Present Day
Sam's POV
Here I was sat on an uncomfortable, plastic blue chair in the auditorium along with every other student and teacher that attended this school. It was rather surprising when the Principal announced that he had very important news to share with us yesterday morning which caused an uproar of chatter amongst the school. We don't usually receive much interesting news, usually the regular updates from the school board informing us of our progress or that there are try-outs for the sports teams and the occasional groan to do with the poor behaviour of students who decide to play many pranks on anyone they target. In the hallways, the cafeteria and literally every class much to the teachers annoyance, everyone and I mean everyone was trying to guess what the heck all the commotion could be about, even I admit I was intrigued to find out what exactly was going on. Overall it was slightly amusing how much we all had craved this information, and what makes it even more amusing is the disappointment we may have to face once we realise it was probably something stupid anyways.
"What do you think it's all about?" James asked from besides me, I was sat in-between him and Emily, as Blake sat next to James on the other side whereas Megan was sat on the left of Emily and Jamie was on the end of our row next to Emily.
"Well, it could be another visit from the school board or that maybe Claire finally got sent away." I murmured with a slight smirk forming on my lips. I remember my first day at this school when Megan and James mentioned her name with disgust and now I realise the cause of that.
Claire was the stereotypical queen bee of the school unfortunately. And to add even more to the ironic situation, she was gorgeous with long shiny hair and bright eyes as well as a good taste for fashion with very wealthy parents I might add. Her minions that follow her just piled up on the stereotypical personality she carried. Phoebe and Maddie were her so called best friends along with their boy toys Austin, Max and Billy. If I were honest, they definitely were not as bad as the girls they hung around with but they were bullies as well which didn't appeal to me at all. I hated the fact that they thought they were loved by everyone considering they were far too blind to see that nobody was fond of them whatsoever. I would say I made the mistake of getting on the bad side of Claire, but I didn't believe she had much of a good side considering the way she treated the majority of people.
Claire was the type of person to firstly judge you by your social status and lifestyle. If your parents didn't have a lot of money she wouldn't even glance towards your direction and left you alone, so you would say you were safe. If you looked like an easy target, was quiet and were smart well you are in the firing line, she loves to mock those who couldn't stick up for themselves which made me sick, why would you target someone who just enjoyed their education and didn't necessarily make a conversation as often as others? It was ridiculous. She doesn't like a lot of things however the thing that she can't stand the most is when the tables are turned and she is made fun of or humiliated in front of everyone which is exactly what I did on the first day that I stepped into this school.
The lunch period seemed to be going slow, not that I minded though, I really did enjoy being around these guys they were really cool. We were all getting along like a house on fire, throwing jokes and sarcastic remarks around as if we all had been life long friends. They had warned me that a girl called Claire and her friendship group were not exactly as welcoming as they were which I understood completely. In any school that would most likely occur however when I became face to face to her a few moments later, I realised how bitter she actually was.
"So yeah the guy in the shop says to me, 'are you sure you wanna buy all of that?' and I was all like 'yeah dude I have enough money-..." Blake trailed off in the exact moment when I felt a tap on my shoulder so I turned around slowly to reveal a very pretty girl, along with two girls slightly standing behind her as if they were already in formation.
"Hi, I'm Claire, I heard there was a new student and I just had to meet you!" she informed me with a smile.
I saw Megan at the corner of my eye who was glaring at Claire, she must really dislike her.
"Uh yeah, I'm Sam. Nice to meet you." I said with a small smile.
"These are my best friends Maddie and Phoebe, we were wondering if you would like to sit with us?"
I frowned, and opened my mouth to respond before Megan spoke up "I think Sam is perfectly comfortable here, besides we all know what happened last time you invited a newbie to your table." She spat, her words dripping with venom.
"Yeah, why do you do that? Is your ultimate goal to piss everyone off at this school?" Jamie added with a raised brow causing Claire to roll her eyes before turning her attention back to me.
"Ignore them sweetie, they're just jealous they are nowhere as popular as me and that they are simply losers."
I was taken back by what she had just said, I mean I honestly didn't think I would ever meet a stereotypical queen bee in my high school experience but I have now.
"As much as I would love to, I think I will be just fine here thanks." I muttered with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.
"And why is that?" Maddie spat, with a hand on her hip.
"Because I promised I would sit here." I informed her with an eyebrow raised. She rolled her eyes. Is that something they all do? Maybe they practise together to roll their eyes in sync... that's kinda weird.
