A wave of nostalgia washed over Amelia, taking her by surprise. Sam's home held many memories, mostly good and she was in no way prepared for the assault of the long-gone feelings they aroused. The bungalow remained just as she remembered if only her's and Sam's friendship had stayed in similar shape.
They went inside and put the television on. Amelia sat on the sofa with little to add to the snippets of conversation Sam shot into the atmosphere for anyone to respond to. She couldn't relax, the bungalow made her feel heady, from the smell of the Hanz family right down to the shelving unit of DVDs against the wall to which she could recall every film watched right here on this sofa.
The ramifications for her skipping school danced through her thoughts alongside her families potential reaction and the unnatural nervousness she felt being in Sam's space. It didn't feel right, Michael's presence changed what had once felt completely neutral to her.
It wasn't long before a chorus of noise fast approached the front door. Amelia turned just in time to see Hadie snap at Jess to wait as the youngest Hanz pushed past to get into the house first.
Her ears grew hot at the sight of the girls and an unanticipated fear shot through her. They looked so grown up and were a reminder of how much time has passed since she'd graced the Hanz home. What if they hated her now? They had every right to dislike her, especially with all the trouble she and Charlie had caused their big brother over the years.
Amelia quickly stood and clasped her hands together, waiting for them to notice. Tammy was the first to acknowledge her.
"Melia!" She exclaimed, her face lighting up. She dropped her bag and raced over for an embrace.
Amelia opened her arms gladly, relieved to receive a warm welcome. Tammy buried her face is her shoulder, though she was almost as tall as her now.
"It's so great to see you!"
Hadie stood with a hand placed on a cocked hip. She didn't question why they were home before them.
"It's been a while," she remarked.
Upon realising there was a strange girl present, Jess tucked her excitement back in its bottle and nestled the back of her body into Hadie's legs, watching Amelia with distrustful eyes.
Amelia smiled half-heartedly at Hadie, she didn't dare excuse her absence. Hadie would remember how the Johnson and Hanz family parted ways, Tammy not so much and Jess, not at all. She released Tammy from her hold, though she stayed glued to her side, and bent at the waist to greet Jess.
"Look at you, haven't you grown" she cooed.
Jess's expression didn't crack. Not until Sam thankfully made an appearance. She ran over to him and leapt into his arms. He picked her up and propped her on his hip.
"What's up stinker?" He exclaimed while bouncing her about on his hip. "Look, it's Amelia, you remember Amelia don't you?"
Jess looked at Amelia again and then turned her head away dismissively. She clocked Michael instead and grinned at him.
Amelia sucked on her bottom lip feeling wronged. How come Michael got a smile?
"Why would she remember- Jess was a baby the last time she was here," Hadie intervened while she picked up all the schoolbags and hung them by the door.
Sam and Tammy shot her warning looks.
"So what are you doing here?" Tammy asked, gazing up at Amelia with adoration.
Amelia shrugged her shoulders and gave her another squeeze. "Thought I'd come to hang out with you guys, I missed you."
A puff of air came from Hadie's nose.
Sam tried to cover it with a loud sigh. "Well, what shall we do?"
"Swim!" Jess exclaimed, raising her arms in the air.
"The water's too cold for that" he dismissed.
"The sun's out" Amelia offered, as a way to win Jess' approval. "It might be okay."
Sam gave Amelia a disproving smirk for siding with Jess.
"Alright then."
***
Sam had been right, the water was too cold for swimming but thanks to his sun-trap of a backyard the shallow water near the shore wasn't as cold as it could be. That's where the girls stood in a line, Jess in a dusty pink swimsuit, Tammy in rolled-up dungarees and Hadie sporting a cotton sun-dress. The oldest girl had dragged over a weather-beaten garden chair and sat it at the water's edge.
"Splash me and you're dead" Hadie warned as she sunk down into the chair and flipped open a Teen magazine.
Amelia situated herself on one of two large, flat rocks situated a few steps into the water. She sunned her bare legs, leaving her tights, shoes, blazer and tie on the shore.
