Worth It

Chapter 5

Monica stood in the apartment lobby waiting for Samantha to come pick her up. Somehow, she had survived the stressful week at school and Saturday evening came far sooner than she would've liked. Her hands were cold and clammy. The familiar anxiety in her chest caused her breathing to become irregular.

Why am I so nervous? Samantha is my friend. At least, I think she is.

Just then, a small black sports car pulled up in front of the apartment. Samantha gave Monica a wave, and timidly, Monica waved back.

Here goes nothing.

"Hey Monica, It's great to see you!" said Samantha when Monica opened the car door and took a seat in shotgun. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Where are we going?" asked Monica a little curious and very eager to turn the conversation away from her.

"It's a surprise," smiled Samantha putting the car into drive and heading towards the surprise destination.

Warroad was a small town, only a few thousand people lived in its boarders so Monica wasn't expecting a long drive. Samantha directed the car right out of the town heading toward the middle of nowhere. Samantha tried a little small talk, but Monica detested small talk and after a few curt answers, Samantha fell silent.

After ten minutes, Samantha turned onto a dirt road and pulled the car over in a field. "We're here!"

Monica glanced out the car window at the field; it went on for an eternity. Tall green grass waved gently in the evening breeze. A few wildflowers hanging on to life sprung up in patches coloring the sea of green. It was sorely lacking the fall colors that had dominated the rest of the world do to an incredible shortage of trees. The sun sank low in the sky, barely visible. In its absence it left a brush ofcolor tainting the sky orange, pink, blue, and purple. It was beautiful of course, but why Samantha had brought her here of all places, Monica did not know. "What? Explain this to me?"

Samantha's always present smile grew and she rocked on her feet clearly more excited about this then Monica had thought possible. "Well, being the introvert that you are, I didn't think you would want to go somewhere in town, so I decided to bring you here. I have blankets and food in my trunk, and I heard that it's going to be a clear night for stars. I also brought an old guitar of mine so you can play for me. We'll hang out and talk for a few hours."

"That sounds perfect," smiled Monica warmly. The fact that Samantha had taken the time to apply what she knew about Monica to make this evening more enjoyable for her left Monica with a warm feeling in her chest despite the chilly breeze that she knew awaited her outside the car.

Together,they crafted a nest out of blankets a few hundred feet away from the car. After they got situated Samantha opened a paper bag and produced chocolate chip brownies and juice boxes. They ate in silent for a few minutes both concentrating on enjoying the food at hand.

Samantha broke the silence. "I want you to know that anything we talk about tonight is private. It will stay between the two of us. I want to be someone you can trust to talk about anything that is on your heart."

"Thanks Samantha," whispered Monica who knew in her heart that Samantha deserved her trust unlike everyone else she had opened her heart up to before.

"Let's start with school, how's being a sophomore treating you? You sounded pretty stressed at youth group on Wednesday," said Samantha clearly engaged in the conversation.

"Stressed is not the right word. I am beyond stressed," laughed Monica."School makes me feel dumb. It takes learning and twists it so everything is based on grades and not the actual learning. I also do not excel in any subject, I struggle with all of them, and there are too many people at school."