"You know what Samantha, I suggest you stay out of my way if you value your reputation here I could make your life a living hell." Claire growled before turning on her heel and began to march off with her minions in tow.
"Hey Claire!" I yelled, capturing the attention of several other students who were watching intently with curious gazes. Claire turned around slowly, our eyes met, hers narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"First off, the names Sam. Second of all, I will stay out of your way I mean why the hell would I want to associate with well, that." I said gesturing towards her clique causing her mouth to hang open.
"Don't threaten me, don't talk to myself or my friends again because I can not tolerate disgusting people such as yourselves, you don't even know us, you judge everyone if they don't do what you say so why don't you run along because I've only been here for half a day and I'm already bored of your crappy insults." Once I had said this, an uproar of applause sounded from certain sections of the room, whereas Phoebe and Maddie glared before storming out after Claire, causing my table to burst out laughing and high five.
"You know, we could have a field trip planned or something, considering the exams we had to do a few weeks ago." Emily suggested with a small shrug.
Jamie nodded in agreement, "True, I mean we haven't had a field trip for like the past nine years so it is possible." Causing Megan to frown at him.
"Dude, you haven't been here for nine years so how would you know?"
"It's a figure of speech Meg, you obviously haven't been paying attention in English." Jamie retorted whilst rolling his eyes, I saw James was smirking at Jamie, who always seemed to get on Megan's nerves which was pretty amusing because they bicker like an old married couple.
I shifted in my seat slightly, my butt was getting so numb from the chair it was so uncomfortable.
"Got ants in your pants Sam?" James whispered to me, I grinned and shook my head.
"This chair is so uncomfortable, I'm suffering from Numb Butt Disease." I informed him.
"I heard about that!" Blake butted in, I raised a brow at him, "Seriously?" I asked, causing him to nod his head vigorously.
"Yeah apparently it makes your butt get saggy before eventually you have to drag it around wherever you go and then it falls off."
We all sat there in thought for a moment, "Surely if your butt fell off then you wouldn't be able to sit down again." I murmured as I noticed a flood of students taking their seats, luckily the Principal wasn't here yet so they didn't get into trouble.
"Wait does that mean you can't poop either?" Megan asked.
"I don't know." Blake shrugged.
"Dude you said it was a real thing." James said as he pouted.
"Never said it was real, I just said I had heard of it." I rolled my eyes with a grin.
"You're such a moron." Emily muttered.
"Em, stop lowering my self esteem, okay? I know I'm not the smartest person but jeez." He cried dramatically as he placed a hand over his heart.
"It's okay, you and Jamie can both be morons together." Megan suggested with a sarcastic smile.
"Wait, what about blondie here?" I asked, gesturing to James "I mean he is still a bit of an idiot."
James gasped at me and crossed his arms over his chest, "That's low Sam, really low."
"You know I'm kidding." I told him, he only stuck his tongue out at me, looking like a two year old. Before I could respond, the Principal walked in, causing everyone chattering fade into a brief murmur before silence blanketed the auditorium.
Principal Knight was within his mid thirties and looked extremely young for his age, he wore a simple black suit and black tie, I had heard that many girls lust over him even though he was over double their age, it didn't seem to faze them at all. He was an attractive man but I wasn't attracted to him at all.
He stood tall and confident, apparently he worked within the field for many years from the age of eighteen however he soon decided to retire from the job and work within the profiling school instead.
"Good morning everyone." He greeted us all, we all murmured the greeting back, it sounded pretty dull which was rather amusing.
"I have called you here today as I wanted to inform you of some very important news. The learning programmes which will be launched at the beginning of the next academic year where we will be choosing several lucky students to discover what it is truly like to work within a police department as well as a few working into the smaller organizations associated with the FBI and there will be further updates on this within the next few weeks." He paused as there were several murmurs across the hall, it all seemed pretty exciting especially being offered this sort of opportunity.
"As well as that, we will be having some very important visitors join us on Friday. I assume the majority of you have heard of the Behavioural Analysis Unit?" I turned my head slightly to James with wide eyes, he also mirrored my expression. The BAU have worked on some of the most intense crime cases to date, they are an elite team of agents bringing their skills to the table in order to catch a criminal through their mind. I have seen several news interviews with them on TV and being based in Virginia is still pretty surreal.
"The agents will be visiting several classes, where you will get an opportunity to show case your work as well as a session in the afternoon where you can ask any questions, those of which that are relevant regarding their jobs. I would like you all to be on your best behaviour and try not to cause too much mayhem please... That was all I wished to inform you of, remember those who are meant to be serving detention today to remain seated as the rest of you are dismissed."
