The Year That Changed It All

Before everyone knew him as Samuel James Turner, he was just Sammy.

Before he was the captain of the soccer team, he was just the kid who could never jump off the swings properly.

Before he was the school's heartthrob, he was just the boy next door.

Before he was Allison's perfect boyfriend, he was one of my best friends.

But that was before high school. It was before everyone cared about how athletic, how pretty, or how smart you are.

I thought that Allison's beginning of party in ninth grade was going to be the last time that Beckett and I ever talked to Sammy again. Why? Because guys like him aren't friends with people like us.

So you can imagine my surprise when I bump into Sammy at Allison's party and he asks for MY help. And no it's not the schoolwork kind of help because along with being insanely athletic, Sammy's got perfectly fine grades too. It's a different kind of help.

The kind that he can't ask from anyone else (but me) because who would care about what a perfectly average nobody like Lucy Brown would say? It's crazy really.

And you know what's crazier? I actually agreed to help him! But I'm actually glad that I did (not that I would ever admit that to Sammy) because this year ended up being the year that changed it all.