Sam strolled out of the house with three cans of coke tucked into the pockets of his combat shorts. He pointed his finger.
"Oi, you can't take Mr Rogers in."
Jess turned around, her brow furrowed and lips pouted. "He's ready" she complained, holding up her toy rabbit wearing an altered trainer sock.
"He's not ready. He'll get a cold" Sam retorted.
Jess stomped her foot, before looking at Mr Rogers at arm's length. She frowned before turning to place him on a rock. She patted his head and mumbled something about catching a cold before she returned to the water's edge.
Tammy pit-patted her feet in the water before daring Jess to see how far they could wade into the cold.
Though Amelia felt nervous at first, there was something undeniably peaceful about being back at the Hanz residence. The back garden could hardly be called that, there was nothing more than a sandy dirt bank between the bungalow and the lake. Trees and vegetation grew around the edges of the water providing peppered shade to those playing there.
Sam sat down beside her and offered up a can which she took. Nervous energy returned to her stomach. Her ears grew hot as the memory of the incident at school replayed over and over in her mind unhelpfully. She offered him a brief smile of thanks and turned back to watching his sisters play.
"Where's Michael?" She managed to ask, feeling the need to break the quiet.
Mid-sip, Sam quickly swallowed his drink and tried his best to disguise a small burp.
"He'll be out in a minute, said he had to go do something" he replied nonchalantly.
Amelia nodded slowly. She felt guilty about how bothered his attitude towards Michael made her feel. Sam was a boy of walls and layers, even with her and yet he seemed to have opened himself up to Michael like they'd known one another for years. Was he truly that lonely? It was all Amelia could think of to explain away the abrupt and fast-growing friendship between him and the new boy. It only served to make her feel worse.
In the moment they had alone Amelia wanted to apologise to Sam for everything, for the abuse he put up with from her brother and the loneliness he must have felt when she first began to keep her distance.
"About today" she began quietly.
"There's nothing about today I want to talk about," Sam interrupted before taking another swig from his can. A frown quickly seized his forehead. "Tomorrow everything will carry on as usual."
Amelia twisted on her side to face him.
"No, that's just it," she reached for his arm and took him by surprise. If he thought for a moment she would go back to excusing Charlie and keeping her distance he had to know he was wrong. "I'm done with it Sam-"
A scream of outrage interrupted Amelia. They both looked to the water in alarm to see Hadie standing from her deck chair, her hair sopping wet.
"What the hell!" She squealed while throwing down her magazine in a strop.
"Oh no," came a monotone exclamation from the back door.
Amelia turned to see Michael by the bungalow, holding a bucket of plastic guns in one hand and a large loaded water pistol in the other.
Hadie waved her hands in the air in utter disbelief as her sisters howled with delight.
"I, I cannot believe you just did that." She twisted to look at her brother. "Sam!" She added as if expecting some sort of telling off to be done.
Sam slapped his hands together, a pearly grin lighting up his face. "Fuck yes" he murmured under his breath, hurrying to his feet.
A wicked grin lit up Michael's face. The Hanz family flocked to him, eager to get their hands on the biggest gun available.
The hand that gripped Sam's arm previously, dropped to the rock alongside her hopes of conveying to him that things would be different from now on. She glared hard at her hand. Michael had stolen the show and Amelia couldn't help but think he'd done it on purpose. It was stupid of course but seeing Sam rush to him made her feel all kinds of ugly.
A jet of water hit her in the ear. She cried out, her hands leaping to her face.
Amelia looked up to see Sam holding his arms open, a challenge written all over his features.
"What you going to do about it, Johnson?" He called to her.
Shots of water flew through the air behind him like silly string as the others played, the air filled with his sister's yips and squeals of laughter.
Michael ducked his head as water splashed off of his shoulder. "I don't think she's up to it" he jibed irritatingly, "did you see the way she threw that ball earlier, weak."
Amelia saw fire at his teasing. The way he glanced over at her with his half drooped eye-lids infuriated her. She did her best to defend Sam and he thought it was weak, she knew that's what he meant. She stood from the rock and stormed her way back to shore. She'd show him.