The agents, I would assume don't have a lot of time on their hands due to such a demanding job, but knowing that they are going to be visiting our school just seems unreal. It was pretty scary in a way I mean these agents have been working within the field for years and being my dream to even reach that standard of authority within the FBI just seemed impossible.
The auditorium suddenly returned to an uproar of excited chatter and nonsense, I grabbed my backpack off of the floor and filed out with the rest of my friends after the crowds began to disperse into the hallways of the school.
"That was a pretty short assembly, being so important I can't exactly decide if it was worth getting Numb Butt Disease." Blake murmured as we all slowly trailed down the hall.
"Yeah but dude it's not like its some basic PD visiting the school, it's the BAU. I heard that they are really intimidating and scary." Jamie exclaimed as we reached our lockers where he leant next to mine against the rusty metal.
I shook my head in amusement, "Jamie it's part of the job, you can't let emotions get in the way otherwise it could put others in danger." I informed him whilst putting the combination into my locker.
"Well you never know, they seem scary and I will keep believing it."
"This is coming from the guy who gets scared at night and checks his closet for monsters." Megan's voice mocked as she stood on the other side of me. I grabbed my two textbooks from my locker and placed them in my locker before slamming it shut.
"You know what Megan, I'm fed up with your mean remarks, it's a bit rich coming from you considering you're the one who admitted you kept wetting the bed until last year." Jamie revealed, very loudly I may add, causing several other students to look our way and snicker, causing a huge smirk to form on Jamie's lips.
By this point we were joined by James, Emily and Blake again – their lockers were opposite mine.
"You seriously shouldn't have said that Jamie." Emily warned with a slight worried expression as she nervously glanced at Megan with a pink tint evident on her cheeks.
"You know I hate liars Jamie, especially when they tell stupid lies about me." Megan growled, "I swear you have three seconds to run!" Megan yelled, as a look of realisation dawned on Jamie's face as he turned and sprinted down the hall before Megan took after him, with a look of determination on her face.
I stared as they got to the end of the hall and burst through the doors, bumping into several people who either didn't seem to be bothered or looked down right annoyed.
"She's gonna kill him, isn't she?" I asked, looking at my other three friends.
"Most likely." Emily sighed before hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder, "We should probably follow them and make sure they're both in one piece otherwise the BAU could be visiting early."
We all took off into the direction of our crazy friends, I just hoped Jamie had the common sense to apologise to Megan otherwise he would have to face her savage side and when she gets argumentative, well let's just say it isn't pretty.
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Today was Wednesday, meaning the agents would arrive in two days at our school. Once we had managed to stop Megan from trying to kill Jamie, he eventually gave in and apologise to her to prevent anymore drama from happening. We all decided that instead of going home straight away that we would head to our favourite coffee shop on the quieter side of town. It was placed on the corner, with simple brick walls and neon signs. The interior was very homely and welcoming with canvases decorating the wall, following the neutral coloured theme. The owner, George, knew us pretty well considering it was one of our main places to hang out on weekends or after school.
As soon as we entered the building, the smell of fresh pastries and brewing coffee hit my nostrils causing me to exhale in delight before following my fellow friends to a booth at the back with leather seats and a rounded table. Once we had settled we all wrestled for the three menus placed on the table.
Jamie successfully plucked the laminated sheet out of Emily's hands, much to her annoyance and began scanning through the list of beverages and snacks, simply ignoring her glares into the side of his head. Blake on the other hand had decided to play it safe and hand Megan the menu with a cheeky smile, knowing him he didn't want to get on her bad side due to the episode that had occurred earlier, which was pretty amusing to watch. Megan wasn't a violent or rude person, she just had a fiery personality and isn't afraid to speak her mind which was one of her best qualities. I reached for the menu, as did James, our hands slightly brushed and I pushed the menu towards him with a grin "You can look first." I told him as my cheeks slightly heated up.
He shook his head, "It's cool we can share." I shrugged as we both scanned the menu to see what we should order.
"I'm thinking of ordering a latte-" Megan announced before we all interrupted her in sync.
"And a chocolate chip cookie which are your favourite because you just have to order them every time you are here."
Megan had an astonished look on her face, "Have you guys been practicing that?" she asked.
I nodded, "Yeah we meet up behind your back and practise that one line for about three hours before any of us can have a pee break." My expression remained emotionless, my voice oozing in sarcasm causing her to glare at me.
