Sammy and Justin wave politely at Officer Langley as he drives past them and after a long pause of comfortable silence, Justin turns to confirm something with Sammy. “Who was that, Officer Langley?”
“Yeah, it was,” she replies nonchalantly, her brains momentarily occupied with thoughts about her father when his words eventually snowball in her mind. “Wait, are you telling me you waved without knowing who it was?”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Say it like what?” she queries, toying with him as she can already guess at least three responses he could give.
“Like I’m an idiot.”
Sammy tries her best not to smile but finds it impossible to do so in her best friend's company. “Well then why were you waving?”
“Because…” Justin utters, strolling next to Sammy on the edge of the pavement, wobbling with each step. “Because you waved and we know all the same people.”
Justin yelps when Sammy lightly pushes him off the pavement into the empty road. “Okay, what was that for?”
“Because why are you like this?” she laughs, pinching the bridge of her mustard coloured beanie to pull it further down her head. “This is up there with eating Cheetos using chopsticks.”
“In my defence, I hate getting my hands messy.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it all before.” Sammy murmurs, her mood taking a nose dive when her mind stumbles back onto the subject of her father, thinking that the two of them would get along well. “Never change on me, alright?”
Justin waits to cross the street with Sammy, making a humming sound as he takes his time thinking up a response. “We all have to change at some point.”
Sammy stops at the bus stop, swiping at one of her dreads that keeps smacking her in the eye. “That's true enough I guess.”
“Okay, what is up with you?” Justin asks, pointing an accusatory finger towards her. “And don't say it's nothing. You've been sulking the entire time we've been walking together.”
Sammy tightens her grip on the strap of the vintage brown leather satchel that was once owned by her father. “I told you earlier, you didn't have to walk me to my bus, especially when your fosters gave you a car for your birthday.”
“That's not what I'm talking about and you know that.” he replies, lightly falling into her shoulder. “Come on, I know you better than that.”
Sammy is forced to hold his shoulder until he straightens up, choosing to lean against the bus stop with her arms folded. “I've just been thinking…a lot.”
“Uh, oh, I know what that means.”
“Excuse me?” she scoffs, raising a brow in utter shock.
Justin, in an effort to smooth things over, hurriedly shakes his hands. “I'm teasing, I'm teasing, don't bite my head off.”
Sammy rolls her eyes but continues nevertheless. “It's just, y’know, all this new stuff.”
“You mean magic?” Justin grins at the look of panic on Sammy's face, laughing as he runs his fingers through he jet black hair. “What, no one's around, we can say whatever we like.”
Sammy double checks, falling back into her spot after doing a quick three-sixty. “It just been bringing things up for me personally.”
Justin drops his eyes to the ground, his smile shrinking as he awkwardly scratches the back of his neck. “You mean, er, your dad? That kind of thing?”
Sammy nods her head, diverting her gaze once she sees the look on his face. “I've been looking through some of my dad's old research and this one symbol keeps popping up…I think I want to look for him.”
“Alright,” Justin says, struggling to pick the right words to say. “Have you told your mom?”
“God no, she can barely look at his things, let alone talk about him…no this is something I'll have to do alone.”
Justin gently kicks the tip of her trainers with his shoe. “Not alone.”
Sammy deliberately sighs. “Thank god, I really didn't want to ask.”
"How has your volunteering been up at the Everwood Daily?" he says, chucking as he changes the subject in hopes of moving onto something a little more positive. "They finally let you write something?”
Unfortunately, his question has the opposite effect on Sammy whose frown deepens. “No they still have me shovelling coffee beans and ordering enough sandwiches to feed a small village, Jerry!”
“Okay, but, let's focus on the positive. You know you're capable of amazing things, right, like remember that one time you revived the school paper?”
“That was Sky.”
Justin spontaneously hiccups, his eyes widening as he surprises even himself. “But Sky would never have known about it if you hadn't kicked up a storm, right or wrong?
“Right.” she mutters begrudgingly. “No you're totally right.”
After a brief moment of relative silence where the pair watch cars pass by and hum the tunes stuck in their head every now and again, Sammy looks over at Justin as he stares down at the ground, distracting himself by kicking up rocks.
“I'm going to quit.”
Justin hiccups for the second time, combing his hair out of his face in frustration. “Wait, what?”
“What was it you said…we all have to change at some point?” she teases, pressing her index finger against her lip as she feigns ignorance.
“I think you completely misunderstood what I was trying to put down because that is totally not what I meant!” he yells, playfully pinching her cheeks.
Sammy lets him squirm a little longer like a flustered kitten before letting out her laugh. “Alright, you got me, you know being a Journalist is all I've ever wanted. They'd have to drag me out in a body bag if they wanted to get rid of me.”
Justin hides his face with both hands, letting out a dire sigh of relief. “Sammy, sometimes I wish we weren't friends.” he half jokes, his heart knowing what it truly desires.
“Well too bad, you will always be my bestie and nothing will get in the way of that.” she states, offering him her pinky. “Best friends forever, remember?”
Justin reluctantly links his pinky finger with hers, echoing her sentiment, the words dying after leaving his tongue. “Best friends, forever and always.”
They take turns to kiss their own thumbs but afterwards Justin averts his gaze.
Luckily Sammy's phone rings, distracting her before she notices.
“Speaking of best friends, do we know what we're doing about Cloud and his mom?”
Sammy looks up from her phone, tilting her head as her brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well the others went to visit her in the hospital. I was wondering, maybe, if we should too?”
“Why?”
“Well he's our friend too, right?”
“Sure but are we really that close with any of them?” she counters. “I mean think about it, he only started talking to us again because for once he's the new guy.”
“Okay but they're still our friends-”
“-no, they're Freya's friends, and to them we're just what's left now that she's gone!”
“I don't choose to see it that way.” he replies honestly, wiping the sweat from his palms onto his jeans.
“That's because you're generously optimistic and see the good in people, but I can't afford to ignore the truth when it's standing right in front of me.”
“If we keep isolating ourselves then of course nothing will ever change.”
“If nothing changes, it'll be because we don't exist in the same world as they do! They're Kings and Queens and the sons of geniuses and we’re just-”
“-what? We're just what?”
Sammy pulls back, realising that perhaps she said too much. “All I'm trying to say is that I hate being left behind.” she says, looking down at the caller id on her phone when it rings a second time.
“It's my mom.” she explains as the bus arrives. “It's probably about Sarah and Summer again. I'll see you later.”
Justin barely gets to say his goodbye as Sammy leaps onto the bus, waving once she takes her seat and drives off.
“Yeah, it does suck.” he mumbles to himself, dropping his head as it starts to rain all over again.