Lost Friendship & Lonely Love

Chapter 3 Noisy Park Swings

Naomi wanted to reach out and hug Sam, but she didn't. They were in class, and she should be paying attention. She couldn't though. She could feel eyes on her and looking around she saw Björn staring at her. He looked confused. Very confused. It was an uncertain and unnerving look. It made her want to crawl under her desk. To disappear from his gaze. Herr Oberlander's words didn't seem to reach her ears as she met the boy's eyes. A nudge in her side drew her attraction back to her teacher. The nudge, she didn't doubt had come from Sam. She looked over but didn't see those bright amber eyes. Sam was looking out the window. She looked at the notebook and noticed that although Sam wasn't looking somehow the notebook hadn't missed a single word. Herr Oberlander's words had been written. It was another three hours before the bell rang, and they could leave for lunch. Naomi stood up and gathered her books. She looked over to the amber-eyed Sam but found out that they were asleep. Eyes closed and head resting on the desk. Naomi couldn't help but smile. She stood up and grabbed their lunch boxes. She left to get their food heated up. Since Sam showed up her life had seemed to change some. She had slowly started to step into the light some, but she wasn't nervous about it. Not when the amber-eyed person was with her. So she walked past classroom 3 not noticing Torben and the other boys watching her leave. Most people chose to eat in the lunchroom, but everyone had the option to eat in their homeroom. Naomi planned to do this as well. She only wanted to heat the Raman she had made that morning. It would be so delicious, and she couldn't wait to dig in. She wanted to show Sam how well she could cook. How yummy it was. It was strange to her. She had never really wanted to show off before. It would only cause others to look at her. That wasn't what she wanted. I don't want others to look at Sam though... Naomi nearly walked into a wall as her thoughts wandered. What is wrong with me! She wasted no time heating the ramen and raced back to the classroom. She paused when she got back. The classroom was empty. She walked over to her desk and set down the two bowls before looking about. Sam's books were still there. The navy backpack too.

The bell rang for the last time that day and Naomi didn't see Sam once. She tried asking Herr Oberlander, but he merely said that Frau Maria Wasser complained that some of her students had skipped. He guessed that Sam had skipped with them. When Naomi asked who it was her teacher could only remember one name. Torben. That name sent shivers down her spine. There was no way that Sam would leave with Torben. Definitely not after the interaction they had that morning. Plus Sam had promised to walk her home, so where were they? Naomi checked to see if the blue bike was still chained up, and it was. Didn't even take the bike? What's going on? The whole walk home Naomi worried about the amber-eyed person. If she had known Sam's locker combination she would have left the bag of books there but since she didn't know it, she took it home with her. Her mother gave her a sideways glance but choice to overlook it. After sitting down to a bowl of warm soup Naomi decided to go out. There was a nearby park she liked to visit. She could spend hours just swinging on those swings. It brought her back to the time she was living in Japan. There was a park she used to play at. She had always joked that she would buy the red house on the hill.

"Kiyoko-chan!" Naomi stopped thinking of that name. There was only ever one person who called her that. Her friend from home. She hadn't seen them since the day she left. She couldn't even see their face anymore. Just those honey eyes. They were like magic. As she was thinking this looked up to find the park. It was such a short way from home but far enough that she felt a small freedom from it. If something were to happen she could run home, but it was far enough that she could speak openly and not need to worry about her words. Naomi walked through the grass to the swing set. The seat had a small pool of water, so she flipped it over and sat down. As a child, she would pretend that she was a bird flying when she swung. Then later she was riding on the back of a great fire-breathing dragon. She laughed thinking about it now. How silly and innocent children were they didn't judge people like adults did. They were honest, unlike grown-ups. She was thinking this as she leaned back. She allowed herself to speed up and fly higher in the air. Naomi laughed as the cool night air brushed past her face. She loved it. It brought so many happy memories, but she stopped her swing.

"Kiyoko-chan!" Again that voice came to her. She felt her eyes water. She felt sadness wash over her. She didn't get to say goodbye back then. Naomi had tried to write a letter but realized she didn't know where her friend lived. There was nothing she could do. She was thinking this when she opened her eyes and saw two sneakers stopped in front of her. She looked up and for a moment she swore she was met with honey eyes, but the figure shifted and the light left leaving behind amber eyes.

"Sam!" Naomi bolted up and hugged the person in front of her but pulled back when she heard a grunt of pain. She looked Sam up and down and only saw buses. The poor person was covered in there.

"Oh my God! Sam, what happened?" She led both of them over to a picnic table. The streetlight shone down showing all the purple and red marks. They were worse than she had first thought. Small cuts were covering Sam's arms.

"It's nothing. I went to school but didn't see my bag. Did you take it?" It surprised Naomi to hear the croaky voice. She looked up to see three finger marks on Sam's neck. If this was "Nothing" then Naomi didn't want to see something. She didn't say anything for a moment. She wasn't sure what to say at first.

"Yeah. It's at my house. I didn't know your locker combination." She said meekly. There was something off about Sam, but Naomi couldn't a finger on it other than the obvious.

"Can you give it to me?" Sam asked looking down at the woman looking up at them.

"Sure but will you tell me what happened?"