"No need to be sarcastic Sam." She informed me.
"Haha Sarcastic Sam has a ring to it." Jamie spoke up; looking up from the menu and Emily took her chance to snatch it off of him with a victorious grin.
"Ahh my favourite customers, what can I get you all?" I turned and saw George standing by our table, with a notebook in hand, apron on dusted in flour and a grin on his face. He is definitely one of the kindest people in town, he knows everyone and he is the most genuine and kind hearted person ever, he is also in charge of the business whilst his parents have gone on a cruise, he is only twenty six years old, married and has the cutest daughter who we have all met on several occasions when she visits with her mom in the coffee shop.
"Hey George!" we all chorused.
"Should I guess your orders today?" he asked with a smirk, we had been here so many times and ordering the same thing every time, George caught on pretty quick.
"For the lovely Megan we have a latte, no sugar and a chocolate chip cookie." He stated, quickly scribbling it down into his notepad. We all gave Megan a knowing smirk and she simply rolled her eyes in response.
"Jamie is having a regular coffee, with cream and two sugars, James is having a strawberry smoothie, Sam is having the usual mocha and cookie, Emily is having a tea with a jam doughnut and for Blake I think he is going for the vanilla milkshake and chocolate brownie."
We all laughed and nodded, he knew us too well. "Okay your orders should be with you in a few minutes and I will bring them over." George told us before returning behind the counter to prepare our orders.
I scanned the shop; there weren't many customers this afternoon which was unusual as most students were already dismissed from school around this time. Luckily I didn't have to pick up Jack from school because our grandparents picked him up to take him to the park and then back to their house where I would be meeting them later, it was only a half an hour drive and a forty five minute bus journey which is what I would be taking once we all decide to leave the coffee shop. Usually the shop is busy on weekends; where it is extremely difficult to find a seat, but it is always worth is for all the delicious beverages and food as well as the soft music and amazing company and hospitality that was offered as soon as you stepped through the threshold.
"So, who has done that report on that behaviour thingy that's due Friday?" James asked us all.
"I have!" Megan and Blake chorused, I looked at Emily who had shrugged "I will probably write it all tonight, my parents said that my sister will be sleeping at her boyfriend's house so I won't be hearing their stupid lovey dovey phone calls."
I grinned, Emily's older sister was obsessed with her new boyfriend and he was the same with her, they were literally inseparable although when they were apart, they would be on the phone to each other, confessing their undying love for one another, this we have all experienced first hand when we had a movie day at her house.
"Wait, we were meant to do that report?" Jamie asked dumbfounded. I rolled my eyes; this poor boy clearly doesn't pay much attention in his classes sometimes.
"Obviously dude, it's not like they set homework for no reason." Blake patted his friend on the back.
"Well I am a very busy man." Jamie retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
James frowned, "Dude you sit at your computer for hours playing video games and barely leave your bedroom."
I chuckled.
Jamie was a mystery sometimes especially with the things he says, which are highly amusing however underneath all of that, he is actually one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. He understands a lot about technology and computers as did Emily, they could easily hack any device within a matter of minutes, although they can't really use those skills within school due to being against the rules and regulations.
"What do you guys think about the agents arriving on Friday?" Megan asked.
"Well it's pretty cool they are visiting our school in the first place." Emily shrugged.
"I think it's quite strange why they pick our school in particular." James added, before pulling out his phone from his pocket, I assume to check if he had any messages or missed calls – he had a bad habit of leaving his phone on silent which his parents constantly lecture him about if there were any emergency of any sort he would regret it if he couldn't take the call and someone could have been in an accident or life threatening situation of some sort, I totally agree with them but he still doesn't listen.
"Well they are based in Virginia and we are one of the most successful profiling schools in the country." I pointed out, causing nods of agreement.
"Yeah that is true, and knowing Principal Knight spent years within the field, he probably has connections to get in contact with the BAU." Jamie suggested.
Before any more could be said on the subject, George strolled over with two large trays balanced on his arms as he slowly set them on the table and handed them out to us.
"Thank you George!" we all chorused once again, we seriously had a habit of saying things in sync it was starting to get creepy.
"It's not a problem guys! So how is school going for ya? I hope you're all on you're A game considering you will be having exams within the next few months."
"How did you know we had exams?" Emily asked out of curiosity causing George to flash a grin.
"Believe it or not, Principal Knight is my cousin." We all looked at him in slight surprise, how did we not notice before?
