorks. Come're."

Suddenly they were all enveloped in a big group hug. Sam couldn't help but but shed a tear or two. "Gosh, guys. I know it's only been a break and a few weeks but I've missed you all so much."

"No need to get so sappy, Sam," Spencer chuckled as they got back to their seats. "We're still here, aren't we?"
Sam smiled, "You're right, Spence. Okay. I seriously need to eat. I've got about ten minutes left before you guys need to head to fourth period. What's on the menu today?"

Talia sighed. "Same old. Oh - but on Mondays now, they serve pizza rolls. And decent carbonara. Just get it when it's fresh. Well maybe not fresh - I mean when it's hot. I doubt the food here is fresh." She winced.