"Seriously George? And you didn't think to tell us?" I demanded with a small smile, he lightly laughed.
"Honestly I was waiting for one of you to realise, I expected you to figure it out Sam considering you have the top grades within the school."
My jaw dropped, I knew I was progressing with my work but I found it pretty difficult to believe I had top grades.
"Hey hey hey we have a smarty pants over here!" James hollered, causing me to swat his arm.
"I am sure you shouldn't be sharing confidential information like that, especially when Principal Knight could find out." I mockingly glared at George who rolled his eyes with a grin.
"You wouldn't snitch on me Sam, besides my cousin wouldn't care too much although he is pretty serious nowadays."
"Being a principal is stressful." Blake pointed out, George nodded in agreement before glancing at the watch on his left wrist, "I should probably start cleaning up in the back and the counter is a bit messy, I'm closing early today to get home to my girls." He informed us before returning to his job.
I wrapped my hands around the steaming mug of my favourite beverage and to be honest I didn't discover it until I read a book where the leading protagonist revealed that mochas were her favourite drink and she always ordered it so I decided why not try it? George made the perfect mocha with the best balance of coffee and chocolate, it was heaven in a cup.
Once we had all finished our snacks and drinks, we sat there for a while talking about random topics from conspiracy theories to what we had for dinner the previous night. That was what I liked about being with such an awesome friendship group, we could talk about literally anything from the most random topic for hours and there would never be an awkward silence – we were all comfortable around each other and basically tell each other everything. It was the kind of friendship I never believed I would be able to get involved with, I mean I did have friends at my old school who I occasionally contact although I have never been within such a tight knit group of friends who have each others backs no matter what, whether its at 2am and we need someone to talk to, one of us will be awake to make sure they're okay and are able to get back to sleep.
I value trust very much as well as honesty, which are very important factors within any kind of relationship. Ever since my mother had unexpectedly walked out on us one day and never returned caused me to put my guard up slightly, that was one thing that I was most afraid of. Rejection – someone just getting up and walking out of my life. It took a while to open up and reveal more about myself to this group but they are so trustworthy and genuine that I am very comfortable as to where I am at now.
My Dad had been one of the greatest parents he could be for us, and he never ever complained about being a single father raising three kids by himself the majority of the time –Aunt Beth and our grandparents would always help out and we would have family outings as well as vacations causing us all to be extremely close as a family. Aunt Beth is like our motherly female figure we missed out on although our relationship is like a friendship, she loves fashion, films and gossiping about guys which is highly entertaining to listen to she was a very important member of the family. Our grandparents were a second set of parents as well who seemed more relaxed about everything and told us to go and live while we had the chance being young and embracing everything that life threw at us. Grandma does lecture Joey about getting a job and settling down with a decent girl and I have never seen him squirm so much its hilarious. Jack and I have a really close brother and sister relationship, its my responsibility to protect him, as well as Joey's but since mom left I tried as hard as I could to ensure he wasn't alone and remind him that everything would be okay.
I sighed, looking up at the blue sky that held several fluffy clouds in its embrace, today the weather was warmer than usual which was nice for once, I was pretty comfortable in my skinny jeans and band tee. We had all gone our separate ways as I boarded the bus which had one of its stops a couple of streets away from the coffee shop.
I don't mind travelling on the bus, it wasn't too cramped and crowded as I managed to get a seat towards the back, I loved looking out of the window, seeing the world as life passed by listening to my music on shuffle. The only problem with that is when an emotional and inspirational song comes on, you want to dramatically stare out of the window and pretend you are singing the song, giving it your all and then the song ends and High School Musical starts blaring through the headphones, earning you strange looks and people tell you that you are too old to listen to it – well let me tell you, nobody is ever too old for Getcha Head in the Game so I don't listen to the haters.
The journey was a blur as I got off at the stop, luckily it was placed at the end of my grandparent's street, so I only had about a minute or two walk. Their house was detached, a dark blue colour with a wooden door along with a shining white porch which lead to the picket fenced front yard. I walked past the old mail box and up the steps of the porch in their peaceful neighbour hood before ringing the doorbell as I waited for someone to open the door.
AUTHORS NOTE:
Hey there profilers! How are you all?
I hope you liked this edited version of the second chapter it has taken me a good few hours to write so please please comment and let me know what you think, vote and share the story to help it grow! A new chapter continuing from where the book left off will be published soon.
Thank you so much for all the support and kindness I love you all.
Peace out profilers
Brooke